Which MPV as bike carrier/family wagon

[Hudson1984]

Perhaps should be in car buying but this is largely based around cycling.

I've asked a few times in other posts for recommendations but again - needs have changed slightly.

I'm looking into an MPV. Looked at other things suggested by the forum but in reality an MPV gives me more of what I want.

So, room for 3 road bikes, no wheels off.
room for 3 blokes with associated stuff (bottles/bags etc)

Now, if I by something in the short term it would be a spare vehicle, so only needed for dog hauling and going out on bikes....and the dump. But would only want to spend say £3-£4k

if I wait till next may, my company car lease ends and they are moving to car allowance, which would mean I could spend around £10k

Top of my list currently in the 3-4k option is a galaxy or smax, with the smax being the higher.

if I wait, then probably the same two vehicles feature but i'm concerned about economy as I travel 70 miles a day for work, so it's a concern that i'd be spending a fortune hauling a big vehicle about. So, do I get the cheaper Galaxy/Smax sooner, then buy a more "sensible" work car when the time comes - even an economical estate so I could take my bike if it's just me going out.

[Hudson1984]

So you’d go older?

I thought the newer ones folded flat and still gave good height inside?

What age should I look at if this is not the case

[Hudson1984]

yeah seems anytime I bring this type of topic up the Elgrand rears it's head so must be something in that advice

[Hudson1984]

Bill said:

An SMax isn't high enough and I suspect you'll struggle even with a Galaxy. Plus once you have three bikes side by side in a car stopping them rubbing etc can be a pain.

even with front wheel off? Not worried about the bikes being assembled fully. Thought a Galaxy would swallow a bike.

What I intended was to make a removable floor - just an mdf base, then put a bike rack on it, keep the bikes secure and fixed, but still leave room for the side seat to be up

[Hudson1984]

Bill said:

You said no wheels off! You might struggle for height still. I have to lower my MTB seat to get it into my Discovery. I assume the Galaxy is higher though.

ooh I did - was being greedy haha, would be nice to not have to strip down but if taking the wheel off means vertical loading i'd still be happy, pain in the a$$ having to lay it flat in my focus

[Hudson1984]

BobSaunders said:

Get the estate with a tow bar, and/or roof rack for the bikes. I think you've answered your own question re. big car and being uneconomical Monday to Friday e.g. the vast amount of time you will be using the car. Weekends put the bikes on the back/roof. They will be fine if they are secured properly.

100% want the bikes inside the vehicle. I'd like an estate but it's not going to do the job at hand.

[Hudson1984]

TwistingMyMelon said:

I wanted a vehicle that I could carry 5 adults (6 sometimes) and my bike without taking wheels off , also bulky furniture

Wanted a twin cab van , but I couldn't find one with cruise and aircon for 12k

S max swooped too low at the back for me

Galaxy was nice but a touch too small at back

I bought a Ford grand tourneo connect , for 13 k

Here's a cycling weekly article with same as mine https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/cl...

One thing that puts me off mpvs is that they pretend to be sporty , I wanted a no nonsense car for hard work

It's essentially a van with up to 7 decent seats , I've taken out the rear row , even though they fold flat

I take my filthy CX bike to work most days (I work in a forest) and can wheel it in the boot without folding seats out or wheels off.

I've had 4 medium bikes stood up wheels on in back easily

With two seats folded down you should be able To fiit 3 bikes and 3 blokes with no cramptness

It's slow off the line , but handles well . I find it more comfy fully loaded up @ 85 for 7 hours at a time than a Volvo XC70 I had

yeah that's indeed the aim - a workhorse.

I'm really thinking an older vehicle (such as the galaxy above) or an older torneo is the way to go, then when the company car goes back get a nicer/comfier daily driver. Least then I can have the ecomomy for work and the space for everything else.

[Hudson1984]

Exactly, live in a country full of scum bags, rather not give them the chance - or at least make it harder.

[Hudson1984]

Daveyraveygravey said:

Or just buy a really stupidly large vehicle you don't actually need 98% of the time?! I like to think I would have brake-checked that robbing bd, but that's only going to damage your stuff and get you into trouble with the law, instead of him.

I think if we only bought what we actually "needed" the world would be a much better place - but, alas, we all like buying crap we don't "need" and this is one of those occasions - my "need" in this case is a way of me justifying another piece of crap. But hey, wouldn't life be bloody dull if we purely lived by our "needs"