What ecomonical little car I can fit a bike in the back....?

miss notax

Hello

I am getting a bit fed up with my Mini Cooper S's thirst for petrol - I have a pretty hefty commute to work and am starting to wonder whether it's new car time :?

So, any suggestions for a VERY economical (probably diesel) little car that I can easily fit a bike in the back of? I don't mind putting seats down etc (as I do in the Mini) and my bikes are tiny, so there's quite lot of scope there! My budget would be about £4.5k, but i'm eager to keep costs down if possible!

To make it more tricky, it needs to be something vaguely smart as I use my car for work appointments, and I also REALLY enjoy driving so it needs to be a bit perky or fun in some way.

Any thoughts very welcome.....

jimothy78

it's no wonder you were having trouble finding a man to meet your exacting standards a while back, is it?
If you're that demanding of a simple car, we just don't stand a chance....

adiggers

nissan note or vauxaull meriva off the top of my head,both decent smallish cars.
both well fit a bike rack,and both well take a mtb with with front wheel off,in the boot.
bet you could get upto a 09 if shopped around for your budget.

The Northern Monkey

Diesel VW Golf.

Bluemotion if you want super eco.

Kowalski675

Skoda Fabia VRS 1.9 Tdi ?

Stevo_666

Does it have to be small?

My spare jalopy that I use for carting bikes around is a diesel Mondeo - swallows any bike whole without taking wheels off or faffing around trying to manoeuvre the handlebars into the boot and plenty of room for all your other kit. Might even fit 2 bikes in if you meet the mythical Mr. Right

It's dead cheap to buy, run and maintain and not a bad drive for a boggo type hatchback (I was a petrol head in a former life ). If that's too big then a Ford Focus should do the trick.

ol\'gregg

Get one of these

They do a 1.9tdi and i can get my bike in the back with the seats down and plenty of room up front

zx6man

dacia sandero new for 5995... bargain.

miss notax

jimothy78 wrote:

it's no wonder you were having trouble finding a man to meet your exacting standards a while back, is it?
If you're that demanding of a simple car, we just don't stand a chance....

Ah, yes, my ongoing quest for man / car perfection

Thanks for all the ideas guys - need a good sift through Autotrader to see what's what! Just need to get the fuel costs down a bit - 35mpg wasn't so bad with a small commute but it's getting a bit pricey now!

lostboysaint

I've emailed you.

anj132

an economical car to get you to the woods...

seats that lay down flat....

something to have fun in...

be honest, this isn't a car for mountain biking now is it?

homers_double

TBH I can fit a Heckler in the back of my Mrs' little Mazda 2, thats a 1.4 diesel and costs sod all to run.

High MPG, £30 for 12 months RFL.

Gazlar

miss notax wrote:

jimothy78 wrote:

it's no wonder you were having trouble finding a man to meet your exacting standards a while back, is it?
If you're that demanding of a simple car, we just don't stand a chance....

Ah, yes, my ongoing quest for man / car perfection

Thanks for all the ideas guys - need a good sift through Autotrader to see what's what! Just need to get the fuel costs down a bit - 35mpg wasn't so bad with a small commute but it's getting a bit pricey now!

what about something like a panda? or is that too small?

Thewaylander

1.6tdi ibiza great little cars and suprising large inside so comfortable and they go for miles!

MissCMC

I have a Yaris (I used to have a mini and got fed up of paying out for it) and it works fine for me. Plenty big enough with the seats down for a large bike, big enough for 5 (the mother required me to get a car I could fit all the siblings in when I changed cars)(at a squeeze) and, touch wood, it's always been reliable for me and good on fuel.

EH_Rob

i can get my bike in the back of a micra. just.

jairaj

Pretty much any super mini will take two bikes with the wheels off and back seats folded down. So just research super minis in general as the bikes are almost guaranteed to fit.

Go for something with fairly recent engine. I got my 08 Seat Ibiza just before Seat updated the engines and as a result my friend gets a few extra mpg than me. I get 37-42 mpg on long motorway journeys where as my friend tends to get 7-10 mpg more.

VW also hang on to their new engines for a bit before passing them onto Seat and Skoda too.

Huckfinn

Kowalski675 wrote:

Skoda Fabia VRS 1.9 Tdi ?

+1

Got one of these and I can get 60mpg out of it and on long runs I have got 70 - 80 mpg (@ ~ 70mph) out of it. Even with the bikes on the roof I get around 50mpg. The seats fold down to accommodate at least two bikes

nicklouse

Diesel mini?
Diesel 2007-2010 Suzuki Swift

The Rookie

If you want something a little like the Cooper, consider a Fiesta Zetec-S TDCi, peppy 1.6 Diesel in a sweet handling car, that or the Fabia VR-S.

bennett_346

Suzuki swift would get my vote. Great little goer.

Adam k

I used found my mk4 Ibiza was really good for getting bikes in back just take front wheel of and goes in mpg was round 50mpg

My Ibiza



Sometimes it went on the roof




Got a new car and the mpg is rubbish and can't even get bike in without takin wheels of and bike seat out

My honda does about 37mpg has no room in side bit of a pointless car tbf but drives great

Sitter

I've got a '11 Astra, flip the back seats down and it's comfortably fitted in my bike (front wheel off) 3 snowboards in coffin style bags, large holdall of clothes plus a variety of other bits and bobs put in for a Winter season in the Alps. Would fit the bike in without removing anything if i didnt have anything else in with it. Can't remember the fuel economy but I've just managed Bludenz (bout an hour or so from Austrian/Swiss/German border) up to Rotterdam on one tank (or rather fuel station in Hull once off the ferry) at around 80/85mph most of the way.

paul.skibum

Kia Piccanto - small, economical to run, no tax, my mate fits two giant trances in his with ride gear and weekend away gear with no massive issues. probably pick up a 12 plate for your budget.

Gazlar

Depends what kind of MPG you are looking for too, I've got a boat of a car but I still get a cobined 45mpg out of it which or a 2litre diesel I can live with

Thewaylander

Like adam loved my little mk4 Ibiza utterly fantastic small car that had more space than my mates focus lol(think thats a mk1 focus though).

Giraffoto

Honda make one of their smaller cars with a back seat that folds up and you can fit a whole bike in there. Can't remember which one, and I don't know if it's perky or fun. Might be the Jazz.

miss notax

Thanks guys - lots of good suggestions!

The car plans have been temporarily put on hold as I have just accepted a fab new job (woohoo!) but now need to move house as a result! My car plans therefore range from buying something a few years old (I fancy a Skoda Yeti 8) ) to selling the Mini and getting something dirt-cheap if I need to throw every penny I have at a new house

The house is the priority so I guess i'll see how that pans out...!

Sitter

Good luck with the new job and the house hunt!

miss notax

Thanks 8)

I have gone from having a nice relaxing little life to full-on headless 'new job / new house' utter panic in the space of a week :shock:

Giraffoto

Congratulations on your new job, I look forward to the "What sort of nice house can I fit lots of bikes in?" thread