Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 58 total)
  • Considering the polar The opposite of getting a Van for biking…
  • cookeaa
    Full Member

    Now my missus is driving, I’ve decided its time to look at changing our automotive set-up a bit.

    She’s got herself an Auto licence so the Family car HAS to be an Automatic, big enough to accommodate the lot of us with luggage, small enough that a relatively new driver won’t keep bumping the corners into things, that’s really a side issue.

    What I’m thinking is that Daddy should get his own little runabout for getting to work and of course biking, now before I had a wife/kids/mortgage I was perfectly happy in small engined, little hatchbacks, which normally had the rear seats folded down and/or a bike rack semi-permanently strapped to the boot, so I’m thinking perhaps I should go down a similar route again, I have fond memories of my old ranger body polo…

    So I’m going to be looking for a cheap and cheerful eurobox to accommodate little old me and an MTB: ~1.2L, petrol, not too fussed about number of doors, something reasonably reliable that I can mostly home service I’m thinking anything from an 02 – 06 plate so 8-12 years old…

    Gotta be Cheap, Common (to keep parts prices down), sensible on fuel, I’m thinking Clio/Corsa/Fiesta/Punto/Ka maybe?

    Recommendations, Suggestions, Derision? Lets have it then…

    scaled
    Free Member

    [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA4HaKthwcs[/video]

    Corsa you say?

    dawson
    Full Member

    I’d be wary of leaving a bike rack on the car permanently as it advertises to scrotes that you are a cyclist.

    An older shape Focus hatch or estate would be medium sized and you would be able to get bike inside

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    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    Dull but reliable – Fabia, Polo, Ibiza.

    Less dull but reliable – one of the above with the 1.2 105ps engine (probably not within age/budget)

    titusrider
    Free Member

    Fiat 500 abarth
    fiat panda 100hp
    clio 172?

    id be after a small lukewarm hatch like those to have some fun with?

    trusty
    Full Member

    Corsas are good, had a couple which were used as biking vehicles. Me and the Mrs got 2 large 29ers in the back of hers and weekend kit, and back in the day a mate and I did a weeks riding and camping in Morzine out of one. It was a touch cosy!

    Edit – it’ll probably be a wheels out job in a corsa. I’ve got a focus and can get my bike in with just the front wheel out

    carlphillips
    Free Member

    ive got a little 107 for commuting duties and i got a rack which fits onto the chassis and can be taken on/off in seconds, only does for one bike but have my trail bike and my dh on the there…i’llsee if i can find a linky..

    flyingmonkeycorps
    Full Member

    We have a Yaris and it’s ace. 1.3, so a bit bigger engine, but ace fun to drive, fine on long trips and you can fit two bikes and a load of camping kit in the back with the seats down.

    khani
    Free Member

    I was in pretty much the same boat, the mrs has a Doblo which is enormoose, so I got a Panda which costs less to run than my MTB and can still fit my bike in the back,
    in fact I’ve had two large 29ers in the back with the wheels and seatposts out..

    Furious
    Full Member

    Honda Jazz

    Cheap, cheerful, massive (inside), economic, reliable, bombproof

    fr0sty125
    Free Member

    Only experience is Clio 1.2 TCE I would say it is a very nice little engine in a nice little car.

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    10 yr old Fiesta Zetec/Sport. Cheap as chips, reasonably roomy boot with seats down and handle like a go-kart.

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    Yeah I had a Mk2 Polo and a Mk3 Corsa Prior to becoming a family man.

    Currently I’m driving a Mk4 Golf Estate which is a reasonable biking car, but its on its last legs TBH, and I’d like to go to something smaller and perhaps avoid VAG group cars, Zee Germans do like to make their cars a bugger to maintain…

    I’m slightly Leaning towards a Ford or Vauxhall they are common as muck which has to be an advantage when practising bangernomics.

    Maybe another Mk3 Corsa…

    Deveron53
    Free Member

    I have a 1.2 Suzuki Wagon R which will take my SB95 inside with only the front wheel requiring removal. I don’t even have to drop the seat (and I’m 6’3″ so my seat is waaaay up). it goes in upright with the rear tyre wedged between the front passenger seat and door frame so it stays upright and supported. I push the passenger seat backwards to hold the rear wheel more firmly once I’m in. Much better than an external rack. There’s still loads of room behind the driver’s seat for gear.
    They’re very cheap to buy and the older MK1 versions are Japanese made and therefore more reliable. 16v 1.2 chain driven camshaft. Not fast but it does what it needs to do. It’s a mobile bike shed!
    Mine is a 1999, had 25k on the clock and cost me £725.

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    Honda Jazz

    Hmmm, had’t considered a Jazz, Old peoples car innit, that’s a good thing as it improves my chances of finding one that’s not been ragged to death…

    fitnessischeating
    Free Member

    I know two people with 206 sports wagons, they are brilliant use of space…

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    Some good suggestions so far people…

    I’m not after speed I’m after sensible cheapness and ideally sufficient capacity for an DH MTB with the wheels on (Don’t mind folding a front seat out of the way), riding Kit and maybe some camping kit…

    Anyone ever gone to the extreme of removing rear seats? is there much space to be gained that way?

    What about insurance? I’ve got 10+ years no claims, clean licence, etc as a fully comp driver, if I insure a rot box 3rd party-F&T will I see huge savings or is it worth going fully comp?

    unknown
    Free Member

    Wouldn’t the polar opposite of getting a van for biking be getting a bike for vanning?

    db
    Full Member

    I just bought a little Fiat Panda 1.2 for my daughter to learn to drive in. £1750 and it is a fantastic little thing.
    Can’t fault it so far. Need to replace the exhaust and its cheap. Other parts seem ok to. My son has an older Fiat Punto 1.2 (53) and against its been great. If you look at a Ford Ka the same age it will be rusting away. So based on limited experience get a small Fiat

    tomaso
    Free Member

    Jazz is the Which car of choice for reliability

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    We are looking at this sort of thing and are keen to find a 1.2 Skoda Fabia. Chain driven so no belt issues, big inside, good quality. 03 plates seem to go for 1500 and are cheaper to insure than a lot of the 1.0l cars we are looking at.

    We are struggling for our budget of a grand so may well end up with an 02 Polo or maybe a Micra.

    surroundedbyhills
    Free Member

    Nissan Note, had one as a hire car on holiday, two weeks of four of us in it with loads of space. 1.5dCI and plenty of toys built in, when the backs seats are down it’ll swallow plenty of bike.

    bullroar
    Free Member

    Another vote for the Jazz, better half is on her second. It is blue and that is not where similarities with a tardis end. Brilliant for putting bikes in, fold up rear “cinema” seats, doors open to 90 degrees, wheels off bike, in it goes. All off about 30 seconds.

    Reasonably comfortable and frugal on a long run just don’t expect to be ragging around in it.

    core
    Full Member

    My mechanic has a Jazz (commonly referred to as the Jizz)as his courtesy car. I was very sceptical, but had it for a few days earlier in the year, and actually grew to quite like it, his has done 150k miles, petrol. Still drives nice and tight and goes well (he doesn’t look after it that well wither), handles well, good space in rear, good visibility, I’d go for it, you should easily find an un-abused one.

    Andy-R
    Full Member

    If you want something for you and bikes then why don’t you get a Fiat Doblo cargo?
    I’ve got a 1248cc multijet one and I reckon it’s great for carting a couple of bikes around in, wheels on and upright. I just fitted two of those cheap bike stands to the bulkhead so loading two bikes takes less than thirty seconds.
    If you’ve already got a car then a van is a useful thing to have anyway.

    kayak23
    Full Member

    Mk4 Fiesta.
    Great little fun cars and I used to get 3 bikes and 3 folks in mine easy.

    ajantom
    Full Member

    Not pretty, but the old shape Vauxhall Agila is a great little car.
    Very cheap to run, low tax, very reliable, and with the seats down it has a massive boot – you can easily fit 2 bikes with front wheels off and all your kit + camping gear.

    *edit – It’s basically the exact same car as the Suzuki Wagon R as mentioned above.

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    If you’ve already got a car then a van is a useful thing to have anyway.

    You’d think but Nah, budget and practicality will rule on this one and TBH I’d rather have to try and run a cheap knackered small car, than a cheap, Knackered van…

    I’ve mulled all the options over and the main advantage a car would have of course is that should I ever need to I can fold those rear seats up and use it as a Car, I seldom need to move any objects significantly bigger than a bike so why buy a vehicle that is massively over capacity for this task?

    Plus The money saved on Insurance/Petrol/VED could be put towards the bike and fuel to get me places with said bike.

    If we did ever get a van it would be to use as a family camper, so it wouldn’t really get much use as a bike transporter…

    Like most people I’ve gone through wanting a Van for biking duties (several times in fact), but I’ve thought my way out of that desire, realistically it would end up costing me more for a van to do a job that a Punto with the seats folded down could accomplish…

    On top of that I much more enjoy driving wee little cars, always have, I think a van would lose its novelty after a while…

    nedrapier
    Full Member

    unknown – Member
    Wouldn’t the polar opposite of getting a van for biking be getting a bike for vanning?

    Exactly my thinking. Cargo bike, surely?

    natrix
    Free Member

    Jazz is the Which car of choice for reliability

    Don’t know how, my wife’s has been back three times for recalls. Admittedly the way that the back seats fold down is good, but other than that it is noisy (road buzz) and slow, she hates it.

    I’ve always got on well with Peugeots (206, 207) and Fiestas.

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    Older shape Citroen Berlingo?

    Cheap on fuel and very adaptable rear space (especially if you don’t mind removing both bike wheels). Our hire car of choice when riding in Europe. 🙂

    Round here on Autotrader they’re starting at £500.

    kayak23
    Full Member

    Berlingo is fantastic. Definitely recommend that^^^, it’s what I’ve got, but thought the OP was after smaller.

    Saccades
    Free Member

    Rover 200/25 diesel, hell if your not bothered about seats get the 4 seat streetwise, higher clearence and very low emissions.

    Dirt cheap, millions of parts cheap and the later ones come with every extra going. Back seats go right down and I’d get 2 bikes in the back no bother.

    Avoid the 1.4 petrol engine mind.

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    Berlingo or similar might be a contender for the next family car, I reckon I can sell sliding rear doors to the missus for getting the kids in and out but yeah, I’m wanting to take a really back to basics approach…

    I want a small hatchback, I’ve lived with one in the past and I can see me living with one now…

    Another question, has anyone ever tried fitting a tow bar to something as small as a Clio/Corsa/Fiesta? having a Proper towbar mounted rack (with a lighting board) rather than the strap on thing, or wrestling a DH bike into the boot might make even more practical sense, especially if it can be fitted quickly…

    brassneck
    Full Member

    I’ve got a Pug 206 (1.4 petrol) so I have to recommend that. It has Gallic electrics to keep you entertained with a range of random behaviours, but it’s cheap to run, cheap to fix, fun in its own small way and you can still just about squeeze a bike inside with the seats down and front wheel off.
    Not sure about a 29er 🙂

    I’d have a Jazz or Polo from choice but they still command a premium even at the ‘rat’ end of the spectrum I tend to buy at.

    vondally
    Free Member

    I own and drive a VW Lupo tdi 1.4 engine, covers 70 miles a day A road and Motorways, £30 to tax 60 to 75 mph depending on my driving fits in a turner Sultan 29er with wheels off or a 26 with rear wheel on, looking to put a rack on at soempoint more for ease than anything.

    Oh to add it is the most fun car I have owned and these have included a fair old lost of gti’s and hot hatches.

    seadog101
    Full Member

    Dang, I thought this thread was going to be about getting a bike for vanning…..

    PocketShepherd
    Free Member

    I really liked my Fabia. I could get 2 dh bikes in (no wheels on), with plenty of room for kit. Cheap to run and insure, and reasonably easy to work on.

    I went down the “I need a van” route tho, and bought a Vito. I love it. Yeah it’s going rusty, and yeah the doors don’t seem to fit quite right and some scrote had a go at the drivers door lock with a screwdriver, but vans are brilliant.

    I think a van would lose its novelty after a while…

    They don’t 🙂

    rsvktm
    Full Member

    Used to use a old shape mini for biking duties in the early 90’s, passenger seat came out easy enough. Made people laugh me getting a bike out, that was after seeing me at 6’2 getting out… Have put a removable tow bar on a new shape mini with a Thule rack on to good effect, but have crammed two bikes in the back before. Now onto a van..

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    Answered my own question, had a quick look you can indeed get towbar kits for Corsas, Clios and fiestas…

    In fact you can get them for a Yaris, Lupo, Fox or C2 the sort of cars I’d have considered less practical for cramming a bike into (certainly not wheels on) but stick a Towbar mounted rack on the back and suddenly some really diddy motors might become more practical options…. of course the bike carrying kit fitted would probably exceed the value of the actual car (as would the bike on it) but that’s OK…

    Hmmm…

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 58 total)

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