[Closed] Car with load space for bikes?

S-max. I can easily get 3 bikes and 2 passengers in mine vertical with the front wheels off.

Honda civic, absolutely cavernous, and you'll get one well priced, avoiding the people carrier tax.

Our GrandCmax. Bike in the boot all seats up.
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why do the bikes have to be upright?

I'd guess ease of loading and not wanting to rest bikes on top of eachother?

We've got a Passat estate - bikes go in vertically with both wheels off, can get 3 in easily with all seats folded, 4 at a push.

Si

Si/SCC

That must be saddles/dropper down though? Or a different year to mine. Don't think mine would go in upright (2012)

I never understand how people can get bikes in upright...had an s-max and I ride a 19" frame (with no saddle adjustment) but I could never get the bike in upright just by removing the front wheel. Are all these photos of 13" frames???

Galaxy.
I ride up a ramp into the back.

(OK, not totally true, but plenty of room).

Skoda Roomster if you want small. Nice to drive and you can't see it once you are sat inside.

Our zafira will take the bikes upright with the front wheel off. Don't even need to drop the posts!

Fiat Qubo? Or the pug equivalent?
Reasonably car like and giant windscreen, which is a bonus as far as I'm concerned. My banshee rune L fits in diagonally without removing either wheels, but with two of the rear seats removed.
Interior is basic, no carpet. Very economical.

All my bikes and my mates bikes have dropper posts so go in the s-max easily and vertically. Mines a size large frame and I think my mates are too. Leave one of the outer seats up then put one bike in rear wheel first. The next forks first the the last one rear wheel first again. Still plenty of room for the front wheels and other gear. You can also get two bikes vertically down the middle with the outer seats still up. They really are a good car for a family with the added bonus of easy bike transportation without having something much bigger.

Si/SCC

That must be saddles/dropper down though? Or a different year to mine. Don't think mine would go in upright (2012)

Yes, sorry, droppers down and medium sized frames. Not tried a large as I don't own one!

Edit - it's a 2005 so a lot older than yours!

Honda CRV Mk2, absolutely cavernous, it will take 3 mtb''s, and obviously 3 people with room to spare .no need to drop seats no matter how large frame is and being a Honda it's pretty reliable .

I can put my 54cm cx bike upright, with both wheels on, into my renault scenic with ease.
Just tilt it over a bit to get it in then put it upright and wedge the seat against the roof.
All 3 rear seats fold up and are removable individually, if i take the two outer ones out i can get both the ebikes in there, as well as a third person.

EDIT: ebikes (mtb)have front wheels off

S max here to, bags of room

Avensis Tourer or Octavia Estate. Both huge,have taken 3 bikes with wheels off, plus kit, and 3 people in total.

Yeti
Older Rav4's can remove seats too (check models) - quite pricey used as very popular and generally well looked after

You won't get them upright in a Civic (unless you take the wheels off and load them in the rear footwell which is perfectly feasible) Very nice cars but you pay a premium over other cars like the Focus.

Two medium long travel 29ers in the back of my SMax. Front wheels off, saddles lowered on the droppers. I've got an internal rack system attached to the back of the middle row of seats where the forks attach. It's really neat.

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Maybe with a Galaxy you would get away with not having to lower the seats as they have more height at the rear.

Citroen berlingo multispace.I can get 2 road and 2 mtb behind the driver seat alone. This leaves the passenger seat able to be reclined,great for our regular trips down to the Pyrenees.All the back seats clip out, leaving a massive flat load space.

Caddy maxi life. Not small but can wheel bikes in complete and still seat 4

Take both or one wheel off or on small or medium bikes and will seat 5 and more than five bikes with ease

Those of you with the S-Max - can you fit 2-3 bikes in the rear with the middle row of seats in place?
Wheels, seatposts off obviously.

'm looking for something as small, efficient and car-like as possible - the Doblo was on the big side.

I think you are bordering on moon on a stick. Bikes are 1.5m+ long and 1m high.

Vauxhall Meriva?

Thanks for all of the input everyone. I've been having a look through all of the suggestions.

Coming from the Fiat Doblo, it felt larger than necessary.. it is pretty cavernous. Bikes fitted in upright with tons of height to spare. Usually took the front wheels off but leaving them on was possible if you twisted the front wheel into the footwell (medium 26er bikes). Road bikes wheeled straight in easily.

Caddy Maxi and Berlingo plus large MPVs are in the same realm as the Doblo so was hoping to find something smaller and nippier. The main use is commuting/motorway and as a run-around. Some kind of small estate car with enough height. I have used VW Polo and Pasat estates but these are not high enough for vertical bikes with saddles down and front wheel off.

Loading bikes on their side is a massive PITA - it ends up taking up the whole boot and getting everything filthy with no space left to keep other gear (e.g for camping trips etc).

My final option is to use a back rack and choose any small car I want. A very tough move after getting used to wheeling bikes into the Doblo. I'm worried I would end up regretting it!

Skoda Roomster or Yeti, Ford S-Max or Galaxy, or a Citroen Berlingo / Fiat Doblo would be my thoughts.

I used to get my bike into a mk1 Focus upright, but that was with adjustable forks - no way my fixed 150mms would go in. Great boot though - no annoying lip - rolled straight in.

I reckon at a push with a bit of jiggery pokery you could get 3 bikes in the middle with the outer seats up in an s-max. Its really easy with just 2 bikes.
I always put a couple of bikes in now when we go camping. There is so much space available that I can put the tent in and pack everything else around the bikes filling all the little gaps meaning the bikes pretty much have no impact on how much stuff we take.

Get the 2.2 tdci s-max and you have 200bhp or just under, plenty nippy enough. Get the titanium x sport to and it also looks the dogs. I have one as our family car and there great. Imo the best looking people carrier by far, handles like a car to

We went through the same thing earlier this year. Bike I'm upright with minimal disassembly. Economical. Cheap. Easy to fix. We were really keen on 've touran and Toyota verso but they just didn't cut it. Once we stepped away from the image of the car and just looked at what ticked our boxes, we tried everything but settled on the Zafira B. Rear seat slides fully forwards and bikes fit in one either side with a mountain of space down the middle. No one is every going to get excited driving one but it's great for the bikes.

Its basically an astra estate with a bigger box on the back but anything with a bigger box is never going to make the road come alive.

Import, you could fit three bikes in the back of an SMax with the middle row of seats in place, especially if you slide the seats forward, but you'd have to remove both wheels and maybe turn the handlebars through 90 degrees.

I've had both a CRV and currently have an Accord Estate(the really ugly one) There's not much in it but the Accord is longer and much better on the motorway. It's pretty easy to get three bikes and people in it wheels off and upright. There's usually two of us so I just fold down the seats and the bikes go in as is on their side, I have a sleep mat I use between them to stop damage.
Getting old now though and the new one is much smaller.

If you have the cash my mates s-max is the nuts for carrying bikes and is a good car too but my other mate has a Galaxy and frankly it's not far short of a van but much better to be in took 4 of us, bikes and all the gear for a week to France no worries.

As an SMax owner I am going to recommend an SMax.

I own a Skoda roomster and with one rear seat in I can squeeze in 3 bikes upright with the front wheels off. Have to load then back to front, front to back to achieve this. I bought some fork mounts to support the forks on a plank of wood over the rear seat foot well. If the car was 30cm longer it would be great. Mind has a tow bar so bikes travel outside when loaded with other gear.

As an ex s-max owner, I'd say it was almost ideal but the rear of the inside roof drops down and you lose a lot of usable space. Galaxy I think is better in terms of load space but probably harder on economy.
As an ex berlingo owner, that is what I'm considering again as my next vehicle...worked far better for me as a bike carrier than the smax and cost less to run.

Touran 😆 💡

Grand Cmax and a a Fatty.
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How about the Dacia Logan MCV? Big estate for not a lot of money...

Skoda Yeti with 27.5 enduraaaaa bike in. Dropper seat post down. Two rear seats removed, one still left in.

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