Need for speed ....no more , help with dog car

Need for speed ....no more , help with dog car

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Tlav123

Original Poster:

3 posts

51 months

Saturday 17th July 2021
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Looking for some ideas as what to get for the dog mobile as we are soon to be getting a labroodle (standard size so quite tall)

Currently knocking about in a little fiesta ST mk7.5 , and im sure she would fit , I worry about how comfortable she might be , she will be coming to work with me during the week which is a 40 mile round journey round trip ,

The idea is to get rid of the ST and have about 11k to play with , and is a Skoda fabia estate car all the car I will ever need ??

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated !

CAH706

1,961 posts

163 months

Saturday 17th July 2021
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We have a standard labradoodle - he 36kg at 2years old so a reasonable size

I bought a ‘dog car’ for taking him out and about and got a Honda Civic touring. The cinema folding rear seats are good and add an extra option and the boot is big enough and importantly low for him to get into

Mine is the diesel version which seems quick enough and gets 60+ mpg on a run

Loads of kit on them

Reliable

Downsides - not exciting to drive (but you wouldn’t be throwing it around with the dog in it) in any way.

I know prices have gone up but you would get a good one well under your budget

Roboticarm

1,450 posts

60 months

Saturday 17th July 2021
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A full size hatch (Golf or similar) Willbe enough for most medium sized dogs.
Depends what you want though, I personally love a fast estate (theres a really good thread on it somewhere on here) so went with Subaru Legacy, good cars covering a good range of time, spec, performance. Starting from a stock 2.0 with 160 bhp right up to the twinscroll with 280bhp
I'm on my 2nd estate, the first was a 320d BMW. I'd say if you are going estate then get a big one... 3 series, Octavia, Mondeo are all good choices

AceKid

281 posts

54 months

Saturday 17th July 2021
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Im currently going the other way to you, my current dog carrier is a Lexus rx400h...big wafty barge, but only do a 6 mile commute to work and even shorter to take the dog into the New Forest...so my aim is to get something like a fiesta st!.
I would say a family hatchback size would be best, good idea to check the height of the boot opening though...too high and any dog jumping in is going to scratch the bumper, a fn2 civic type r has a nice low load height..might be a bit bumpy for a dog though!

How u doing

26,958 posts

182 months

Saturday 17th July 2021
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The best dog car is a cheap one you don't give a st about.


I 8 a 4RE

339 posts

240 months

Saturday 17th July 2021
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I have spent a lot of time researching this in the past for our Great Dane and always came back to the same answer: VW Touran.

- Last two seats fold into the floor completely flat
- Low threshold so when older or tired, easy to get in
- Dog can either lie, sit or stand without compromise
- Still seat 5 in relative comfort
- Hair will get everywhere so leather would be a nice to have
- Get a hatch bag from hatchbag.co.uk with all the extras such as boot flap, headrest flap and quilted blankets

Your dog will love you for it

nordboy

1,439 posts

49 months

Saturday 17th July 2021
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I bought an estate as we have two doodles (labra and golden). it was a good excuse to get myself something practical. So a BMW 540i msport xdrive touring is on the drive. Much man maths was involved!!

ayman82

1,465 posts

180 months

Saturday 17th July 2021
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I was in a similar position to you a few years ago, with a lovely 182FF. Sold it and bought an E39 530iT.

E39s are quite expensive now, but you might be able to get an F10 with your budget?

A Fabia estate is a good choice though.

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Saturday 17th July 2021
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For such a small dog it should easily fit in the back of a C Class - I have a C300 estate so 0-60 in 6.3 seconds or so and yet still get 48mpg. And one of my dogs will fit (just) in the rear, so yours will easily.

Smurfsarepeopletoo

863 posts

56 months

Saturday 17th July 2021
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If youve thought of the Fabia estate, why not the Octavia VRS estate, best of both worlds then.

Fermit and Sexy Sarah

12,787 posts

99 months

Saturday 17th July 2021
quotequote all
I 8 a 4RE said:
I have spent a lot of time researching this in the past for our Great Dane and always came back to the same answer: VW Touran.

- Last two seats fold into the floor completely flat
- Low threshold so when older or tired, easy to get in
- Dog can either lie, sit or stand without compromise
- Still seat 5 in relative comfort
- Hair will get everywhere so leather would be a nice to have
- Get a hatch bag from hatchbag.co.uk with all the extras such as boot flap, headrest flap and quilted blankets

Your dog will love you for it
Dad came to the same conclusion and method for their two greyhounds, them being rather long legged.

Om

1,714 posts

77 months

Saturday 17th July 2021
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I got my 370z as a dog car. Sadly a Caterham was ruled out despite my protestations that they could fit in the boot for shorter journeys with their harnesses attached to the roll bars...

KomodoWagon

156 posts

83 months

Sunday 18th July 2021
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The breeder that I've been talking to (boxers) uses Doblos, Berlingos and Kangoos for the most part. Easy to clean out all the slobber, or if one of them does a poo on the boot floor. Also good glass area even in the back so they can sit up and see out.

mikeyr

3,118 posts

192 months

Tuesday 20th July 2021
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Don't know about later Mercs but our C Class (2009) has a boot big enough to take both our collie and harehound rescue dogs. Electric boot means you can easily concentrate on them having tails tucked away when it shuts. Plus the back windows are tinted so stays cool.

I'm sure most new estates have similiar specs BUT one invaluable thing is that it has a smart cargo net thing that comes up from the back seat rests and fixes to the ceiling thus stopping them from jumping into the seats. And if you fold the seats down that same cargo net can be attached to fixing points behind the driver so they can have a larger area to roam and be closer to you.

You can see the cargo net in this picture, it's attached to the parcel shelf which in turn is attached to the headrests. So guess what i'm saying is a built in cargo net is good. biggrin

https://simplycarmats.co.uk/mercedes-c-class-estat...

mikeyr

3,118 posts

192 months

Tuesday 20th July 2021
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Having said all that, if you like current car do the seats not fold down flat? In which case dog guard and jobs a good 'un. Pretty much any reasonable sized hatch will carry a dog in comfort if you don't mind sacrificing the rear seats whilst they travel. Low lip is useful to get them in and out though.

biggbn

22,819 posts

219 months

Tuesday 20th July 2021
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I carry a 66kg bull mastiff and our staffie in the back of my f56 mini, seats down....sometimes with the 60% seat down and a rear passenger!!

Tlav123

Original Poster:

3 posts

51 months

Tuesday 20th July 2021
quotequote all
Just flicking through some of the replies ,

With the dog in the boot 90% of the time , I'm not really interested in speed (I know, I'm sorry) , I'm more inclined towards the comfort of the dog ,

The civic tourer looks like a good option ! Good mpg , boot is huge , fabia estate in Monte Carlo spec has a sun roof which I'm sure would be nice for her

ZX10R NIN

27,494 posts

124 months

Tuesday 20th July 2021
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Then take a good look at the Elite Astra.

Jeenyus161

342 posts

94 months

Wednesday 21st July 2021
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I know this is a bit personal, so don't feel like you have to answer on here, but is the dog a test run baby?

If so, consider the next size up, e class / superb etc.

Our labrador can fit lengthways in half the boot width, meaning we have half the boot sectioned off for buggy etc. Happily the years of buggies are coming to an end for me, so I'll soon be downsizing to something of a similar size to the golf/civic.

Just something to consider.