Estate v SUV for carrying bikes inside

[Nefarious86]

Renault Kangoo Max

Not as fancy as some but heaps of room and can seat 5 adults very comfortably.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

[tymon_tm]

I've had a 3 series wagon briefly (the E90 type) and I'd really question it's practicality. sweet ride though, until it started to break down - I had a 2.0 diesel engine which is just a nightmare regarding potential failures - had to sell it eventually.

I'm far from "loving" Skodas, but this is by far the best bang for buck - both Octavia and Kodiaq are really big for their class, prices start low (and even if you spec them fully they won't punch the roof), services are everywhere, parts are cheap, and they drive really OK (I'd wager BMW had lost that "it" long time ago and new models are just fancy instead of fun).

as for putting the bikes inside - for me the issue is to put everything in the boot without folding seats - for both comfort (despite we're a family of three) and safety - bikes carried like in that Nefarious' pic above are a deadly weapon for a person sitting in front of it, even in a case of a slight crash.

[Nefarious86]

With a 10mm cable lock and a rated strap around the seat tube anchoring it to the wall it has 0 risk of coming forward.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

[AJS914]

That Renault looks brilliant - very similar to my Honda Element.

[Renne]

I used to drive a Volvo S40 but wanted to be able to put my bike, luggage for 2, an extra set of wheels and then some in the boot without having to drop the rear seats. As I was very happy driving my Volvo they were my first stop. Test drove the, then recently renewed, V60 and loved it. At the end of the test drive I parked next to my S40 which I had parked at the end of the dealerships parking lot, out of sight. Got my bike out of the car to see how easily I could fit it in the V60. It wouldn't go in. I'm not a small guy but that was still disapointing.

We've just given a V60 back and you can get two bikes across the boot, wheels off obviously. But it's a really tight fit and proper tetris job. It's easier to just put the seats down, then they go in complete.

And i usually just roll my (clean) bike into the dealership before the test drive even starts. So far, in ~20 years of buying new and/or company leases, no one has batted an eyelid. Even the Mazda dealer when i went to look at an RX8, he spent 20 minutes trying to help.

(Bike fitted across the rear seats, but couldn't then adjust the front seats to get them comfortable.)

I couldn't get my bike into the boot of a V60, any which way I tried (I do have around 80cm seat height).
I never really thought about just showing up to the dealership bike in hand

[spud]

instead of doing that, measure the width of the tail gate opening - it needs to be close to the distance from bottom of wheel to top of saddle to get it through, provided you desire to keep the rear wheel in the bike. The rear of the V60 tapers way too much to get a good size bike in there. I was able to get a similar size bike into the back of EP3 Honda Civic without too much trouble, and that's not a huge car.

[TLN]

I wonder what is the smallest car to fit one or two bikes? I appreciate Honda Element, but want something more sporty/smaller for everyday.

[mattr]

You can fit two bikes in anything with 4 seats.
If you are willing to remove some bits (pedals/wheels at least, maybe saddle/seatpin). And you'll still get two people in.
I've seen two DH bikes in an original mini, they went in through the passenger door (still room for all the luggage/assorted crap for a race weekend including a medium sized tent)
One bike, you can get into a lotus Elise. Again, you'll need to remove bits and practice your tetris skills.

[tymon_tm]

my record is fitting a mtb bike into an old Nissan Micra's boot (without folding a single seat)

personally I'm getting too much annoyed taking apart bikes in order to go for a small weekend trip, thus getting a car easily fitting bikes inside is a question of comfort and practicality. and although I appreciate more 'sporty' rides, truth be told these days cars are getting very similar, and apart from some hot hatches (damn that new Megane RS is so hot!) I'd say the hadling, the way steering 'feels' (there's no mechanical power assisted steering anymore) is more or less the same. sure, big tall car will have more body roll, or firmer suspension to compensate for the extra mass, but that's hardly a deal breaker. I test drove Ford Kuga 10 years ago and it felt like it won't get through that next corner. today, many SUVs in same size ride like their hatchback/limousine sibling (they often share most of the parts anyway)

[mattr]

my record is fitting a mtb bike into an old Nissan Micra's boot (without folding a single seat)

Bet you took the parcel shelf out

[TLN]

I mean, you can, but would you buy something as small as 228 with idea of driving with your bike in a car?

[MoPho]

I've seen two DH bikes in an original mini, they went in through the passenger door (still room for all the luggage/assorted crap for a race weekend including a medium sized tent)
One bike, you can get into a lotus Elise. Again, you'll need to remove bits and practice your tetris skills.

Ha, can't fit any bikes in the back of my classic Mini (roll cage) and can just fit a wheel or two in my Lotus (7) passenger seat

I have been using a Seasucker rack on the Mini, but mostly use my minivan with an upright fork mount I made for the inside of it. Minivans rule for inside bike carrying

[mattr]

Well, lotus 7, what do you expect, designed around a 60 kilo 170cm driver. Then stretched, a bit.

And we went for a full size van (T5 LWB) until quite recently. Packing for race weekends was simply a matter of backing up to the house and throwing things in. Until we decided we had enough wheels and bikes in the back.

[mattr]

I mean, you can, but would you buy something as small as 228 with idea of driving with your bike in a car?

You buy what you can afford. Not every market has cheap, semi reliable cars available.

[thePrince]

I've had a roof rack for over 10 years and finally said enough. Bikes had to go inside, and I had three requirements:
1. Four bikes
2. Enough vertical clearance to put the bikes in without removing/lowering saddle
3. The lady did not want a minivan

After doing a ton of research, I settled on a Mercedes G. They are pricey if you buy a newer one. But almost nothing has changed in 15 years so I spent a few months finding one that was under 30k USD and in great shape.

After creating a fork mount system that mounts to the back of the second row of seats, I can fit four bikes inside with the back seats folded down. Fork sits on top of the folded down seat, rear wheel towards back. Been a ton of fun so far!