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My Wife has a new shape VW beetle but we need to change it as it's not quite suitable for our needs so we are thinking of replacing it. It is her pride and joy and was bought solely for her to use and it was doing ok until I decided to sell my Discovery and get a van. The beetle now has to transport 3 dogs when we go on our holidays etc and while it's a lovely car for nipping around in, it's not a 'dog car'. It doesn't have a big enough boot so the seats have to be collapsed but they don't fold flat and the curved roof doesn't help with the dogs comfort (we love our doggies). The problem is, the new car has to be an auto and it has to be a classic style/retro type of thing because the wife likes that kind of car and people carriers, rep style estates leave her cold..... Oh and it has to be reasonably small because she's relatively new to driving and big cars scare her. So I'm not really left with much options. New shape mini clubmans tick some of the boxes and most of the time the seats will be folded down but I'm not sure it's big enough for a Boxer dog and two Boston Terriers. So what should I be looking at?
Classic/retro styling, small, suitable for dogs etc.
Off the top of my head, only a Clubman ticks those boxes. Whatever you do, DO NOT buy a Fiat 500L.
Yeah, I'm not keen on those fiats either
"it has to be reasonably small because she's relatively new to driving and big cars scare her" and "I'm not sure it's (Clubman) big enough for a Boxer dog and two Boston Terriers" - How much bigger than a clubman can you go before its too big? Is the van a certain need? Would changing that for an estate make more sense? Sorry - just don't know your circumstances.
Devils Advocate here - surely you had to have known this when selling the Disco and buying your van?
As its solely "Her" car then its down to you to sort the cock up - YOUR cock up.
Why not as an easy option just put cages in the van? Simple and cheap.
PT Cruiser ticks all the boxes. 😳
What's wrong with the 500L???
I'm a big fan of the Nissan Cube, it's a square box with a sort of future retro styling
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I'm aware that feelings for it may not be universally favourable.. 😉
Yes, totally my fault for selling the disco and getting the van and not thinking ahead. We've always been a one car family but since relocating to quite a rural location we needed a car for the wife as well. Our business needs demanded recently that a disco was no longer needed and a van is essential. To be honest, where we live is beautiful and really ace for dogs and that's cool but we realise that a beetle doesn't quite work when it comes to vet trips and future holidays if we take the dogs with us. I'm not keen on cages in the back of the van as it has a bulkhead and I do like to keep an eye on them to make sure they are comfortable. A mini clubman was the only car I could think of hence me asking for advice. The Beetle is deceptively large (on the exterior) so I suppose we could look at something slightly bigger than the mini.
Put a window in the bulkhead or just undo the half dozen bolts and take it out then.
Sorted.
Before I had read the entire of your post I was thinking 'Mini Clubman'....
And I would be surprised if the Beetle is any bigger than a Clubman. And isn't the Clubman 4x4 too? Sounds perfect for winter as you state you are in a rural location too....
Jag X-Type estate - its sort of 'retro', and would be big enough for the dogs, also available as 4x4, so good for country/dog walks/winter etc. Too big for the wife....Alfa 159's have certain style to them - i'm not sure you'd call it retro though.
Citroen C3 Picasso is surprisingly compact, but with tons of interior space & practical seating options - rear seats slide to give more legroom or more boot space & they can be folded to give a completely flat load space.
It's not retro, but quite quirky looking if you get it in a bright colour with the polished alloys...
Whats wrong with a 500L Monkeychild??? Beyond fulfilling the basic requirements expected in a car (go, stop, indicate etc) it is in everyway terrible and I don't say this sort of thing lightly. At work we are given hire cars for all business travel and so we are in and out of a huge range of cars from and large selection of brands every week and common consensus was that there are no bad cars anymore. You may not like this or that model for whatever subjective reason, but there is nothing wrong with it. (for example the Hyundai I35 or passat, perfectly reasonable cars, but not very me). The 500L forced us to rethink our conclusions.
We have recieved some 500Ls recently and everybody without fail has detested them. Poor build/performance/economy/refinement/handling/software/ergonomics, grabby all or nothing brakes. You have to wonder how it was ever signed off. We now refuse them if they try to drop them off. Its a cheap car, but that is no excuse. (Though they keep getting cheaper as they can't shift them, so I'm sure a few more will be hitting the roads.
OP - Retro is tricky. Get a copy of autocar or something and just go through the pictures in the buyers guide at the back and stop when she likes something and then see if it works for you. That or just get a bigger car, she may find it a bit daunting to begin with, but after a few weeks she will get used to it. My other half hates driving, but soon got used to having a big family car.
's well retro innit!
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Mini Clubman! A nice flat floor with the back seats down and proper depth windows so the terriers can see out. My Jack Russell hates cars with windows she can't reach...
How about a Defender 90?
What's wrong with the 500L???
Where do I start? OK, this is as good a place as any:
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We where given a Fiat 500L as a cursory car, call me a snob but I was embarrassed to be in it and it was a pile of pooh aside from being quite "big" (which is something a Fiat 500 most certainly should not be)
OP, something Golf sized. I would have said something like a BMW1 series but she may think that's too big or not "retro" enough ? I have to say I don't like the Clubman as the sheer size of the modern Mini is a betrayal of the original design
Have a search for a tidy Nissan Pao, think it ticks a lot of the boxes.
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But the Mini Clubman is SO UGLY.......
I suppose it's alright if you are sitting inside it, but just think of all the poor b**tards who have to look at it as you drive around.
If one of the very latest, at least it would come with six doors rather than the offside suicide door of the first model
P.S. Did I mention I don't like the Mini Clubman at all?
Volvo 850 turbo?
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Going to avoid anything Land Rover badged, I've owned several and they were all money pits. I do love them but after so many bad relationships with them, it's time to face facts that it's never going to work and I've scratched the itch. I was thinking new(ish) HondaCRV, I had a 2nd gen version and although it was great but it was a bit on the thirsty side.... Wife is not mad about them though.
Audi A3 estate is normally the choice that people end up with.
😀
2 more suggestions..
Fiat 500 X
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Jeep Renegade (basically a panda 4x4 in butch gear)
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[i] I'm not keen on cages in the back of the van as it has a bulkhead and I do like to keep an eye on them to make sure they are comfortable.[/i]
FFS they're dogs not babies!
Citroen cactus?
b r - Member
I'm not keen on cages in the back of the van as it has a bulkhead and I do like to keep an eye on them to make sure they are comfortable.FFS they're dogs not babies!
POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST
No, they are my babies and I like to look after them
Kia soul
Audi a3 sport back? We have a similar problem, but for one large dog instead of three.
The skoda yeti 4x4 looks like a vehicle that would suit our needs, gets good reviews too. Not sure it's retro styleeee but it pretty much would do everything we need it too. Anyone on here own one of these?
Yep - i've got a Yeti. I absolutely LOVE it. I've got mine on a personal lease - there were silly deals on them at the start of year. Mines the 1.6 Outdoor SE Greenline.
The SE has most of the toys anyone would need really. Suppose the only thing missing is the built in sat nav (which I didnt personally want).
Boot space is reasonable - but its not huge with the seats up. Instead of the seats folding flat, you can take them out completely as standalone units. For all of summer I just left one rear seat in and used it as a small van for biking.
The Outdoor variant I personally feel looks better - its raised 20mm higher too. I haven't got 4x4 but its still very capable without it.