Small Electric Wheelchairs for Tight Spaces: Width and Turning Radius

A small power chair is one that fits your home: through the narrowest doorway, round the turn into each room, and into the car or a closet. Every figure below comes from the maker's own spec sheets, brochures, manuals and product pages, Canadian where the maker has them. For weights, see the lightest folding power wheelchairs we carry.

• Measure
• Narrow chairs
• Tight turning
• All sizes
• Indoor features
• Questions

Measure your home first

Measure each space at its narrowest point and write the numbers down.

1. Doorways: open the door fully and measure the clear opening, from the face of the open door to the frame opposite. The chair's outside width has to fit with a little to spare.
2. Hallways and the turn into a room: measure the hallway and the space in front of each door you turn through. A chair that fits a doorway straight on can still get stuck turning into it from a narrow hall, because its length has to swing round.
3. Bathroom: measure the door with it open, then the clear floor where you would turn.
4. Elevator: measure the door opening and the inside width and depth.
5. Car trunk and closet: for a folding chair, measure the trunk opening and floor and the closet where it will live, and compare them with the folded size.

Turning radius is the maker's measure of the room a chair needs to turn, so a smaller figure means a tighter turn.

Narrow power wheelchairs: under 23 inches wide

Each has a maker's outside width under 23 inches in at least one setting or seat size.

WHILL Model F

21.8 or 23.8 in wide30.7 in turning radius

WHILL Canada gives 21.8 inches wide with the arms in their narrower position, 23.8 in the wider one, and 36.8 inches long. WHILL says the 30.7 inch turning radius helps in doorways, elevators and crowded spaces. It folds to 18.3 inches long.

Golden Cricket GP302

22.4 in wide22 in turning radius

Golden's Canadian sheet gives 22.4 inches wide (its US page says 22.5) and 36.6 inches long. Golden says the 22 inch turning radius and the joystick make narrow doorways and crowded spaces easy. It folds to 30.2 by 22.25 by 14 inches without its cushion and stores upright, Golden says.

WHILL Model C2

21.8 to 25.6 in wide29.9 in turning radius

WHILL Canada gives 21.8 to 25.6 inches wide, depending on the seat (16, 18 or 20 inches wide), and 38.8 inches long. WHILL says its omni wheels allow sideways movement and that it comes apart in four easy steps for transport.

Tight turning: 25 inches or less

The Cricket GP302 above has a 22 inch turning radius, by Golden's figures. These chairs also have a maker's turning radius of 25 inches or less.

Golden Buzzaround CarryOn GP130

21 in turning radius24 in wide

Golden's power chair version of the CarryOn is 24 inches wide and 38 inches long, with centre wheel drive that Golden says is for manoeuvrability. It comes apart, with a heaviest piece of 46 lb without the seat and batteries, and folds to 10 inches high.

Pride Jazzy Carbon

24 in turning radius24 in wide

Pride gives 24 inches wide and 37 inches long, and says it navigates tight indoor spaces, fits in most trunks and can be switched to pushing by hand in tight spots. Folded, it is 28.3 inches high, 24 wide and 12.2 deep.

Travel Buggy Grand Tourer GT

25 in turning radius23.6 in wide

Travel Buggy gives 23.6 inches wide and 39 inches long, and it folds to 29.5 by 23.6 by 13.8 inches.

Robooter's leaflet gives the Robooter E40 a turning radius of 450 millimetres, about 17.7 inches. Pride's figures for the Jazzy Air 2 differ, at 20.75, 21 or 24.25 inches, but all are under 25. Golden's figures for the Stride GP301 differ too, at 23.6 or 47.2 inches, as do eFOLDi's for the Navigator, so we left them out.

Every chair's size, side by side

Folded sizes are as the maker prints them, usually length by width by height, and figures starting "About" are converted from centimetres or millimetres.

• Turning radius is a guide: makers measure it in different ways, and a few print more than one figure per chair.
• Some figures vary: Pride says its sizes can vary by 3 percent either way and that its Jazzy Carbon 27 and Air 2 figures are for the power base only, and Robooter says its data may contain slight errors.
• Not listed: we could not confirm the makers' sizes for the Drive Medical CarbonTouch, Signature Series Out & About, Travel Buggy DASH 3 and WHILL Modo Breeze.

Indoor driving features the makers describe

• Speed settings: eFOLDi lists five joystick speeds on the Navigator, from 2 to 6 km/h, and says to slow down before turning. Travel Buggy says the Grand Tourer GT's Soft, Normal and Sport modes adjust speed and responsiveness, and Robooter gives the E60 Pro GT a Normal and an Enhanced mode.
• Turning and wheels: WHILL says the Model C Lite's two motors turn in opposite directions for turns on the spot, and Golden fits the Ally Pro with omnidirectional wheels and calls it perfect for small spaces indoors.
• Joystick: Golden says the Stride's joystick makes it easier to drive up to a table or through a doorway, and Pride says the Jazzy Ultra Light's removable joystick fits either armrest.
• Storage: Golden says the Stride stands on end for storage, WHILL says the Model C Lite stands upright once folded, and Robooter says the X40 folds automatically.

Questions about small power wheelchairs

Will a power wheelchair fit through my door?

Measure the clear opening with the door fully open and compare it with the chair's outside width. Several chairs we carry are under 23 inches wide by their makers' figures, including the WHILL Model F in its narrower arm setting, the WHILL Model C2 with its 16 inch seat and the Golden Cricket GP302. If the door opens off a narrow hallway, check the turn too.

How much room does a power chair need to turn?

Use the maker's turning radius as a guide, with room to spare. Golden gives the Buzzaround CarryOn GP130 21 inches, for example, and Pride gives the Jazzy Carbon HD 36.4 inches.

Can I use a power wheelchair in a small apartment?

Yes, if it fits your narrowest doorway and you have room to turn where you need to, such as at the end of a hallway or in the bathroom. Plan where it will be stored and charged.

Which power wheelchairs fold small enough for a car trunk?

Compare each folded size in the table with your trunk. By their makers' figures, the Golden Cricket LT GP309 folds to a 12 inch profile on its wheels and the Travel Buggy AEROLUX 2C to 12 inches wide. The WHILL Model C2 comes apart instead.