Car for the dogs

[tigerwoods97]

Hi all,

Currently have a clio 182 with cup packs (which I love) but the other half has decided we should get 2, rather large, Labrador's. Obviously this means I must make a sacrifice and swap the clio for something rather more practical.

I still want to be able to enjoy the car and have short listed a few, but still not sure of the dog carrying capabilities of most of them. Struggling to think of a fast estate I like (don't mind the VRS Octavia's though).

Have been thinking MKV Golf GTI's, looked at a lancer Ralliart (not sure of the auto only), maybe a Mondeo Estate (2.2 TDCI Titanium X Sport or whatever it is). Also thought of the possibility of a late ST220 Hatchback.

Any thoughts would be welcome. Have about £10k to spend. Thanks.

[Papa Hotel]

How about no dogs?

[philmots]

If you get one big Labrador then your 182 will be fine.

Mine has plenty of room in our 206 / 197

[rovermorris999]

Legacy Spec B.

[StefV]

Some Volvo or Saab? A 9-5 Aero should work and leave your budget mostly intact...
The previous owner of my E39 M5 had a rather huge dog residing on the back seat, seemed to work for him. (Although he eventually sold it to me in order to get a Cadillac CTS-V, but that would be outside your budget at the moment I imagine?)

[jbi]

Use the money you saved on something else fun

[Bonefish Blues]

Leggy, as stated, or 5 series/S4.

[daemon]

tigerwoods97 said:

Hi all,

Currently have a clio 182 with cup packs (which I love) but the other half has decided we should get 2, rather large, Labrador's. Obviously this means I must make a sacrifice and swap the clio for something rather more practical.

I still want to be able to enjoy the car and have short listed a few, but still not sure of the dog carrying capabilities of most of them. Struggling to think of a fast estate I like (don't mind the VRS Octavia's though).

Have been thinking MKV Golf GTI's, looked at a lancer Ralliart (not sure of the auto only), maybe a Mondeo Estate (2.2 TDCI Titanium X Sport or whatever it is). Also thought of the possibility of a late ST220 Hatchback.

Any thoughts would be welcome. Have about £10k to spend. Thanks.

What about a detachable tow bar and a dog trailer?

I'd a similar dilemma a few years ago - we have two retrievers - and ended up buying an x5 as i didnt like any estate cars. Cost me a fortune to run, so changed back to a saloon car and got a dog trailer.

[e320dave]

Don't bother with the golf with 2 labs. The boot is not that big. With one you will be fine though.
The Skoda and Mondeo estates will work well as will almost any estate. That Mondeo hatchback should also give enough head clearance for the dogs. Just make sure you take out the parcel shelf! If you want something other than an estate, then consider harnesses for the dogs and strap them in the back. This worked well when I had my BMW E60 and it left the boot free for beer. Make sure you get some sort of cover for the seats if you go down that route.

[WhereamI]

Bonefish Blues said:

Leggy, as stated, or 5 series/S4.

5 series touring isn't big enough for labs, our golden retrievers sat hunched with their heads on the roof in the brief time we had one.

[snowdude2910]

Do you have kids? If not take the rear seats out of something fun and put in a flat plywood floor covered in oem carpet for the dogs. Realisticly though how far and how often will you take the dogs in the car I had a husky and a beegle and they happily ltay down in the boot of the civic ir the leon on the odd occasions we took theme a few miles down the road

[R5YUP]

We've got a Labrador, about 20 months now.

I bought a mk5 Golf GTI - that's a good shout, lots of headroom, might be a squeeze with 2 though!

Nice as it was, I missed having a bit more capacity - so now have a 330 msport touring (e91). These are absolute bargains right now as nobody wants proper engines anymore. More of a 'mature' choice than the Golf but extremely well balanced and a cracking engine.

It's a great car but misses that 'special factor' and for me I need significantly more power. But then you'll need twice the money to get estate versions of an RS4, C63, M5 etc.......

[Bonefish Blues]

WhereamI said:

Bonefish Blues said:

Leggy, as stated, or 5 series/S4.

5 series touring isn't big enough for labs, our golden retrievers sat hunched with their heads on the roof in the brief time we had one.

Really? You sure they weren't ponies

[deltashad]

........and a 172?

[carlove]

Don't worry about the Lancer being auto only, it's pretty good. I cannot imagine Labradors getting in the boot at all, it's small.

[Aeroresh]

4x4s are generally rubbish with dogs as they're boots are often too high for the dog to easily jump into.

I know a chap that has a Range Rover and has built a dog ramp for his German Shepherd so he doesn't have to lift him in!

Big estates rule when it comes to carrying dogs...ie Volvo V70, Saab 9-5, Audi A6 Avant, BMW 5 touring, Merc E-class estate, etc

Edited by Aeroresh on Sunday 29th July 11:18

[durbster]

A Daihatsu Fourtrak would be a great dog car. Cheap to run, rock solid reliability and 30Mpg too. Just a shame the bodywork rots away if you look at them the wrong way.

I had to get another car due to getting a dog and got a Celica. I think it'd fit two labs in with the seats down

[robsav]

I just got rid of my Clio 200 for the very same reason! I went for a Legacy Spec B (55 plate). Lovely and comfy, good spec (heated leather,electric seats etc,built in nav which seems pretty decent) and an absolute shed load of room in the back.
Fuel economy is turd though but i don't commute so it doesn't bother me too much. I would only describe it as quick,not fast. Lovely to drive though for what it is and I like the understated looks and was a big draw for me as I drive in the alps quite a bit in winter.

[2.5pi]

We've had various dog wagons but younger dogs are fine to jump up into a 4x4 but as they get older a large estate is still jump able , now our oldest lab is 13 and a high up 4wd is fine as he's not even tempted to take a running jump in or out with the damage to arthritic joints that could result .

Instead I get to practice my dead lifts

[rovermorris999]

The perfect car for elderly dogs used to be the Citroen CX safari. I had an arthritic Wolfhound weighing in at 13 stone so too heavy to lift but he could get into the CX with the suspension lowered, a cavernous load area too, bigger than the equivalent Volvo. I had a Jag V12 engine in the back once but that's another story. A pity Mercedes or Toyota didn't build them, the electrics gave me grey hair.