I see this gets some attention on reddit every year or so, I have been doing my own survey and here is what I’ve found for modern cars
Big Vehicles - No console
- Hyundai Staria - Small gear shifter clear of knee box.
- Mercedes Sprinter
- Nissan Serena - Small gear shifter clear of knee box
- Suzuki Carry - Manual only, 2 seater cargo
- Honda Stepwgn shifter gets into knee box
- Toyota HIACE Some models no console, gear shifter does dig into knee box a little.
- Ford F150 Some configurations
Small Vehicles - No console
- Volkswagon Buzz KeiCar
- Suzuki Spacia - Kei-Car
- Daihatsu hijet Kei-Car
- Daihatsu canbus Kei-Car
Big Vehicles - Knee room
- Toyota Landcruiser 70 Has a very small console far away from knee box. Roomy.
- Subaru Forrester Has a annoying console, but gives more room then other console suvs, so 70% knee room
- Hyundai Ioniq 5 Console can be moved back credit
- Volvo xc30 console is retractable 75%, clear of the knee box. There is a floor console, it does poke into the ankles a little. Very wide seat
Small Vehicles - Knee Room
- Suzuki Swift Very small console, doesn’t block knees, but kinda pokes at ankles.
- Wuling AIR/Binguo EV - Very low console legs can go over, but slight risk of shifting gears
- Aion UT Floating half console for cup holding, leaving knee box clear.
What car without a console or lots of knee room do you know about?
Driver knee room in the Ioniq 5 isn’t great though. I regularly bump my knees against the steering wheel and against the corner near the start button. If you’re willing to sit on a specific position then it works fine. Space is good for passengers.
Oh, that’s not a problem I have experienced, I have fairly long legs but I’m average height. I think I just shifted my seat back a bit, and the steering wheel is fully extended, because I prefer my legs to lie flat on the seat, so I have no trouble with knee room.
Of course your mileage may vary, so definitely give it a test drive before committing to test whether the knee room is sufficient.