Dog carrying cars

[Agoogy]

Lady friend of mine has a dog... a 5 year old Bearded Collie...

With £8k what car should she get to accomdate herself and the dog?
Low mileage, modern, stylish, economic and quick (ish) are also considerations...

I've suggested in no particular order:
A class - poor reliability and expensive to fix though maybe?
V50 - I like these
Civic Type R - the bread van one
Early Qashqai

anything else?

[ewenm]

Does the dog have to go in the boot?

[GKP]

Whatever she chooses, make sure she fits a proper dog gaurd between the boot and the passenger compartment. In the event of a crash it could save both their lives.

[aruck]

...that's a strong dog!

[Emsman]

Subaru forrester???

[Agoogy]

ewenm said:

Does the dog have to go in the boot?

In her opinion yes, with a dog guard he's safer and more secure.
On the back seat...with previous experience of this...the car is ruined within weeks...

Forrester..yeah, thanks, added to the list....

[y2blade]

Agoogy said:

ewenm said:

Does the dog have to go in the boot?

In her opinion yes, with a dog guard he's safer and more secure.
On the back seat...with previous experience of this...the car is ruined within weeks...

Forrester..yeah, thanks, added to the list....

have a look at the V50 too

[jamieboy]

y2blade said:

have a look at the V50 too

I nearly bought a V50 D5 when we got the 159 - I preferred the way the 159 drives, but the V50 was definitely more practical as a dog-carrier.

I also had a nagging feeling the V50 was kind-of just a better specced Focus, albeit you couldn't get the D5 in the Ford.

[y2blade]

jamieboy said:

y2blade said:

have a look at the V50 too

I nearly bought a V50 D5 when we got the 159 - I preferred the way the 159 drives, but the V50 was definitely more practical as a dog-carrier.

I also had a nagging feeling the V50 was kind-of just a better specced Focus, albeit you couldn't get the D5 in the Ford.

Did you get a demo drive in a D5? it one of the best sounding/performing Diesel engines around

my next car will be the V50 D5 SE

[tamore]

range rover. though for the money it'll have to be a pre bmw one.

[mnkiboy]

I'm also in the market for a doggy transporter. Favourite so far is the V50, though i'm not keen on potential repair costs on a 5 year old 2.0D, so will probably be looking at either the 1.8 (a bit weedy) or the 2.4 (bit costlier on tax and fuel).

Other cars i'm looking at are the Legacy and Mazda 6. The 6 is pretty cheap at the moment.

I do wonder if I should go all out and buy a V70, preferably the D5. That would mean admitting to the girlfriend that i've turned in to an old man, at the ripe old age of 31.

[jamieboy]

y2blade said:

Did you get a demo drive in a D5? it one of the best sounding/performing Diesel engines around

Yes, kind of - I tried the 2.4 in a C70 because they didn't have it in a V50, and I was fairly impressed with it even if it's not as powerful as you might expect a 2.4 to be.

I tried the Alfa 2.4, the Alfa 1.9, the Volvo 2.4, and the Volvo 2.0 over the space of two weekends. For sound and performance, I thought the Alfa 2.4 was the best, then the Volvo 2.4, then the Alfa 1.9, and finally the Volvo 2.0 which was a reminder of how bad diesels used to be.

[y2blade]

jamieboy said:

y2blade said:

Did you get a demo drive in a D5? it one of the best sounding/performing Diesel engines around

Yes, kind of - I tried the 2.4 in a C70 because they didn't have it in a V50, and I was fairly impressed with it even if it's not as powerful as you might expect a 2.4 to be.

I tried the Alfa 2.4, the Alfa 1.9, the Volvo 2.4, and the Volvo 2.0 over the space of two weekends. For sound and performance, I thought the Alfa 2.4 was the best, then the Volvo 2.4, then the Alfa 1.9, and finally the Volvo 2.0 which was a reminder of how bad diesels used to be.

I drove the 2.0D "sport" too (in a V50)...very underpowered

[Zippee]

One of my team at work transports her dogs in a Mitsubishi L200 with the cab on the pick up part. Mind you she does own & show 3 prize winning Bull Mastiffs so can see her point.

[y2blade]

mnkiboy said:

I do wonder if I should go all out and buy a V70, preferably the D5. That would mean admitting to the girlfriend that i've turned in to an old man, at the ripe old age of 31.

"wise head on young body" springs to mind
try one, you might actually like it

[Bluebarge]

Car seat cover + dog harness that clips into seat belt
http://www.overthetop.co.uk/shop/Car_Seat_Covers_a...
then she can drive anything

[cat220]

I have a V70 AWD (2.5T)albeit a 1998 model, pretty much bought it for carrying the dog about. Its been great. You want something with a flush tailgate, much easier for the dog to get in and out and less likely to damage the car.

[Tifosi]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2252785.htm

£9.4k instead of £8k, but worth the difference in my opinion.

[jamieboy]

Tifosi said:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2252785.htm

£9.4k instead of £8k, but worth the difference in my opinion.

Thing is that bearded collies aren't very tall dogs, so you need to have a think about how high they have to jump to get in. Not such a big deal if they're fairly young and healthy and bouncy, but it's something to bear in mind.

[Mr Roper]

Honda Accord 2.2D Estate?