tarwheel 

I realize this is the bike commuting forum and cars are to be shunned. However, I am in the market for a new car, my first in over 15 years. I consider it my reward for reaching 60 years and saving diligently (much of that helped by bike commuting). I also want a car that is more fuel-efficient than my Ford Ranger pickup truck and better for taking road trips. I'll be retiring in a few years, and I want a car that will be comfortable driving around the country and capable of hauling my bike(s) and kayak(s). Although I would probably add a hitch rack since I already have a Yakima, I would prefer a car that has space for at least one bike in the back end in case I would rather not use the rack. The space would also be good for carrying camping and kayaking gear or luggage while traveling.

Right now, I am leaning toward getting a hatchback or small station wagon. Fuel efficiency is a big deal for me from a cost as well as environmental standpoint, so I want a car that gets at least 30 mpg highway and preferably 40 mpg or more. This has me looking at some of the hatchbacks, hybrids and diesels. Here are some of the models I'm considering:

-- VW Jetta Sportwagon or Golf hatchback. TDI diesel versions get incredible mileage (40+ hwy) but are much more expensive than the gasoline versions and reliability may be an issue. Diesel is more expensive than gas, so TDIs might not really save much money unless you drive a lot -- and I don't. VW gas engines are not as fuel efficient as other hatchbacks but apparently perform well.
-- Ford Focus, Mazda 3, Honda Fit and Subaru Impreza seem to be the best hatchbacks right now. The Fit is most practical and least expensive but also noisier, lower powered and budget oriented. Focus, Mazda 3 and Impreza get great reviews but have much less storage space than the Fit even though they are larger and more expensive.
-- Mini Cooper would be a blast to drive and gets great mileage but runs on premium gas, is apparently noisy and has much less storage space than other hatchbacks.
-- Toyota Prius blows all others away in fuel efficiency, but has limited storage space, not-so-nice interiors and blah handling and performance. It's also expensive. The Prius V has more space, but is even more expensive.
-- The new Ford C-Max hybrid seems to combine almost everything I am looking for -- great gas mileage, lots of storage space, nice styling, and good handling and performance. However, it's a brand new model so I would want to wait until Ford works out the bugs, and it's also fairly expensive.

Anyone here have first-hand experience and recommendations concerning these cars? Can you suggest any other models I haven't listed?

Ridefreemc

I had a 2005 Mini Cooper for a number of years and it was by far the best vehicle I have owned (35 years + or -). If you were careful you could place two road bikes inside, but one was often carried and easy to do so. I even put my recumbant in there, but that required the passenger seat to fold forward. I also used a roof rack for convenience and the low height made it easy to put the bikes on.

I took a 7,000 mile journey with it in 2006 (and bike) and the handling is awesome - like on a rail on the highway and super fun in the twisties, the gas mileage was great (about 33 mpg), and I could sleep in it in a pinch (did that many nights). It was an "S" model so it had more power and better handling. When it came time for service it was all covered by the warranty! Anything besides oil was included. It asks for premium, but you do not have to put that in unless you really want horse power. The computer will adjust when necessary.

Not sure where you heard they were noisey because mine was not. It was designed very well and will last many many years without question. I sold it when my family grew from just me to a total of 5. Now I have a Chevy van, as we all ride bicycles and a four bike hitch rack, with one bike inside gets us to new locations.

Shawn Parr

I have a 2011 Subaru Outback with the CVT transmission and love it. Super comfortable ride, lot's of interior room, and with calm driving can hit 30 MPG on the highway. I have carried kayaks on the roof rack and bikes on a hitch mount bike rack. And that is 30 MPG on the highway with AWD. If you want better mileage you can also look at the Impreza line which now also has the CVT option, though people complain it is noisier. Think of the Outback as the larger luxury edition of the Impreza hatchback...

My father in law used to own a Fit, and he loved it, and I drove it and if I needed a really small hatch that was super versatile I'd consider it. I'd need to compare between it and the Impreza as I think it would likely be more fun to drive and more capable in poor conditions than the Fit (the Fit I drove was the sport model).

My understanding with the VW stuff is that the diesel versions are way more reliable than the gasoline versions. We looked at one when we ended up with the Outback but didn't test drive it as we have children and it didn't have the back seat room we desired. A good friend of mine owns the non-station wagon version of it and he and his wife absolutely love it.

The Mini's are awesomely cool, but yes tend to be very small internally for the cost and from my research each model had one or two persistent issue(s). Since there are no dealers near where I live and it sounded like having a good dealer nearby to deal with warranty issues would be good I skipped. I did go ahead and sit in one on a trip and talk about no rear leg room! This was before the Countryman was available and it may be better.

Good luck, I think you have a lot of good choices available in your list, depending on what you priorities are, and have a hard choice ahead.

jerseyJim

I have a Mazda 3 Hatch and it fits one bike in the back easily even without removing the wheel. If you remove the front wheel you can fit two. I use a heavy blanket between them and take care not to lay any parts on the drivetrain of the bottom bike. My GF and I have loaded two bikes, gear and two suitcases in the back and driven from New Jersey to as far as Florida with no problem.

The car has almost 70k miles and I haven't had a single mechanical issue. It has a powerful 2.3l four cylcinder engine and is geared low for quick acceleration. My only complaint is that the top gear is a little low for highway cruising speed. A higher top gear would make for a little better highway mileage imo. It does fairly well mileage wise in the city. Whatever you decide gl with your new car!

lsberrios1 

I believe my range rover evoque is a pretty awesome car for cyclists. Very capable off road if you are looking for mountain bike trails and very comfy. It can carry two bikes inside with the rear seats folded down and of course with the rack I can get two more or even 4 with a larger rack. You also get to go cycle and get there in style (it's good on gas too)

acidfast7

My personal preference is for the VW, but I'm biased. I think all VWs share certain attributes that aren't useful to you (in the US). For example, they are excellent high-speed cruisers. When you're driving between 100-120mph for long-stretches (recently we drove roughly 130mph for roughly 2 hours continuously at night) you don't want to experience driving fatigue. For example, you want the steering to be rock solid and not require constant micro-adjustments. This is where VW shines. We recently drove an Opel (European GM) and the difference was night and day. At high speeds, the Opel's front suspension was slightly more extended due to differences in how the air was buffeted under the car which caused the need for constant micro-corrections at high-speed which is quite annoying (on a drive back to Germany from Venice).

However, in the US, the average speed in much slower, so it's not so useful.

The C-Max is a very interesting and very good choice. For what it's worth, it's just a new model for you guys, we've (Europe) has had it since 2003. So the mechanical stuff has been really worked out and they actually make an excellent diesel option (if you guys get it.) However, the hybrid technology is new globally.

I test drove a new Mazda 3, and a Mazdaspeed 3, and the interior, handling and high-speed control really left a lot to be desired in my opinion, compared to German cars for a similar price (Audi A1).

Just my €0.02

JPprivate

I like my Honda Element, you can basically throw two full-sized bikes in the back, without much ado. And the fact that it doesn't have any interior carpeting makes cleanup easy after you came back from a mudslinging cross-country ride. Unfortunately they stopped making them in 2011, but there are plenty of preowned out there.

Shawn Parr

Just bear in mind that historically vehicles with the same name between the US and Europe were very different cars. Supposedly this isn't happening anymore, or at least as much, but it is something to keep an eye out for.

A great example is the Focus pre-2011 model year. Europeans and the British though they were very nice cars. The ones sold in America where junk. The engine didn't have the same spunk, the transmission was practically useless, and they handling wasn't very good either (and I drive a fricken' Toyota Corolla most of the time, not known for being very sporty). The one I drove was literally falling apart, lots of trim pieces had come off.

As I said, Ford claims they aren't going to do this anymore, but I would definitely go over one with a fine toothed comb before putting any money down, and avoid models from most of the 2000-2010 range.

acidfast7

I'm aware of this. And, yes, you guys usually get the shaft on the good European models.

In the case of the Focus, the chassis wasn't even the same and the US version was a disgrace, to the Focus name, that is (as was the Escort but for different reasons).

In this case, the C-Max, the chassis is the same, the Global C (which has been unchanged since 2004), which is the same platform as the Mazda 3 as does the new Ford Focus.

tarwheel 

Great feedback! The VW Jetta Sportwagon is currently my top choice but I am concerned about stories I've been hearing about fuel pump failures that are extremely expensive to fix. The TDI version also costs significantly more than the hatchbacks I listed and supplies appear to be much more limited, making it harder to get a good deal. The C-Max would cost about the same as the Jetta TDI, but are much more available because there are Ford dealers everywhere. The biggest problem with the C-Max is I'm not sure if I could carry a kayak on it. It's good to know that Ford has been making the C-Max for a while in Europe; I didn't know that.

acidfast7

I know they're extremely rare, but I'd really look for a Passat TDI Wagon.

Also, of interest, and super-common over here for their dependability and usefulness, an Audi A4 Avant (Wagon) TDI model.

But I see for 2013 that you can't buy one in the US

An Audi A3 TDI is a really nice car as well (you may be able to get a kayak on it). However, it seems that they're all automatic in the US

To be honest, Audi/VWs are very expensive to fix. Parts are expensive as the OEM is usually BOSCH (high labor costs in the EU) and the electronics have very high duty cycles. For that reason, I drive an Audi A4 without A/C, power windows and with cloth interior because I don't want to deal with the electronic hassles.

I don't actually think they break more often than other cars, but the expected maintenance is absolutely on the German schedule, and not on the US schedule. For example, changing the alternator is regular maintenance on a VW/Audi. This is actually a carryover from Germany, where breaking down or running out of gas on the Autobahn is an offense that results in steep fines and points against the license.

tarwheel 

I'm afraid that Audi is out of my price range, and their wagon seems to be just a more expensive version of the Jetta Sportwagon. A Jetta would be a luxury car compared to what I have been driving. The Jetta and Golf have the nicest interiors, styling and quality of finish of any of the cars I've looked at so far. I wish their gas engines got a little better mileage however.

MNBikeCommuter

I have an '04 Toyota Matrix (Corolla wagon) that's been a great vehicle for me. A bike fits in the back with the rear seats down, which was a must. It's a stick shift and I've been getting 38 mpg or so on most tanks (mostly highway commute). The automatic was rated at about 10% less back then. Another selling point was that a 6'4" 300+lb friend fit in the back seat comfortably, with adequate head and leg room. I had a growing boy at the time so wanted to make sure he'd still fit a few years down the road. Most of the trips are solo, and the engine handles that just fine. With all four of us and some weekend gear, it's not quite as nimble getting up to speed. Nor was it the time I threw 650 lbs of pavers in back... :-)

acidfast7

I see ... the Jetta Sport Wagon (we don't get the Jetta) ... it's the same platform as the Audi A3. Personally, I love the A3 ... we get a special version over here called the RS3 (with 350hp). So, I guess you're right about the A3 being similar to the Jetta Sport Wagon. I'd think that you'd be able to two single person kayaks on the roof.

Yeah, once again the good diesel engines haven't made it over as we have some that do better than 70mpg highway.

However, I will say that from what I gather from my friends state-side that the VW TDI ratings for mileage from the EPA are pretty close to real-world estimates, rather than some of the numbers from other manufacturers.

Also, I was always a diehard Japanese car fan (Toyota Supra, Toyota Matrix, Nissan Sentra, Honda Accord, Honda CRX, Honda Civic, Surbaru WRX) until I started driving an Audi (which is really a VW) and I'd have a very hard time going back as all the details are extremely well done in the newest cars.

ThermionicScott 

I really like my Subaru Outback -- I can put down the rear seat and throw two bikes in there with a big layer of cardboard that I keep around for that purpose. It cost me $3000 used, and insurance payments from a couple of accidents have offset enough of that that I don't mind getting 25 MPG most of the time.

fietsbob

I had a SAAB 96 ['68] their transmissions have a 'freewheel, (clutch), bearing'

that is One that engaged only under a load , So at the crest of the Hill ,

I took my foot off the throttle, and coasted down the other side.

I don't pedal down hill on my bike, but also start applying power

when the coasting down hill momentum dropped, enough..


I only used the clutch pedal to power off from a dead stop.

Rain gutter roof so able to easily fit a roof rack. + 3rd crossbar on the hatch back lid.

PatrickGSR94

Anything Honda will pretty much outlast anything else. My Acura Integra has over 322,000 miles and it still going strong. I don't even have a bike rack (yet) and can fit one bike in the back with both wheels removed and left side rear seat folded (right side containing my kid's seat and stays up).

I also have friends with an Element who can put both of their road bikes in there without any disassembly at all, I believe.

tarwheel 

I like the Toyota Matrix' looks, but it's current EPA mileage rating is much lower than you report. They rate it at 32 hwy for the small engine and 28 hwy for the larger engine. I'm not doubting your numbers but maybe you drive much more "efficiently" than most people.

tarwheel 

I know Subarus are supposed to be good cars, but the new Outback is much larger than I prefer. The Forester would be nice but none of the Subarus get very good gas mileage. Impreza Hatchback is the best of their models, but it's got lower mileage ratings than the leading hatchbacks. If I needed AWD, it would definitely be a front-runner, but I don't. I wish Subaro would offer FWD models for those us who value gas mileage over traction; AWD is simply an unnecessary expensive option in the South.

acidfast7

FWIW, I had a 2003 Matrix (base trim level) with 5-speed and the 1ZZ engine. I'd get 30mpg mixed with A/C on always (Texas) and 35mpg with A/C highway only (75-80mph). It was a "good car" but the interior was total crap as in really cheap plastics and cloth.

Paid 12000 USD (in 2003) out the door brand new (newspaper special and dealer only had one).

Ex-wife still uses it daily (150k miles).

Not a single mechanical failure when we used it (85k miles).

tarwheel 

I'll definitely take a look at the Matrix since I live right down the road from a Toyota dealer. I'd like to test drive a Prius anyway. Most of the Toyota models these days seem long overdue for a design update, but I know they are great cars and very reliable, which is important.

Notso_fastLane

Yeah, don't overlook Subarus. I don't own one, but they are on my list for when we replace my wife's car. Also, consider some of the larger hybrids, like Toyota's Highlander. You might wait a couple years (if you can), because there is a big push by most manufacturers to offer nearly every model in a hybrid/fuel efficient version by 2015-2016.

Oddly, my next vehicle will probably be a bigger, less efficient truck, because I will need it for towing. It will be offset by the fact that I'll hardly ever drive it, and my wife's car will be a newer hybrid by then.

PatrickGSR94

I don't know how current EPA estimates compare to real life, but my 94 Integra GS-R gets much higher fuel economy than what the original sticker showed in 1994. Even at 322K miles it averages 31+ MPG mostly commuting, some highway driving, and can get as high as 36 on a highway day trip. And that's not exactly careful hyper-miling, either, but with a few 8K RPM redline jaunts here and there.

nashvillwill

I would go with the TDI. Solid car, great drive and great mileage. Also, it will have the highest resale value of all the cars you named. Subaru's hold their value pretty well, but the TDI's are almost as much used as they are new. As difficult as it is to find a new one on the lot, imagine how rare they are on the resale market. Also, if its under warrantee, you don't have to worry about any problems.

Sixty Fiver

The Toyota Corolla is still superb car that comes in at a very good price... base model in Canada starts at around $15,000 new. We rented one this spring and were quite pleased with everything about it and the Matrix seems to be the station wagon version with a snappier name.

Mileage was in the mid to high 30's on the highway at 70mph and power was good, for a compact it is rather roomy and gives a nice open view as opposed to the newest euro styled cars like the Focus that have limited visibility out the back, and don,t even get me started on the Prius.

My current car is a 1993 Nissan Sentra and this is my second Sentra... the first went over 1,100,000 km and the current car, that I got for next to nothing, just rolled over 230,000 km and it has never leaked or burned a drop of anything.

It gets mileage in the high 30's and low 40's if I back off the gas and will carry 5 bikes and 5 passengers... people go inside and I have a double roof rack and a trunk rack I can swap on and off as needed. I can even fit my Surly Pugsley in the back seat. I plan to get a kayak for fishing and will add a hitch so I can trailer it and still retain the ability to bring my bikes with me.