What Side Mirror Shape Do You Prefer?

I greatly dislike triangular mirrors. Had them on my Escort. I prefer rectangular mirrors.

I prefer rectangular mirrors as well. I've got an Outback with nice, large rectangular mirrors and the G8 has the slanted rectangular mirrors.

I love the big "brick" mirrors on my Tribeca

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2984942916_a184412652.jpg

Definitely not the rounded mirrors like the Cruze. My S has that style of mirrors and they are horribly inadequate.

I prefer the slanted rectangle because they allow you to see what you need to see, but are still stylish.

Those are some less than excellent mirrors on the Cruze. The 5er and Equinox seem pretty well equipped. Some of my favorite mirrors, function-wise, are the asymmetrically arranged rectangles on the Mercedes-Benz W124 and W201: tall and square on the passenger's side, lower and wider on the driver's side.

In fifty years of driving I have never thought about this. I guess you get used to whatever you have. My Outback has a kind of rectangular shape, and seems to cover my rear quite nicely.

In any case, I would not consider bad mirrors to be a deal breaker.

I like the mirrors on the Raptor, I think the worst mirrors are on the Mercedes GL450, they are tiny.

This question is terribly personal.

Let's see what cars I recognize in that lead-in picture (slow day at work): Solara, Insight, Armada, Prism, Versa, Accord, Tiburon, 5 Series... the only car I can't get is the one hidden by the Versa's mirror, but I think it's a TL.

I think the shape of side view mirrors will be determined by a design that supports less drag to aid in the toughening EPA standards for cars. If I see anything questionable or close in my side view mirrors, I'm going to turn around momentarily to verify my surroundings. Properly set up side and rear view mirrors will be far more helpful than a silly corner not being cut off.

Sometimes bigger is better.

I'm sure that the strange shapes of some of today's side mirrors has a lot to do with aesthetics and managing airflow but a big, old rectangular side mirror is still the way to go for safety and visibility.

Traverse mirrors seem to be big while not looking huge like the raptors'. The mirrors on my car are pretty small but it's all about having them properly positioned. I've never fealt like they weren't big enough.

Let's focus on what's important. First of all, it's important to get a good view of the side of your own car. Pride of ownership comes first. Secondly, the rectangular shape provides a better assessment of the receding sky, so that you can tell what weather you're leaving behind. Next?

it has a lot to do with the entire shape of the vehicle...

I like my mirrors to be attached to the fastest thing possible. You rarely need to use them if you are driving faster than everyone else. The End.

I prefer large FOLDING rectangular mirrors, to which I attach 3" spot mirrors. I won't buy a car that doesn't have folding mirrors. With me, form follows function.

Every car I've owned has had rectangular/ oval-shaped mirrors. You guys have the epic luxury of choosing from an entire fleet of cars. Little things like this have never crossed my mind.

The Raptor Mirrors. I like the functionality of big square mirrors. They look wonky from the outside but are nice when you are driving. Plus, I like the view of the big flared fenders on the raptor. It reminds you that you are driving something special.

One of my favorite topics! (just ...partially kidding). Mirrors have been getting uglier and uglier if you ask me in the past few years, especially for EU cars since all vehicles sold in Europe must comply with minimum mirror size regulations (just look at pre vs post face lift e90's). None of the mirror options here are really that great.. Not a big fan of the irregular shapes that seem to be trendy now; I prefer folding, rectangular yet aerodynamic designs such as: BMW e39, e46, e36, e34 (essentially all old BMW's), the last generation Honda Accord, Nissan 350Z, Infiniti G35/G37/M, the new Kia Optima, Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger, face-lift W211 E Class (possibly the most attractive http://www.cargym.com/images/BM123-B0DE2_1.jpg). Some horrible mirror designs I can think of are almost any GM product ever, the pre-facelift current generation Lexus IS (wtf giant truck mirrors) and almost all Toyota branded products except the mkIV Supra.

Ditto on the "sometimes bigger is better" if you really want to see what's behind. I prefer the west coasters + 8 inch convexes on my tri-axle for seeing. DON'T

see them catching on as a styling statement, though.........

raleedy,

Thanks for the laughs.

Are we far enough in the future where we have high sensitivity wide angle cameras on both sides of the car with their output in either the instrument panel, projected on the windshield, or whatnot?