Extreme hypothetical question for a wednesday afternoon:
Say you win the lottery. Not silly amounts, but enough to spank some on the ultimate wagon.
Got to be able to carry 5 people, 5 bikes and kit up to the highlands and down to the alps in extreme comfort, yet also be able to negotiate farm-tracks to camping barns and muddy fields at 24hr events.
Would it be a van? Merc Vito/VW?
Or an estate? Audi A6 Allroad/Volvo XC70
Or an MPV? Ford S-Max/Merc R-class
Or something else?
4wd custom Brabus vito van (250k+)
VW Transporter 4Motion Crew Cab.
Or go mental and get the Brabus.
Or a Unimog.
would love a big beast like this
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instead of the daft brabus things why not just get 2, one nice modest engined estate for day trips and one van kitted out for sleeping in for weekends.
See even hypothetically I'm boringly mundane/sensible with car choice.
A guy I ride with has something like this, we pull up with Sabotage pumping out the stereo - well [s]sad[/s] cool.
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Chevy Suburban. Job Done.
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tsk! you get your man to take the all the gear while sir drives down in ones ferrari/porsche/bentley/aston/jag etc
My pick would be a Disco, with a lumping great diesel engine and a trailer. As above, when it's only two or three on board, you can run it as is. Five people/five bikes and then you just add a trailer for bikes/kit and travel in comfort!
FWIW, I run a V70AWD Turbo as my bike car. 'Tis awesome.
Van has to be the way to go although an RS6 Avant would be tempting. T5 Transporter Sportline and bang an extra row of seats in there, fully lined and soundproofed with a proper bike rack thing in the back.
4 wheel drive VW Transporter for me.
Though I'm quite partial to the Delica D:5 for its mix of 4x4 and MPV qualities.
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5 up would require a rack or trailer though, as with most cars (and many vans).
Ooh, I do quite like the Chevy Suburban, mainly for its Sopranos style.
15mpg. Nice...
Maybe a diesel Disco would be better.
For me, this:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C248732
Workshop and bunkbed conversion in the back.
If I wasn't abroad, I may have acquired this already.
Probably a Delica for me too, but a fresh low milage Series 2 for me, 4" lift, 3 ltr petrol with LPG conversion with all the shiney bits and toys JAOS can provide. Seating 7 or 8 with shogun running gear.
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Failing that I might try and track one of these down.
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Has to be:
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One of these parks on my road a fair bit.
It really is alarming to see the size of it in the steel!
More alarming is that it only has three seats!
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Guess it would make a good bike carrier if your surname is BPMcShell .....
'55 Ford F100 Van
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Sensible side of me though says a nicely kitted out T5.
Well if we're being silly, can I go for something a bit bigger and more indulgent?
[url= http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5283/5296551017_424c3f0e54.jp g" target="_blank">
ooh, like the '55 Ford.
Not sure you could get enough people in it though...
Akshewally, I'd get the people behind these to build me something custom for bikes.
http://www.oakleyhorseboxes.co.uk/supremacy.asp
an american chevvy/ford day van would work well - huge inside (big enough for bikes to go sideways), but plush, with a V8. Some coachbuilders do similar things with transit\merc vans over here, but the engines always a bit weak.
one of these is quite nice, might need a little more room for luggage (we did the busas in one years ago, ps2, tv, the works)
http://www.vansforbands.co.uk/
technical term is a 'splitter'
Citroen CX familiale with big roof rack cos it worked on the tour in the 70s
Oh yes. Nice link 5lab.
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yeah if you got one of them without the rear bench it'd have plenty of room for bikes..
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would feel a bit guilty about getting it muddy though
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Probably a full fat Overfinched Rangie with a towbar bike rack on the back.
Mercedes Vito Sport X special edition would do me.
I'd keep the Brabus ML for special occasions 😀
i think some of the luxury horse-boxes may not struggle as such, but certainly not be fun, on narrow windey roads, or blatting up A82 to Fort Bill.
Reckon the Vito is winning so far....
Fully kitted out LWB Merc Sprinter. Huge amounts of space, nice to drive and practical - it'll still get up farm tracks etc.
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5 seats, 5 bikes (hell 7 or 8 bikes) easy!
friend has one and it's ideal, if a bit fuel hungry
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SWB T5 Transporter for me...
On a boys trip to Afan, I can get 5 guys, their kit and 5 bikes packed in (two bikes on the towbar bike rack, two behind the rock & roll seat and one to the right of the seat.
When I'm off with my missus, we can camp in the van with the bikes locked to the chassis on the bike rack.
Oh, and because it's a SWB variant, it drives just like a car... and it's been remapped so it's quite and economical.
Mondeo estate. In LX trim.
Ferrari F458. And leave the weapon at home. Or RS6 Avant if you really feel the need to ride.
Nowhere near lottery money, and not really "ultimate" in any way, but I did this a couple of years ago:
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Seemed to work quite well.
VW transporter
But an MPV is an OK compromise. I've done 4 bikes and 4 people in mine
Nissan GTR wagon
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Audi RS6 would be nice as well. Not sure how many bikes you would get in either mind.
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or
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MMMM
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Bowler Nemesis and a caravan.
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Scorpio Estate - cheap as chips and mahoosive. You wouldn't give a flying fark about it getting muddy, scratched, nicked etc etc. 😀
They even come in 2 tone paint.
[img] http://pictures2.autotrader.co.uk/imgser-uk/servlet/media?id=1780538420 [/img]
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What about a combo? Daft 4 wheel drive Audi + big caravan.
Ideal for long weekends in the Lake District. They are absolutely effortless to drive, alot of manoeuvres such as reversing and pulling into the side of the road dont even exist with this combo!
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+1 luxurary 4x4
But it has to be either a Range Rover
or......
A mk1 Range Rover, restored, with all the new toys/interior.
+caravan/mobile bike shed.
one of these:[img] 
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[url= http://uk.autoblog.com/2011/09/06/jaguar-morris-world-s-most-ridiculous-hybrid/ ]http://uk.autoblog.com/2011/09/06/jaguar-morris-world-s-most-ridiculous-hybrid/[/url]
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or
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Ontario Air Cavalry DH team truck.
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Bad. Ass.