Cars that can transport mountain bikes...

[Pierscoe1]

...a twist on a "what car" thread, which requires some owner comments.

The brief:

RWD!
<£10k
<10 years old
must be able to transport a mountain bike inside it (don't mind removing the front wheel)
NO ESTATES!

Initial cars I'm curious about are:

325Ti (do the seats fold flat? there ought to be enough load spac if they do?)
130i (over budget, but still interested to know if they might be suitable)

hmmm.... is there anything non-BMW that fits the bill?

[tomwoodis]

There are loads of options if you are prepared to stick a bike rack on the back of the car.

from your original post though, it sounds like you want to put them physically in the car, is that right?

[kambites]

A Merc C-class Sports Coupe or whatever they call it (the hatchback one) would do it I would imagine.

[james_tigerwoods]

Done.

I really, really need to own one of these just to shut up about them....

[TwistingMyMelon]

I bought a W124 merc coupé to transport my road bike, thinking great its got a huuge boot and I can then fold the seats down....

Only I bought it and then realised the seats don't fold down!


No problems though I can actually fit the whole bike in the boot with both wheels off and plenty of space for all associated gear. The best thing about this set-up is that although the boot is fully enclosed, no-one can see I have a bike in there, which is handy if you park up overnight somewhere that isn't so nice. I would worry if both my P&Js were at risk from some low life if you could see I had a bike in the car.

[iggletiggle]

[quote=james_tigerwoods]

Done.

quote]

Congratlations for reading the OP!

id say the Ti would be a good bet.. although cannot remember if my neighbours Rear seats folded flat..

[Zippee]

I used to regularly get my Stumpie FSR in the boot of my Chimaera!

There you go - perfect! RWD, under 10k, quick and practical!

[james_tigerwoods]

Sorry, missed the RWD bit!

[Idiot Gimp Boy]

You seem to be falling into the old trap of trying to make a car do too many things. I was recently in the same position and thought that a BMW 330i Touring was the car I needed to do everything. After some consideration I realised that it would be an unacceptable load lugger and a second-rate occasional track car. The solution? Two cheaper cars.

[Mr Flaky]

Just buy what you fancy, I am a firm believer that you can get a mountain bike into pretty much any car!

At uni, 3 mountain bikes, three people in a Civic, since then not really taken any notice!

[Roman]

TwistingMyMelon said:

I bought a W124 merc coupé to transport my road bike, thinking great its got a huuge boot and I can then fold the seats down....

Only I bought it and then realised the seats don't fold down!


No problems though I can actually fit the whole bike in the boot with both wheels off and plenty of space for all associated gear. The best thing about this set-up is that although the boot is fully enclosed, no-one can see I have a bike in there, which is handy if you park up overnight somewhere that isn't so nice. I would worry if both my P&Js were at risk from some low life if you could see I had a bike in the car.

Good point - if you are prepared to spend another 20secs to remove the back wheel it opens up your choices to various saloons & booted coupes where your bike will be more secure in an accident and hidden from thieves.

For reference on the E46 3 series, folding rear seats are standard on the coupe and optional (rarely specified) on the saloon. You'd need to try the boot for size obviously.

Edited by Roman on Tuesday 13th April 10:20

[GHW]

I've seen bikes stowed in the back of a Nissan 200sx S14a, a 300zx, and a Chimaera 500 (which has a surprisingly deep boot!). I've managed to stuff mine into the back of a Porsche 924 before, so you could reasonably expect a 944 or a 968 to do the job too.

[Ian974]

I've yet to attemt to use the elise to take my bike anywhere, I think that may be pushing it! I've seen on here a while back someone with a bike strapped to the roll cage of a caterham! That'd do the job!

[anonymous-user]

I used to fit 2 mountain bikes in the back of my 1997 Nissan Micra (don't laugh, I was a skint student, reliability was important) with the seats down, didnt even need to take any wheels off them - you'd be surprised what you can fit in many hatchbacks.

[kambites]

Ian974 said:

I've yet to attemt to use the elise to take my bike anywhere, I think that may be pushing it! I've seen on here a while back someone with a bike strapped to the roll cage of a caterham! That'd do the job!

Doable with the roof off:

[Super Veloce]

Ive been loading it in to my courtesy Aquila over the last few weeks as long as you dont mind forks in your had you are ok...


More seriously I pop mine in the 330Ci normally...

Also have a look at

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

make your bike allot more subtle for parking, looks like a exhibition sign bag

[Chris71]

Ah, my thread has arrived!

If you don't mind removing both wheels you'd be amazed what you can get a mountain bike in. I used to transport my Sub 5 frame behind the seats of my Quantum kit car with the wheels in the boot!

I think the most direct answer to your criteria is some sort of BMW. The 3-Series compact seems expensive for what it is, so I'd go for a regular saloon or coupe. Seems you haven't mentioned economy(!) I'm going to suggest an MG ZT260 as well - as much oversteer as you like and genuinely different for comfortably sub £10k. If you flex the 10 year rule a little, the options become considerable. Most of these have been mentioned already, but here goes:

Porsche 968
Porsche 944 (including S2/Turbo obviously)
Jaguar S-Type R (within the 10 year rule, maybe a tad over budget though?)
Maybe a Mazda RX8 (seats don't fold, but you could probably get the frame in the boot and wheels on the back seat)?
Nissan 200SX - the earlier ones will let you drop a bike straight in, the later ones you'll have to use the boot as above, but it can be done, a mate used to transport his Marin in the boot of an S14
Toyota Supra?? No idea, but got to be a likely candidate
E36 BMW M3 - even a very nice one is way less than £10k, so you'd have plenty in the pot for you first Vanos failure
Vauxhall/Holden Monaro - I think these are coming in budget now; later VXR8 is better but probably too pricey?

Sure there are plenty of Mercs that would suffice - maybe something with some AMG fettling? And, as mentioned, any other BMW saloon made to date...

[Shropshiremike]

Chris71 said:

If you flex the 10 year rule a little, the options become considerable.


Porsche 944 (including S2/Turbo obviously)...

Quite a lot of 'flex' there Chris

Edited by Shropshiremike on Tuesday 13th April 10:44

[Truckosaurus]

I've got an E46 330i Touring. A single bike easily fits on its side with all the wheels on (even my 700C wheeled hyprid). The biggest drawback for storing bikes upright is the height as boot floor is quite high. If you've not got a passenger you can push the front seat forward and have the forks drop down into the rear footwell neatly.

[Chris71]

Shropshiremike said:

Chris71 said:

If you flex the 10 year rule a little, the options become considerable.


Porsche 944 (including S2/Turbo obviously)...

Quite a lot of 'flex' there Chris

True, but if I spent anywhere near as much as £10k on an S2 I'd expect it to be every bit as shiny and reliable as a new BMW!

Okay the suggestions are a bit leftfield, but if you want sensible then the BMW 325/330 of your choice is a no brainer really. That or maybe one of the Mercs, but I don't know anything about them.