Cars for bikes

snoopsmydogg

Seems a bit of a common thread but have been browsing for a cheap (sub £3k) diesel to carry my bike(s) and replace the current car would be a max 2 adult and 1 childs bike at one time. Basically i'm getting a bit sick of having to put the bike(s) on a rack every time i want to go somewhere.

I'm ok with the cars ie. problems, issues etc but looking for other members views on storage, ease etc. Dont mind removing the front wheel but think if rear has to come off as well then it will get a bit tedious.

cars on shortlist.

Honda Accord estate
Seat Ibiza
Seat Leon/VW golf
VW Passat/ Audi A4 estate

I know there are other cars in the range (vauxhall, ford, saab) but these are on the preferred list for reasonable insurance and running costs so just asking if anyone owns one of these how do they get on with getting their bikes in. The smaller I can get away with the better really as I do a lot of driving for work and would benefit from better economy too.

daviesee

I have a Subaru Legacy estate and while I can get 2 adult bikes in the back, and could probably add a childs bike, I couldn't do it with any passengers in the back.
I think you will struggle to get 3 bikes and passengers in any car. MPV etc possibly.

snoopsmydogg

thinking the same but would rather keep the car as small as possible. most cars mentioned have 60/40 seats so the thought was to have 3 seats with the childs bike (12" wheel so only small) and wheels behind the rear passenger seat and use the rest of the space for the adult bikes.

Most of the time it is just me and my bike so no real issue with any of them but would rather buy a mid size hatch over a large estate if I could get away with it.

daviesee

All wheels off and some padding between for protection may be possible.
Then you start wondering if a rack may be easier.......

Widgey

I could easily fit my road bike (s) ,on occasion, in the back of the my VW Golf. I have a Mark 4 and the rear seats fold almost flush for an extra bit of space. Front wheel off both, rear wheel stayed on.

Did have a blanket and a cardboard box which separated the two and found this decent enough.

On my 1.4 the fuel economy was decent - motorway miles would get 500+, around town about 400.

daviesee

Widgey wrote:

I could easily fit my road bike (s) ,on occasion, in the back of the my VW Golf. I have a Mark 4 and the rear seats fold almost flush for an extra bit of space. Front wheel off both, rear wheel stayed on.

Did have a blanket and a cardboard box which separated the two and found this decent enough.

On my 1.4 the fuel economy was decent - motorway miles would get 500+, around town about 400.

Ah, but could you do it with one passenger in the back?
This is one of the OP's requirements.

snoopsmydogg

Widgey wrote:

I could easily fit my road bike (s) ,on occasion, in the back of the my VW Golf. I have a Mark 4 and the rear seats fold almost flush for an extra bit of space. Front wheel off both, rear wheel stayed on.

Did have a blanket and a cardboard box which separated the two and found this decent enough.

On my 1.4 the fuel economy was decent - motorway miles would get 500+, around town about 400.

Cheers for the replies so far,

Widgey, do you have to drop both seats to get the bike in? If i can get away with one bike and the kids bike while keeping one seat in the back that could be ok (would just have to use the rack for the extra bike on the days it's needed).

slowbike

We took our bikes in the car through France ... glad we did as we saw a rack fallen off the back of another brit car on the motorway.

The way we did it was to remove the wheels and put the bikes in upside down - strapping them against the side - then the next bike can go next to it - I had to remove my seat post as the whole lot was too tall. It takes far less usable space than laying the bikes down. You do need to pad them out though.

This works for a normal hatchback with a 60/40 split - just dropping the 40 seat down. An estate would make it easier as you don't have to have the bikes quite so far forward and there will be more room for the wheels.

snoopsmydogg

Slowbike wrote:

We took our bikes in the car through France ... glad we did as we saw a rack fallen off the back of another brit car on the motorway.

The way we did it was to remove the wheels and put the bikes in upside down - strapping them against the side - then the next bike can go next to it - I had to remove my seat post as the whole lot was too tall. It takes far less usable space than laying the bikes down. You do need to pad them out though.

This works for a normal hatchback with a 60/40 split - just dropping the 40 seat down. An estate would make it easier as you don't have to have the bikes quite so far forward and there will be more room for the wheels.

what car did you use?

I don't mind estates and most of my cars have been quite large (various land rovers, volvo estate, modeo hatch, s-type....) but I just fancy something a bit smaller this time around if i can get away with it.

slowbike

Its an Audi A3 - so standard small hatchback really ...

daviesee

Slowbike wrote:

We took our bikes in the car through France ... glad we did as we saw a rack fallen off the back of another brit car on the motorway.

The way we did it was to remove the wheels and put the bikes in upside down - strapping them against the side - then the next bike can go next to it - I had to remove my seat post as the whole lot was too tall. It takes far less usable space than laying the bikes down. You do need to pad them out though.

This works for a normal hatchback with a 60/40 split - just dropping the 40 seat down. An estate would make it easier as you don't have to have the bikes quite so far forward and there will be more room for the wheels.

Clever!

slowbike

daviesee wrote:

Clever!

:oops:

Nah - really it was just a bit of lateral thinking - when you're packing to camp for a fortnight and don't want to take the large, gas guzzling 4x4 with towbar then you need to get everything inside ...

Once we were there and just driving around to places to ride one bike got strapped in and the other just front wheel removed and laid flat - as it involved less dismantling.

snoopsmydogg

good plan, sounds like the golf/leon/a3tdi is the better option then

Cheers

snowley

Definitely not an Ibiza.

I have one and its a pain in the backside just to get the one bike in. Can't imagine what it would be like with 3.

Gizmo_

snowley wrote:

Definitely not an Ibiza.

I have one and its a pain in the backside just to get the one bike in. Can't imagine what it would be like with 3.

Agreed, Ibiza is a size smaller than the Golf these days.

Try a Skoda Octavia estate. The boot on them is unfeasibly huge.

snoopsmydogg

Gizmo_ wrote:

snowley wrote:

Definitely not an Ibiza.

I have one and its a pain in the backside just to get the one bike in. Can't imagine what it would be like with 3.

Agreed, Ibiza is a size smaller than the Golf these days.

Try a Skoda Octavia estate. The boot on them is unfeasibly huge.

the ibiza is built on the same platform as the polo iirc and was always smaller, had thought it wouldn't be any good but was worth a try.

Tried both octavia estate and passat estate the other day and although masses of boot space they just werent a very enjoyable driving experience. I spend a lot of time in the car for work travelling between branches + other visits so need something that can give smiles as well as miles per gallon

straas

Peugeot partner? No cool points but;

- cheap insurance

- ok tax

- decent economy

- carry whatever you like

garrynolan

Citroen C4 Grand Picasso HDi. Pros: loads of room (my bike goes in upright and complete but I'm a shortarse); easily does 60mpg+ on long runs at 60mph; reliable; 3 separate seats in back so easily fits several bikes on their side. Cons: Not small (but drives and handles well).

Dave195817

Seat leon, same size as golf but cheaper. I have the fr tdi version, which is 170bhp but returns 53mpg on a run. I have 2 road bike, less front wheels in the bike and a rear passenger. Not sure if you could get one for sub 3k (possibly a pre 2005 model). Handles well and generally have a high spec of equipment compared to and A3/Golf.

Widgey

@ snoopsmydogg and daviesee

I did drop the rear seats to put the bike in, as it was only myself and another rider so third passenger was not on our agenda.
I suppose they would fit lying down with the removal of both wheels, pedals. But as another poster has suggested upright and upside would work.

Could you not nip to a local dealer with said bikes to try them out?

snoopsmydogg

had thought of that and one dealer did offer to try it in an ibiza and passat but think i'm going the golf/leon/a3 route.

as long as i can get mine and the little ones bike in then i'm happy. not sure how long the wife will last when the weather turns and can always keep the bike rack just in case.

@ garynolan & straas thanks for the replies but am not a big fan of new french diesels, the old (pre 2000) engines were bullet proof but the later models have far too many electronic controls for my liking.

Ands

I have a Seat Altea with 60/40 split. I can easily get the bike in without taking the wheels off (both seats down) or, with the 60 seat down, two bikes in upright, side by side, front wheels off. It's a good car - Golf 1.9 tdi engine, purposely chosen for its easy bike carrying ability.

We've just been to France with 4 bikes in the boot of a Touran (luggage in roofbox). Uncool car but fantastically practical.