cb400bill

The OP asked for opinions on small cars. Let's keep the posts on topic. If you want to discuss the merits of a pickup, SUV or van, please start a new thread.

MTFC1

Never had any problems fitting bikes in my Seat Ibiza once all of the seats are folded forwards. Haven't noticed it affect my MPG by much.

RadialHead

Right on! Yeah, I get simular mileage with my 6MT with my 40-ish mile commute. I love my manual, but sometimes during the evening rush hour when I’m rowing along I wish i had gone for the DSG tho

jamesdak 

Time to trade up! I was going for a manual and then drove a DSG equiped one hard. Heck, I'm not shifting a manual as fast as this beast does when you put 'er in sport and get after it.

Tape2012

Plus most DSG transmissions allow you to force a shift if you don't like what the computer is doing. I use that feature a lot here in the mountains.

jamesdak 

Yep! Either with the paddle shifters on the wheel or the gear lever on the console. VW is still struggling from the diesel mess so GTI's can be had for great prices.

Traded this in on one.



The vette was a pain to put a bike into. A man's got to get his priorities straight so the vette had to go.

rm -rf

Perhaps. But in real life, just about nobody pays this. The batteries last for an absurd number of miles. That's quite surprising, especially since they are NiMH, which only lasted a year or two in power drills. The Prius never fully charges or fully discharges them, they stay in a middle range of charge, which makes a big difference.

There's enough totaled Priuses that way cheaper used batteries are usually the replacements on really high mileage cars.

bruce19

In the past 5 years I have had a Focus ST and, now, a Fiesta ST. IMO the Fiesta is better in terms of utility and fun. Either will take 2 bikes with front wheels removed. The Fiesta is better in terms of gas mileage with about 28 mpg around town. I could write much more but in general I have been very satisfied with both cars.

RadialHead

yeah I took a ride in my buddies Golf R (woah btw) with a DSG and it shifted beautifully. My wife wouldn’t be mad about having an auto because while she knows how to drive stick okay, she’s never daily driven a stick so it stresses her out whenever she takes my car so talking her into a 2018 wouldn’t be too tough haha.

thormeyyer

I vote for the crosstrek!

scott967

i don't know about current offerings, but I have never seen a hatchback that couldn't take a road bike after removing front wheel. I have done the back seat trick, but only on rental cars -- wouldn't want a personal car where I had to use the back seat for bikes.

scott s.
.

Hokiedad4

Thanks. I'll definitely keep that in mind. You've described my son's 2011 Camry (5-spd) perfectly. My Accord has an actual throttle cable, which makes it pretty responsive with no rev hang. So I know I'm a bit spoiled.

Canker

meh the only time "rev hang" on my focus annoys me is when I skip a gear like going from 3rd to 5th. I've just learned to wait an extra second before putting it in to 5th to let the RPMs drop. When I'm not skipping a gear the RPMs drop low enough immediately to not be an issue.

tnburban

Check out the Mazda 3 hatchback. And VW jetta wagon.

alcjphil

Volkswagen has not made a Jetta wagon for quite a few years. The current offering is the Golf Sportwagen which is an excellent car for bikes, at least mine is

Tape2012

Do they still make the Nissan Cube? It was butt ugly but had a ton of cargo room. I've only met one person willing to admit buying one and she loved it.

Grand Bois

This works for me. It has every available option and DSG and I only paid $12k. A standard Golf would get better mileage, but it wouldn't be half the fun to drive.

CrankyOne

Personally I wouldn't purchase a new petrol car. As electrics continue to gain marketshare we'll likely see a much steeper than normal depreciation for gas cars. So, for gas I'd def go used.

OTOH, a bike can comfortably fit in the back of a Tesla Model 3, but with half a million orders already it'll be 18 months or so before you can get one unless you've already put down a deposit.

My neighbor just got a Chevy Bolt that is a surprisingly good car. The new Nissan Leaf is also a good option and will fit a bike. There are about 25 new electrics being introduced in the next couple of years and I think a few would be good small-car-that-can-fit-a-bike options.

:-)

alcjphil

I think that you are not giving the standard Golf enough credit and I doubt that a GTI would be twice as much fun to drive. The newest Golfs with the 1.8 TSI engine are very responsive and much more economical than the 2.5 engine that the last generation Golfs came with. My 2016 Golf Sportwagen has more interior space than a 2016 Tiguan and handles almost as well as a GTI while delivering over 40 highway mpg for reasonable drivers

Ryder1

Current Golf/GTI is an excellent platform regardless of model/engine. The GTI is a nice improvement from last generation, especially with the e-diff in the performance package (standard for 2018 except in the S trim, I think). I always cursed the front-wheel plowing on GTIs, but the current model with e-diff - very sweet.

GTI has always been my "next car." And always will be.

alcjphil

All this is great, but it has nothing to do with the original question. The OP is looking for a car that has room for bikes and is economical to drive. My choice was a Golf Sportwagen, but there are any number of other small hatchbacks that would also do as well, My choice was influenced by the fact that my Golf has a passthrough for skis which none of the other economical hatchbacks or wagons seem to have unless you are willing to spend more for some other European choice

Ryder1

The original question was asked and answered some time back. Now we're just BSing...

Canker

Just back from a trip to Pisgah NC from Wv 362 miles each way and did 37mpg with my 5 speed focus hatch with my bike on my hitch rack, bit of a hilly trip to boot. Really don't think it would have been any higher with the bike inside the car. Don't think hatches are as impacted by that as sedans.

IamAlan

After I became a widower, I decided to downsize from a Cadillac DTS and a Ford F150 to a single, more economical ride, and finding a suitable replacement was a long, tedious process. I'm a big guy, 6'1", 220 lbs, and can't stand to feel cramped in a car.
For me, it came down to either the Toyota RAV4, the Honda CR-V, the Ford Escape, or the Subaru Forester. I decided on the Forester, and am quite happy with my choice. It hauls my bicycle, or some 2x4's, or bags of mulch, etc. and still delivers great gas mileage. Of course, I now have a GF who rides and ended up putting a roof rack on it anyway! On a side note, if you are a member of Costco, they offer a service that will save you money on your car purchase - seriously.

IamAlan

As much as I wanted to believe in him, Elon Musk is beginning to look like Preston Tucker, or worse yet, P.T. Barnum. The Tesla 3 is starting to look like a no show. Musk promised 1500 units by the end of the 3rd quarter, 2017 and delivered 250. He also fired up to 700 people in the process.
https://www.latimes.com/business/auto...002-story.html