Paddyxr6

Nah you need room for the wheelchair while you are in it, to be able to transfer into the car. Once in the car, I just reach back and push the wheelchair into the Abiloader and flick the latch down onto the bolt. I reach it no problem. I can sit sideways with 1 leg out of the car and manouvere it that way, but no need. So it leaves enough room to be able to transfer back into the wheelchair while the Abiloader is extended, so I can get out of the car into my chair if something went wrong with the Abiloader and it wouldn't move. Otherwise I would be stuck in the car lol. Very rare that that would happen though, if ever. But it had to be taken into consideration I guess?

Thanks Westbury63. Yes it was terrible at first, those first few weeks were the worst. But then you come to terms with the fact that it is permanent and you realise you just have to get on with it and learn a new way of living. And things like the Abiloader are great, being able to store my wheelchair inside the car rather than it being on the roof in the weather. Or pulling it apart and lifting it over onto the passenger seat, which I can do but it isn't great long term on your shoulders. So the Abiloader, and of course a fantastic car for it to be installed into, makes life so much easier. Cheers

So after owning a 2012 Skoda Superb Combi for 8 months (then crashing it) and now a 2013 Skoda Superb Combi for the last 3 and a half years, thought it time I joined this group. Only reason I bought a Skoda in the first place:- I had a motorcycle accident nearly 5 years ago and ended up with a spinal cord injury at chest level, leaving me in a wheelchair for life. The Skoda Superb was suggested as a suitable vehicle to be modified with hand controls and for having a machine called an Abiloader installed into the boot of the wagon. The Abiloader is a machine which moves out of the boot, turns around the back corner and reaches forward towards the drivers door where, once I have transferred from my wheelchair into the drivers seat of the car, I can push my wheelchair back into the Abiloader, lock it in with a simple latch and the Abiloader then lifts the wheelchair up and takes it back into the boot of the car. I then press a button to close the boot and off I go. Brilliant! I never in my life considered buying a Skoda. Being originally from Australia I grew up in a family who owned either Fords or Holdens, or Valiants (not sure many of you will know what a Valiant is, but they were owned by Chrysler I think?). Anyway, I moved to New Zealand nearly 10 years ago and this is where I had my motorcycle accident and I still reside here. After a Skoda was suggested as a suitable vehicle for the modifications I needed, I came across a 2012 Superb at a local car yard and fell in love with it almost immediately. It was the 3.6 litre V6 4x4. What an awesome car! But then I had the accident 8 months later and it was written off by the insurance company. Thankfully I found the 2013 model as a replacement with only 48,000 km, and a few extra bells and whistles than the 2012 model. And still the 3.6 litre V6 4x4. I have though come across the odd issue and the latest being to do with climate control blower not working, but I may have found a fix for the problem by reading one of the threads on here. Now it's just a matter of whether I can reach the thing to try to fix it lol. Wheelchair life can be tough. I did manage to replace the front brakes (discs and pads) on my own last year, so hopefully I can get to the fan blower without falling out of my chair and getting stuck..