Morning all.
After yet another Sunday of stealing the wife’s 1 series to take the bike out, I’ve realised my lovely impreza has to go. 😥 I can’t fit a rack on the back, roof bars aren’t an option and getting it in the car is a joke as the seats don’t fold down. Add that to horrific petrol prices and the fact that road tax for it is double the price of the 1 series (which is a 2ltr turbo diesel so hardly a Toyota yaris!!!) I think it’s time to get something sensible.

Any ideas? Don’t want to spend a fortune as i have a work van so it’s only really going to be a Sunday morning bike transport, with trips occasional long drives to Wales and the such, so it has to be pretty economical and preferably diesel. Obviously coming from a 2002 prodrive imprezza, I’m not ready for a tatty old ex post office van or anything like that. 😳

Any suggestions greatly received cos my head hurts from trawling auto trader!

if you’re only using it at the weekend I don’t think I’d bother with a diesel, its about 10p per litre more than petrol. What do they reckon, you need to do over 20,000 miles a year to make an oil burner worthwhile (might not be true.)

If I were you I’d look at BMW’s your mileage will be low, so if you picked up a 320/325 touring with about 100,000 on you’d be laughing.

Any large estate should mean you can get two up front and two bikes in the back without having to dismantle the bikes or three adults and three bikes with wheels taken off. I try and avoid bike racks, it’s a big advert to any local scum if you leave them on your car, they’re a faff to keep putting on and taking off and not very fuel efficient.
Any big estate like a Mondeo, volvo etc or anything else which has a split 2/3 1/3 rear seat
I suppose also big people carriers, but that might be a step too far, the S-max is supposed to be good. I’d like one, but just can’t bring myself to do it, Clarkson describes people carriers as cars for people who are waiting to die.

Focus estate. Plenty of room and reliable as clockwork. Fabia estate, small cheap and reliable with enough room. Mondeo estate has a huuuuuuge capacity and is economical and reliable. Don’t go French as they ate shite. If you want to go a bit older the old civic estate with the 1.5 VTec engine is is a cracking motor. Cheap tax, plenty of room and pretty nippy.

How about just getting a towbar fitted to the Imprezza? (detachable if you are bothered about looks). If you are worried about tax (maybe another £100 a year and petrol) then why spend £1000’s more getting rid of a car you like? The sums don’t add up.

Civic perhaps – base of the seats folds up to get a bike in whole. Or Jazz does the same thing I think.

Other than that, any estate really. Seats down, bike goes in whole.

towbar +1

+1 on the towbar. Should cost you maybe £250, plus another £100-150 for a decent carrier. If it means you keep a car you like for another year or so, it’s probably worth it.

Mondeo estate here. 2.0 TDCi 130PS. Quite pokey, and gets 45mpg at 80-85 cruising (allegedly) and 50+ at 70.

Very handy to have a car with sio much space. moved house with it a couple of times, and with a bit of thought, you can comfortably fit in 4 people, 4 bikes (hardtails) and their luggage for a weekend.

There’s the ST220 version if you want more fun, but mpg 25-30, apparently.

Fiat Multipla. You’ll get up to 4 bikes and 4 riders – with kit – inside. Great engine, drives like a car and short enough to get into most parking spaces (it’s no longer than a Golf)

Clarkson describes…

And he is the oracle that must be obeyed.

I’d like one, but just can’t bring myself to do it, Clarkson describes people carriers as cars for people who are waiting to die

Meanwhile away from TV rubbish land, the rest of us describe them as cars for people who want to carry people and/or stuff.

+1 on Fiat Multipla (if you dont mind the bland looks), mate has one and its very reliable, plus can take 3 bods in the front and six bikes (wheels off) in the back with back seats down, or 3 bikes with wheels still on. Considering one myself.

There’s the ST220 version if you want more fun, but mpg 25-30, apparently.

The ST155 oil burner is also more fun and being a diesel is more economical and has enormous torque which is very useable in ‘real life’ driving (read overtaking). They do hold their value more than the ST220 though, so would cost more to buy to begin with. There aren’t too many estates about either (or weren’t when I was looking last year).

Ooh, good choices. The mondeo tdci sounds good. I had an e46 300 touring and I loved it, but the boy racer in me needed something silly again. Can’t justify something that expensive anymore though.
The towbar thing is a possibility, but having the imprezza just for bike transport isn’t what I’m after. As much as I love it, it’s a lot of money sitting there and I’d rather see it get used.

And yes, clarkson must be obeyed. Wonder if Thule make a carrier for a veyron………….

I have a diesel Civic, does 60+ mpg and can easliy get 2 bikes plus kit in the back

What size bike are people carrying that doesn’t need wheels off? My large Marin needs both wheels off in every car I’ve tried…apart from the Berlingo, that was just a straight roll in and out.

18″ Patriot with wheels on goes in the back of a Passat B4 estate with the seats down. Fact.

New Passats/Mondys etc are quite a bit bigger than that too.

Why not the work van ?
Is it your own or supplied by your employer ?

Civic perhaps – base of the seats folds up to get a bike in whole.

It’s a nifty system but I can’t get my PA in like that with the front wheel off. A slightly less slack-angled/long-forked bike might do better. I imagine the narrower Jazz would be even more of a problem.

Given the seats fold so easily (one lever and flop down, no flipping up the seat bases first) into a flat floor, I just do that and slide it in from the back.

Any big estate. I had a Nissan Micra in my early days of car ownership (hand down from my Grandfather when he stopped driving), eventually got totally fed up of taking the invariably muddy wheels off each time and since then I’ve had estate cars.
Fiat Marea (died due to rust)
Ford Mondeo (died due to accident)
Vauxhall Vectra (if this dies I’ll be VERY upset)

Finally got out of the banger-nomics cycle as well, the Vectra is 2years old whereas everything else I’ve owned has been about 4th hand and a wreck!

+1 Mondy estate – huge space in them.

the biggest thing missing from your original post is budget….I could suggest a porsche panamera with the seats folded, but that may be a bit too expensive….?

lol

Honda Accord, – I can get a bike in the boot with the seats up and the laod cover over it. No evicdence of a bike in the back at all. Makes it handy for stealth ride on whilst on work business….

+1 For what bikes are you fitting in without removing wheels!

Multipla & berlingo’s excluded, I’ve never gotten a bike into a car without at least one wheel coming off! Even the BMX loses a wheel if we need more than 2 people in the car!

the S-max is supposed to be good. I’d like one, but just can’t bring myself to do it, Clarkson describes people carriers as cars for people who are waiting to die.

Isn’t Clarkson the mug that lambasted the Porsche Cayman, now fairly well regarded as one of Porsches best handling products?

If you’d like one, then get one. I’d say it’s a car for families that like to enjoy life, not for folks who have given up on it.

Versatile, comfortable, respectable handling (good for type of car), actually a lot of fun to drive, good economy. Ours does kids, dogs, bikes, camping kit, hauling all sorts of loads around.

Budget would be a good thing.

But for cheap, cheap – dizzle Mondeo either estate or hatch would swallow a bike or easily have one on the roof etc. My old ST TDCI was a lovely car for motorway bashing and could fit 2 bikes in with wheels off in the boot with the seats up.

For a bit more, but keeping something that might be a little bit fun to drive, mk1 Octavia vRS estate? They seem to go for pennies and the 1.8t is a good, reliable (and highly tuneable if thats your thing) engine.

the S-max is supposed to be good. I’d like one, but just can’t bring myself to do it, Clarkson describes people carriers as cars for people who are waiting to die.

Isn’t Clarkson the mug that lambasted the Porsche Cayman, now fairly well regarded as one of Porsches best handling products?

If you’d like one, then get one. I’d say it’s a car for families that like to enjoy life, not for folks who have given up on it.

Versatile, comfortable, respectable handling (good for type of car), actually a lot of fun to drive, good economy. Ours does kids, dogs, bikes, camping kit, hauling all sorts of loads around.

+1 (apart from the dogs). It’s the wife’s/weekend biking car as I’m in similar boat OP – bikes don’t fit very well in the “fun” car (Elise).

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/mg/zt-t/postcode/ls166rr/radius/1501/fuel-type/diesel/sort/priceasc

MG ZTT , 45mpg+ reliable BMW diesel engine and reasonably cheap. look a bit sporty if thats what you like. Not a massive boot but plenty for a couple of whole bikes + loads of kit.

Any large estate should mean you can get two up front and two bikes in the back without having to dismantle the bikes

I wish that were the case, but I have to remove wheels and seat post to get my bike in my A4 Avant. Can get another bike and loads of kit on top … but dismantling cannot be avoiding.

Can’t remember if it’s a L or XL – either way, it’s a good deal bigger than an S.

yea but thent he bikes are on top of each other, so you have to chuck a blanket beween them, and be uber carefull gettign pedals/chainrings/mechs away from the other frame and not gougeing something on the way in/out of the boot.

Wheels off, seatpost out, bike upright, no hastle?

I could fit pretty much any bike (including my DH bike) straight into the back of my Volvo V70 estate with the seats down.

Mondeo hatch takes up to a large bike straight in the back with no wheels off, all my medium bikes fit straight in and my mates large road bikes will fit in. The DH bike needs the front wheel off (or at least it’s easier as the thing weighs a ton!).

The Mondeo is the ST Tdci and don’t believe for a second it’s more fun than the petrol one. It’s good for what it is and handles well but the petrol has a lighter engine with 65bph more and the sound track of a V6.

Petrol Volvo would be my suggestion. T5s are seriously cheap now. Not great in the twisties but quick in a straight line. Won’t feel much slower than the Impreza from about 40mph+. It would take years and years of Sunday only trips to make up the price difference between a petrol and diesel car on fuel savings.

If it has to be diesel I’d suggest something from the VAG (childishly giggled when I re-read this!) with the 130 or 150 brake tdi engine. Very easy to remap to around 170 with good ecomony. Leon would be my favourite. Not big enough to fit bikes straight in but plenty of cheap rack options.

For a bit more, but keeping something that might be a little bit fun to drive, mk1 Octavia vRS estate? They seem to go for pennies and the 1.8t is a good, reliable (and highly tuneable if thats your thing) engine.

I have one and like it so far. It’s similar on fuel to the Focus it replaced (low-mid 30s) and it cost me £4.2k from a dealer last August with 78k on the clock.

Admittedly it isn’t as well finished as the Focus, doesn’t handle as quite well, the boot is actually a little smaller (has a lump where the seats fold and a lip at the end which can make getting heavier bikes in a little harder than it needs to be) but it’s reasonably quick, fun and very practical. It’s also very tunable if that’s your bag, but even in its regular guise it can still be quite shockingly quick when driven smoothly (IE: you’re not just stamping on the pedal, rather progressively accelerating). It’ll also happily swallow a complete bike (I get my roadbike, hardtail and 6″ susser in like this) or two bikes with posts and front wheels removed along with weekend kit for two people.

I also looked at the Mk.1 Focus ST170 estate (thirstier and slower than the Skoda) and the Mondeo ST155 (see above).

There are more ‘fun’ cars out there, but as a combination of a semi-fast car and practical estate it’s pretty good. The police seem to agree as well – there were quite a few ex-motorway and CID cars knocking around when I was looking.

Bear in mind though that it’s not technically legal to get a towbar put on one if you have a towbar rack (I do). I doubt you’d ever be stopped, but there was a case on Briskoda where an old lad with a Fabia vRS was pulled while towing a trailer.

Bear in mind though that it’s not technically legal to get a towbar put on one

Eh what?

Btw I’ve seen this on a Prius (which also cannot have a proper towbar)

Link here http://thule.com/en-GB/DE/Products/Towing/Carrying%20Solutions/EuroClick%20G2.aspx

However I can’t figure out how you actually buy this thing though.

EDIT: ah, here you go http://thuleeuroclick.com/en/home.html

Molgrips: the wonderful grey area of vRS towbars which also even pops up on STW.

*Apparently* it’s to do with Skoda never putting it forward to be officically tested – a cost saving measure, apparently.

Hmm, interesting.

Likewise I always thought you should be able to tow at least a tiny trailer with a Prius, I mean it’s a 140bhp car, but no dice. The official line though is that it is ‘not recommended’.

A timely discussion. I’m weighing up between an estate car or a van so some of the recommendations are interesting.

Why not the work van ?

I was wondering this. The money you’ll save in not running your own car would buy a whole hell of a lot of diesel for the van.

In your situation, I think I’d buy a CB600F.

Wow, that was sone interesting reading…….
Firstly, the work van is a no no. I work for southern water so once the van is home each day it can’t go out again. Weekends come under same rule. I’ve blagged it a few times by having the bike with me and stopping for ride on way home! Bloody tracker!!!!!
Secondly, I’m not trying to replace it with something as fun as the scoob, don’t get me wrong, it has to be relatively interesting to drive, but cheap to tax and insure etc. It’s just a weekend car for bike at end of the day. The 1 series is our family car so the other one is purely for me.
I did look at octavia vrs hatchback, and Volvo t5’s. The police thing is always a good sign, traffic cops carry a he’ll of a lo of kit in a hurry!!!! 😆

fiat panda? cheap to buy cheap to run takes two bikes with wheels off and kit and two riders. fun to drive too.