- This topic has 52 replies, 25 voices, and was last updated 12 years ago by maxray.
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Next car
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stFull Member
Loads of other people ask this question so why not me…
Later this year my current car is due for replacement. It’s a great car (BMW 3 series) but not the most practical for a family of 4 with kids who are getting to an age where we can look at heading off with 4 bikes and that.
I’m looking for something that will work as a good family car, cover me for a reasonable daily commute and take a bike or two in the back with minimal faff.
I like the idea of something like a Skoda Yeti or Ford Cmax as I could take the centre rear seat out and slide a bike through upright (front wheel removed) whilst keeping the booster seats on both side rear seats. This will be handy for quickly sticking my bike in ther car for weekly night rides. I do this occasionally with my Wife’s old Renault Scenic but I don’t get to take the keys very often. This reason is putting me off an estate
I can’t have any sort of van or old banger as I need a new or fairly new car under the terms of my work car allowance. Budget would be around £20k give or take and the plan to run it for 3 years.
For bigger trips away I’d look at roof carriers (as I use now) or a tow bar and rack and use the space inside to stash kit and people.
Also needs to be a reasonable spec as there are some things I’ve got used to on the beamer that I would prefer not to do without (mine is one with working indicators)
Once the Summer is out of the way I’ll be wanting to sort as many test drives as I can but am getting a bit stumped on the shortlist. Thoughts so far;
Ford Cmax – god spec for the money, seem flexible enough
Skoda Yeti – A bit pricey for what you get and quite crude feeling inside
Hyundai IX35 – A mate works for them and can get me a deal but it doesn’t quite tick the boxes above
Citroen C3 Picasso – looks quirky but a bit sh!t inside
Skoda Roomster – One for the window lickersOwt else I should consider (sits back and waits for recommendations of knackered old vans and estates and suggestions of pocketing the difference on my allowance).
Ta.
mboyFree MemberBIG estate… How hard is it to take the wheels off your bike, and sling it in the boot quickly after a ride? Easier than removing a seat in a people carrier I’d warrant!
Gonna be boring here I’m afraid, but I’d look at Passats, Octavia’s and the like here. Dynamically they’ll be better to drive (and closer to your Beemer) than a people carrier would, and they’ll be more economical too.
molgripsFree MemberI’d get a rack for carrying bikes. That way you have the choice of any car that takes your fancy, and you’re not limited to a few specialist type cars that you won’t get the benefit from most of the time.
A good Thule rack is a piece of pee to use.
This will be handy for quickly sticking my bike in ther car for weekly night rides
If it’s just you then almost any hatchback or even saloon with fold down seats will accommodate one bike and one person.
Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition
Latest Singletrack VideosFresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...falkirk-markFull MemberI would say a decent estate and towbar carrier would be the way to go. I would check the price of getting a towbar fitted before deciding what car as prices can range from £150 to about £1000.
DaveyBoyWonderFree MemberFord Cmax – new one looks horrible. IMHO. Why not an S-Max? Bigger, nice looking…
Skoda Yeti – meant to be excellent thought
Hyundai IX35 – dear god
Citroen C3 Picasso – think you’ll find its a bit shit everywhere else too
Skoda Roomster – meant to be good but look at it, JUST LOOK AT IT!Others? Touran? As mentioned above, S-Max would be high on my list, 20k will get you an Octy vRS diesel estate (I’ve got the pre-FL 2.0T version and its brilliant), new Passat estate, does a Superb estate fall into the budget?, quite like the Zafira personally…
joolsburgerFree MemberI really, really liked my Volvo V50 well worth a look especially at the D5 if you are heavy of foot. Don’t get the T5 unless you have a petrol card that’s why I sold mine.
horaFree MemberWhat’s a window licker?
One for the window lickersNo, to me its more of a spiritual successor to this, the Pope mobile mkII
http://www.autoplenum.de/Auto/TOYOTA/Yaris/Bild-id275502.html
If you mean the NEW C-max. That is your winner. V50’s a nice car but its a reverse-tardis.
akiraFull MemberC Max isn’t as big as I expected, been looking at the S Max instead.
mastiles_fanylionFree MemberI’d get a rack for carrying bikes. That way you have the choice of any car that takes your fancy, and you’re not limited to a few specialist type cars that you won’t get the benefit from most of the time.
That and the fact you won’t have several heavy, pointy metal thingies ready to impale a loved one in the event of a crash.
ScottCheggFree MemberBut when you stop for a slash at the services, it will disappear.
Keep them inside the car; out of sight.
horaFree MemberThat and the fact you won’t have several heavy, pointy metal thingies ready to impale a loved one in the event of a crash.
Having seen many a car in various states of damage on the motorway I don’t think bikes inside cars would cause the most damage..it’d be the door etc pressing against it that presses onto you..
The 30mph NCAP tests are bollocks on NSL and motorways in alot of crashes IMO..
molgripsFree MemberBut when you stop for a slash at the services, it will disappear
I said that if you were on your own it could go inside. If not, someone else can watch them during your micturations.
The 30mph NCAP tests are bollocks on NSL and motorways in alot of crashes IMO
The tests have made cars much safer, even if the simulations are not accurate.
stFull MemberThanks for the ideas so far, keep them coming.
At the moment I’ve got roofbars and 2 Thule carriers fixed semi-permanently but would like to be able to do without for weekly use.
Whatever the choice bikes would go on the outside for weekends away and to take all 4 bikes away.
Test drove and Octavia before I chose this car and that was nice.
DezBFree MemberAre Peugeot’s a swear word?
I was well impressed with the 5008 I hired on my hols in the alps.molgripsFree MemberAs above any estate will be perfect if you are one- or two-up. Save fuel and get better performance and handling.
JollyGreenGiantFree MemberGo for the S Max.
Can`t beat a proper people carrier for boot access.Extra height makes it a doddle to tick the bike in upright.Thats not something you can always do with an estate.
molgripsFree MemberThats not something you can always do with an estate
Not a major issue tho. Took me about 5 seconds to put my Patriot in the back of my old car.
horaFree MemberI could stand my bike up inside the back of a Focus.
Try the new C-Max. I was very impressed with it. The old C-max is soundly beaten by the S-Max. Obviously the new C-max is slightly smaller but it depends what you are looking for? A large MPV or a daily/manageable MPV.
scruffFree MemberFerrari FF.
Saw a Skoda Superb Estate yesterday, actually looked superb.
DracFull MemberHaving seen many a car in various states of damage on the motorway I don’t think bikes inside cars would cause the most damage..it’d be the door etc pressing against it that presses onto you..
Having witnessed the carnage caused by various objects flying around inside cars I’d disagree. Doors, dashboards and the likes are designed to move away they don’t move into the car so easily now, mainly thanks to NCAP tests. They still do to certain extent at high speeds and depending what people hit but no where near as bad. Objects still obey the law of physics though and continue to move when the car comes to a sudden halt.
Anyway I’ve been in a Yeti down from Leicester to London it was rather nice is you can get over it’s quirky looks but they are a bot pricey.
horaFree MemberDrac I know what you mean, only an absolute bell end puts wheels, tools, boxes/loads ontop of and at headheight.
I like to see out of the rear window and have a clear view of the rear 3/4’s for overtaking/shoulder-checks before changing lanes.
A good-sized vehicle with correct loading should enable this. I most definitely wouldn’t stuff an estate with four grown males and four bikes for ‘bragging rights’…..along soon will come such a chap to put me ‘right’ 🙄
ltheisingerFree MemberHave you thought about a Honda CRV?
Mine carries all the bikes and the gear to the Alps! (and many other bike jaunts!) and I could still see out of the back window!
Great MPG, VERY comfortable, VERY well equipped, handles just about everything you can throw at it!
I have had it now for just over two years and it has NEVER been to the garage for any repairs(only 2 routine services).
stFull MemberBut what about sticking 1 bike in the boot of a car for the 8 mile low speed drive to my Thursday night ride??
I’ve seen that the Yeti for one has an ad-on bike support that fits into the boot for additional peace of mind.
You’ve gotta love the STD massive ;o)
molgripsFree MemberGreat MPG
You wot?
But what about sticking 1 bike in the boot of a car for the 8 mile low speed drive to my Thursday night ride??
ESTATE – BIKE IN BOOT
Do you have me on ignore or something? 🙂
ltheisingerFree MemberOne bike slips straight in the back of the CRV, with one wheel removed and being diesel, no issues on the MPG even for short distance!
mastiles_fanylionFree MemberI know I first mentioned not having stuff in the car for safety reasons – I wouldn’t ever do it with my kids in the car – unless safely in the boot (the stuff that is, not the kids. There again…)
Anyway, I digress. My brother had a pretty nasty crash a year or so ago – was broadsided by someone changing lanes on the A1 without looking. Sent him into a spin, down an embankment and came to rest on its side against a tree. Now my brother works for NCR repairing electronic cash registers, cashpoint machines and the like and his car is literally rammed with crap – tools, spare parts, service manuals etc – so much so pretty well much every single space is normally filled – boot, rear seats, stowage boxes, floors etc. But somehow (I really have no idea how whatsoever) none of it touched him and he walked away from a high speed crash uninjured.
ltheisingerFree Membermolgrips – Member
Great MPG
You wot?
Offical figure says 43.5mpg combined – but in reality mine is getting about 40.5mpg, so I wouldn’t say that is bad considering.
stFull Membermolgrips, sorry, not deliberately ignoring you ;o) just a note on the way people answer a question of their own choosing rather than the one that was originaly asked.
ianpinderFree MemberI had a mondeo estate, two bikes (both xl) slide in the back with no disassembly. Also go four bikes and a 3 weeks worth of kit down to the alps with 3 people in the car
molgripsFree MemberOffical figure says 43.5mpg combined
Well given that a Passat Estate figures say 54mpg combined, I’d say that’s pretty poor. Even a Tiguan (which is the same type of car) gets 53mpg on the test.
just a note on the way people answer a question of their own choosing rather than the one that was originaly asked
Funnily enough that’s absolutely standard forum behaviour – happens everywhere. Odd, isn’t it 🙂
ianpinderFree Membermy focus says 64 combined, i’m lucky is i get high 40s, so for a larger car with a more powerfull engine i’d say a real world 40 is ok.
ltheisingerFree MemberThis argument could go on all day regarding MPG (i.e. Citroën Nemo 65.7mpg) – but the OP asked for suggestions of possible vehicles…..the CRV was mine!
horaFree MemberI once achieved 55mpg (average) in my Subaru Legacy Sportswagon. The dullest experiment ever.
molgripsFree MemberI get 52 in normal driving, including some 110mph sections of autobahn. Not dull at all.
nickfFree MemberI stick my bike on the back on a Thule rack if it’s muddy, or if I have more than one bike to carry. In the summer I stick it in the back of the car. Seatbelt make sure it won’t move anywhere.
TraceyFull MemberWe bought a C4 Grand Picasso 4 years ago to replace a Mazda Premacy. It has been great for kids and bikes. We have been to the Verbier 3 times with it fully loaded inside and 4 bikes on the tow bar. All the 5 rear seats fold flat to the floor and its like a Tardis inside. The 2 criteria we wanted when looking around was that Kevins SX Trail [180mm 66 forks] could go in the middle with just the front wheel off and it needed to be an auto. We demoed the S Max but the bike wouldent go in without compressing the forks, the sales lady told us we had the wrong bike as the brochure showed one in it.
The added advantage that the Picasso has is that the rear suspension self levels so that when its fully loaded the car is still level.
4 years and 70000 miles later we have been so impressed that even after looking at what is available we have just replaced it with a newer oneDracFull MemberDrac I know what you mean, only an absolute bell end puts wheels, tools, boxes/loads ontop of and at headheight.
The seat catches don’t always hold everything back though, I’ve even seen the read seat dislodged.
Anyway, I digress. My brother had a pretty nasty crash a year or so ago – was broadsided by someone changing lanes on the A1 without looking. Sent him into a spin, down an embankment and came to rest on its side against a tree.
There’s a clue in there why nothing shot forward.
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