Hi all,

I’ve been thinking of a biking van for some time, and the thought occurred to me that an MPV might fill the bill and be kinda dual purpose.

With seats in, it will take more people than I need, but, with all but one of the rear seats out (i.e. making it a three-seater), can I get three bikes in easily? To define easily, I mean without taking any wheels off, although I could live with dropping or removing seat posts if the height is the only issue.

Anyone got any experience or do similar?

Thanks

had both those and yes is the answer – could even get a tandem in the espace – height is no issue – think mine was a 54 plate Espace supposedly more reliable model but all relative being typically French it was great until the electronics failed – crap keycard thing and electronic handbrake – for reliability I’d look at the Toyota equivalent. Galaxy is probably more car than van like to drive with I thought good mpg in the diesel- used to get better than published and that is rare – could turn the front seats round which was good for camping

Bikes won’t fit in a Touran, wheels on. Go bigger.

Agree on Galaxy, very versatile, handles well and good mpg. I only have a rear seat in to help prop bikes up 🙂

I used to regularly nobble my old, old works, company Sharan (Galaxy / Alhambra) 7 seater for weekends MTBing, it was actually a really good vehicle for it. And yes you could get 3 people, their bikes and kit in comfortably.

Not the greatest car to drive, but not unpleasant.

+1 for the Sharalhambraxy. Get one with the 130bhp PD engine & you won’t go wrong.

Came very close to a tdi alhambra (purely because it’s the best looking one), it’ll definitely do the job you want.

removing the seats (in a Galaxy at least) is a pain in the arse.

It’ll do what you want well though. Definitely more car-like to drive than van-like; not a problem for long journeys.

removing the seats (in a Galaxy at least) is a pain in the arse.

I’ve always found removing the seats pretty easy in my Galaxy. Bigger problem is putting them somewhere afterwards – they take up quite a bit of space.

Brilliant – many thanks, all, for the input.

Guess I’ll be looking for one of these, then!

I’ve always found removing the seats pretty easy in my Galaxy…

They’re pretty heavy and I found lifting them out took a grunt, if you dont want to drag them across the floor. You must be stronger than me 😉

Oh, and don’t ever drop one on your toe when removing them after a few beers*. I went to bed thinking, ‘that hurt a bit’, I woke up in the morning with a toe nail lying next to my toe.

*okay, more than a few!

Got a Zafira MkII. Boring to drive but at least it drives like a car rather than a van.

With the front wheels off, a long bike will fit sideways in the ‘boot’. I have a feeling that 3 bikes will fit this way leaving enough room for 4-5 people in the car.

We’ve got a 7 seater Delica. It’ll easily take 3 bikes with the wheels on and 3 people or 4 and a load of luggage with wheels off. Rear seats are easy to remove. Middle seats are a bit trickier, mostly because they are very heavy. By sliding stuff around you can get 3 bikes and people without removing any seats/wheels, just folding the seats but its not as neat. No issues with height. Pretty thirsty, though, but the 4wd is handy.

I’ve had 2 Delica LWBs, excellent all round except the dreaded fuel consumption!
I’ve had a Diesel Alhambra MK2. Watch out for the auxiliary heater, it’s usually dead and the engine is very efficient and doesn’t kick out a lot of heat so you will freeze in winter.

Got a Zafira MkII. Boring to drive but at least it drives like a car rather than a van.

Yeah a couple of friends have Zafiras, Both Hubby’s dislike them, but cannot justify chopping it in as a cost effective child/load/camping lugger it certainly fits their needs, maybe not their “wants” but the same would be true of just about any MPV.

I think we’ll be in a similar boat in the not too distant future, I generally much prefer smaller cars, I can happily enough live with a mid-sized Estate but we’re going to need more Volume as the kids get bigger, and I’m actually coming round to an MPV instead of a family Car and Daddy getting a cheap Van…

Go bigger, Toyota Hiace won’t let you down, disabled minibus ones are handy for removable extra seats, or if you are a sheep and have deep pockets get a VW T5