[Closed] Next car

BIG estate... How hard is it to take the wheels off your bike, and sling it in the boot quickly after a ride? Easier than removing a seat in a people carrier I'd warrant!

Gonna be boring here I'm afraid, but I'd look at Passats, Octavia's and the like here. Dynamically they'll be better to drive (and closer to your Beemer) than a people carrier would, and they'll be more economical too.

I'd get a rack for carrying bikes. That way you have the choice of any car that takes your fancy, and you're not limited to a few specialist type cars that you won't get the benefit from most of the time.

A good Thule rack is a piece of pee to use.

This will be handy for quickly sticking my bike in ther car for weekly night rides

If it's just you then almost any hatchback or even saloon with fold down seats will accommodate one bike and one person.

What's a window licker?

One for the window lickers

I would say a decent estate and towbar carrier would be the way to go. I would check the price of getting a towbar fitted before deciding what car as prices can range from £150 to about £1000.

Ford Cmax – new one looks horrible. IMHO. Why not an S-Max? Bigger, nice looking...
Skoda Yeti – meant to be excellent thought
Hyundai IX35 – dear god
Citroen C3 Picasso – think you'll find its a bit shit everywhere else too
Skoda Roomster – meant to be good but look at it, JUST LOOK AT IT!

Others? Touran? As mentioned above, S-Max would be high on my list, 20k will get you an Octy vRS diesel estate (I've got the pre-FL 2.0T version and its brilliant), new Passat estate, does a Superb estate fall into the budget?, quite like the Zafira personally...

I really, really liked my Volvo V50 well worth a look especially at the D5 if you are heavy of foot. Don't get the T5 unless you have a petrol card that's why I sold mine.

What's a window licker?
One for the window lickers

No, to me its more of a spiritual successor to this, the Pope mobile mkII

http://www.autoplenum.de/Auto/TOYOTA/Yaris/Bild-id275502.html

If you mean the NEW C-max. That is your winner. V50's a nice car but its a reverse-tardis.

C Max isn't as big as I expected, been looking at the S Max instead.

I'd get a rack for carrying bikes. That way you have the choice of any car that takes your fancy, and you're not limited to a few specialist type cars that you won't get the benefit from most of the time.

But when you stop for a slash at the services, it will disappear.

Keep them inside the car; out of sight.

That and the fact you won't have several heavy, pointy metal thingies ready to impale a loved one in the event of a crash.

Having seen many a car in various states of damage on the motorway I don't think bikes inside cars would cause the most damage..it'd be the door etc pressing against it that presses onto you..

The 30mph NCAP tests are bollocks on NSL and motorways in alot of crashes IMO..

But when you stop for a slash at the services, it will disappear

I said that if you were on your own it could go inside. If not, someone else can watch them during your micturations.

The 30mph NCAP tests are bollocks on NSL and motorways in alot of crashes IMO

The tests have made cars much safer, even if the simulations are not accurate.

Thanks for the ideas so far, keep them coming.

At the moment I've got roofbars and 2 Thule carriers fixed semi-permanently but would like to be able to do without for weekly use.

Whatever the choice bikes would go on the outside for weekends away and to take all 4 bikes away.

Test drove and Octavia before I chose this car and that was nice.

Are Peugeot's a swear word?
I was well impressed with the 5008 I hired on my hols in the alps.

As above any estate will be perfect if you are one- or two-up. Save fuel and get better performance and handling.

Go for the S Max.

Can`t beat a proper people carrier for boot access.Extra height makes it a doddle to tick the bike in upright.Thats not something you can always do with an estate.

Thats not something you can always do with an estate

Not a major issue tho. Took me about 5 seconds to put my Patriot in the back of my old car.

I could stand my bike up inside the back of a Focus.

Try the new C-Max. I was very impressed with it. The old C-max is soundly beaten by the S-Max. Obviously the new C-max is slightly smaller but it depends what you are looking for? A large MPV or a daily/manageable MPV.

Ferrari FF.

Saw a Skoda Superb Estate yesterday, actually looked superb.

Having seen many a car in various states of damage on the motorway I don't think bikes inside cars would cause the most damage..it'd be the door etc pressing against it that presses onto you..

Having witnessed the carnage caused by various objects flying around inside cars I'd disagree. Doors, dashboards and the likes are designed to move away they don't move into the car so easily now, mainly thanks to NCAP tests. They still do to certain extent at high speeds and depending what people hit but no where near as bad. Objects still obey the law of physics though and continue to move when the car comes to a sudden halt.

Anyway I've been in a Yeti down from Leicester to London it was rather nice is you can get over it's quirky looks but they are a bot pricey.

Drac I know what you mean, only an absolute bell end puts wheels, tools, boxes/loads ontop of and at headheight.

I like to see out of the rear window and have a clear view of the rear 3/4's for overtaking/shoulder-checks before changing lanes.

A good-sized vehicle with correct loading should enable this. I most definitely wouldn't stuff an estate with four grown males and four bikes for 'bragging rights'.....along soon will come such a chap to put me 'right' 🙄

Have you thought about a Honda CRV?

Mine carries all the bikes and the gear to the Alps! (and many other bike jaunts!) and I could still see out of the back window!

Great MPG, VERY comfortable, VERY well equipped, handles just about everything you can throw at it!

I have had it now for just over two years and it has NEVER been to the garage for any repairs(only 2 routine services).

[img] [/img]

But what about sticking 1 bike in the boot of a car for the 8 mile low speed drive to my Thursday night ride??

I've seen that the Yeti for one has an ad-on bike support that fits into the boot for additional peace of mind.

You've gotta love the STD massive ;o)

Great MPG

You wot?

But what about sticking 1 bike in the boot of a car for the 8 mile low speed drive to my Thursday night ride??

ESTATE - BIKE IN BOOT

Do you have me on ignore or something? 🙂

One bike slips straight in the back of the CRV, with one wheel removed and being diesel, no issues on the MPG even for short distance!

@Drac and @Hora

I know I first mentioned not having stuff in the car for safety reasons - I wouldn't ever do it with my kids in the car - unless safely in the boot (the stuff that is, not the kids. There again...)

Anyway, I digress. My brother had a pretty nasty crash a year or so ago - was broadsided by someone changing lanes on the A1 without looking. Sent him into a spin, down an embankment and came to rest on its side against a tree. Now my brother works for NCR repairing electronic cash registers, cashpoint machines and the like and his car is literally rammed with crap - tools, spare parts, service manuals etc - so much so pretty well much every single space is normally filled - boot, rear seats, stowage boxes, floors etc. But somehow (I really have no idea how whatsoever) none of it touched him and he walked away from a high speed crash uninjured.

molgrips - Member

Great MPG

You wot?

Offical figure says 43.5mpg combined - but in reality mine is getting about 40.5mpg, so I wouldn't say that is bad considering.

molgrips, sorry, not deliberately ignoring you ;o) just a note on the way people answer a question of their own choosing rather than the one that was originaly asked.

I had a mondeo estate, two bikes (both xl) slide in the back with no disassembly. Also go four bikes and a 3 weeks worth of kit down to the alps with 3 people in the car

Offical figure says 43.5mpg combined

Well given that a Passat Estate figures say 54mpg combined, I'd say that's pretty poor. Even a Tiguan (which is the same type of car) gets 53mpg on the test.

just a note on the way people answer a question of their own choosing rather than the one that was originaly asked

Funnily enough that's absolutely standard forum behaviour - happens everywhere. Odd, isn't it 🙂

my focus says 64 combined, i'm lucky is i get high 40s, so for a larger car with a more powerfull engine i'd say a real world 40 is ok.

This argument could go on all day regarding MPG (i.e. Citroën Nemo 65.7mpg) - but the OP asked for suggestions of possible vehicles.....the CRV was mine!

Well my car says 48 combined and I get 52 so 😛

I once achieved 55mpg (average) in my Subaru Legacy Sportswagon. The dullest experiment ever.

I get 52 in normal driving, including some 110mph sections of autobahn. Not dull at all.

I stick my bike on the back on a Thule rack if it's muddy, or if I have more than one bike to carry. In the summer I stick it in the back of the car. Seatbelt make sure it won't move anywhere.

We bought a C4 Grand Picasso 4 years ago to replace a Mazda Premacy. It has been great for kids and bikes. We have been to the Verbier 3 times with it fully loaded inside and 4 bikes on the tow bar. All the 5 rear seats fold flat to the floor and its like a Tardis inside. The 2 criteria we wanted when looking around was that Kevins SX Trail [180mm 66 forks] could go in the middle with just the front wheel off and it needed to be an auto. We demoed the S Max but the bike wouldent go in without compressing the forks, the sales lady told us we had the wrong bike as the brochure showed one in it.
The added advantage that the Picasso has is that the rear suspension self levels so that when its fully loaded the car is still level.
4 years and 70000 miles later we have been so impressed that even after looking at what is available we have just replaced it with a newer one

Drac I know what you mean, only an absolute bell end puts wheels, tools, boxes/loads ontop of and at headheight.

The seat catches don't always hold everything back though, I've even seen the read seat dislodged.

Anyway, I digress. My brother had a pretty nasty crash a year or so ago - was broadsided by someone changing lanes on the A1 without looking. Sent him into a spin, down an embankment and came to rest on its side against a tree.

There's a clue in there why nothing shot forward.

Molpgrips, 50mph in my test...read it and weep 😀

Mondeo Estate. that thing will swallow the USS Enterprise

Pus you'll be the envy on the rank 😉

We used to own a CMax. Great spacious car with good options for folding seats and even an option to buy bike clamps in the boot (fixes the forks to the floor). Fuel economy on our Euro4 was excellent too. However, we had lots of trouble with electronics. I should never have strayed from Honda (or at least Jap).
We now own a Honda FRV which has been faultless and very spacious. 6 seats and a large boot. Recently went to Spain with 4 bikes on roof, 1 kids bike in car, and 5 people inside+luggage - comfortably. Fuel economy is sh*te though (28-30mpg)

[i]I can’t have any sort of van or old banger as I need a new or fairly new car under the terms of my work car allowance. Budget would be around £20k give or take and the plan to run it for 3 years.[/i]

I'd spend half that and pick up a 3 year old big hatch/saloon plus a towbar rack. You say 'fairly new', how old can it be at the start/end?

Superfli, which engine do you have? Surely not the 2.2 or 1.7?

b r,

6 years is the limit. The 3 series will be 4 years old later this year and so far it's been (almost) faultless. However the lease runs out then and the car becomes mine (for the final fee) and I loose the comprehensive maintenance cover. As much as I think the car is ace it's limited practicality and chance of expensive BMW repair and service bills (tyres are over £200 each) is suggesting I look for something more [s]boring[/s] practical

If the price was right then something around 3 years old may be an option and just put some money aside to cover repair bills I 'spose.

Fuel economy is sh*te though (28-30mpg)

it will be with 4 bikes on the roof 😉

I've just bought a new Roomster, more space inside than the Yeti and new C-Max, drives nicely and pulls pretty well - I have the 1.2TSI 105bhp. Cost me £12.5k with some extras and I like how it looks really - well compared to other van derived MPVs anyway. Also tried a Citroen C3 Picasso which I hated and looked at a Hyundai IX35 but am told they're poor to drive - look OK though.

Very happy with the Roomster.

[img] [/img]

Our FRV is the 2.0ltr Petrol. 30mpg for the missus as her day to day car (town driving). The bikes on the roof prob made about 5mpg worse - I think it averages about 33mpg on long runs without bikes on roof.
2.2 diesel would have been preferred, but at £2k more to buy and the low mileage my wife does, it would have been at least 2 years before recooping the extra. It just hurts the purse a little at a time.

the sales lady told us we had the wrong bike as the brochure showed one in it.

That'd put me off buying a new Ford - the staff in our local dealer are universally, complete morons. When we were on the verge of buying a Fiesta ST a few years ago they tried to flog us a Zetec S instead by standing in front of us with the brochure and reciting from it, word for word. They also didn't know what isofix was (none of them did).

If its 6 years, then keep the BMW, although if its worth less than the final payment - don't.

Or buy a 4 year old Mondeo Estate - and sell it at 6 years.

The difference between paying for a new car (£20k) and one that is 4 years old (£10k) is (surprisingly) £10k (plus interest). This pays for an awful lot of repairs etc.

tbh I did this a few years ago when dropping off the company car list, but we had no age limit, so I spent a couple of grand on a 10 year 535i and also got new motorbike to commute on. Still got the Beemer.

Currently driving a 54 plate Honda Accord Tourer (Sport). Hasn't skipped a beat, and has covered near 100k miles.

On account of being a lanky ****, rear legroom is always an issue, and have to say that the CR-V as mentioned before is way up there on rear legroom.

If I had your cash then the Skoda Superb would be on my list - massive legroom in the back, huge boot, decent to drive (great in 4x4 option) and very well spec'd.

Much as I've always erred from "MPV's" they do make a certain amount of sense, especially in legroom sense.

Been looking for similar (tho a slightly lower budget and intention of keeping for its life).

Test drove a Yeti - solid but its not massive inside, the roomster is bigger. 5 month wait on new andn you would want the Elegance trim with a decent engine so looking at 20k +

Test drove a Touran - was really nice sport version so lots of grunt and an epic boot if you treat it as a 5 seater, current favourite though I have had a VW in various forms for years.

Going to tee up a test of an FRV and CRV as I really liked the drive of the 2.2 Civic we tested, the Civic was just too small though. The CRV errs to much into 4x4 territory for my liking really.