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Looking for suggestions (for a friend) of small cars you can wheel a road bike into without having to take wheels off. I guess the ideal car would be small but tall, there was some Toyota thing that met the bill but I can't remember what it was. Plus cheap to buy/run/own. Fugly is ok. Mainly one occasionally 2 people + bikes. She'd prefer a car over a van for occasional people duty too. Any help appreciated!
Vauxhall Agila?
Toyata Yaris Verso FTW - I bought one in 2001 and it reached 100,000miles. Replaced it last years with a 2004 model with 50,000miles on the clock. Low rear sill and rear seats fold flat into the floor. Absolutely bomb-proof.
Honda Jazz? The older ones had removable seats
edit yes they can
https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/honda/jazz/hatchback-2007-2015/practicality
Skoda roomster?
Possibly a Corolla Verso she saw?
Definitely Fugly. Any compact MPV should fit the bill.
I can get a 29er XC bike in my C-max with the wheels on (just, on it's side with the wheel at 90deg). I've even got the road bike in the fiesta.
But really I'd happily take a front wheel off to get a nicer car than anything suggested so far!
A Berlingo or NV200 (if new then the NV250 is a berlingo) is probably the closest thing to an actual practical compromise.
Skoda Yeti, although I think you will need to remove front wheel if you want to carry the bike upright.
you can wheel a road bike into
A number of the above will take one lying down but upright with both wheels on? That's a hell of a car boot!
My Berlingo will take 2 bikes whole and upright, just.
Most useful vehicle I've owned, for it's size.
As above a Berlingo will swallow bikes whole. See also Peugeot Partner, Renault Kangoo, Fiat Doblo etc. Toyota Yaris Verso is a good shout as well.
I seem to recall this being a selling point of the original Jazz.
Top pic here looks ‘shopped though, you’d have trouble maneuvering the bike in like that..
http://womensandbike.blogspot.com/2019/01/honda-jazz-bike-inside.html
Maybe she should learn to operate a QR lever 😉
Toyata Yaris Verso
Ah that was the one I was thinking of, I was looking at normal Yaris which is significantly different.
Maybe she should learn to operate a QR lever
True, but the primary reason she's buying is to transport track bikes and visit cycle events, so might as well make the car to fit the bike than the other way round. FWIW she builds her own wheels and bikes.
We've owned a Skoda Roomster, Honda Jazz (Mk2) and Mrs currently has a Skoda Yeti. The Yeti is OK, but loadspace in the Roomster had a bit more length and height for carrying for bikes. The back seats in both Yeti and Roomster can be completely removed to turn them into small vans. Having said this, my favourite was my 10 year old Honda Jazz - seats are super easy to fold and the flat load space is amazing for such a small car - able to just chuck my road bike in with wheels on. The seat base on the back seats can be flipped up like cinema seats and a smallish Road bike can go crossways behind the front seats (large bike with front wheel off also fitted).
Other advantages of the Jazz were running costs - cheap road tax and insurance, and I regularly got between 57 and 63 mpg out of mine on steady A road journeys.
Does the bike have to be inside? Electric OK? Shame this never went into production then:
Fiat 500 Z-eco concept by Zagato
I've had 3 passengers and 3 bikes standing up in my Yaris Verso. My mates have got Roomsters and Doblos but they are a lot bigger, as is a Berlingo.
Honda Jazz? The older ones had removable seats
edit yes they can
I have a 2008. My wife's bike rolls in pretty easily. Mine - if I remember correctly - goes in, but takes some wiggling/leaning. The back seats don't come out, they fold amazingly though. I haven't tried mine recently though as I tend to just put on the tray rack.
the answer is basically none. A bike with 2 wheels on is around 7' long, so you need a car that is either 7' wide or 7' from the back of the front seat to the tailgate. You can knock a little off that length with carefully angled bars\diagonal placement, but you basically probably need a car that is at least as long as a focus estate. Berlingo is a good shout, that sorta thing, but its not exactly 'small'.
if you're going to be lying it on its side and shoving it in, make sure the load floor is flat. I chuck a lino over mine, which makes it slippery and much easier than a grippy carpet
Latest Berlingo/Rifter are small (1.2 petrol) in engine but huge in size/space, low floor, fold flat rear seats, also older pug partner tepee in 1.2 which is physically smaller, to be fair they are easiest loaded front wheel out, bike upright
Honda Jazz sounds interesting, apparently they patented the format of removable seats and fuel tank under driver to make extra load space, and there's loads about unlike the Verso which is quite rare. I'll check out the other suggestions too thanks.
True, but the primary reason she’s buying is to transport track bikes
Logically then she'll already have a toolkit for swapping gear ratios with her, including a 15mm spanner, so there's nothing really to be gained by leaving the front wheel on (or even the rear unless she sets up the gearing for the first race).
And it's not as if she's gonna wheel it through the car park, as it's a track bike.
Be as well buying a bike bag, take the wheels off as she's handy with tools anyway.
It's physically impossible to get my Bronson in the back of my civic with both wheels on, civic is pretty cavernous as well!.
Peugeot Partner/Tepee. I can turn the front wheel to drop into the footwell behind the passenger seat. The rear seats need to come out.
Other advantages of the Jazz were running costs
Disadvantage is that the Catalytic converter is a particular combination of valuable and very easy to remove which means they seem to be getting ripped off in large numbers. Anecdotally the only Cat thefts I've heard of directly have both been Jazz's
Heard a lot of Honda Jazz recently getting targeted. My car was done in the same way (although it was an angle grinder to my Forester).
Looking at similar vehicles myself, but I think I've settled on a mid-sized car with some suction cup racks on top.
I have a roomster (which they stopped making >5 yo now).
It struggles to swallow a large LLS 29er with the front wheel off... and for the FlareMAX I have to push the passenger seat waaaaay forwards.
I anticipate no such problems with my Berlingo XL... 🤪🤣
Pretty sure I could get a complete MTB into our 2004 Ford Fusion (UK not the US saloon you might find under the same name). It's a estate based Fiesta, I used to stick the bars between the front seats and the front wheel would slot into the rear foot well, no bootlip or chunky light clusters to get in the way of the back wheel either. The front seat also folds flat forwards but you shouldn't need that to get a track bike in there.
VW Caddy Maxi Life?
Berlingo. As per pic, large 29er XC bike with no dropper, one back seat popped out (and in boot), bike wheeled in and with bars turned 45deg-ish the front wheel drops into the rear footwell quite nicely.
Nissan Note? Or quirky/fugly - Nissan Cube?
Re honda jazz. Parents have one and my self and my dad find the visibility to be poor. My mum who is short has no problems.
Berlingo/Partner earlier converted van style.
Check your tyres before loading.
Horsesh in a confined space not good.