Is your car any good for fitting bikes and 'stuff' in?

[Fab Foodie]

Citroen C8
With front wheels removed, 4 bikes, 4 people and all our kit for a weekend (or longer) fits inside. More can be fitted if rear wheels removed too.
The floor is flat, so removing a few seats ,makes room for a bike and decent sleeping area.
7 years old 130k miles it's been (touch wood) comfortable, reliable (air-cons died) and cheapish to run.
A good family wagon that drives surprisingly well for a big old bird.

 

[Berties]

One of our cars is a l200 mitsubushi pick up with a tonneau cover with rails ,that has three thule 591 racks on so bikes are behind cab,so have full boot as well which will hold about 3 bikes with the wheels off,or use the towbar with with the thule 3 bike rack ,I can always take more than one bike on holiday if I want to,

 

[Piemaster]

[QUOTE 3424442, member: 45"]I'm looking for the opportunity to retrofit an arm rest. It's only a couple of bolts. Cruise is different - dealers fit an add-on with an extra stalk. There's a replacement stalk kit which is a fairly easy swap and which a bloke off the Briskoda website will fit, but the specs say it doesn't work with newer Roomsters. It does.[/QUOTE]
Would appreciate a nod on how the armrest goes. Very little to do with the left arm once the box is in 'D'

 

[Tin Pot]

Having seen what a lose object can do to human body, when flying around in a vehicle during a collision , I make sure that the chances of this happening is minimal. Years of working closely with car bookshops makes you realise how vulnerable we are.

So in the estate the bikes go behind the back seats which remain in position.

What's a car bookshop?

 

[screenman]

What's a car bookshop?

Faxed

 

[w00hoo_kent]

On the best things ever, we borrowed a mates Transit to move a Stargate and it took three people in the front, three bikes in the back, upright, complete and sideways to the bulkhead. I almost bought one but then I do quite like driving vans.

 

[raleighnut]

I loved my 9-5 estate, 165000 miles and was still on it's original exhaust, dampers, and clutch when it ate it's turbo on the M6. Would do 40 mpg(2.0 LPT petrol) on the round trip to Normandy, fully loaded on cruise at a steady 75mph with air con on. I would have loved to have it repaired but at 13 years old, the cost of repair of the turbo was more than the car was worth, and I didn't know if the engine had been damaged in the blow up. It did leave a better smoke trail than a Red Arrow when it went though . I'm still tempted to get an Aero estate as a project/hobby car

We've had a 2007 E class 280CDI estate for about 4 years. As big as the SAAB inside, but a lot more complicated. However,as a confirmed SAAB lover, it is the only car I've driven that has ergonomics as well thought out, and it is very silent at speed.

It can take a few bikes inside (we stripped the wheels off the tande m and it carried that in the back) but as we like to flatbed the car when transporting the dogs to France we use a tow bar rack (Atera Strada DL) which is fantastic. It slides back on rails to give access to the tailgate. As the car has air suspension all round, it self levels, drops an inch if you select "Sport" and is very stable with the bikes (up to 4) hanging off the back. Only annoying thing about the car is that it occasionally makes a sound like a labrador letting go a silent fart after you lock it as it levels itself off!


View attachment 74415

Normally its just the oil seals that go, but if the impeller went it could easily have ingested parts of the blade. They do leave an impressive smokescreen when they go though, its nearly as impressive when you replace the turbine and run the engine up to temp if the exhaust is full of oil cos the only way to get it out is to drive the car.

 

[chewa]

I've got one of those (the car that is). 280cdi Avantgarde. My one is Flint Grey, yours looks the bluer grey. I have not tried a bike rack on it as we only have two to carry and they either go in the back or in the caravan.

Yes it is Tealite blue and is an Elegance, loaded with kit, including airmatic, big tank, nappa leather, big battery. Nice to drive and the rack is really good.

We took a service plan which is good but find that getting anything done in France is much cheaper.

 

[Over The Hill]

Yes it is Tealite blue and is an Elegance, loaded with kit, including airmatic, big tank, nappa leather, big battery. Nice to drive and the rack is really good.

We took a service plan which is good but find that getting anything done in France is much cheaper.

I spent about a month (and had to go 120 miles away) to get a good spec one. It is the first of the facelift models 2006 and is full of kit. I went for the grey leather interior. Don't think I have airmatic but it does have a wireless phone link and full Europe sat nav. The extras are daft money when new but really it was a cheap car, I got it a year ago at 7 years old. It now has 125k on it and really could be out of the showroom. I plan to keep it for about 10 years. I have not known a car that I can drive 200 miles in on a filthy wet night and then come indoors so relaxed that I can go off to sleep right away.
Good to have some nice things in life if that is what takes your fancy.
As it will probably last twice as long as a cheap hatch it does have some green merit and actually the emissions are really low and clean but it is not very economical for a diesel.