Bike friendly car.

[BrianInnes]

Hi.

I'm looking for suggestions for a bike friendly small / medium sized car.

I used to have a Renault Scenic, but it got worn out @55,000 miles So I traded it at the start of the year for a 206 SW, which although is a nice enough car, lots of boot room, it has a terrible terrible driving position, so much so I'm going to be changing it soon.

So I'm looking for what people recommend for a hatchback which has room for a bike frame with wheels removed. Not keen on bike racks.

I have read the earlier thread regarding the Peugeot Partners / Berlingos, however I have driven these at work and don't get on with them at all.

Estate cars seem to be rarer than hair on hens teeth. I've also tried / sat in/ the following cars:

Ford fusion - Nice low boot lip, but not quite enough legroom for my 6'2"
Vauxhall Meriva - steering wheel and knee interface
Honda Jazz - clever seating, but not suited to 6'2" drivers

Out of curiosity I did take a seat in a Toyota Yaris - plenty of room for me as a driver, but not quite enough boot room.

Ideally I'd not like to back to something like a picasso or scenic (or nissan equivelant), not wanting too big a car either, so any suggestions would be welcome!

Thanks in advance

--
Brian

[Mike Rodgers]

FWIW, mine's a VW Passat estate diesel. 50mpg, 150000 miles and still going strong (fingers crossed) and a boot that swallows anything I can chuck at it. It just keeps going despite the fact that all my mechanical TLC is reserved for bikes/trikes.

Mike

[diapason]

The Yaris is a very economical and surprisingly comfortable car. True the boot space is very limited, but, with the rear seat partially folded I can get my Thorn Brevet in easily, only removing the front wheel. I've also moved bags of sand, paving slabs, lawnmowers etc with no difficulty. It's been totally reliable (now done 45000 miles), averages 45 mpg (most of my mileage is done around town) and is very cheap to maintain.

Thanks to Thirdcrank, I've now fitted roofbars to which I can fit my bikeracks, making a good car even better.

N

[meic]

Everything said about the VW Passat is true but being the same height as you I have problems getting my legs under the steering wheel on the pedals. Later models have movable steering wheels I believe.

[hubgearfreak]

got to be worth a look?
http://www.skoda.co.uk/skoda3g/content/ ... intro.aspx

[BrianInnes]

The Yaris is a very economical and surprisingly comfortable car. True the boot space is very limited, but, with the rear seat partially folded I can get my Thorn Brevet in easily, only removing the front wheel. I've also moved bags of sand, paving slabs, lawnmowers etc with no difficulty. It's been totally reliable (now done 45000 miles), averages 45 mpg (most of my mileage is done around town) and is very cheap to maintain.

Thanks to Thirdcrank, I've now fitted roofbars to which I can fit my bikeracks, making a good car even better.

N

Funnily enough when I was out with the parents last weekend while they were out looking for a new car I did take a seat in the Yaris which they have just bought. Surprisingly roomy.

[BrianInnes]

got to be worth a look?
http://www.skoda.co.uk/skoda3g/content/ ... intro.aspx

If only the Skoda had fold flat seats rather than having to lift out heavy rear seats to get decent boot space.

Besides I'd be looking for a car 3-4 years old, the roomsters are too new.



thanks for the replies.

[thirdcrank]

I had a Yaris from 1999 to 2005 and also had a current model on loan for a few weeks when my wife's car was shunted last March.

The Yaris gets its roominess from a high roofline. It is pretty short and very easy to manoeuvre, but the later model is inevitably a bit bigger. It will carry 5 adults in comfort and it is also good for anyone with arthritis etc., as you sit quite high up. With 5 in, the luggage space is small. With fewer passengers, the back seats fold 1/3 or 2/3 and with only the front seats in use by adults, the back seat, as well as folding right down, can be easily slid forward in one piece, increasing the boot size but retaining the back seats for toddlers. It will do pretty much anything except 5 adults plus their travel luggage.

The Picasso has individually removable back seats (held in place with latches a bit like garden gates) I think this is a fairly common arrangement in anything with pretensions to being a people carrier.

I have just remembered that my son's firm, which provides so-called air handling (central heating and airconditioning) throughout the mainland and has engineers + bulky kit travelling all over the place, runs quite a few Picassos. He is in charge of the finance and says that they are a very cost-effective solution. (Cheap, roomy and reliable) I think a lot of the cheapness is to do with Chirac's determination to preserve the French motor industry.

[Russell]

I cannot recommend the Picasso too highly, very versatile, roomy and comfortable. Individual rear seats are light to lift out if needed, but tumble to allow a solo to fit in with only the front wheel removed. We even get our tandem in with just the front removed. The car has done so many fully loaded university trips and has not been beaten.
The driving position is far better than the Scenic, but I guess if you want a drivers' car this will not be it.

[BrianInnes]

I cannot recommend the Picasso too highly, very versatile, roomy and comfortable. Individual rear seats are light to lift out if needed, but tumble to allow a solo to fit in with only the front wheel removed. We even get our tandem in with just the front removed. The car has done so many fully loaded university trips and has not been beaten.
The driving position is far better than the Scenic, but I guess if you want a drivers' car this will not be it.

Thanks for the reply. Not to keen on picassos / scenics. Going to try having a seat in a ford focus hatch at a ford stealership, and I'll take a tape measure to measure up!

cheers

--
Brian

[Mister Paul]

I believe the Renault modus comes with an integral bike rack option.

[Howard]

How in any way shape or form is a car 'bike friendly'?

1.you breathe in all the crap they spill out.
2.you get forced into the roughest part of the road
3.if they hit you you're in serious trouble,or dead.
4.car drivers believe the road is theirs and cyclists are flies to be swatted.
5.car drivers are brain washed into thinking that driving is natural.
6.cars have ruined society
7.out of town stores would still be shops in local communities if people didn't get in their metal boxes to go out of town to buy what they could have had on their street if they hadn't decided that cars were ever the way forward.
8.global warming,kill the planet...I must go to the out of town shops...I must,everyone else does,so it must be right.
9.try to cross the road,car drivers don't stop,it's their road after all,they paid for it.Bullshit.
10.boy racers,joy riders,geriatric(I never saw you),talking on the phone,speeding,picking their noses,doing their make up,smacking the kids,attention to the road?...never.


11. eleven is don't ever ask me about cars...I hate them,will never have one and can't understand the love affair the general public have with something that's caused so many deaths,pollution and social damage.


there is no such thing as a 'friendly' car.Unless you're seriously deluded.

[Zanda]

Post of the month.

[jam05]

I would also like to nominate Howard's message as post of the month.
This is a cycling forum - not a Top Gear road test.

the animals go by four by four by four

[dodger]

YES Berlingos aren't the most exciting cars and neither are they fast and flash, but they are a means to an end. I shove my bikes in and go to where I want then the true travelling begins. You don't have to remove anything, you don't have to lay them on their sides and who cares if the car gets dirty - it's only a car.