How many bikes/people/bags of kit can you fit inside?

Do the rear seat bases come up in a 60/40 style?

Can answer one question, Seats and seat base are 60/40

Only put one bike into mine so won’t answer your first question.

Thanks. I guess the answer so far is “at least one”. New company car time. It looks to be a toss up between the focus hatch and the astra sports Tourer.

I can’t answer the direct question, but depending how you stack people bikes and kit, I could get 3 bikes, people and kit in my old astra estate and my current (new model) focus estate. Bikes in inverted, seatpost out and front wheel off.

Reason I didn’t get an Astra sports tourer when I changed between the 2 is the sloping rear roof and the slightly shorter load bay meant you couldn’t get 3+3 in.

Knowing how the focus hatch is laid out I think you’ll struggle to get bikes people and kit in all together. They share the same floorplan virtually, and you’d be pushing it to get a bike in on it’s side even wheels off and keep the small rear seat usable. It would swallow 2 no bother though.

Can’t you get a focus estate?

The focus estate is an option but a more expensive one. I used to have a 2006 focus hatch and could get three bikes and three people inside.

They work just as well in my current 2005 astra estate but the drop of the roof line on the new one does spoil the capacity somewhat.

I’ve got the estate and you can get 2 in easily. I personally use a Thule roof rack though save getting the car dirty.

I’ve got a 62 reg hatch and my Mum’s got the last model so same as your old one. You’re right that the roof’s lower but the boot’s a bit wider + longer so it’s fine. You can fit a f+f+seat post in with the ’40’ part of the seat up easy and could stack a few bikes on top of each other. If I wasn’t such a tart when it comes to my bikes I’d have thought I could fit 3 bikes and 3 people in without too much difficulty.

As a side issue, my Focus is one of the most refined cars I’ve ever driven. Very quite, very comfy. We have the new shape Astra at work and it’s no where near as good to drive/travel in imo.

Interesting comments about the Focus vs Astra. One of the reasons I’d like to get the Focus hatch rather than the Astra sports tourer if I could.

It will be a company car. Given what they expect us to do with it for work, dirty bikes in the back will be the least of my worries.

Any pictures out there of bikes in a focus hatch?

Auris estate is also on our list but the engine is pretty small.

How do you normally pack your bikes?

In my 07 I get 3+3 with the bikes on their side and the rear passenger on the 40%, and still manage to get the parcel shelf on if I’m careful. I would have thought that the new shape would be big enough to do the same.

I too am thinking about moving up to a new shape so this is interesting for me. For those that have driven both how do they compare?

I too am thinking about moving up to a new shape so this is interesting for me. For those that have driven both how do they compare?

As mentioned, my Mum has the last gen and I used to have the original shape. I used to love driving hers as it felt so much more refined and comfortable. After living with my new one then driving her’s again I couldn’t believe how much better my new one was. I’ve got the 1.0 Eco Boost and it makes mums 1.6 tdci sound like a tractor. In my opinion there’s not one area of the new car that isn’t better then the old one.

Best advise is to go to a dealer and drive them back to back, same between the Astra and the new Focus. You will soon see what I mean, the difference is that stark.

I pack them with the front wheel off and in the door recess, then bike in front first with bars and forks in line with the frame, next wheel again the forks, next bike, next wheel, next bike, all held down with a bungee. Passanger in the forty seat, kit behind them. Dropper posts down or out if needed.

Have packed them flat before but it seems to encroach on rear passanger space a bit. This all started going wrong when manufacturers fitted haptic kiddy compatible seats and the cushions didn’t lift in some cars. That meant the load height wasn’t high enough.