More seriously though…. Suzuki mini van? OK, so your license will always be safe, but totally practical too for more than just bikes.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/mini-paceman-pick-revealed

Is that the mini for Outback estate agents or something?

More seriously though…. Suzuki mini van? OK, so your license will always be safe, but totally practical too for more than just bikes.

Another good option, I would say – bikes are inside, out of sight which, depending on where you live, might be important to you.
And, as I said before, vans are always useful – however small.
Rubbish to the tip, collecting a fridge, fetching bags of coal or firewood, carrying tools for trail building – I could go on and on, the list is endless.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/mini-paceman-pick-revealed

Somewhere a kitten has just died.

Square shaped Mazda2 like this

It shares many components with the Fiesta (made in same Valencia factory) so parts are cheap but is more reliable than the Fiesta

So very reliable, seats drop down, front seat folds forward, high(ish) roof for extra chucking-bike-in-boot ease

My wife has had one for 6years and its been great

Is a smart for two and a bike rack too small..,?

Another vote for a skoda fabia 1.2, simply because I have one. Can fit two bikes inside with the seats down, decent turning circle and its fine to drive. I struggle to get the mpg much above 40 though, not terrible but it is a small car.

loads of good suggestion but remember you need to get there in some decent time…………all relative and personal but just consider.

I looked at loads when ‘upgrading’ from a golf gti to the lupo, my list include

Yaris but T Sport
Fabia
Mazda
Jazz
Audi A2….intresting option very large MPV small car

of all the lupo made me smile when I drove it

Yaris lots of overpriced tosh

Fabias bit slow

Jazz overpriced or holds value well

do not discount Micras apart from the hideous interiors

Citroen C 2 fits 26 in and HDI is quite swift

Surely this would the opposite of a van to carry your bike?

My brother has a Corsa C, while they might not be the best of cars, space wise I was quite surprised, I built him up a new Commencal which is quite a big bike, he picked it up the other day and it went in (back seats down) with a subwoofer box in the boot, without taking any wheels off.

You have 3 choices:

Jazz. The Mrs had one – 6 years old with 6k on the clock – mint. Great little thing.

Impreza. 4wd beacuse you ‘need’ it. Fun.

MR2. mchlptchr has one and it’s a surprisingly ideal bike wagon for two. Roof mounted bike racks are easy to reach, the sunroof means you don’t forget about them and your wet kit stays contained in the boot.

Buy this, before I do…

200bhp, 2 litre Zetec Mk1 Fiesta

I had two clios over a 15 year period , one a diesel & one a sporty petrol. I put 100k+ on both before they went(the petrol died in the end ). Went all over car camping with my bike in the back (front wheel off). In fact i shed a little tear when the last one went to the scrap yard.

Bookmarking for later.

sounds like our car will cost less than your bike!!!

most small cars plus saris bones for the bike – sorted

A wrinkle in the plan, I broached the topic with the SO last night and she didn’t quite grasp what I was proposing…

-“I don’t think we should have a manual car”
-“No the main family car would be in your name, it would be the nicer one and it would be an Auto, I’ll drive the cheapest little car I can find”
-“What if my car breaks down, then I can’t drive yours”
-“well I want to have the cheapest little runabout I can manage, Auto’s, especially small ones are not as cheap”
-“I really don’t think it’s a good idea”
-“Insuring you on two cars won’t be cheap either, you are still a new driver…”
-“What’s that got to do with anything?”
-“Well they did double your premium when you passed and the whole point of me getting a second small car would be for the cost of it to be as low as possible”
-“Maybe we should just have one car”
-“What happens when you need the car and I’ve taken it to go riding in Wales?”
-“We managed before”
-“No you got annoyed at not being able to drive, so you learned to drive and we bought you a car…”
-“why don’t we just keep that?”
-“and get another larger Auto as the family car?”
-“Yeah, then we can both drive both cars”
-“Sigh….”

So It looks like I might be forced down the route of having to drive her R-reg Astra auto, she doesn’t even really like the Astra which we got for £900 so she could practise/get some miles in, Having previously shopped about for a small cheap reliable Auto (and ended up with an Astra?) I don’t hold out much hope TBH…

a 16 year old 1.6L mid-size auto hatchback is hardly the fuel and cost efficient little runabout I’d had in mind, my other option is to keep the Golf and spend some time and money overhauling it, also nothing like the plan I had originally…

At least either of those options will definitely accommodate a bike in the boot, silver linings eh…

I had two clios over a 15 year period…

14 years apart I hope? 😛

A wrinkle in the plan, I broached the topic with the SO last night and she didn’t quite grasp what I was proposing…

Ah yes, female logic. 😉 Going the other way, by a camper van. Our Bongo is fully auto (most of them are…) Not the most efficient on fuel though, to be fair.