[Closed] Am I going to regret going from a fast car to a family friendly truck?

There a plenty of fast estates get one of those.

Just got rid of a Volvo S60 2.4T, fast as a fast thing that was.

Replaced with an old Focus 1.8D, and the difference is huge. So much easier to get bikes in, 2 just sling in the back, and the savings in fuel, servicing, insurance et c., got to be 2k a year.

It's a whole load slower, but the drive has become relaxing, I just get there when I do, and the difference is mere minutes.

You should do it.

APF

wrightyson you have to remember those trucks only exist as a way for builders and plumbers to scam the tax man. They're not very good at anything. Swap the fast saloon for a fast estate 🙂

RandomJeremy hits the nail on te head with regards pickups, but ree your OP, we went from a TT that was quite fast to a Zafira that.....isn't. No regrets at all. The space, comfort and flexibility is king with the family and all it's accoutrements are in tow. Sounds like your budget is significant and fuel costs not importantso surely a tricked up VW T5 is where it's at??

Yeah we had one on the company for that reason! Im already having visions of mrs w sideswiping a nice new merc or something as she attempts to swing into a spot in morrisons car park!! As regards the estates I'd still have to get a bike rack and tow bar I presume for four bikes. Love an rs4 estate but she whines about the juice this car uses 🙄

Try taking the fast saloon off road, different kind of fun innit?
Having driven fast cars, Porsche 911 down, I have to say the biggest grin factor came from a Range Rover being hooned around one of those Land Rover experience tracks.

Pickups are stupid, and everyone will know you are stupid if you drive one 😉

To be fair they are good for what they are designed for - carrying loads off-road - but not much else. Maybe towing huge things. Uncomfortable, crap to drive, slow and very thirsty.

If you want to carry loads of stuff, get a van. If you want to drive fast and have lots of space, get a fast estate. If you want something in between get an MPV. All options that are better than a truck.

As regards the estates I'd still have to get a bike rack and tow bar I presume for four bikes

Depends on how much work you want to put in. You could probably get four bikes in a big estate with wheels and seats off and still seat four. But if you don't mind a rack why not just fit one your current car? A car with a rack takes four people biking in more comfort and fun than a pickup, and is a fun car when you're not taking people biking.

"you have to remember those trucks only exist as a way for builders and plumbers to scam the tax man"

...and for men with small penis syndrome.

I'd go for an estate any day over a truck. A mate of mine used to sell them, they were basic, noisey, not fuel efficient, and handled like a wet fish, probably due to the ancient technology of leaf springs on the rear!

On a more serious note, I have seen some awful things happen with trucks trying to do emergency stops on motorways. They take forever to stop or get in to horrible un controllable slides.

Having owned fast trick cars and big powerful estates I'd say the fast powerful estate is the way to go, however you say you have 4 bikes, hmmm and how many peiople you you want to carry?? hmmm..
I could get two bikes on the roof and one in the boot (incl wheels with seats down) no probs in my 5 Series.. But that doesn't cover your needs by all accounts.

I'd go for a VW Touran 2.0TDi, stick a roof rack on it and if needed you have the flexability to take the rear seats out too.
Pretty perfect for ya's me thinks.. and I've done exactly that, It's an amazing leap of space and masses of flexability and still drives like a car with all the benefits of being a utility vehicle with teeny bit of style..

As an RS4 Avant owner all I can offer is 3 bikes and a surf ski on the roof, 2 on the back and a boot full of gear and the thing still pulls like a train uphill with 4 people in it. I had a vw t5 and a 911 before combining into one vehicle-no regrets.
Edit: I almost went rs6 but fugly, heavy and while rs isn't exactly frugal the rs6 needs to tow a tanker.

A6 or somesuch with a tow bar and a tow mounted thule bike rack would be perfect I'd say.

As others have said trucks are horrible. Slow, nasty to drive, cramped in the back seats, thirsty, no security for bikes in the back )which only fit in whole if hung in the american front wheels out kind of way). A crew van with removable seats is the answer, swap for the van you already have by the sounds of it.

Oh 😕

quote NZCol:
[i]As an[/i] [b]RS4 Avant[/b] [i]owner all I can offer is 3 bikes and a surf ski on the roof, 2 on the back and a boot full of gear and the thing still pulls like a train uphill with 4 people in it. I had a[/i] [b]vw t5 and a 911[/b] [i]before combining into one vehicle-no regrets.[/i]

From the perfect combination to a sad (but prob necessary) compromise!

Mondeo estate? Volvo V70? Both should take 4 bikes with wheels off and 4 people too

like rj says, one of my pals had them for a few years and my personal opinion is they're not that much good at anything, other than bunging a few tools in the back.
Have you considered a Merc Vito or similar? it seems that all the mtb industry use them
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You say that but it actually wasn't. The van was handy but a bit of a pig really and the 911 was not really driven enough. When I wanted to combine a interesting fruity drive to and from places with gear it was in the van ! Trying to make time at weekends to drive my car seemed a bit odd. So I went for something disgustingly fast but able to swallow bikes (inside). It has awesome heated seats and that S button. 911(993 actually) was fantastic and a good investment to boot. I could have got a hybrid 1ltr grass eating vegetarian vehicle but I don't want one. Sorry for that.

"Have you considered a Merc Vito or similar? it seems that all the mtb industry use them"

Is that why bikes are so bloody expensive these days as shops will only be seen driving round in Mercs 🙂

Can't get a bike rack (boot type) for my car due to Chav spoiler! Then fitting a tow bar would make Chav spoiler look ridiculous I reckon. The van can't be changed as it's part of the business, full of tools etc and racked out. At the end of the day whatever I go for has to then suit the run to the shops etc! But the general consensus seems to be trucks suck!!

I could have got a hybrid 1ltr grass eating vegetarian vehicle but I don't want one

Oh that's alright then! Sorry kids - we could've saved the environment but we just didn't feel like it, ok? You can handle all the mess we've left?

😉

Worse than that deliberately chose not to.

I knew that would wake you up 😉

A Mondeo estate or a something like a Galaxy?

I'm with col on this one, love the rs4!

You won't regret it, and guess what, you'll get there in pretty much the same time.

Have you considered a Merc Vito or similar? it seems that all the mtb industry use them

Merc are giving lots of folks vans to use this year which is why they're everywhere. MBUK and Wide Open both have one, Athertons, Team CRC and Peaty as riders to name just a few.

Mitsi Legnum VR4 ftw. 4WD with fancy Active Yaw Control (no idea what it does, other than get you through 4' of snow to the Cairngorm top carpark where other, "better" cars failed), in the region of 300bhp and oodles of torque for all your overtaking needs, 30 mpg if you're careful, and really really cheap. There's an absolute peach going on ClubVR4 at the moment for under £2500.

Stick a towbar rack on it and Bob's your mother's brother.

look out here come the hand wringers, didn't take long 🙄

Buy what you want who gives a sh1t if they think you are a knob. I don't rag mine on public roads but I do take it onto the track which is always nice. RS4 meets your requirements, any colour other than red, try and get the optics pack as well if you can, avoid ceramic brake option v noisy. Loads on piston heads.

Octavia Scout.

............................Fin...........................

Skoda Yeti 2.0 diesel?

Uncomfortable, crap to drive, slow and very thirsty.

Serious question to the OP, where can you really use the potential of a fast car on UK roads (unless you use it on trackdays)?
Seems to me you are either stuck in a line of traffic or constantly on the look out for speed camera's.
So I reckon as long as what you get will keep up with the flow of traffic and provide all the versitility you want you will fine.

Same boat as you two years ago - my car is a 3 series 330i (e46).

I use that most of the time as I enjoy the fast car syndromoe as you do. I can get 2 bikes on the roof a passenger an 2 sets of bike / camping gear NP but more importantly, it gets ME about.

As its only worth about 5k if I'm lucky, we bought a Ford Kuga as a family car, and I bought thule bars for that. If I do go away on a long journey I can swap the kiddy seat about and use that instead.

So best of both worlds.....

Mondeo estate, massive inside and good runner. As Alexpalacefan says the difference from a 'fast' car is a lot more relaxing but time wise not a lot, haven't had road rage since downgrading to a chugging banger.

Went from a 328i tourer where I had to take front wheel off to get bike in the back to a MK1 1.8 Mondeo hatchback, can just chuck the bike in the back with the seats down. Mate had an Mondeo estate and we got an old coin-op arcarde machine in the back with room to spare, reckon you could easily get 4 bikes + kit in with the seats up with a bit of playing.

Sportier estates (aka lifestyle estates, urgh) are not worth it ime, small boots and awkward loading hatches.

I went from an Alfa 145 Cloverleaf to a Defender 😯 - driving is now more relaxing because I know I'll get there whenever I get there so I sit back and take my time. Driving the Alfa in comparison seems like continually struggling against a boisterous puppy always pulling on a lead.

I occasionally miss being able to put my foot down, but not that much.

Slx, xt, xtr - all do the same just in different ways. Buy what you want. Solar sunroof in rs4 handy as well...

I'm driving a Navarra at the moment as a company pool car...It's without doubt the worst car I have ever driven. Noisy, uncomfortable, cramped in the back, boot is not secure, costs a fortune in diesel to run, hard to park, awful to drive.

Avoid.

I'm driving a Navarra at the moment as a company pool car...It's without doubt the worst car I have ever driven. Noisy, uncomfortable, cramped in the back, boot is not secure, costs a fortune in diesel to run, hard to park, awful to drive.

Serious question to the OP, where can you really use the potential of a fast car on UK roads (unless you use it on trackdays)?

When you're stuck behind some fanny in a Kia doing 43mph through both NSL roads and 20/30mph villages, maybe?

best of both worlds?

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Mondeo ST220........

I knew that would wake you up

You started it 🙂 I've hardly mentioned it at all in ages, despite it being the biggest problem facing the world.

Buy what you want.

The OP is trying to decide what he wants, I suspect...

I use the speed wisely and when I need to overtake. It's good for 155 on open roads but I don't think it's ever been near 3 figures! I love the acceleration and the ability to pass cars safely and yes I said safely. When I need to get past william who's taking Doris to church on a Sunday its down a gear and past in the blink of an eye! Also we have quite a few holidays and weekends away around the coasts here so it's nice to get by caravans easily too! Definately opened my eyes up to how poorly trucks are viewed tho so it needs some more research!

What is your current car?

I would just get a tow bar and tow bar carrier (if you can get them for 4?) and when you want it just stick on the back - takes 5 minutes and bikes are easier to load than just about any other solution. Only down side to any external mounting is security.

Other than that I would go for a 5 series estate with a big diesel engine (535D or something).

I don't think it's ever been near 3 figures!

Road trip Germany? It's an eye-opener...

I am in a similar predicament. My TT goes back in a couple of months and I am going for the (comparatively) gutless Mazda 6 Sport tdi (180bhp).

I know I will hate whatever car I now need so I have just gone for one with lots of whistles and bells (and a little bit of power).

I would love a BMW 335 diesel but they cost a fortune on business leases.

Skoda Octavia vRS estate (petrol one for me). oh.... with a remap of course. 🙂

I've had 3 bikes easily on the roof and I'm certain you'd get 4.

Bucket loads of space inside for 4 plus gear. There's a diesel version if you really want to watch the pennies, but it cost more to buy so only makes sense if you do mega miles.

I've had 3 bikes easily on the roof and I'm certain you'd get 4.

I don't think those Thule bars support four bikes do they?

I don't think those Thule bars support four bikes do they?

oh.... dunno. I've got the t track aero bars and proride bike carriers. Can you not just keep sliding stuff onto the track? I recon there would be space as long as you don't exceed the car's roof weight limit.

I've had 3 bikes on the thule bars on my 306. Still room for another 1 at least. I think the max load is 75kg but I wonder what the forces from the drag of bikes is?

I do love being able to chuck the bikes on the roof but the rack does hurt mpg and as I added bike racks one at a time I didn't realise until I lifted it off in one piece just how heavy it was. And that is the all aluminium set up.

proride carrier is 4kgs.
Assume bikes are on average 30lbs including mud.

So 4 * 30lb (13.63kgs) + 4 * 4kgs = 70.5 kgs.

Therefore 4 bikes should be just under the weight limit. Assuming the car doesn't have it's own lower limit of course.

I do love being able to chuck the bikes on the roof but the rack does hurt mpg

I suspect not as much as a big van / truck thingy will though!

Serious question to the OP, where can you really use the potential of a fast car on UK roads (unless you use it on trackdays)?

When you're stuck behind some fanny in a Kia doing 43mph through both NSL roads and 20/30mph villages, maybe?

Know what you mean but driving like only eases the frustration, it doesn't save much on the journey time.

It's an impreza saloon shape. When I say four bikes, 2x 26'rs and 2x kids, think they're 20" wheels.
@ MF why don't you go for the mps version, (think that's right) still a Mazda 6 but pretty quick. Had a blast in one on a stop box type track, doing j turns, handbrakes etc. Seemed very solid and pulled well!

driving like only eases the frustration

Not sure it does actually - it gets you used to driving fast and wanting to get places, and this is a mug's game cos there's ALWAYS far more slow traffic than there is overtaking spaces, even in a fast car.

Getting a slow car and relaxing is the key to minimising frustration on country roads ime 🙂

When you're stuck behind some fanny in a Kia doing 43mph through both NSL roads and 20/30mph villages, maybe?

I've got a Mondeo ST220 estate - absolutely cavernous inside and hugely powerful. Easily fits three bikes and associated blokes and kit for a weekend without folding the seats down. With a bit of thought and planning I recon four bikes in the boot would be achievable...fuel is a little scary around town, but on a long trip I have squeezed 30mpg out of it 😆

And, I don't think they look too bad either;

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I am in the same boat at the minute and am likely to go for a pick-up with a lockable hard top, and a row of Thules on the roof. I'll go that way because its a commercial vehicle for tax/BIK, the double-height hard-top will hold a massive amount of kit for big trips, the 4x4 will come in handy at home and abroad, and my wife would rather drive it than a van. When you get to a certain storage capacity your options are either a massive 4x4/people carrier, or a van or pick-up.

I don't get people complaining about the driving experience, for a size comparison you are looking at an X5 or Discovery and none of them are involving to drive, especially if you're used to a performance car. The bigger pick-up engines have loads of torque and overtake easily enough.

At the end of the day it will boil down to how the running costs work out in your tax situation and what you need your vehicles to do. As NZCol said you could end up regretting not having a quick car and that might make it worth running a combi or a pickup/trailer for work.

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Cheap as chips, 300hp 4wd with a couple of minor tweaks (285 as standard) - 4 bikes in the back. What more would you want?

I went from fast car to slow estate and sank into near depression, having the fast car back makes my days far more fun 🙂

Don't forget that 4x4's often have to pay commercial fees on bridge tolls, ferries and other things (as my brother has found out).

Bro in law had the saloon 220, v6 if Iirc, sounded lovely and dark red and black leather looked great. However he went petrol crazy from there which peaked with an s5 with full milltech system on! Now he's got a lumbering Q7 for towing his caravan! How two kids and 6 or 7 years can change a man!!

Excuse my ignorance coffeeking is that a mitso galant or scoob forester thingy, im not up on my sports wagons!

Ive just had a year with an L200 and it was fun for the first 3 weeks and then I began to despise it- it was even carp for throwing bikes in the hardshell at the back- could only just get 3 bikes in with taking wheels off as the wheel arches kicked in that much.

Fuel economy is awful, handling in the wet was lethal and the seats were rock hard

Now got an A4 estate and I actually enjoy driving again (although that is also crap for bikes but at least you can reach on top to put the bikes on a rack)

Personally I dont get the having to have a powerful sports estate car for lumping people and bikes around.

Any car with 120-150 bhp will have enough poke to get past Dorris doing 40 in a 60.

Why not just get a Mondeo estate TDCi 130 bhp which will do want you want for biking and everyday, and get a Caterham/Elise etc for fun driving?

I have driven most of the pick ups. The micest was the vw pick up, very nicely put togeather and large inside.

@FunkyDunc

Each to their own eh? Perhaps some people can't afford two cars or simply do not have the space. I would love a Caterham (well Westfield as my father in law is selling his beautiful example) but, when I think about it in practical terms, it makes no sense whatsoever - I have nowhere to store it safely (certainly not in a garage as it should be) and I wouldn't get the use out of it as my weekends are taken up with my kids so any driving I do, I have a wife and two kids in the car.

I went from an S2000 to an Alpina D3 saloon and do not regret it.

Alpina is better handling, better for overtaking, gets twice the MPG and saved me a about £400 on tax and insurance.

You can get a touring version as well think the newer Bi-Turbo has 214bhp and 332 lb-ft of torque.

Why not just get a Mondeo estate TDCi 130 bhp which will do want you want for biking and everyday, and get a Caterham/Elise etc for fun driving?

Because not everyone has the room for 2 cars, or wishes to start doubling up on insurances etc. I do th 2 car thing and it breaks even nicely at around 10-12K a year (i.e. it's cheaper to run 2 cars after 12K miles a year) due to fuel costs, but while I rented I lived in a place with no drive, so a single car was a must really. Add to that the fewer things to go wrong (incidental expenses like knackered engines/gearboxes/pothole damage) and a single fast car starts to look fairly good.

I have an L200. Went this route after owning an impreza wagon.

Estates are good on the whole, if you live close to good riding locations.

taking the subaru for a day out with bikes got expensive. 2-3 people bikes max. take into account everything + the inside got very dirty.

Couldnt justify the cost of taking it 30 miles up the road for a ride by myself sometimes

L200 is lot better fuel wise on long treks, insurance is expensive though. more than for an impreza. very hard to drive in city centers etc ( but its not what they are made for). I have had 8 bikes and 8 people into it for an uplift. which is one of the reasons I own it. obviously not very legal. Most times 5 people and 5 bikes is easy. + all the dirty stuff including bikes doesnt need to go inside. Dakine make nice pads to put over the tail gate, if you can get one

They are also cheaper than nice vans

Swings and roundabouts.

People will call you all sorts for driving one on here, but I think fast estates are over rated.

Only spots for two motors at our house, one for the van other for the car! I only drive the car at the weekends and the odd rare evening, it still gives me a buzz and I'd happily jump in it and just go for a meaningless drive somewhere but FD says no!! I was going through this same scenario last august when we went to Scotland for a week and just couldn't get the bikes there. I just know I'm going to miss getting from 0 to 60 in under 5 if I buy an old smoker of an estate, but was hoping to offset this by having fun in a truck! That would appear not to be the case!

Excuse my ignorance coffeeking is that a mitso galant or scoob forester thingy, im not up on my sports wagons!

Scoober Legacy GTB.

Mastiles, yep I know its each to their own etc etc..

But a nice normal estate is circa £10k. A nice RS4 is £25k +

So no not more expensive.

In your circumstance I think you need to get over the fact that your loosing your 'sports' car. Your looking at buying a family car for your children, whatever you buy is going to be dull in coparison so why not just buy and avg car and save some pennys rather than spend more for a car that gives you slightly more acceleration but ultimately will leave you feeling just as dull 🙂

I went from a brand new MX5 to a Mk3 Mondeo which is a dull as dishwater in comparison, but it does the job I need which is to get me from A-B in comfort and relatively cheaply. At the same time Im saving to buy myself a nice toy (using the cash that I could have spent on a more powerful but ultimately as dull car) 🙂

In your circumstance I think you need to get over the fact that your loosing your 'sports' car. Your looking at buying a family car for your children, whatever you buy is going to be dull in coparison so why not just buy and avg car and save some pennys rather than spend more for a car that gives you slightly more acceleration but ultimately will leave you feeling just as dull

See where you're going there but it does deaden the soul somewhat.

I bought a 306 diesel estate and while it's perfectly practical, reasonably nippy and cheap to run and of course sensible for most driving. It's boring.

Getting a slow car and relaxing is the key to minimising frustration on country roads ime

Well waddyaknow? Getting a REALLY fast car and using it to safely overtake, then enjoying the country roads in said fast car is the key ime 🙂

Not a dig, just saying we all like/want/prefer different things. As OP has an Impreza, I'm guessing pootling along behind slower drivers in a calm and relaxed manner doesn't factor much. A car that would do everything OP needs whilst fulfilling the desire for a fast car would therefore be one of the many Japanese/German 4x4 super-estates.

In your circumstance I think you need to get over the fact that your loosing your 'sports' car. Your looking at buying a family car for your children, whatever you buy is going to be dull in coparison so why not just buy and avg car and save some pennys rather than spend more for a car that gives you slightly more acceleration but ultimately will leave you feeling just as dull

Wife and I went from two Alfa Romeos (147 for the wife, 3.0 GTV for me) to a single Mazda Bongo.

Bongo is far more relaxing to drive. Used to get frustrated if stuck behind slow cars of country roads, the car had the power to overtake so felt like i had to! Bongo doesn't have the 0-60 (or the 30-100 time!) of the Alfa, but i just accept that i can't overtake and relax (unfortunately it does mean that sometimes, i'm the slow car with the frustrated sports car driver behind).

Advantages though... bongo has more usable seats than both previous cars put together, servicing is cheap, insurance is cheap and fuel costs are less. In addition, with a Thule backpac I can carry 5 people and bikes (and kit) and the seats will fold down so you can sleep in the back of the van (2 of you at least, it even has electric blinds). if you get a AFT version even better for camping and transport duties.

There is even a 2.5l V6 petrol version if you require a bit more poke...

Alfa 159 estate is pretty large inside...

Put a car GPS on the dash with the ETA display on - that will relax you and show you the futility of driving like a loon as it makes very little difference to your arrival time, just causes you stress.

CoPilot on your android phone will do this, plus warn you if going 5mph over the speed limit.

I have made as much of a compromise as I think I can manage

🙄

Listen to yourself!

Anyway.. the trade-off for loss of speed is a gain in comfort. So you could just go as comfy and refined as you like. Different driving pleasure, but still pleasure imo.

L200 is lot better fuel wise on long treks

A quick diesel estate will do almost double what the L200 will - comparing it to a legacy and calling it economical is a bit silly imo 🙂

I use my dad in laws Navara 6 months of the year and I find it too compromised really. Bikes don't fit well in the load space so you need a towbar rack or roof bars. Not really nice to drive either, crap turning circle, not great off road.

I have also had an audi S2, S6 and a landrover and all were better for what I use them for.

As a suggestion, audi allroad? cheap and does all you want really

wrightyson.

I cant say I miss the speed. its' a different kind of animal. I realy do enjoy having one. I would get a nice van if I could afford one ( new vito with a custom fit out in the back). until then the L200 is ace, the odd cheeky uplift is also a bonus.

A question like this on STW is never going to go well.
So many experts.

Lots of b******s being said on here.

I have a Renault scenic. Its properly slow but has a good driving position and the kids can see out the windows in the back. I‘m happy with it but then I don’t drive like a d**k. I get the impression people on this thread drive like d***s, good luck to you and your uneconomical cars.

Listen to yourself!

Lots of b******s being said on here.

I have a Renault scenic. Its properly slow but has a good driving position and the kids can see out the windows in the back. I‘m happy with it but then I don’t drive like a d**k. I get the impression people on this thread drive like d***s, good luck to you and your uneconomical cars.

NIce to see they are fitting them with back windows though - is that a recent invention?