Car recommendations - best car for safe(r) wheelchair transfer?

Try this...
Take a large contractor garbage bag and cut the bottom so the bag is like a large tube, open at both ends.
Place the bag on the seat.
When you get moms butt on the seat just pick up her legs and swing the legs in to the car.
The bag will allow her to slide easily, it will bunch up a bit but it should not be uncomfortable.
To get her out of the car, swing the legs back out and her butt will turn easily as she will just slide around.
When you go to help her up be careful as the bag will make it a bit slicker and you don't want her sliding out so have a good grip on the gait belt.

As far as other vehicles
Most of the SUV will pretty much have the same width doors in the front. And the back doors are more narrow.
A van type will have a sliding door but the seats are usually back a bit further so it might be more difficult to get her in.
The other option would be to look for a vehicle that has been converted to accept a wheelchair and you can then leave her in the wheelchair and latch it down. The question on that is...how long are you going to be able to take her out....it might be less expensive to get a medical transport when you need to take her out and cut out other trips when it becomes unsafe for you or for her to transfer her to your vehicle.

I try to take her out each weekend to do something fun. Otherwise her entire life is in her half of her small SNF room. She still wants to go shopping, go out to eat, see the Christmas lights, etc. Her dementia has not progressed to the point that she's stopped being aware of her surroundings/missing doing the things that make our lives enjoyable.

It's not safe to transfer her like this by myself--for her or for me, but the alternative is basically a prison sentence of having nothing to look forward to. I say this about our situation--for *my* mom. I am not in any way, shape or form passing judgement on anyone else and what they're choosing for their loved one.

I hire wheelchair vans for transport for all medical appointments, and they're expensive but reliable, and so very much safer. However you can't hire them to go out shopping, etc. I hired one for Thanksgiving, confirmed twice ahead of time, and then they never showed up.

Someone asked for how much longer--I don't know. She's been in the facility since she fell and broke her femur in April, but she spends most days entirely in bed, watching tv, doesn't want to shower, doesn't want to go down to bingo, basically doesn't want to get out of bed--except for when we take her out on weekends. That is her only bit of life for the week, and she is cognitively declining very quickly now. I have to take her out, until I can't.

Thank you all for your responses.

SUVs are hard to get in and out of. The seats are just a little too high. Same with front seats of Vans.

Hopefully the wheelchair has a side that swings up. Makes transferring easier. There are transfer boards.

My question is, why do u need to take Mom out. I cut out some of Moms doctors and let the LTC doctor car for her. She had Dementia. At 89 she no longer needed a urologist. She cancer free for over 5 yrs. Other dr was just for follow ups for things that never got worse. Since her Thyroid numbers looked good for a while, all that was needed was a test to be done every 3 months which the NH could do. A dentist came to the facility as did an eye dr and foot doctor.

There's an "auto cane" handle you can fasten to the door frame; it hooks into the U shaped projection the door latch uses and provides the person transferring a secure hold point. My mom pushes to her feet with help from the wheelchair arms. I place her 4 legged cane in her left hand with her right hand on the arm of the wheelchair to begin her turn, then she uses the auto cane handle when it's easier to reach than the wheelchair arm. Once she sitting in the seat, it's easy to scoot around and get her legs in because she slides well on the leather seat.

Cars are too low, vans and SUVs too high, on all of them the door gets in the way.
Although I had difficulty transferring my 150 lb mother (I can't imagine carrying the majority of the weight for someone 50 lbs heavier) it was doable until she suddenly couldn't bear her weight at all in the middle of a transfer and I almost dumped her on the snowy sidewalk. I realized then that car rides were no longer safe and looked for a local accessible transport provider - no more transfers, no more worry. Should have done it sooner.

My disabled passengers are only occasionally in wheelchairs, due to recurring balance and/or weakness issues ... but my crossover SUV works well for them. It's sort of a large station wagon, really. Not as high as a full-size SUV or my pickup. Not low, like a sedan or coupe.

Its floor and seats are at the right height for them to plop down in easily. I help them pivot their legs when needed. (Car has 8.7" ground clearance).

It can also carry most push-type wheelchairs in the hatch - especially with rear seats folded down - and I'm considering getting a "car cane" to give them an additional hand-grip.

That said ... some communities and/or public transit agencies may offer wheelchair van services. No transfer required at all. Drivers just roll, lock, and go.

I used them extensively to help a good friend who could not be transferred at all without a Hoyer lift. Main drawback was a shortage of dispatchers. Reserving rides could be time-consuming - but it was FAR less expensive than private transport companies, and the drivers were top-notch.

I advise you to carefully contemplate whether your mom is getting as much out of these excursions as you think, often it is our own despair at the smallness of their world that drives us to attempt to include our loved ones far past the time when they themselves desire it.
The simplest solution I saw was a mini van with the passenger seats removed allowing the wheelchair to roll up a ramp and into that spot - parked beside the curb the ramp was not at all steep. Of course the modifications would need to meet safety standards and there must have been some way to secure the chair in place.

Have a similar problem. I think it is important to look into the future for mom.
Most likely her skills are going to decline, what shall she be like in 5 years? Given that, instead of investing in a traditional vehicle, a van with a wheel chair lift may save you a lot f money in the lung run not to mention saving your own back.

Try to find a vehicle that is the right "seat height" - one where she doesn't have to climb "up" or sit really "low". Go to several car dealerships and test drive seating. My Gram was short so SUV's, trucks, and vans were a little "high" for her but she weighed next to nothing so it was easy to boost her. Most sportier cars have lower seats. I really liked my Honda Fit. It was easy to get folks into the front passenger seat and also have room for the wheelchair. A larger car from Honda may work well too.

You will injure yourself if you keep doing this type of transfer. Think of your back. If your back goes out, you'll be the patient.