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Hi all
I need your input and advice
Due to the company car going I need a car to haul either one MTB or a couple of windsurfing board and sails etc preferably inside,I’m looking to spend up to 4K. The pain is that I live in Bristol which will be introducing an emissions zone next year so diesels are out at my budget.
The Honda Jazz looks to be ok with the magic seats and there are a few around to pick from it also clocks 60mpg and apparently is quite reliable.
But are there any others I should look out for or definitely avoid
Petrol mk2 skoda octavia estate? (Was definitely in budget before Brexit, no idea now....)
Not a very big car but bags of room on the interior because it's very rectangle and has thin seats
Was definitely in budget before
Brexitthe global shortage of computer chips greatly affecting new car production that is driving up the price of used cars, no idea now
Isn't the answer to cheap car with a decent boot always a Berlingo?
Not sure you'll get a windsurf board inside a Jazz! Maybe fit something like this? https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110258878683?advertising-location=at_cars&price-to=4000&postcode=NG31%209TL&body-type=Estate&model=Mondeo&page=1&make=Ford&fuel-type=Petrol&include-delivery-option=on&sort=relevance
Mazda 6 Estate? Petrol
Skoda roomster with two of the three back seats removed is my bike / surfboard carrying car of choice. Would depend how long your windsurf boards are I guess…
Hi
Biker and avid windsurfer here
The answer is always recomend what you own , thats a V70. 3 boards , 4 sails , 2 masts plus boom all go in .Bike wise , Large RM FS goesin with lot of clearence with both wheels on.
Drawback is mpg, you will be lucky to see 30mpg out of a petrol V70
So , you need to be looking at long and light . Focus , Golf, V50 , Vectra. All should take 260 -270cm boards with the seats folded . Mitsi did a Lancer estate thats a decent width to length ratio but they are rare
A cheap car = better to buy on condition, owner and history than a society's specific model imo.
We went to look at a Fiesta, ended up buying the 13 year old Mazda 323 next to it, with full history in date order, in one name, in a folder on the passenger seat, including the annual clean and winter wax. Brilliant car, cost £600, ran it for 18mths/10k miles and it cost mot, a service and a tyre. Sold it for £650.
Honda jazz - budget for the new cat when some thieving scummer nicks yours.
Roomster owner here, really like it for bike lugging would have thought it a bit short for boards though.
Anything with an estate type shape. Used to fit short boards inside a Polo.
I'd suggest a Mondeo estate. If you're putting wet kit inside you don't want to be too precious about the interior
In a virtually identical position myself (we may even work for the same company!). I actually own a Honda Jazz albeit one of the older models. You wont find a small car with more space and the folding seats make it easy to quickly load up the car with windsurfing gear - you will need to fold the front passenger seat down to fit in any board. From memory I got a 265 in there with the nose rested on the dashboard.
I actually prefer to use our other car which is a Vauxhall Astra estate because of the longer boot and can fit foiling board in there without needing to do anything to the front passenger seat (probably would do for a longer board which would be a massive pain as it has an adjustable wheel that takes forever to lower and raise. It also works well for biking as I just put the bike in the boot (front wheel off). I'd describe it as a medium size estate.
Astra estate was going to be my suggestion more likely to find a petrol version and due to the lack of Vauxhall's brand cachet it's more likely to be in budget.
Go to the next platform size up for most makes (insignia/Mondeo/Passat/etc) and more of them will have been sold with Diesel engines...
Cheers for the response, I will start looking for a suitable car over the next couple of weeks