[Closed] what vehicle for family & 4 bikes

Trailers are a pain in the arse.

Hire something for the trips.

keep the car you have.

J

For holidays, hire a 4 berth horse box, far cheaper than a motorhome, and plenty of space?

Otherwise a people carrier.

4x4's won't compare for boot space, you probably won't get everything in.

Also a trailer would be a pain as you have to drive so much slower, plus if its a small one, you can't keep track of it in the mirrors when reversing.

For your next holiday, I would hire a crew cab van, VW or maybe Vauxhall Vivaro. Once she gets behind the wheel she'd probably quite like it...can't knock something before you've tried it.

We have an Iveco Daily which is more truck than van, gf loves driving it once she realised it wasn't actually that much bigger than our Ford Mondeo. (or your Honda Accord)

PS: Horseboxes are expensive to hire, we used to hire a small 3.5t horsebox and it was £100 a day...so we spent £4k on a horse trailer and bought the van to tow it 🙂 Anything with four berths will be nearing 7.5tons.

surely hiring something like a horse box is a tad expensive - £1000/14 days at a quick glance.

Brother-in-law gets 26mpg at best from his Sorrento, less than 20mpg towing his caravan. And they aren't that big inside. Has been very reliable though. Not as tank like to drive as you'd think, but check the tax, it's £300 pa on the later models.
If your sticking 4 bikes on the back, as well as a full car load of kit, your going to be looking at a 4x4. Nissan X-Trail has a 100kg allowance, as does Freelander, Honda CRV. Either of those should be a lot better than a Sorrento on mpg.
Trailer's ok, if you've somewhere to keep it. Ours lives in the garage but stores all the camping kit, if I need the space I simply stick it in the garden. Your limited to 60mph with one though.

Used to have 'issues' with the suspension on my primera carrying 2 guys/dh bikes and assorted kit, tent etc for a race weekend. Bought a Discovery and it's the shizzle. 3 guys plus bikes and kit no worries, four is doable but a bit tight. I reckon you need a van!

Err get some stronger springs for the Honda? Really that bad? We have an Accord MkVII with 3 bikes on the back and 5up it still handles fine. A trailer would seem the best option if you have somewhere to store it. Or of course this being STW - lighter bikes 😀

even if you spend a grand a year for the next three years hiring something it wont touch the depreciation on an average car.

Stick with Honda and get an FRV. Not the most exotic looking car but mine is awesome. I have had 7 (yes seven) bikes on mine! 4 on the roof and three on a tow bar mounted carrier. Loads of room for kids/gear etc inside too.

We have a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso. Loads of boot space and with four bikes loaded on the back and the boot full the suspension self levels to what it should be

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All loaded for the Alps

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Tracey

Keep your car and buy a Mitsubishi Delica.... You may have seen my Offroad express/White Lightning at the singletrack Weekender earlier in the year....

4 guys, bikes, kit, tents and grub easy! and the seats turn into bed in the back if you like.

Get a cracker for 4k or a very useful one for 2k and fixer uppers for less than that.

If you think horseboxes are expensive, have a look at motorhomes...

No, this is loaded:

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VW Sharan for us, 5 of us. Take a bike each and camping stuff for 2 weeks and sometimes dog in the Sharan, Pendle bike carrier on tow bar, bike on top and top box, no probs.

Before you choose, go to any ferry operator's website and price the different options for the same trip. They charge extra for trailers and silly money for vans. I priced Portsmouth to Cherbourg one way recently and, while the car cost £120 each way, a van (under 2m high, under 5m long) was £160, £40 quid each way more than a car. Considering that the biggest people carriers are nearly 2m high, nearly 5m long and weigh more than my empty van, this gets me properly miffed when I pay more dosh for the same parking area.

Shedfull has a point although vans are considered commercial vehicles and liable for bigger charges! Although you often get a meal/room chucked in with commercial crossing fares.

Delica is the future.... go on you know you want to.

hmmm - always quite fancied the delica in a retro sort of way.

Like the idea of the C4 - if only it was not a citroen - are they reliable.
Is the C4 shared with another model with the same air suspension ?

On the van front I am dubious that after two rows of seats they are really worth the inconvenience.

Cheers for the thoughts quys - will ponder the autotrader for options.

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My company car seats 5 in loads of space. Is as comfortable as a car to drive. Can take as many bikes as it can passengers and all their gear. Oh and it has a removable towbar and further bike rack if it needs it.

I have a picasso, its big for the price, I can get 3 bikes in the back with the seats down or 2 in the boot and 3 on the back + kit, or 2 kids, full camping gear for a week, 3 bikes, food the lot, its a good buy and very reliable, that said if I had a choce I would like a chrysler voyager...

Sharan/Galaxy/Seat

Bikes on roof or tow bar rack when needed.

7 seats, but 5 in back removable.
Our Sharan TDi has loads of power and gets nearly 40mpg on motorways.
Drives like a car (which it is I guess)

that vito/viano's ace

that vito is on the right line. i'd prob go for a t5 tho instead. some very fast, very nice versions out... the mrs wouldnt even know it was a 'van' pretty far removed from a stinking transit...

You need a Land Rover 130!

Put a full length safari rack on the top and bob's you uncle everything fits! Plus you can get just about anywhere....

Seriously though, renting a motorhome or van would seem logical, unless you do trips every weekend?

That Merc van is lovely, but your Honda Accord is a better daily drive, stick with your first plan and get the trailer for occasional use, cheaper, easier and you will use it much more than you imagine, trailers are a quite expensive to buy, but they hold their value really well.

I know the law on towing but unless your driving like a real knob you will find it tows quite happily at the usual non towing speed limit and ive never been stopped.

EDIT... Land Rover 130 is a trailer with 4WD... 🙂

My collegues cant understand why i take my vito over a C220 car. It wipes the floor with them as a day to day vehicle. A compact is no longer than a Mondeo Estate and the 115 is capable of car like fuel economy.

I have told them the day i get a car to drive is the day i start looking for another job. Thankfully sales are bouyant atm.

Ford SMax - plenty of room on roof for luggage and space on back for towball-mounted or boot-mounted rack - space for 4 inside (actually if you could split the bikes I reckon you could get 4 bikes inside and 4 people plus a bit of space for gear - which would just leave the ski kit on the roof) - split the bikes I mean remove wheels and saddles, the bikes could probably stack not probs at the rear...

Has anyone discussed the security of having 4 bikes on a bike rack? I wouldnt want to leave my bikes open to theft for such a long journey.

Mitsubishi shogun lwb for me ,with a spare wheel mounted carrier

It's not a Pajero then SPANISHbarry?

We looked at the S Max when we were looking to change opted for the Grand Picasso as when the seats were folded there was more room to to get Kevins bike in, stood up, with the front wheel off.

Nissan Navara for me. Five folk; five bikes; 2 dogs; some bags. No probs.

Rides a bit like a van though. And it smells a bit of its last home - a cowshed.

Honda FRV is a really dumb suggestion. OP stated he fills the boot. FRV's boot must be half the capacity of an Accord Tourer (i'm assuming you are talking about the just replaced Accord, which has a hugh boot, cause the new one is much smaller).

S-Max with a roofrack will do you fine. Handles brilliantly for that kind of car, looks great on 18's, very comfortable and long-legged, 45mpg in normal use, holds it's value well and unlike a Citroen won't fall to bits.

How about an older model Fiat Multipla? 6 seats, biggish boot, lots of cubby holes, plus a tow bar mounted rack, could be on a par with the Delicia or Sharan/Galaxy options?

Ugly as sin but that’ll deter thieves and apparently usable as a day to day car, a mate at work swears by his, we rented one a couple of times with an old employer as you can pile plenty of people/kit in them…

I’m happy with my Mk4 Golf estate at the minute but can see it getting a little small once I need to move 3+ bikes (as the nipper gets bigger), still good for a couple of years though I reckon, so I’ll have a similar issue to tackle then..

Somehow I I've always felt that owning an MPV would feel a bit like having failed at life, like I’d been hen pecked into buying an underpowered land barge that doesn’t go round corners, but I’ll probably wind up owning one in the end… practicality innit 🙄

Tracey,

Were you the guys who made your kids wear the vests in the car all the time saying 'it was compulsory all the time'.

I am liking the C4.

Yes when we came out of the tunnel told them it was compulsory for under 14s. We were well into France before Kevin told them it was a wind up.
We have had the C4 fot 2 years and have done over 40000 miles in it. Its great for biking, the rear seats fold down into the floor so when the boot is open you have a flat bed for loading

Tracey

look into uprating the suspention via a caravan spares shop/website.when you see these cars with a caravan on the back and the bonnet pointing to the hevens thats how to do it wrongly! a caravan is gonna put far more down force onto a tow bar than three/four bikes and yet they can uprate the rear springs etc to compensate.
worth a look i recon...

we have a zafira and can easily get 4 bikes on the roof rack with all the family gear n the back.