"Can you lie a road bike in it seats down without taking the wheels out? Fancy swapping my manual Passat for an auto golf estate but not sure if it’s quite big enough for my lazy bike transportation."
Don't do it. As a Superb owner - The Skoda version of the Passat - anything smaller would be a compromise too far. It is a bugger to park in tight spaces because of the size but I can't think of any other reason to go smaller. Luckily Mrs IRC has a Suzuki Ignis so we have a small car when requred. And home and work have ample parking.
Other than bikes in the last year I have moved a few bits of furniture which only fitted in the back by a cm or two. Obviously van based cars have even greater carrying capacity but they lose a bit in driveability over big comfy estates.
mashrFree Member
Why is a Suv more likely to kill someone?Compared to what?
Higher front end isn’t good for hitting pedestrians.
Yeah there is that argument but if you’re driving at sensible (under legal limit) speeds in town then perhaps the safety systems as fitted to modern SUV’s may detect the possible impact and apply the brakes before collision. My 2019 VW Tiguan has detection systems and when something as small as a pheasant runs out in front of my car it can slam the brakes on quicker than I can react, loads of pheasants around my area (kirkcudbright, Galloway) and in town where I can count dozen’s of the dozy ****ers splatted on the roads. Personally I drive under 25mph/20mph in town, it’s just a shame that there’s folk who think the speed limit is the speed they should be doing at all times.
Yeah there is that argument but if you’re driving at sensible (under legal limit) speeds in town then perhaps the safety systems as fitted to modern SUV’s may detect the possible impact and apply the brakes before collision
Are these better than a car? And they are still much more likely to kill a ped than a car if they hit one
I had a golf estate and could fit a road bike in the boot wheels on, seats down. Now have an Octavia estate and it's noticeably bigger in the boot and back, very happy with it and prefer it to the golf. Not keen on the new model as it has no buttons for the heating etc.
I haven't hit a pedestrian with either so can't respond to those questions. The Octavia has headlight washers though which I imagine is practical for washing the blood off if running people over is your main consideration when buying a car.
Had a 56 plate Octavia before switching to vans. I’ve driven the more up to date Octavia’s at work and I still really like them. I wouldn’t hesitate to go for one
I've had all sorts of car similar to what the OP is considering, and currently have a 2023 Petrol vRS hatch.
I'd thoroughly recommend one based on requirements. It's not as fast as the Golf R, but real world performance is still plenty good enough, and it isn't the thief magnet an R is.
A few quirks that can be ironed out with OBD programming.
I've done a mixture of driving and in 9000 miles to date it has average 36mpg.
Does 42+ on a motorway run keeping it sensible, but around town it does suffer, down to 25mpg in stop start rush hour f0r 45 minutes.
The only other car I've had that I would consider is a 2016 Focus ST estate. That was terrific to drive but probably everything else is behind the Skoda - not sure what later ones are like, if even available.
I accept that everybody is different, but I borrowed a MG HS hybrid for a few days and it was awful to drive. Nice and comfy with a lot of toys, but no dynamics and very boaty. 4 people at work also have the same thought and it is now a pool car as nobody wants it.
Another argument against white cars I suppose. Bloodstains are hell to shift off the paintwork.
126K on it now. Hoping to get 226K
Tread carefully; I said similar with my last two cars and within a few months both were written off in non-fault accidents...
(Can you lie a road bike in it seats down without taking the wheels out? Fancy swapping my manual Passat for an auto golf estate but not sure if it’s quite big enough for my lazy bike transportation.)
Easily yes. I also take my road bike with me on summer hols every year. 3 dogs in crate and all luggage etc with room to spare. Ok I take both wheels off for this 🙂
MrsMC now considering a Superb....
Another VW option is the Maxi Life, not a car estate but …..
Easy to get in and out.
Very useful space inside and various configurations folding seats .
Not that sporty but will that matter in the real world!
I'm quite tempted to sacrifice the nice drive for one of those, or a Tourneo Connect, assuming they'll take a bike upright?
Fwiw, an Octavia estate comfortably takes a road bike on it's side. Need a wheel off for my medium sized Soul.
Mind you, I've had a medium road bike in the back of a Fabia hatch with the seats down.
My friend removes his front wheel to get his Kenevo in his Tourneo connect
Subaru is what you are looking for.
Dad picked up a very recent one for not a lot...All the toys big boot. Nice to drive.
Got a 65 plate VW Passat, 2ltr diesel (8.5 years old), done 107k miles, and servicing hasn't been anything else other than consumables.
Comfy enough for 3 week road trip round Europe. Does >50mpg. Fast enough and has a helpful sport mode.
Big enough for road bike in the back without taking wheels off.
Recommend. Better than the A4 Avant that it replaced.
I'm another person who rates the Superb very highly; I would happily have another.
Does everything well. Call me if you want to ask anything specific.
If you're going Superb then the Sportline 4x4 DSG estate is very good. I haven't driven the hatchback version, but the estate is sooo comfortable and isn't likely to be an ex-taxi. Budget will be a problem but just test drive one 🙂
Has anyone compared the legroom (front and back) between Passat estate and Superb estate? I’m looking at both and wondering if there is all that much in it. Rear legroom wise it would be for lugging kids under 12 around.
I’m 6’5” and had a saloon Passat (2013version) before and didn’t have the seat all the way back.
@albanach - The Superb is palatial in comparison to the Passat. A mate has a Passat, father-in-law has the Superb, both estates. The back of the Superb has ridiculous legroom - I'm 6ft 1.5 with 34" inside leg and found it to be huge in terms of legroom even sat behind my 6ft F-in-L.
Shame Dacia Joggers only come with a 3 pot 1.0 or a 1.8 hybrid, two drivetrains I wouldn't touch with a barge pole. Otherwise it's a cheap practical load lugger you can buy new for less than second hand Passat prices.
Last long drive I had to relieve the boredom I played that game where I had to decide if I'd want to own that car going in the other direction and I was a bit shocked to discover these days I'm only attracted to practical MPV type cars like berlingos or VW caddy mpvs. Seems you can only get the caddy as a diesel, unless it's a £30k new one though?
I came here to mention the Dacia Jogger. This is probably going to be my next car, although I'll lease due to less hassle, being used for work and known cost every month.
As they're Renault engines, they are meant to be very reliable, even the hybrid.
My pal has a Citroen C4 Grand Space Tourer, which he rates. They're a bit of a tardis too.
I personally don't like SUV styled cars as they seem to manage to be big on the outside but small on the inside, yet normal hatchbacks manage to do the opposite (I'm looking at you Honda Jazz)
I went from
Golf GTi
Octavia vrs 60,000 miles. 59k- 120k
Civic estate 60,000 miles 0-60k
BMW 3 estate had for 50,000 miles 90-140k
So I'd suggest any of them.
Currently the only reason for me to swap out of the 3 series is to get more rear leg room behind me.
I'm in the market for a new motor after writing off my Leon estate last Friday.
Thinking of a cupra formentor but never been in one to see if a bike will fit ok.
Currently got an MG SUV as a hire car. It takes a bike easily, but that's the only good thing about it as it's totally awful to drive on country roads. Infact it's embarrassing having it on the drive 😱
The VW Maxi Life didn't have very good air conditioning when I had a shot in one. It seemed underpowered. If you live in the south of the UK this may matter more than if you live in Oban.
It's a good job modern MGs have a 7 year warranty. They use significantly smaller proportion of galvanised steel than more reputable brands so they'll be rusting to bits by then
