Best estate car for biking??

Changing my car in a few months but can’t decide between a skoda oktavia. Passat, BMW 3 series or a merch

Have a missed any out??

I would’ve of said Passat…. Until two hours ago the automatic handbrake decided it didn’t want to be on anymore and the car would be far better parked into my neighbours….

Seriously unimpressed. It’s a 62 plate if it helps.

Otherwise. Automatic handbrake shenanigans aside its brilliant.

Mazda 6

The six cylinder M5 touring (E34) and the Volvo 850 T5-R. 😀

V70, Mondeo or E-class. Proper boot size on all.

Volvo 850 T5-R.

This. Save money on car, burn on fuel and tyres!

Seat Alhambra
VW Sharan
Ford Galaxy

Anything with a wipe clean headlining, or a Citroen C5

Good question. Volvo V50 has been good for me but am thinking about Audi A4 Allroad for 4wd

I have a Volvo and shall be replacing it with a Volvo. I’m hoping brand qualities hold up under Chinese ownership.

Got a company passat, plenty of room with the seats down to get a bike or two in.

Octavia and Passat both have bad boots- smaller than they should be, and no flat entry, which makes it more awkward to put things in, and means you can’t sit on the boot edge and watch the world go by. Ridiculous way to build an estate. Also, bad use of space- very encroaching arches etc. VAG are not very good at mid-sized estates tbh. It still does the job but if you’re choosing an estate for biking it makes sense to look elsewhere

Focus or Mondeo. Mk1 Focus has a ridiculous boot for its size/class, bigger and more usable than many (most?) bigger estates. Mondeo is just massive, though, it is a big car and can be a hassle to park. I am coming to really like my 2.2 Ghia X… Massive, reasonably quick, cheapish to run, goes round corners, and is a nice place to be.

Mazda 6 is decent too, and big Volvos.

Currently driving a V50. Excellent car for biking.

Mondeo is just massive, though, it is a big car and can be a hassle to park.

Indeed – I was shocked just how much wider it is than my 406 – hadn’t really paid much attention to width when checking dimensions. On the plus side you do notice the advantage of the extra width in loadspace and passenger space. Have had 2 kids seats in my back seat with 1/3 folded, and today I had a tandem, roadbike, kids bike and 2 big unicycles in the back without even really trying – could have got lots more in if I wanted. The tandem goes in a lot easier than it did in the 406 (which was renowned as being a good load lugger).

It depends what your other criteria are – badge snobs won’t like Mondeos, though according to Clarkson there’s nothing embarrassing about having a Ford badge on your car (that alone may be enough to put you off). However if you’re after something which drives well for a big car and is economical to run then it’s hard to beat.

Vectra Estate is huge, chap at work had one with tinted rear windows – looked like a hearse 🙂

I’ve got Zafira diesel whick works OK but need newer one for Mrs Electric’s work.
For newer brands what about Dacia, Hyundai, Ssyonyang?

Leaving out Kia maybe…

New Octavia is out June. The boot in the hatch version is pretty big.

I have one of these,
2.8L
4wd
V6
Cream leather
Less than £3k at 80,000 miles.
Excellent car if you can stomach the 26mpg. Get one with a sensible engine and you will be happy. Had a newer hire car in 2007, Inverness to Dorset coast, 600 miles, one tank of diesel.
Room enough to sleep in too.

We have a 4wd Octavia. It’s OK, if a little dull and wishy washy to drive.
Not as good as the Mondeo ST TDCI we had before, which was brilliant. Much better drive and better all around car.

Both fit a bike in without removing wheels, so both OK in that respect.

Passat. I bought m old version mainly because the boot lip was low, wide and straight. Could easily get bikes in without taking of wheels or saddles, plus great for sitting on.

I have a mk2 Mondeo. Great car. Thought about swapping it for a Skoda Superb to get 4WD but despite being a massive car I was surprised how narrow the boot was compared to the Ford. Stuck with the Mondeo.

R36 Passat

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3 series estate is pretty small – we had one for 3 yrs and just replaced with a 5 estate, which is more proper size

Passat. We regularly fit 3 people and 3 bikes inside with plenty of room to spare. We have even had 2 adults + 2 kids + 4 bikes inside without too much difficulty.

If you don’t get the handbrake problems, the only other thing to check on anything over 40,000 miles is uneven wear on the insides of the rear tyres with a sawtooth pattern on the tread. Here’s one of mine, spinning on the balancer:

I also say the v70. So practical with a tow bar bitter and the rear seats fols completely flat down getting two bikes in easy

It depends whether you intend to put the bikes inside or on a towbar rack. If its the rack then you are less dependent on size.

I have an e-class estate. Huge, comfy, quick, very slightly thirsty, but obviously somewhat pricer. Not a problem in 3 yrs ownership and has self levelling air suspension so fine with 4 adults, kit and 4 bikes on rack.

My short-list came down to:
Mondeo
S Max
Octavia
Superb
Mazda 6

Went with the Octavia in the end.
Mondeo had lots of toys for the money but it just didn’t seem comfortable and looked pretty tacky inside.
S Max ticked the boxes but I couldn’t bring myself to buy an MPV in the end
Mazda 6 – didn’t really like it and the petrol engine wasn’t great (I wanted a petrol as mostly do short journeys)
Superb – ugly but really liked it, but for my £12k budget I could only get a basic spec one (second-hand) and even then there were very little about. Was just a bit to cheap looking inside and I knew I’d regret not having certain toys.
Took me a while to find the right Octavia (had to travel 150 miles for it as well) but don’t regret it. Would have been nice to have the bit of extra boot room the Superb has but I can still get two road bikes in the back with both wheels on (rear seats down ofc) and just need to take the front wheels off on MTBs

A lot of other options like Volvos, BMWs and Audis I rejected as the boot space wasn’t big enough (typically they’re narrower). I couldn’t see the point in paying the extra for a Passat when the Octavia is pretty much the same car.

3 series estate is pretty small – we had one for 3 yrs and just replaced with a 5 estate, which is more proper size

Yup, seems to be common to think of a 3 series as a Mondeo sized car. It’s not, never has been. It’s a Focus sized car with a boot, the estate Focus and 3 series are the same size. Focus probably has a better boot though.
5 Series is a good sized car though, I can get my large 5 Spot in the boot of my saloon E39 5 Series if I take the stem off the steerer (and the wheels out obviously). Normally it rides in the back seats with seat covers on and wrapped in a tarp but it’s nice to get it totally out of sight if you are away for the weekend and will want to leave the car parked with the bike in it. I can easily have the bike with both wheels and all my riding gear and a weekends worth of luggage for two in the boot and nothing visible in the car when it’s parked up.

Depends what criteria make it the best…

I have a 56 plate Honda Accord estate.
That model has the biggest estate boot, it’s very comfy and as it’s a Honda it won’t go wrong.

It’s not a sports car but it’s also not slow.
I had a towbar fitted so it can take 4 people, plus bikes plus kit.
Seats fold to almost flat in one move so it’s easy to put more stuff in.

When I replace it I’m getting another.

As a past Mondeo ST TDCI owner and current Octavia vRS owner, I’d have to admit, its a tough call between those two cars as to whats best as a riding car. The Mondeo was a lovely wafty motorway car, not the slightest bit sporty despite the badge. Economical, massive boot (even on the hatchback) and loads of toys. Looks (even now) like a really nice car.

Octy is very different. Less room in the rear seats and the boot is smaller but in a way, a more useful shape (I have an estate). Can’t get a bike in the Octy boot with the seats up whereas I could with the Mondeo but I think thats down to me running 780mm bars these days! Build quality on the Octavia is better, fewer toys as standard but some are well specced and they’re easy to spec upwards if you get a basic one (£400 for a factory Columbus Sat Nav unit etc which is an easy swap etc).

Out of them both, the Octy is a much nicer car to drive day to day. The Mondeo was better sat at 70/80 on a motorway.

I’ve recently been toying with the idea of changing our car and narrowed the choice down to an M-Sport 3 series estate (too small), another Mondeo ST (getting a bit long in the tooth now and some of the important things to us such as ISOFIX are a real lottery on mk3 Mondeos) and another Octavia vRS. So decided to save some money and make our current car a bit nicer 😉

My dad has a new Passat (a high spec Bluemotion saloon) and although the saloon thing doesn’t work as a biking car unless you have them on the roof, its a lovely, lovely car. I’d definitely consider an estate version when prices come down below £10k.

New shape Mondeo (unless you get the top spec Titanium X Sport ones) do nothing for me although you can’t argue with the spec levels.

New shape Mondeo (unless you get the top spec Titanium X Sport ones) do nothing for me

You’re choosing a biking car based on how it looks? 😯

double post sorry

Subaru Legacy. Almost tardis like for space, regularly went on road trips with three 6ft + blokes, 2 bikes, 2 seperate tents (we’re not sociable), and 3 set of riding gear/ kit – all inside.

I have a 07 plate Accord and while its good its not been without its problems unfortunately (Manifold cracked, rear calipers ceased, alternator gone) but its massive (Bike will fit in boot with seats up and load cover over it. Put the seats down and i can put my wire framed camp bed up in it and stand the bike up next to me.

Fuel wise, 44-46mpg when just pootleing around and teh wife is driving it, just short of 60mpg on a run keeping it just under 70, or 40mpg on an alps trip last year with 4 people, 3 bikes on the back, one on roof and roofbox and camping gear.

Other options are the Passat but lots of them have loads of owners which tells you something and the handbrake is an issue, a big one in my eyes!

5 series is my ideal car but next price level.

3 Series, you seen how small the boot is? pointless IMO

Mondeo, not bad but its a ford. Look nicer in a more unusual colour for a ford, say red with silver bits on.

Mazda 6 – No where near as big as the accord but has a really lovely engine, sounds gorgeous for a diesel and the 170bhp model has loads of power. A lot more than the accord. If a massive boot isnt essential these are a great buy.

Skoda, they are alright aint they, like a trusty pair of doc martins. Good workhorse but not a very inspiring car in any way.

V70 – Really heavy on fuel, like late 20’s if you have a moderately heavy so watch that one

V50 – too small, waste of time

Audi – A4 not that big, A6 similar category to 5 series, nice but depends if you can afford the prices, getting near T5 league then.

+1 for Subaru. Had Beemers and Passats, not old enough for Merc yet. Any kind of loose slippery surface and the Subaru is unphased. Be different.

I also say the v70. So practical with a tow bar bitter and the rear seats fols completely flat down getting two bikes in easy

Plus One for this. But don’t get a Phase 2 unless it’s a facelift (post 2004) – the electrics on the early ones (2000 – 2004) are notoriously dodgy. The beauty of the V70 is that it has a vertical tailgate so you get an absolutely cavernous loadspace. They’re also obscenely comfortable on long motorway trips.

V70 – Really heavy on fuel, like late 20’s if you have a moderately heavy so watch that one

Yeah, if you get a petrol – go for a diseasel (preferably a late D5 SE) and hello 45 – 50mpg, 185bhp and 140mph top speed! Not bad for a car that weighs over 2 tonnes fully loaded.

Personally (if you can find one with less than rocketship mileage for under £4000 😯 ) I’d go for a 1998 – 1999 Phase 1 TDi. But even then with a good service record 150K miles for these is nothing, they’ll go on forever with proper servicing.

I’ve just bought an Audi A4 Avant Quattro. Great car especially due to it being 4 wheel drive. Not the biggest inside as mentioned previously, but i put the bikes on the roof and that leaves more than enough space for everything else. I even managed to get a free roof rack thrown in from the dealer when i bought the car.

+1 for the Legacy.

I currently have an Subaru Outback and with the rear seats down which is done at the pull of a lever when standing at the rear, you have a flat load area that takes my Anthem 29er with the wheels still on with room to spare. Its also got proper roof rails, slightly more ground clearance than the Legacy/regular estates for creative parking. The AWD does great in a muddy field or snow and with winter tyres its superb.

Works great for kayaks as well