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

[Tin Pot]

We have a wheeled potato at the moment - it says Citroen Xsara Picasso on it. Whilst it's not a car one can love, it's very practical and reliable. Like most people we could do most of our journeys in a Fiesta, but sometimes we need a bigger car (and I'm aware that when I say 'need' I mean 'it makes life loads easier to have')

For example, we go camping with an 'OMG it's huge' frame tent and get everything inside the car. This does involve DD being surrounded by stuff as we remove two seats to fit it all in, and unfortunately you can't fit bikes in as well. The Citroen does have a tow bar though, so we could get a rack for that. Ours has the glass roof which means we need Citroen's own roof bars, so we don't use the roof because the genuine ones we bought are rusted solid due to shoddy design, and I refuse to buy any more.

I also commute one-way most of the time: OH and I work in the same building so we go in together and I ride home, so it's useful that you can stick a bike in the boot upright, albeit with the saddle and front wheel off.

Much as the Citroen has never let us down, and costs not much to run (it's cost about £70 plus basic servicing in 30k miles, and it's showing 170k miles) it's getting tatty inside now, and as such a large percentage of our journeys are fairly short and in town, I feel a bit guilty doing it in a diesel, on top of which it's probably not doing it much good: I haven't had it up to full temperature for over a week and it's used every day.

So - after that preamble, I'm thinking of getting a car to do the same job as the Citroen (shift family of three in comfort, cost peanuts, run reliably and need cheap parts if it does go wrong, take a bike easily, and take three bikes and three people inside if nothing else is in it) but petrol. Preferably one that will get something near to 40mpg on a run. I accept that around town economy will be painful. I generally spend 'shed' money (e.g. £2k tops) and get one that has lots of options (my Picasso has cruise control and auto headlamps - oh yeah baby, it's posh!) so luxury bits are nice too.

Thoughts appreciated. Thanks.

The Xsara Picasso is a little poor but we got a Grand Picasso a few years ago and I think it's a decent vehicle, comfortable and functional.

I don't transport the bike in it though.

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Suzuki Swift here. Pop the roof bars on and it's good to go.
It could probably take a bike in the back with the seats down.

 

[Over The Hill]

I quite like the 405/6 but they are *all* diesel it seems - and my reason to change is that a lot of journeys don't suit a diesel anymore (short, frequent stops) plus a feel a bit guilty about all the soot and carcinogens. I'd be happy to keep the Citroen (also not a car to love, but one to admire for being so useful) if I were happy to run diesel I think.

With cars it is really a matter of picking your poison.


The post office seem happy run Diesel vans and they must do the most short frequent stops.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

We had one, before the Octavia
I still believe it was the 2nd worst car we've ever had, worst was a Fiat Tempra estate, so that allows you appreciate to my thoughts on the C-Max................

Absolutely the best thing about the 'blue-van', as it was called??....................................... LED tail-lights!!!!!!!!!

Vile, hateful thing, outside our old House
(curious thing is; the Uno 60D, & Punto TD that preceded it were both cracking cars)

 

[chewa]

Saab 9-5 is a good bet, cheap to buy and specialist servicing available, parts reasonable. Otherwise consider older Merc E class estate or ML.

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!

 

[screenman]

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 body shops makes you realise how vulnerable we are.

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

 

[User33236]

I changed my car in May of this year specifically to one I could transport two bikes plus weekend gear around in with ease. Previously I had a Ford Mustang that, at a push and lots of careful manipulation, would fit one bike. I sold it on and bought a Passat Estate, not quite so much fun but much more practical. As I only drive around 4k a year it isn't too much hardship.

 

[KneesUp]

landrover's, horrible to drive and awful on fuel economy but bloody practical!

i am getting one at 17 as i need to get anywhere in pretty much any field, ... tow heavy livestock and plant trailers... oh and i like fettling!
Cheers Ed

Sounds the perfect vehicle for you - they are environmentally friendly in that some ridiculous percentage of them are still going. That was what I didn't get about the scrappage scheme - some perfectly useable and economical cars got scrapped so people could get new ones- but not only were the new ones not necessarily better for the environment, they had to be built too. I would imagine the carbon-footprint of making a car is fairly enormous.

And it's a good job you like fettling

 

[KneesUp]

With cars it is really a matter of picking your poison.


The post office seem happy run Diesel vans and they must do the most short frequent stops.

True - but I bet the posties don't actually stop the engine at each post box, do they? Or if they do it's not long enough for it to cool down again. The problem we have is it can go a week or a fortnight without ever really getting up to proper temperature.

 

[Cavalol]

You can get a bike with the wheels on into a Corsa B with the passenger seat tilted forward a bit.

I'd like to be able to confirm you can/cannot get a bike into a Passatt saloon, but because they're so unwaveringly bl**dy awful I couldn't ever rely on one to get me anywhere I couldn't ride to anyhow. From experience I harbour an unbridled loathing for VAG products.

 

[young Ed]

True - but I bet the posties don't actually stop the engine at each post box, do they? Or if they do it's not long enough for it to cool down again. The problem we have is it can go a week or a fortnight without ever really getting up to proper temperature.

i can confirm that the local postie/s doesn't stop the engine when stopping at public post boxes or people own post boxes
Cheers Ed

 

[young Ed]

True - but I bet the posties don't actually stop the engine at each post box, do they? Or if they do it's not long enough for it to cool down again. The problem we have is it can go a week or a fortnight without ever really getting up to proper temperature.

although modern diesels do have a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter, it helps with reducing emissions) and they generally don't like running at idle which the postie vans do a lot of when collecting or delivering post and this damages/ruins them and they aren't cheap to replace!
and there goes me getting nerdy about cars and engines again
Cheers Ed

 

[Over The Hill]

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

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.

 

[vickster]

I bought a skoda Fabia estate so I can take bikes and stuff easily

Recently transported 3 adults, 3 lots of luggage and stuff and a road bike (with front wheel off) comfortably from London to the Peak District

Normally I don't need to take the front wheel off any of my bikes once the seats are down

Great car, being the VRS version it's no slouch either

 

[4F]

Skoda octavia estate, enough said.