Another "what bike carrying car" thread
Discussion
Some daft bint drove into the side of my daily driver on Monday and so I need a new toy. The crietria is as follows:
Next thought was a Panda 100HP, but they're well towards the top end of my budget and only just big enough for one bike. Also thought about a Suzki Swift Sport, but they're a bit more than I want to spend at the moment.
An Alfa 147 appeals. Largely because it's an Alfa (ok, I'm shallow...)
The remainder are Fords. A 1.6 Focus won't set my hair on fire in a straight line, but they handle well, drink relatively little and carry loads. A Fiesta Zetec-S feels similar to the Focus, has almost as much space and is siginificantly nippier, but increased fuel and insurance costs. A Puma goes and handles better than any of them, looks a bit more interesting (if a tad girlie), but only has room for one bike.
Any thoughts?
- Low insurance (loss of NCB, accident etc.) - preferably not a classic as I need to build NCB back up
- Good fuel economy (aiming for 40mpg on the motorway)
- Room for atleast one bike (minus wheels), preferably two and some gear (shouldn't be much of an ask - a Saxo happily accomodated two of us for a week at CyB)
- Reasonably reliable
- Extra points for anything quick, fun or individual, but the above takes priority I'm afraid.
- Up to £7k, preferably much less
Next thought was a Panda 100HP, but they're well towards the top end of my budget and only just big enough for one bike. Also thought about a Suzki Swift Sport, but they're a bit more than I want to spend at the moment.
An Alfa 147 appeals. Largely because it's an Alfa (ok, I'm shallow...)
The remainder are Fords. A 1.6 Focus won't set my hair on fire in a straight line, but they handle well, drink relatively little and carry loads. A Fiesta Zetec-S feels similar to the Focus, has almost as much space and is siginificantly nippier, but increased fuel and insurance costs. A Puma goes and handles better than any of them, looks a bit more interesting (if a tad girlie), but only has room for one bike.
Any thoughts?
Mk1 Octavia vRS?
Estate or hatch, both have an enormous boot and can be picked up for under £7k, mostly made of Audi parts, 180bhp engine chips to 210bhp. My remapped one would easily get 38-40mpg on average runs and I regularly had 2 large frame bikes in the back , only ever had to take the front wheels off.
Beauty of the the hatch as well was ease of access.
Estate or hatch, both have an enormous boot and can be picked up for under £7k, mostly made of Audi parts, 180bhp engine chips to 210bhp. My remapped one would easily get 38-40mpg on average runs and I regularly had 2 large frame bikes in the back , only ever had to take the front wheels off.
Beauty of the the hatch as well was ease of access.
A 147 Jtd (OK its a diesel) would do the job nicely I'd have thought. As for reliability from personal experience of a petrol 1.6 and a firends experience then so nothing to worry about, he says touching wood!
The boot isn't huge but drop the seats and whip off the wheels and a bike will fit.
7K will get a reasonable relativly low milage example as the residuals are crap (thanks to all the reliability jokes), For that money a an oil burning 156 5dr would also be good and the 2.4(I think it is) diesel has reasonable performance.
The boot isn't huge but drop the seats and whip off the wheels and a bike will fit.
7K will get a reasonable relativly low milage example as the residuals are crap (thanks to all the reliability jokes), For that money a an oil burning 156 5dr would also be good and the 2.4(I think it is) diesel has reasonable performance.
WildCards said:
Peugeot 306 GTi-6?
+ 30ish mpg
- Group 16 insurance (I think)
I'm looking for more like sub-group-10 and 40 odd MPG (more if diesel to pay for Comrade Brown's loony fuel taxes + 30ish mpg
- Group 16 insurance (I think)
) May look into an HDi though.The Fabia vRS and 147 JTD are possibilities. A 1.9 JTD 156 might be too. I must admit I have rather a soft spot for Alfas. Don't know whether diesel is really worth it at the mileages I do however. Once you've allowed for the fuel and servicing costs I reckon you need to be over 10mpg clear of the equivilant petrol car.
The larger JTD is likely to be an issue with insurance after Monday, I'm afraid.
One down side on the alfa petrols is even the 1.6 147 falls into current band f on the road tax, so not the cheapest. Also needs to be worked hard to get the best out of it but sounds OK for a little 4 pot though. The wife gets around 38 - 40mpg on cross country driving, I'd guess someone with a heavier right foot would knock that down to 35 quite easily.
Having said all that I'd still go out and buy one.
Having said all that I'd still go out and buy one.
I know, discounted the Alfa petrols I think now, but a diesel - either of the JTDs in either the 147 or 156 is a possibility. They are at the more expensive end of what I want to spend on both purchasing and running, but it is an Alfa. As I've fondly recalled on PH before my earliest memory is of my dad's blood red Alfetta GTV and I think I've wanted one ever since.
The thing is, spending half the money of a decent JTD-equipped Alfa on a more utiliterian Focus gives me £3k spare to waste on bits for the TVR, bits for the bike, maybe a holiday etc. It's head versus heart.
The thing is, spending half the money of a decent JTD-equipped Alfa on a more utiliterian Focus gives me £3k spare to waste on bits for the TVR, bits for the bike, maybe a holiday etc. It's head versus heart.
WildCards said:
or a 306 2.0 HDi.
40+ mpg, same suspension as a GTI-6, sub £3000 and group 5 (I think) insurance.
40+ mpg, same suspension as a GTI-6, sub £3000 and group 5 (I think) insurance.
Two bikes with both wheels off + two people or 1 bike with front wheel off easily.Consider a roof mounted system though, less fuss taking wheels off and scratching car and frames etc.
Ibiza FR TDI? I know someone's already mentioned a Fabia vRS which is effectively the same car, but IMO the Ibiza's better looking, especially if you prefer 3 doors rather than 5, not that I'm biased... 
Plus you can easily fit a detachable towbar should you require additional bike carrying capacity outwith the cabin. I even managed it on my Cupra TDI
Plus you can easily fit a detachable towbar should you require additional bike carrying capacity outwith the cabin. I even managed it on my Cupra TDI
a11y_m said:
Ibiza FR TDI? I know someone's already mentioned a Fabia vRS which is effectively the same car, but IMO the Ibiza's better looking, especially if you prefer 3 doors rather than 5, not that I'm biased...
Plus you can easily fit a detachable towbar should you require additional bike carrying capacity outwith the cabin. I even managed it on my Cupra TDI
Is that the same engine as the Leon? I drove a 90PS Leon this afternoon and it was pretty good. Not sure if I want to spend that much.Plus you can easily fit a detachable towbar should you require additional bike carrying capacity outwith the cabin. I even managed it on my Cupra TDI
Also just seen an Alfa 156 Sportwagon (1.9 JTD). In red.
Chris71 said:
Is that the same engine as the Leon? I drove a 90PS Leon this afternoon and it was pretty good. Not sure if I want to spend that much.
Also just seen an Alfa 156 Sportwagon (1.9 JTD). In red.
AFAIK it's the generic 1.9 TDI PD VAG engine - it's in different states of tune across the VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda range although slowly being replaced by the newer 2.0 TDI PD (most Audi's/VW's have this already). I'm not up on the technical differences, but I'd imagine things like the injectors, air intake, turbo, etc. are different but the basics are the same. Ibiza Cupra TDIs are sneeking in under £7k so a good condition Ibiza FR (or Sport 130 TDI) should be available for much less. The 130 can be remapped easily to 170bhp+ should that interest you...Also just seen an Alfa 156 Sportwagon (1.9 JTD). In red.
Oh, and Alfa diesel? Lovely car but my mate's 2.4 JTB Sportwagen was worse for reliability than my Clio. In the end he got it into a state where no warning lights were showing (possible bulb removal) and immediately traded it for a Lexus IS200...
I don't know about the 2.4alfa diesel for reliability. A colleague here had a 147 witht he 1.9jtd and happily did 100+k with no issues but then we all haveour success/failue stories. As a TVR driver I found it most amusing that a friend with a 911 had to have pretty much all the wiring replaced to solve electrical issues, then my diff started making noise!
I started looking myself at 156 5drs and noticed a 1.9 on here for what looked reasonable money. Having always owned larger estates though I'm not sure I could live with the smallish load area. I'm lazy and can't be bothered dropping wheels of my bikes.
As for a cheap bike carrying car, although you won't get the mpg a 2.0sri vectra estate is a great tool for throwing bikes in the back of and can be picked up for around 1-2k. I currently have a '99 one with 160k on the clock going strong, and the lift of oversteer can be quite fun. I'm sure the same could be said for a similar aged mondeo though.
Although I have a bias for the Alfas, the pug 306HDI as already mentioned would probably be a good bet
I started looking myself at 156 5drs and noticed a 1.9 on here for what looked reasonable money. Having always owned larger estates though I'm not sure I could live with the smallish load area. I'm lazy and can't be bothered dropping wheels of my bikes.
As for a cheap bike carrying car, although you won't get the mpg a 2.0sri vectra estate is a great tool for throwing bikes in the back of and can be picked up for around 1-2k. I currently have a '99 one with 160k on the clock going strong, and the lift of oversteer can be quite fun. I'm sure the same could be said for a similar aged mondeo though.
Although I have a bias for the Alfas, the pug 306HDI as already mentioned would probably be a good bet
Vectra estate's a good shout. My father-in-law's in the trade and buys a lot of Astra/Vectra/Zafira's from auctions as he says they're reasonably reliable cars that don't cost much to fix if they go wrong. Handling won't set your pants on fire (possibly the opposite...) but as a biking/everyday car that's a good one.
edward1 said:
I don't know about the 2.4alfa diesel for reliability. A colleague here had a 147 witht he 1.9jtd and happily did 100+k with no issues but then we all haveour success/failue stories. As a TVR driver I found it most amusing that a friend with a 911 had to have pretty much all the wiring replaced to solve electrical issues, then my diff started making noise!
I started looking myself at 156 5drs and noticed a 1.9 on here for what looked reasonable money. Having always owned larger estates though I'm not sure I could live with the smallish load area. I'm lazy and can't be bothered dropping wheels of my bikes.
As for a cheap bike carrying car, although you won't get the mpg a 2.0sri vectra estate is a great tool for throwing bikes in the back of and can be picked up for around 1-2k. I currently have a '99 one with 160k on the clock going strong, and the lift of oversteer can be quite fun. I'm sure the same could be said for a similar aged mondeo though.
Although I have a bias for the Alfas, the pug 306HDI as already mentioned would probably be a good bet
I'm very tempted by that 156 Sportwagon. Utterly gorgeous car.I started looking myself at 156 5drs and noticed a 1.9 on here for what looked reasonable money. Having always owned larger estates though I'm not sure I could live with the smallish load area. I'm lazy and can't be bothered dropping wheels of my bikes.
As for a cheap bike carrying car, although you won't get the mpg a 2.0sri vectra estate is a great tool for throwing bikes in the back of and can be picked up for around 1-2k. I currently have a '99 one with 160k on the clock going strong, and the lift of oversteer can be quite fun. I'm sure the same could be said for a similar aged mondeo though.
Although I have a bias for the Alfas, the pug 306HDI as already mentioned would probably be a good bet
I'll take the stereotypes with a pinch of salt - I'm also a TVR owner - that and my kit cars have been the most reliable vehicles I've owned. The worst was a BMW.
Eta: Alfa looks like it may indeed be too good to be true - recently spotted at auction looking sorry for itself apparently! Also just heard that my old car may in fact be repaired - having been told a week ago it was a write-off. Really glad I didn't buy that car last night now!!
Edited by Chris71 on Wednesday 16th July 09:43
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