Pah. What are you all on about? We go everywhere with two bikes and enough kit to last a decade in a Toyota Yaris.
V60 has a 40:20:40 rear seat, it's wider than my old mk3.5 mondeo, but not as high or long.Takes a 26" 456 with all wheels and the like on.
R-design suspension is ace with heavy loads.
Saccades, any idea if you can get a smallish road bike in the boot wit both wheels off without too much faff, and seats still up? My Golf hatch won't do it, and I suspect the V60 might just be too small. Since the boot is only about 10% bigger.
My medium Defy fits in the V60 boot easily with the wheels off.
No problem fitting a large Kinesis Aithein with wheels off in my V60. Having said that, you can't fit in much else though...
V60's aren't big estates 🙂
"[i]Sundayjumper - what is that vehicle, because I want one![/i]"
Not strictly an estate car 🙂 It's a LWB T4 Caravelle.
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I have a Focus estate. I can comfortably get 3 bikes in it with 2 passengers (rear seat split)
Can get 4 bikes in the back with the seat fully down
Its a 2l turbo diesel and has plenty of go. Cheap as chips 2nd hand
Crikey, £2k buys a lovely petrol engined V70.
I don't do many miles, but do drag a caravan occasionally, with the odd trip for work. Reckon a V70 might be just the ticket, nice place to travel in.
Sadly, my Galaxy looks & feels very dated these days.
V70's are brilliant cars - we have a thrashed and abused 150k mile 2.4petrol. Would buy a another tomorrow but be aware they are thirsty complex cars that can get expensive quickly. We had two bikes with front wheels off and plenty of kit, a mobile gin bar for the Mrs and three people in comfort to Aviemore with no problem.
Thanks AD and onewheelgood. That's helpful. I don't need a big estate 90% of the time really, so a V60 polestar is tempting. 🙂
[i]Mine is stupid though, it has a 60/40 top seat but a full bench bottom, so if you split the rear seats they don't fold down fully. What idiot came up with that? [/I]
Whoever specced/designed the facelift Sierra I reckon as I had an original Sierra and that had 60/40 split top/bottom and then my next (facelift) had a single bench seat with split top.
I am looking at a BMW 3-series Touring (E91). Is it possible to fit a bike in the back with the rear seats up?
I won't need it very often, but I need the option.
Volvo V70 here had 3 bikes in it yesterday with all the kids gear and still plenty room.
Golf R estate here. Mk 7 and it’s fantastic. Bikes go in boot or on roof. Big enough when you need but small enough to not be a hassle ever. Huge boot and useful space plus it is rapid! 300bhp and 4wd. It’ll do 40mpg on a long journey and mid-30’s all day long if you’re not silly.
Whoever specced/designed the facelift Sierra I reckon as I had an original Sierra and that had 60/40 split top/bottom and then my next (facelift) had a single bench seat with split top.
Fiesta's are the same, I guess it's cheaper?
If you want really annoying, get a C-max, the seats fold up but not down into the footwell like most estates/hatchbacks. Which means to get any actual room you have to unclip them and remove them completely.
Ps I looked at v60 polestar. Rare, fast and pretty but I found expensive versus golf r to buy (as rare), rather thirsty and tiny boots. Good 200+ litres down on the golf from memory.
Martin, you might be better off starting a new thread, your post gets a little lost!
Martin, I have an e91 and although I'll admit to never trying, my answer is going to be no. Even a small Turner Burner only just fits in with the seats down and front wheel removed.
This thread is long enough that I'm now on a s213 (new shape) E class estate. Again huge boot although maybe a tiny bit smaller than the previous model. Fast? Well this one is a fast petrol with a tow at.
Pah, for bike carrying you need a [i]real[/i] estate...
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That Volvo is ace.
A friend down the road inherited his dad's - he had 5 months MOT on it, so decided to run it to clear out fathers house. That was three years ago... Thirsty, wallows like a marshmallow, but so far has cost tyres and a service...and it's turquoise!
[evil laughter] Mine doesn’t wallow any more [/evil laughter]
I need to put the seats down in a current 3-series estate and take the front wheel off my XL 29er to get it in. I think I would need to strip it to get it in the boot with seats up. Its not a big boot at all.I am looking at a BMW 3-series Touring (E91). Is it possible to fit a bike in the back with the rear seats up?
I didn't expect that many answers in such short time - thanks. I thought about creating a new thread, but maybe it's nice to keep the information in a single thread?
Is it possible to have a bike in the boot of a Golf 7 with the rear seats up?
I looked at Mercedes E-class estates, but unforunately they're a bit too expensive, and a bit too thirsty at the price range I'm looking at.
What about Mercedes C-class estate (W204) with rear seats up? Will a bike fit?
I had two Skoda Superb estates and with the seats down they could both take a road bike with the wheels still on but not any of my bikes that were fun to ride - always had to take the wheel or wheels off the mountain bikes. Just got a Skoda Kodiaq though and this is the first car I have had that with all the seats folded will take my size Large and quite long Slayer, and with plenty of room to spare:
[img][url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4481/37046034593_a1be46ac46_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4481/37046034593_a1be46ac46_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/YrCBqn ]IMG_5423[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/droppinneutron/ ]Jamie Clark[/url], on Flickr[/img]
I know - its not an estate but my bit on the Superb sort of made it relevant!
Page 2 and no Octavia vrs yet! I've just ordered one of these
Might need to take a wheel of, but should be big enough.
Grand Cmax with centre seat folded away.
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Sorry, you said fast.
My saab 9-5 got 2 lads, 6 bikes and 3 lots of kit down to the alps last year no bother. No bike racks, roof racks etc, all in the back and no stashing of anything by the passengers feet.
It will also take two trail bikes with wheels off in the boot with the parcel shelf still able to be I'm situ. It's the perfect bike carrying car in my opinion.. 3l diesel bought for a grand.. Bargain
A6 Avant here, no need to remove wheels if it’s just me and a bike, whether road, track or MTB. Most often they are on the roof as car full of family or riding mates.
However, if seats are up, it’s both wheels off and I can get 3 bikes in sideways across the boot.
I find it's a lot easier to just get a roof carrier and shove your bike on that, than arse around removing wheels, folding seats etc.
^^ +1
Just bought a Passat GT estate. Does have a huge boooot (echo) but it's not very deep. Easily get my road bike and 140mm FS mtb in there with the seats down. Plenty of room for gear too.
Had a Civic estate previously as a company car which was huge, not as long or wide as the Passat but the depth made up for it. Could get my 56cm road bike in the boot, wheels off without the seats going down. Had a flat load area with the seats down too which was brilliant.
Been using a B8 passat this weekend, my 21.5 trek fuel with 780 bars goes in wheels on with the seats down but only just and takes some wriggling. Dunno about wheels off though
Volvo xc60. No need to take wheels off to fit at least 2 XL bikes in the back. Have fitted 4 bikes disassembled and 4 folks in it once but that was a jigsaw. I still mostly put my bike on a tow bar mounted rack though.
Used to have an E class (14 plate), it was a big car and a good looking one too. I sold it because the 350d engine returned about 30 mpg, which is lame. I replaced it with a BMW 320d touring. Things I prefer about the merc: it's comfier, quieter and had a bigger boot. Things i prefer about the BMW, I get 50mpg and it takes corners better. Both boots are large, the merc being larger. If I were car shopping again I'd look at C class estate, with a less powerful engine, like the 220d or something. The AMG styling Mercedes I think are great looking cars
I have looked at Saabs, however, the nice models (like 9-3 Aero) seem to be quite thirsty.
Maybe I should consider the A6 Avant. I initially crossed it off the list, as I think it's a bit boring (too many Audis here).
el_boufador - The thing is, "we" use a lot of salt here during the winter, and I don't like my bike to be sprayed with salty water when I go racing. That's the main reason I prefer being able to have it in the car. It's important that it fits with the rear seats up, as we have a child seat fitted more or less permanently.
Honda Civic might be another option to look into. It looks nice, albeit a bit dull compared to something like a BMW or a Mercedes.
I'd really like to hear from someone with a Mercedes C-class estate, if it's possible to fit a bike with the rear seats up. It seems the BMW 3-series Touring is too small, so the Mercedes is currently the next car at the top of the list.
Thanks for all the replies, and pixelmix in the first place for bringing this up. It must be relevant to a lot of people.
Is a Mondeo no good for you then (too dull)? Comparable boot to an E series, way bigger than a 3 series. Or does it have to be a German badge?
Salt? Just bloody wash it afterwards and save a shit load of grief and money.
aracer - I know, maybe it sounds a bit stupid. I just don't like Ford. Maybe I should look into them more.
hammyuk - Yes, salt. Lots of salt on the roads. Even if it's washed off afterwards, it will still damage bearing everywhere in the bike. It would also generally be convenient to have a larger boot, when we go on family trips. Our daughter is 11 months old, and we have to bring a pram + stuff wherever we go.
I have an S212 Merc E Class estate, I don't think there is an estate with a bigger boot, seriously. I'm sure there must be somewhere, but I can't find it. It's a really well designed shape too, easy to put stuff in. The boot is genuinely massive. There are 2 seats that fold up under the floor, you wouldn't know they're there most of the time - it's a family and dog wagon
But, unless you're a child, I can't see how a bike would ever fit in there with wheels on. Are you really expecting one to fit in? How big is your bike? I've not put an adults bike in the car, I have a roof rack but it's easier to use a tow bar rack, and any crap doesn't then fall on the car
Just to clarify; I don't mind taking wheels off. I'm just looking for a (not too big) estate, which will fit a bike, WITHOUT wheels, in the back, with the rear seats up.
In which case, most well proportioned (proper family) hatchbacks will take a bike without wheels in the boot (e.g. Audi A3)
I wouldn't have seen that as a big ask, in a hatchback they can go in upright
I think that you'll find that the C estate isn't wide enough for a bike to go behind the seats. We couldn't get our road bikes in - its about 25mm too narrow with all that premium sound insulation and fabric lining, which was slightly galling as our old mk2 focus estate was wide enough for them both to go in.
All goes in fine with the seats down though, the load cover clips onto the dropped rear seats and there's a mesh screen that clips to the roof, so with darkened windows and covering it all with a cheap black double sheet all that stuff is hidden.
Then again - wash it better and use ACF50 or get a roof rack like several have suggested a number of times.
If you need to take a pram everywhere then you really need to look at just what you are loading in there.
11 months she should comfortably be in a good pushchair now, not a pram - any number will fold up nice and compact giving you plenty of room spare in the boot.
If you can't or by the sounds of it [b][i]won't[/i][/b] then start looking at SMax's, MaxiLife's, etc because you are not going to get what you want without compromising.
aP - Thanks. Unfortunately not what I'd like to hear, but kind of expected, I guess.
hammyuk - I won't, because as I said, it ruins the bearings, and I don't like to change them that often (several times a season). I've done that the past couple of seasons, and I'd like to avoid it, hence the reason for being a bit picky.
Whenever we go somewhere, we bring the pram, because she sleeps in it. The pushchair is a bit small (and not very warm) for a proper sleep outside.
It seems like there are plenty options. People here have mentioned VW Passat, Skoda Octavia/Superb, Ford Focus, Mercedes E-class, Saab 9-5, among others. Those sound like some options I'll be looking into. Why buy a small car and put the bike on the roof, if getting a car where it will fit in the boot is an option?
You sound kind of offended by the question in the first place?
Grand Cmax with centre seat folded away.Sorry, you said fast.
To be fair, I* once melted the front tyres on mine driving to Glentress ( https://goo.gl/maps/V5DjsG345qk) at 1am. So it's probably spent more time sideways than the average hot-hatch!
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7774871124_52cfd35c7d_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7774871124_52cfd35c7d_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/cR3fj9 ]DSCN8783[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/7614571@N05/ ]thisisnotaspoon[/url], on Flickr
*I didn't realise the corner was anywhere near as tight or long as it was in the dark, I'm no driving god, and the tyres were Rain Expert 2's, which were a bit crap.
