Best estate car for biking??

I must be mistaken then.
Nope, I’ve just been outside and checked the car I’ve actually owned for 2.5 years and there it is – a great big boot for shoving stuff in.

Well, you can fit your bike in alot of cars. I used to carry my bikes around in a 3dr Vauxhal Nova hatchback a long while back – it just depends upon what level of disassembly you’re willing to do and how convenient and quick and easy you want the loading and unloading to be. For something the size of an A4 Avant I’d rather put the bikes on a roof rack for all the faffing around you’d need to do to get it in the boot.

Not having owned a Focus, I just wanted to check. This is from Autotrader…

Unfortunately, the boot of the new Ford Focus Estate isn’t actually that big. Standard capacity is 476-litres, extending to 1,502-litres, which is significantly bettered by the Skoda Octavia Estate (580, 1,655-litres), not to mention the outgoing Ford Focus Estate (503, 1,546-litres).

I’m having a problem understanding how a boot thats 100L smaller can be as ‘useable’? The Octy is a big rectangular space with the option to remove the two side panels at the back and give more space if needed?

DaveyBoyWonder – Member

I must be mistaken then.
Nope, I’ve just been outside and checked the car I’ve actually owned for 2.5 years and there it is – a great big boot for shoving stuff in.

I think you’re missing my point- I didn’t say the Octavia doesn’t have a big boot, after all it’s a midsized estate, it should do. But brilliant? Nah. No estate with a boot lip is brilliant, but compare with a mk1 Focus, which is a smaller car with a much more usable boot, and you realise what brilliant actually is.

I’m having a problem understanding how a boot thats 100L smaller can be as ‘useable’? The Octy is a big rectangular space with the option to remove the two side panels at the back and give more space if needed?

As an able bodied human being I can cope with a 3″ lip. If I wasnt I’d just get the optional raised boot floor…

Sit on the lip and tell me it’s just as good as a flat boot. Or, buy the add-on to fix it, and lose boot space, ace. To be brilliant you have to do better than that. getting less space from a bigger car isn’t brilliant either. (maybe I should have been clearer though, I was using the older Focus as the benchmark)

You seem to be taking it very personally tbh, not sure why. Nothing wrong with just being good.

I’ve got a Mazda 6 estate in 2010 model shape and it has a very big boot and the way the back seats drop flat is good too.

I can fit two bikes in with the front wheels off no problem with lots of room around for putting helmets etc.

However it isn’t big enough for us now so we are looking at a vw t5 now so mine might be for sale soon…..

Fwiw I looked at loads of estate cars before buying the Mazda and chose it because it had the best Boot in class apart from the mondeo which I didn’t like at all.

Fwiw I looked at loads of estate cars before buying the Mazda and chose it because it had the best Boot in class apart from the mondeo which I didn’t like at all.

It’s definitely a nicer car than the Mondeo tbh. I ended up choosing the blue oval on value but I’d sooner have had the Mazda, price aside.

For something the size of an A4 Avant I’d rather put the bikes on a roof rack for all the faffing around you’d need to do to get it in the boot.

In my Mondeo or previous 406, the faffing consists of opening the bootlid, lifting bike up and closing it again. That’s with the rear seats up and a couple of kids sitting in them, though granted only a single bike (and a dirty one would be a pain).

I have one of these,
2.8L
4wd
V6
Cream leather
Less than £3k at 80,000 miles.
Excellent car if you can stomach the 26mpg. Get one with a sensible engine and you will be happy. Had a newer hire car in 2007, Inverness to Dorset coast, 600 miles, one tank of diesel.
Room enough to sleep in too.

For 26mpg (or more if you keep it under 50mpg – (32mpg is possible…)) you could have one of these:

It’s the LWB model.
4 bikes inside with 4 people in comfort
or
2 people inside sleeping in comfort with 2 bikes inside with them
or
6 people inside in comfort with 2 bikes inside and 4 bikes outside (plus many other combinations).

Wade through 3 ft deep water (keeping carpets dry).
Plough through 2ft deep snow.
Never have trouble getting off muddy fields etc, etc.

Less than 3k for a VERY tidy low mileage one, I paid 1400 quid for a scruffy one with good mechanicals.
The photo there is the one I sold about 5 years ago which by coincidence came up on ebay last week.
Old-school mechanical rotary pump, electrics NOT electronics so not a great deal TO go wrong. High ground clearance so if you need to look underneath it – lie down and wriggle under.

Why an estate? Unless you’re going to carry the bikes inside the car – which most estates are not big enough to do

Are you nuts? I mentioned on another thread that I once had six bikes & six riders gear, plus two riders in a Sierra estate! I could’ve easily got two more bikes on the roof & two on a tailgate rack.

Sit on the lip and tell me it’s just as good as a flat boot. Or, buy the add-on to fix it, and lose boot space, ace. To be brilliant you have to do better than that. getting less space from a bigger car isn’t brilliant either. (maybe I should have been clearer though, I was using the older Focus as the benchmark)

You seem to be taking it very personally tbh, not sure why. Nothing wrong with just being good.

OK. The boot isn’t there to sit in so I’ve never been too fussed about that. The Octavia has things called seats in the front – I generally sit in those but if the need arises, I’ll sit on the lip for changing shoes etc – its not a hardship.

The raised boot floor doesn’t ‘fix’ anything – its not a problem. It simply provides a flat floor to slide stuff in and out IF thats what you want.

Maybe I am taking it personally but as an Octavia owner (are you?) who is hugely happy with the car, I feel that I should give my view as an actual owner with real life experience. Maybe the Focus is as good? But there were certain things which led us to get the Octy which the Focus didn’t have, such as 200bhp and better build quality.

I’ve got a decent sized estate and there’s no way you can fit a bike in the boot assembled, both wheels off and seatpost out you still need to fold the back seats down, maybe I’m missing something…

How tall are you and what height step have you got? I’ve been wondering about getting roof carrier for my berlingo but will need to use a step as well!

I’m about 5ft10″ tall and I use one of these to stand on, it’s not ideal could do with something a little more sturdy.

If I could find a low mileage one I’d get another Golf Mk4 estate, TDI SE 130. I love it, I really do. But it’s about to start costing me more than it’s worth so I might be in the market. It’s proper hard to find something that ticks the same boxes 🙁

The accord takes my fancy out of everything…

EDIT: Tempting

Well my experience of putting bikes in the car is, no matter how hard you try, you always end up getting the inside mucky – that’s the problem with mountain bikes, they tend to get mucky.

Getting 6 bikes in a car is not an issue, doing that 2 or 3 times a week becomes a real faff as well as kacking up your car. In comparison to a few seconds to put you’re bike on a roof rack with all the muck and crap remaining on the outside of your car.

My SMax is able to take bikes vertically on the internal racking system, but even then you end up with muck everywhere and it is nowhere near as quick or convenient as a roof rack. Just my experience, I’m not saying it isn’t possible to put a bike in any car, but the reality has its draw backs. If its a one off its not an issue. If its every week, several times a week, your car will get ruined. I’m sure others experiences are different, but this is what I’ve come to realise. Bikes are better off outside the car.

I don’t want to be driving around in some bland unforgettable piece of crap like a Vectra.

I’ve got a Vectra. Bland and forgettable is good. A car that seamlessly blends into most backgrounds without shouting “ostentatious lifestyle estate with expensive bike in back!”

Mondeo and Vectra are both good size boots.
Audi A4 is crap, samller than it appears and with awkward wheel arches.
If you’ve got the money the Skoda Superb is, well, superb. Amazing cars and acres of space. Problem is that everyone realised how good they are and the prices reflect that now. Car of choice for the pro roadie team though, just look at the average convoy behind a pro road race, it’ll be full of Skodas.
I always wanted a Saab 95, they’re great cars (IMHO) and have a good boot size. Kind of glad I didn’t get one when Saab went bust…

Deli’s are great cars for the price, reliability, space and comfort + they are well cheap in the first place and will last ages.
Only downside, and its a big downside is the fuel consumption. 25mpg. For a trip to Afan from Portsmouth will cost us £90-£100 in fuel. 3 of my mates have them, and we’d do far more trips to Wales if it was cheaper.
If I borrow the wifes Civic diesel, same trip will be £45 max.

But if you arent fussed about fuel costs, they are great.

if you arent bothered about mpg get one of these (chevy astro)

this is mine, seats 6 or 4 with bikes, rear seat folds to bed, big leather chairs, like driving your lounge down the road
4.3 v6 auto – get them lpg’d for an extra £1200
does 20-22 mpg
fully comp ins £200 a year –
few around expect £4000 upwards for a nice one

i nearly bought a delicia when i was looking for this

What’s not as obvious with the Vectra is how long the boot is, with the seats down… Doesn’t make that much difference with just bikes but with extra kit it’s pretty useful.

On the other hand the one I testdrove felt like it was made of tin

Have you considered the new shape Citroën C5? Get one with the Hydractive suspension (super supple ride) and fit a towbar for the bike rack.

Well, any Octavia, Mondeo or Passat would do the job. Audi A4, BMW, Berlingo, Golf estate and Subarus also worth looking at. I have had in recent times, the following for general use and bike lugging:

Golf TDI mk 5 – would have another in a heart beat. Could fit bikes inside, economical and pretty good to drive. Unfortunately a company car, so not mine.

Old shape Passat – good space, economical, not great to drive

Nissan Juke company car. Turbo Petrol fuel consuming rocket ship, could fit a bike in the back with wheels off, but so small it made my wife’s Polo of many years ago look spacious

BMW 3 series – small boot compared to most estates, more economical
and better to drive than most cars I have had

I was happy to get something smaller, as I use the car for travelling to work and day to day stuff more than bike hauling. Also use a roof rack, find it much more convenient than sticking a bike in the back if the car.

Just been to see the Mazda 6 looks gret drives well has all the gadgets. But I’ll have to wait till June for the skoda

Volvo’s are pretty damn big in the boot.
So are Subaru Outbacks as well as the legacy, though I think the new outback may be a little bigger.
We’ve got an Outback and rate it a lot.

06awjudd – Member

Volvo’s are pretty damn big in the boot.

Some are anyway. Then there’s the V40, the anti-tardis.

My 2010 mazda 6 sport estate may be for sale in a month or so !!!

email me for some more info if its the sort of thing you are after!!

Best Estate I’ve owned but it is my first haha… Bikes stay on the outside mind as way too nice inside! All the kit and crap in the boat! So lovely to drive and imo looks the nuts 🙂

oh thats lovely !!! is it a Ti version?

That Alfa looks the dogs 🙂

oh thats lovely !!! is it a Ti version?

Yep 159 Ti Sportwagon 🙂

I have a Citroen C5 Estate. Paid £1k for 52 plate with 80k on it, get 50mpg, massive load area and has a constant ride height whatever the load. If bikes on the roof you can drop suspension for loading!

My 850 with 75k on clock and full service history. Near mint and smooth as a smooth thing. Currently on autotrader at £950.

If someone off Stw buys at full price ill stuck 6 mths tax on it..!

Lovely Alfa… always makes me think they really wanted to design a motorbike.

Lovely Alfa….

As a fellow Alfa 159 Sportwagon owner I can honestly say it’s the worst car for bikes. It’s just too lovely… go buy a sh1tty audi instead 😉