[Closed] Best car for mountain bikes

if you're only using it at the weekend I don't think I'd bother with a diesel, its about 10p per litre more than petrol. What do they reckon, you need to do over 20,000 miles a year to make an oil burner worthwhile (might not be true.)

If I were you I'd look at BMW's your mileage will be low, so if you picked up a 320/325 touring with about 100,000 on you'd be laughing.

Any large estate should mean you can get two up front and two bikes in the back without having to dismantle the bikes or three adults and three bikes with wheels taken off. I try and avoid bike racks, it's a big advert to any local scum if you leave them on your car, they're a faff to keep putting on and taking off and not very fuel efficient.
Any big estate like a Mondeo, volvo etc or anything else which has a split 2/3 1/3 rear seat
I suppose also big people carriers, but that might be a step too far, the S-max is supposed to be good. I'd like one, but just can't bring myself to do it, Clarkson describes people carriers as cars for people who are waiting to die.

Focus estate. Plenty of room and reliable as clockwork. Fabia estate, small cheap and reliable with enough room. Mondeo estate has a huuuuuuge capacity and is economical and reliable. Don't go French as they ate shite. If you want to go a bit older the old civic estate with the 1.5 VTec engine is is a cracking motor. Cheap tax, plenty of room and pretty nippy.

How about just getting a towbar fitted to the Imprezza? (detachable if you are bothered about looks). If you are worried about tax (maybe another £100 a year and petrol) then why spend £1000's more getting rid of a car you like? The sums don't add up.

Civic perhaps - base of the seats folds up to get a bike in whole. Or Jazz does the same thing I think.

Other than that, any estate really. Seats down, bike goes in whole.

towbar +1

+1 on the towbar. Should cost you maybe £250, plus another £100-150 for a decent carrier. If it means you keep a car you like for another year or so, it's probably worth it.

Mondeo estate here. 2.0 TDCi 130PS. Quite pokey, and gets 45mpg at 80-85 cruising (allegedly) and 50+ at 70.

Very handy to have a car with sio much space. moved house with it a couple of times, and with a bit of thought, you can comfortably fit in 4 people, 4 bikes (hardtails) and their luggage for a weekend.

There's the ST220 version if you want more fun, but mpg 25-30, apparently.

Fiat Multipla. You'll get up to 4 bikes and 4 riders - with kit - inside. Great engine, drives like a car and short enough to get into most parking spaces (it's no longer than a Golf)

Clarkson describes...

And he is the oracle that must be obeyed.

I'd like one, but just can't bring myself to do it, Clarkson describes people carriers as cars for people who are waiting to die

Meanwhile away from TV rubbish land, the rest of us describe them as cars for people who want to carry people and/or stuff.

+1 on Fiat Multipla (if you dont mind the bland looks), mate has one and its very reliable, plus can take 3 bods in the front and six bikes (wheels off) in the back with back seats down, or 3 bikes with wheels still on. Considering one myself.

There's the ST220 version if you want more fun, but mpg 25-30, apparently.

The ST155 oil burner is also more fun and being a diesel is more economical and has enormous torque which is very useable in 'real life' driving (read overtaking). They do hold their value more than the ST220 though, so would cost more to buy to begin with. There aren't too many estates about either (or weren't when I was looking last year).

Ooh, good choices. The mondeo tdci sounds good. I had an e46 300 touring and I loved it, but the boy racer in me needed something silly again. Can't justify something that expensive anymore though.
The towbar thing is a possibility, but having the imprezza just for bike transport isn't what I'm after. As much as I love it, it's a lot of money sitting there and I'd rather see it get used.

And yes, clarkson must be obeyed. Wonder if Thule make a carrier for a veyron.............

I have a diesel Civic, does 60+ mpg and can easliy get 2 bikes plus kit in the back

What size bike are people carrying that doesn't need wheels off? My large Marin needs both wheels off in every car I've tried...apart from the Berlingo, that was just a straight roll in and out.

18" Patriot with wheels on goes in the back of a Passat B4 estate with the seats down. Fact.

New Passats/Mondys etc are quite a bit bigger than that too.

Why not the work van ?
Is it your own or supplied by your employer ?

Civic perhaps - base of the seats folds up to get a bike in whole.

It's a nifty system but I can't get my PA in like that with the front wheel off. A slightly less slack-angled/long-forked bike might do better. I imagine the narrower Jazz would be even more of a problem.

Given the seats fold so easily (one lever and flop down, no flipping up the seat bases first) into a flat floor, I just do that and slide it in from the back.

Any big estate. I had a Nissan Micra in my early days of car ownership (hand down from my Grandfather when he stopped driving), eventually got totally fed up of taking the invariably muddy wheels off each time and since then I've had estate cars.
Fiat Marea (died due to rust)
Ford Mondeo (died due to accident)
Vauxhall Vectra (if this dies I'll be VERY upset)

Finally got out of the banger-nomics cycle as well, the Vectra is 2years old whereas everything else I've owned has been about 4th hand and a wreck!

+1 Mondy estate - huge space in them.

the biggest thing missing from your original post is budget....I could suggest a porsche panamera with the seats folded, but that may be a bit too expensive....?

lol

Honda Accord, - I can get a bike in the boot with the seats up and the laod cover over it. No evicdence of a bike in the back at all. Makes it handy for stealth ride on whilst on work business....

+1 For what bikes are you fitting in without removing wheels!

Multipla & berlingo's excluded, I've never gotten a bike into a car without at least one wheel coming off! Even the BMX loses a wheel if we need more than 2 people in the car!

the S-max is supposed to be good. I'd like one, but just can't bring myself to do it, Clarkson describes people carriers as cars for people who are waiting to die.

Isn't Clarkson the mug that lambasted the Porsche Cayman, now fairly well regarded as one of Porsches best handling products?

If you'd like one, then get one. I'd say it's a car for families that like to enjoy life, not for folks who have given up on it.

Versatile, comfortable, respectable handling (good for type of car), actually a lot of fun to drive, good economy. Ours does kids, dogs, bikes, camping kit, hauling all sorts of loads around.

Budget would be a good thing.

But for cheap, cheap - dizzle Mondeo either estate or hatch would swallow a bike or easily have one on the roof etc. My old ST TDCI was a lovely car for motorway bashing and could fit 2 bikes in with wheels off in the boot with the seats up.

For a bit more, but keeping something that might be a little bit fun to drive, mk1 Octavia vRS estate? They seem to go for pennies and the 1.8t is a good, reliable (and highly tuneable if thats your thing) engine.

the S-max is supposed to be good. I'd like one, but just can't bring myself to do it, Clarkson describes people carriers as cars for people who are waiting to die.

Isn't Clarkson the mug that lambasted the Porsche Cayman, now fairly well regarded as one of Porsches best handling products?

If you'd like one, then get one. I'd say it's a car for families that like to enjoy life, not for folks who have given up on it.

Versatile, comfortable, respectable handling (good for type of car), actually a lot of fun to drive, good economy. Ours does kids, dogs, bikes, camping kit, hauling all sorts of loads around.

+1 (apart from the dogs). It's the wife's/weekend biking car as I'm in similar boat OP - bikes don't fit very well in the "fun" car (Elise).

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/mg/zt-t/postcode/ls166rr/radius/1501/fuel-type/diesel/sort/priceasc

MG ZTT , 45mpg+ reliable BMW diesel engine and reasonably cheap. look a bit sporty if thats what you like. Not a massive boot but plenty for a couple of whole bikes + loads of kit.

[img] [/img]

Any large estate should mean you can get two up front and two bikes in the back without having to dismantle the bikes

I wish that were the case, but I have to remove wheels and seat post to get my bike in my A4 Avant. Can get another bike and loads of kit on top ... but dismantling cannot be avoiding.

Can't remember if it's a L or XL - either way, it's a good deal bigger than an S.

yea but thent he bikes are on top of each other, so you have to chuck a blanket beween them, and be uber carefull gettign pedals/chainrings/mechs away from the other frame and not gougeing something on the way in/out of the boot.

Wheels off, seatpost out, bike upright, no hastle?

I could fit pretty much any bike (including my DH bike) straight into the back of my Volvo V70 estate with the seats down.

Mondeo hatch takes up to a large bike straight in the back with no wheels off, all my medium bikes fit straight in and my mates large road bikes will fit in. The DH bike needs the front wheel off (or at least it's easier as the thing weighs a ton!).

The Mondeo is the ST Tdci and don't believe for a second it's more fun than the petrol one. It's good for what it is and handles well but the petrol has a lighter engine with 65bph more and the sound track of a V6.

Petrol Volvo would be my suggestion. T5s are seriously cheap now. Not great in the twisties but quick in a straight line. Won't feel much slower than the Impreza from about 40mph+. It would take years and years of Sunday only trips to make up the price difference between a petrol and diesel car on fuel savings.

If it has to be diesel I'd suggest something from the VAG (childishly giggled when I re-read this!) with the 130 or 150 brake tdi engine. Very easy to remap to around 170 with good ecomony. Leon would be my favourite. Not big enough to fit bikes straight in but plenty of cheap rack options.

For a bit more, but keeping something that might be a little bit fun to drive, mk1 Octavia vRS estate? They seem to go for pennies and the 1.8t is a good, reliable (and highly tuneable if thats your thing) engine.

I have one and like it so far. It's similar on fuel to the Focus it replaced (low-mid 30s) and it cost me £4.2k from a dealer last August with 78k on the clock.

Admittedly it isn't as well finished as the Focus, doesn't handle as quite well, the boot is actually a little smaller (has a lump where the seats fold and a lip at the end which can make getting heavier bikes in a little harder than it needs to be) but it's reasonably quick, fun and very practical. It's also very tunable if that's your bag, but even in its regular guise it can still be quite shockingly quick when driven smoothly (IE: you're not just stamping on the pedal, rather progressively accelerating). It'll also happily swallow a complete bike (I get my roadbike, hardtail and 6" susser in like this) or two bikes with posts and front wheels removed along with weekend kit for two people.

I also looked at the Mk.1 Focus ST170 estate (thirstier and slower than the Skoda) and the Mondeo ST155 (see above).

There are more 'fun' cars out there, but as a combination of a semi-fast car and practical estate it's pretty good. The police seem to agree as well - there were quite a few ex-motorway and CID cars knocking around when I was looking.

Bear in mind though that it's not technically legal to get a towbar put on one if you have a towbar rack (I do). I doubt you'd ever be stopped, but there was a case on Briskoda where an old lad with a Fabia vRS was pulled while towing a trailer.

Bear in mind though that it's not technically legal to get a towbar put on one

Eh what?

Btw I've seen this on a Prius (which also cannot have a proper towbar)

[img] http://thule.com/~/media/Products/Classification_1_root/Image_Hierarchy/ImageFolder_5111/ImageFolder_202396/ECG2.ashx?h=408&thn=1&w=618 [/img]

Link here http://thule.com/en-GB/DE/Products/Towing/Carrying%20Solutions/EuroClick%20G2.aspx

However I can't figure out how you actually buy this thing though.

EDIT: ah, here you go http://thuleeuroclick.com/en/home.html

Molgrips: [url= http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/7291-fabia-vrs-towbar/page__st__80 ]the wonderful grey area of vRS towbars[/url] which also even [url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/bikes-inon-a-fabia-vrs ]pops up on STW[/url].

*Apparently* it's to do with Skoda never putting it forward to be officically tested - a cost saving measure, apparently.

Hmm, interesting.

Likewise I always thought you should be able to tow at least a tiny trailer with a Prius, I mean it's a 140bhp car, but no dice. The official line though is that it is 'not recommended'.

A timely discussion. I'm weighing up between an estate car or a van so some of the recommendations are interesting.

Why not the work van ?

I was wondering this. The money you'll save in not running your own car would buy a whole hell of a lot of diesel for the van.

In your situation, I think I'd buy a CB600F.

Wow, that was sone interesting reading.......
Firstly, the work van is a no no. I work for southern water so once the van is home each day it can't go out again. Weekends come under same rule. I've blagged it a few times by having the bike with me and stopping for ride on way home! Bloody tracker!!!!!
Secondly, I'm not trying to replace it with something as fun as the scoob, don't get me wrong, it has to be relatively interesting to drive, but cheap to tax and insure etc. It's just a weekend car for bike at end of the day. The 1 series is our family car so the other one is purely for me.
I did look at octavia vrs hatchback, and Volvo t5's. The police thing is always a good sign, traffic cops carry a he'll of a lo of kit in a hurry!!!! 😆

fiat panda? cheap to buy cheap to run takes two bikes with wheels off and kit and two riders. fun to drive too.

octavia 4wd estate// carry loads and go like s++t

go like s++t

You need some imodium if yours come out at the speed of an octavia.

+1 For what bikes are you fitting in without removing wheels!

Another vote for the Mondeo estate - I just got rid of one (previous shape) and it was massive. It was big enough that you only had to take the front wheel off to fit a bike in the boot (with seats still up). V6 was reasonably quick, but thirsty: 30 mpg on a good day.

Replaced with a Saab 93 estate, which isn't nearly as big.

Mondeo estate seems to be the thumbs up at the moment. Hopefully it wouldn't be as thirsty as my work transit connect tdci, 450 miles to £70 of fuel!!!!
I had roof bars on my 330 touring as the boot was so small I couldnt even fit the bike in it with seats up unless I took wheels and post out! Even with seats down I had to take front wheel out! No better than the little 118d!!!
What's the tax on the mondeo? Still like the idea of the octavia vas though, although reading up on them, the mark1 seems to be a bit troublesome.

With the middle seats down you can get 2 bikes in with the wheels on in my XC90 in fact volvo sell a carrier that fits in side the car.
With the two bar rack i can and have carry 2 bikes plus luggage in the boot and 2 on the rack. It is expensive car mind so i would go for a v70 estate instead.

Any estate thats cheap to buy and run that you wont be precious about just chucking muddy bikes in. My choice was a crashed civic estate. A friends got a wobbly old laguna that dismantles itself as you drive along. Mondeos vectras and the like just as good at carrying bikes. Mines got tyre tracks on the headlining chunks out of the rear bumper from leaning bikes against it. Its a honda i couldnt give a monkeys how tatty it gets. Ive had pristine shiny rare fast cars and ended up spending more time cleaning them than riding my bike.

MG ZT-T 280 V8 what more can you say.

...although reading up on them, the mark1 seems to be a bit troublesome.

There were some issues with coils and a common vault with VW platform cars involving the water pump (had mine done with the cambelt), but most of the niggles should be sorted out by now, especially if you get a later one. There's a great guide to buying one [url= http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/137484-vrs-buying-guide-please-read/ ]here[/url].

One thing to bear in mind though is that they have white upholstery... Seat covers are a near permanent fixture in the car. 🙂

Regarding getting bikes in without wheels off, I might only have a medium sized XC bike, but I can get that in the back of my 406 estate with 4 people in and the rear seats up without taking the wheels off. Admittedly that's only with kids in the back, as the rear wheel sits on top of the headrests, but it is doable (and quite handy). Next car will either be a Mondeo or some variety of people carrier (when I get round to making my mind up).

I got a Hyundai i20 and had tow bar fitted so I could carry three bikes on the back with a Thule 9503.

So far it has taken bikes up and down the country with ease ... my best choice to date, and saves dirt and damage being done to the car and is very economical ... saves money for more MTB trips 😉

All of my decisions were made with biking and keeping costs down in mind!!!

A vote for Volvo build quality. I do all my own maintenance, and on every job I come across pleasing quality components. Second hand the brand isn't overpriced either, due to the geography teacher image.

I like my cars. I've had my hot hatches, impreza, evo, merc, GTis and so on but I've started to calm it all down a bit.
Ironically I'm now in the fortunate position to get the cars I want but don't want to buy them as I'd hate to have to run them on the crappy roads and with fuel costs as they are. As it is I have a Fabia vRS which I have found to be a fantastic little car. There is a Skoda dealership in my village and I've had the opportunity to try the Yeti and the Roomster. Both seem to be good bike carrying vehicles. I moved my wife's Fabia on but kept my vRS. I had considered replacing her car with a transit connect. Between dogs and bikes our 'utility' vehicle gets a hard time and a van could be abused without too many worries. She didn't fancy a van though and did comment on the fact that when we go out on the bikes there's usually 3 or 4 of us and the van would limit numbers or involve another vehicle. In the end I bought a Multipa off druidh from these parts 😀 and it's been a revolution. 4 folks, 4 bikes (road, wheels on / MTB front off) and kit all inside the car! You do need some form of interior protection as the seats and carpets could get wrecked in no time.
It's not a bonnie bairn but it's certainly a versatile car.
The MK1 Golf and forthcoming Elise is for fun but as a 'bike car' the Multipla is very hard to beat! As a 'petrol head' it really is hard to accept that this is a great car but for what I need it for, it is!

Surely you can get you bike in the back of the Impreza - judging by your username we've the same bike, and mine I'll fit on the back seats of my 5 series with the front wheel off (and thats with a fixed seatpost in a 20" frame)?

Got a 51 plate passate estate here. I've done several trips of 3 people and 3 bikes and luggage (body armour, full face helmets too) across france for the alps. recently was a camping trip of 3 people/3 bikes again up to scotland etc, only the tent needed to go on the roof.

b r, yeah I've got an 18" ti456 (well at the moment it's a carbon456 as the ti is back with lynskey due to a cracked weld) and if I strip all the wheels and post out, it does go on the back seat, just!! Trouble is, it has a blue alcantara on the seats and door panels, and light grey plastics and headlining! The car was bought from a real enthusiast and is absolutely mint inside and out. Bike on back seat was fine on my old 200sx cos it was all black leather, but the few times I've put the bike in the imprezza, I've ended up damaging or staining something in there no matter how many blankets I use, and thats just in the dry. Reading back through the posts, I just wanted to add that I'm not just selling the scoob because of the bike fit problem, it's also because it's too nice to have sitting there doing nothing. I need something that can sit around doing nothing without it costing me a fortune, but also ready to easily throw a bike or 2 in.

How about a prodrive Subaru forester?
Fast and the bike goes straight in (wheels on).

this is an interesting thread - i'm also looking at a new car at the moment

currently i've got a 3 door focus which is pretty good for bikes, but not much good for liftsharing. also my mrs is a baker and at the weekend i help her with deliveries, so i need space for those big bread trays (and soon, my belly)

what i'm after is something that will fit 4 adults comfortably during the week, and at the weekend will be a workhorse for carrying mainly bikes and bread!

i don't really want something as big as an estate or 4x4 though so i was thinking of going down the people carrier route

i was very impressed with a C3 Picasso I got as a hire car last year (in terms of practicality). i spent more time playing with the car than looking at the pyrennees! should i go french?

i'm also considering the Skoda Roomster. it's a bit popemobile, but has some really good features and i think the interior is a bit more comfy than, say, a berlingo

can anyone recommend any MPV alternatives? or things to avoid?

(sorry for blatant thread hijack)

Berlingo