Cycling UK Forum

Ford Focus, no problem. I've had mine in the back of my Dads had to take both wheels off but went in OK and with room.

Whats the verdict on Vauxhall Corsa's?

Malc

Mick F wrote:Thirdcrank, on this forum, bought a Berlingo so he could transport his bike.

Indeed I did, and it has been nothing but trouble. I bought it new Dec 02 (52 plate) and I've only done 23,000 trundling miles, but buying it was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. I'll not trouble anybody with a rehash, especially as a lot of trouble with cars is down to the way they are driven, looked after. Suffice it to say that as the 'sales executive' was handing me the keys I noticed the bonnet was scratched and there was a hole in the dashboard. ("That's not a hole, it's just part of the trim missing" as the "sales executive" explained.) So it spent the first few days of my ownership in their bodyshop, even before I had turned the key. I collected it from there - still new to me and undriven since registration - and some sort of return-spring assembly under the clutch-pedal dropped out. Spares not stocked of course, so it was back to their workshop till they got some, although the man i/c 'service' explained that this was not a vital part of the car and was not fitted to the vans. Anyway, when I finally got it on the road I went shopping in ASDA and the spring under the clutch pedal dropped out again so I binned it and put it down to experience. All the above happened before I had put 5 miles on the clock and it has been a worse pain ever since. The original vendors Reg Vardys no longer trade, and Dixons, to whom I entrusted the servicing after the initial fiasco, went belly-up. And the only reason I can give for not changing it is that I did not really need it in the first place. I just bought it to shove my bike in to increase the range of my daily rides. Divine punishment for wasting money.

Which brings me to my answer to the OP: although there is bags of room in the back of a Berlingo, the only way to get a bike in - with the wheels in - as specified in OP, would be to jam it in diagonally. I always slip the front wheel out (q/r) and lay the bike down. The Berlingo does have useful D rings in the floor for fastening down things like a bike.

As a real plus, if you leave it parked all day while you go cycling, you are not even slightly worried that somebody might nick it.

When I posted my review of my Citroën Berlingo experience (and I hope everyone is impressed by the < ë > ) it provoked some harsh replies from satisfied owners.

FWIW none of the 'van with seats and windows in' type motors ( Peugeot Partner, Fiat Doblo) will take bikes with both wheels in, parallel with the the direction of travel. They will jam in diagonally, risking damage and reducing the remaining space. On the subject of space, most modern cars which try to maximise load carrying have quick release rear seats. The rear seats in a Berlingo are removable, but only with a spanner.

To carry a bike with the wheels in, inside, the only type of car with the length is a true estate car, which will take a bike lying down - a lot of the quoted load carrying capacity of 'vans with windows' is in the height, irrelevant for carrying a bike.

IMO the Berlingo was just about value-for-money when the € was at 60p and Chirac was using the common agricultural fund subsidies to pay the VAT. Now that €1 = virtually £1 they will be in the luxury car price bracket, but rustic quality standards. Based only on my limited experience, of course.

Can I suggest the Honda Jazz? This has one of the most clever arrangements for folding the seats you can imagine, no removal of headrests and such and the volume inside has to be seen to be believed. I can get three bikes with wheels still on in easily, probably more with a struggle.

The only downside is you will have loads of pensioners coming up to you asking if you like the car as they just love their Jazz! Still, not too long and I will be one of them!

N

I bought myself a 2nd hand Ford Mondeo 2 years ago as it had loads of room inside, plenty of room for my bike in the boot.

However I've only really had the bike inside about 5 times in the past two years! Next time I'll probably get something a bit smaller + bike rack for the times I need to take the bike away for a day ride.

ferrit worrier wrote:Ford Focus, no problem. I've had mine in the back of my Dads had to take both wheels off but went in OK and with room.

Whats the verdict on Vauxhall Corsa's?

Malc

I have a 1995 model. I quite like it - it's the 1.2 LS 3 door version, so quite nippy with minimum trim. With the back seats down you can surprisingly get quite a bit of swag in the back. Despite not having any power steering it's really easy to park etc. It's getting on a bit now though and approaching "not so economical to repair" territory. Couldn't comment on the newer model - I find the newer models too "bulky". My sister briefly had a newish 1.2 Clio. It was crap - it was too heavy. Too much trim etc, weighed it down. She has a Peugeot 106 now, think it's a 1.1 and that has more kick to it than the Clio too.

Just checked out the Honda Jazz on Parkers - it has had good reviews and has a low tax and insurance band, so defintely one to consider. Shame after a quick search on ebay they come out more than my budget. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled.

Thanks for the berlingo review thirdcrank - is this diagonally with the back seats down too?

Plax wrote:Thanks for the berlingo review thirdcrank - is this diagonally with the back seats down too?

After last time, I'm a bit surprised I've not been taken to task by irate Berlingo owners.

The issue about bike carrying is a sore point with me because about the time I bought mine, somebody at Citroën issued a press reelase suggesting you could get two bikes in the back of a Berlingo with the wheels in. This was repeated in various bits of the motoring press, but a Berling is not the sort of car that 'motoring journalists' (an oxymoron if ever there was one) actually test drive.

Before I bought mine I measured and realised the only way a bike would go in with the wheels on was jammed diagonally with the back seats folded down - something confirmed by other Berlingo owners on here. That does seem to be to be a pretty useless configuration so the press reelase was literally true but quite misleading.

Even taking the back seats completely out does not enable you to carry a bike pointing straight forwards, although I suppose it would give you more diagonal room. I've not tried, but with the back seats up I doubt if you could get a bike in with even one wheel in. I think it would have to be both wheels out and no back mudguard but that is a guess.

The carrying capacity of the Berlingo is pretty good. When my elder son moved to his present house he moved all his furniture (sevearl trips) to the new house (roofrack used for beds.). He also did the same for the person who was buying his old house.

Ditto the Berlingo - my brother bought one for work use & found it to be the most unreliable vehicle he has ever owned.
For your £3000 budget you should be able to get a reasonable Mondeo estate. Not a luxury car, but certainly very reliable & with the rear seats down it will swallow a fully assembled Galaxy with ease.
I've had a 130 b.h.p. diesel one for 6 months & am very pleased with it (& the 45 - 52 m.p.g. I get from it ).
The Top Gear presenters voted it car of the year 2007 on the basis it did everything it was supposed to & they couldn't honestly think of anything bad to say about it !!!

3000 quid should get you a decent mid/late 90's Merc E class or Volvo V70 estate. They have a load bay more than long enough to take bikes with wheels. Loading can be a bit awkward with an estate though as the roof is relatively low. I've a Chrysler 300c estate which I bought for it's load carrying capacity - the rear is massive but it was a damn site easier to put bikes into the back of my previous car a Shogun. From experience the best vehicle , short of a transit, for carrying bikes is any long wheelbase 4x4.

Ford Focus, no problem. I've had mine in the back of my Dads had to take both wheels off but went in OK and with room.

we get both my hybrid and Malcolm's tourer in the back of our Focus with no problem, but we do need to take the wheels off. We've also put a rack on the back of the car which it makes nothing of, but Malcolm hates seeing the bikes moving about at the back of the car. It takes a trailer for our tent too, making our camping holidays very easy. If and when we move up to a caravan it will be an upgrade to a Focus Estate (to get the low centre of gravity ideal for towing a caravan).

Nice car - straightforward and uncomplicated and a joy to drive. No problems with reliability. Best we've ever had anyway.

Jan



(no, I don't work for Ford!)

jan19 wrote:

Ford Focus, no problem. I've had mine in the back of my Dads had to take both wheels off but went in OK and with room.

we get both my hybrid and Malcolm's tourer in the back of our Focus with no problem, but we do need to take the wheels off. We've also put a rack on the back of the car which it makes nothing of, but Malcolm hates seeing the bikes moving about at the back of the car. It takes a trailer for our tent too, making our camping holidays very easy. If and when we move up to a caravan it will be an upgrade to a Focus Estate (to get the low centre of gravity ideal for towing a caravan).

Nice car - straightforward and uncomplicated and a joy to drive. No problems with reliability. Best we've ever had anyway.

Jan



(no, I don't work for Ford!)

LOL, I shan't show Mr Plax this post. He loves his Ford Focus. His pride and joy - I'm not allowed to put a bike anywhere near it!

If you only need to transport yourself and one other adult plus the bikes, don't mind lower comfort levels, more road noise, and lower speed limits, a van might be worth a look. I've got a Citroen Dispatch (the next size up from the Berlingo). It returns 40 mpg and has enough room in the back for three bikes carried upright ("fore and aft"), plus a folded trailer plus a week's shopping (we sometimes stop at a supermarket on the way back from a ride). Yet it take up less room on the road than most estate cars.

Although the van has had issues (dash replaced three times under warranty) they seem to happen fairly early on in the vehicle's life, which means that an older vehicle that's OK now should be as reliable as vehicles of other makes with that age and mileage.

HTH,

Geoff

A Skoda Superb might fit the bill. One on ebay a few weeks ago went for £3500. It was low mileage (about 30k) in excellent nick, full service history with a 2.5 litre engine and a boot that would swallow a bike and the only thing with more rear legroom is a limo.

I have Skoda Roomster - smaller than the Berlingo (and just as ugly). The rear seats come out leaving loads of space for bikes in the back. Took 2 mountain bikes to Spain and France in the summer plus luggage - no problem.

The petrol version is underpowered but the diesel is nippy and frugal.

ians

I'm interested to hear that the Roomster is smaller than the Berlingo - I've never really looked at them because they appeared (I think) quite soon after I had bought the Berlingo and the Roomster was then a lot dearer.

It's my impression that the Roomster is a much better car, partly because it was designed as a car, rather than being a van converted with windows and seats. The style of the Roomster is bordering on the bizarre - it's as though it's a cut-and-shut - the front of one car welded to the back of another - but I think it is in a much higher quality league than the Citroen/ Peugeot stuff. I'll predict that there will eventually be a facelift when a more conventional bodyshape, especially the front doors, will be introduced.

From the same manufacturers as the Roomster there is the Golf Caddy Maxi(normally a van) in a car format. Much pricier than the Berlingo (by a factor of 2?) but it does eem to be a much longer wheelbase and might take a bike with both wheels in.

Volkswagen Caddy Maxi

I had a Mitsubishi L200 which was awesome, bit far fetched for you though.

My Mondeo was great and easily took my Marin and my boyfriends Orange bikes with the seats down as well as kit for a week away. The Audi A4 Estate didn't have nearly as much room as the Mondeo, which thanks to some pr1ck on the M6 is now dead.

My Focus is naff and is getting traded for a Mondeo Estate which will easily take bikes and kit without having to lift over the lip at the back.

Hope this helps.