I have decided to chop in my 2002 Golf as it is driving me nuts (eating ignition coils).
I can easily get two bikes in the boot but feel I could do with a bit more space for when I go with mates to do Enduros and marathons round the country.
What have you got that performs well, is modern, cheap to run and isn't french?
Or should I look for an estate?
I'v got an 06 Focus hatch, can get three bikes in with 2/3 of the rear seat down so 3 can go on trips with bikes easily.
2.0 tdci so goes like stink and goes 50+mpg, might be available early next year.....
It may be uncool but my Vauxhall Meriva is excellent for space and bikes. Not sure if it counts as a hatchback tho.
I used to have a Golf and now have an A3 Sportback - More space than a Golf without going the full hog and getting an estate. There is not a lot more space, but enough that it makes getting bikes in and out much easier.
Meets 3 of your 4 criteria, but to be honest I have a top end one and it is far cheaper to service etc than my 2001 golf.
New-style Civic is humungous in the back. Make sure you get a fairly recent one though. I had one of the first and it had lots of niggly problems.
Can you get a bike in the Civic without dropping the seats?
I can recomend Mondeos. Boring, but reliable, big boot and good motorway cruiser.
A3 Sportback here.
Octavia 1.9TDi. Huge rear space, got 63.8/gal on a run up the M4 to London keeping to the limits. Nice and comfy, cheap to run and insure. What's not to like?
Mondeo without a doubt. Had an 05 plate 2 TDI for about 6 months now and its great. All the toys you could want, huge amount of space, and great fun to drive compared with most avergae cars. 50mpg at 85mph. 130 TDI is quite nippy.
I've also owned a same age Focus, and would not buy one again. Although well built, the boot and back seats are small, and the handling is not good, far too much under steer and ABS that is too sensitive. Plus the fact you can get Mondeos as cheap/cheaper.
Wouldnt bother with an hatch back car buy a Ford Galaxy
or similar.
Grantway, but with that type of car dont you have a problem with seats ie getting rid of them or do they all fold flat? We have thought of a Galaxy for the next family car, but they cost so much more than a Mondeo etc it wasnt worth it
A few months ago I would have said MONDEO but now I'm saying OCTAVIA Vrs hatch. Mainly cos I've got one and its huge fun and has a huge boot too.
My large framed bike fits in the boot (wheels off) with seats up. (seats have to be down to get the bike in but than go back up again once its in there.)
i've got a 53 focus (old shape). it's a 1.8 zetec and in 3 years it hasn't missed a beat, although i only get about 37mpg. the new ones are noticeably bigger (inside and out)
my riding buddy has a golf, and i've got a lot more space than him, which means i end up driving all the time now!
for your usual 2 man daytrip it's perfect, as you can stand the bikes upside down, wheels at the side, gear in the middle. nice big hatch to get them in easily. 3 bikes & 3 people is fine but the person in the back is a bit squished
Octavia VRs here too. Great fun - great big boot - highly recommended!
Otherwise prolly a Mondeo if you need something even bigger
Uplink, with the Civic the rear seats fold up cinema style, so you can get a couple of bikes in the rear footwell with wheels off, leaving the boot for camping gear etc.
Or should I look for an estate? Yes!
If you go for a Mondeo, you might as well get the estate. Its no longer than the hatch, but is easier to park as you don't have to guess where the boot ends, more space in the boot due to different suspension, there is no lip to the boot, and the light clusters don't narrow the opening.
The Octavia estates boot, although large, is considerably smaller than the Mondeo. Could get four bikes stacked in the boot of the Mondeo estate and still room for five adults, but the bulkiest of the bikes (Fat Possum with triple clamp Maveriks) wouldn't go in the Octavia estate by itself without folding half the rear seats and it was still tight.
Focus...you can get a Mondeo for the same money.
Uplink, with the Civic the rear seats fold up cinema style, so you can get a couple of bikes in the rear footwell with wheels off, leaving the boot for camping gear etc.
Hopefully I'm not hijacking this thread
I like to have the bike in the back totally out of sight without any outward sign - I take it away with me when working so don't really want to be folding seats back
Mondeo Estate then, you can get at least two bikes plus wheels in the boot, then just pull the luggage cover across 
We have an A3 Sportback and a Passat Estate. A3 Sportback is just too small for a biking car in my opinion. I had a 2003 Leon Cupra before my Passat and that was great for biking, seats drop flat in a couple of seconds, good space, and goes like stink. Passat Estate TDi 130 is the biking car now though, once you have an estate you won't go back!!
Yup mondeo's all the way and no just cos mines for sale They are great cars and great value (05 55 plate, 115 tdci hatch with 60k miles £4k is what mines going up for).
Or a Vectra (Estate or hatch). Estate is huge and can swallow almost anything. Generally pretty cheap to run and the 150bhp 1.9CDTi can return very impressive fuel economy. If youare not fussed about having a "drivers" car then the Vectra is not bad. Personally I would rather have one of these than the older shaped Mondeo (frankly, I could never understand what the raving about them was as they were horrible to drive) although the new shape Mondy is very nice. Vectra is probably cheaper due to its regular motoring press / Top Gear bashing.
i got a bmw 1 series with carefull packing we have got 2 hardtails and a weeks clothes in the back several times
Octavia - same platform as the Golf, but more space...
We've got a Honda Jazz.
Yes, you've got to drop the back seats, but you can then roll three adult bikes into the back with all the necessary gubbins, and there's more than enough room in the front.
question : what cars have room for 2 bikes
answer : any car clio sized and above
stw : i've got this car. its the best car for biking evarr. It does a million miles per hour, whilst doing 5,000 mpgs. I put the bikes on the back, though, defeating the point of having an estate, cos my wife winges when I get it muddy
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