Which car?

[dandyflower]

Hi All,

Your collective wisdom please! I have to change my car soon before it falls apart, can't justify/afford a 4x4, don't need to carry bales of hay (just tack and feed sacks, like you do) so was thinking small estate such as Focus or Fabia. But they all seem to have a big lip on the boot and I need to get two dog crates in, and the lip means I can't open the crate doors. Perhaps I will have to get a larger estate as they seem to have a level loading platform, but if anyone can suggest a smaller car that will do the job I would love to hear from you.

Thanks in advance for any ideas. Needs to be economical to run (of course) and not diesel as I do lots of short journeys to the yard.

[ruthp]

My mother has a Peugeot 30something estate, which doesn't have a lip, and has a reasonable size boot - she had two Airedales at one point and they both had plenty of room. Can't say I particularly like it, but she's had it for some years, treated it extremely badly, and it's been very reliable! She lives down in Cornwall, drives it up and down the Cornish lanes, invariably in the wrong gear and it has coped with such abuse admirably!

[dandyflower]

Thanks for that, ruthp. Sounds like my kind of car, I will check out Peugeot 30 estates. I am in Devon so lanes are similar, my driving is too!

[arabiangem]

What about the Volvo estates? My landlord has one, and I don't think it has a lip.

Out of interest, which bit of Devon are you in? Hello from the Otter valley!

[dandyflower]

I had a Volvo estate years ago and I loved it. Quite a big car though, and rather thirsty. These narrow twisty roads would not suit it sadly, but thanks for the suggestion, arabiangem.

I am about 10 miles west of Bideford.

[lizpurlo]

I have a Subaru Legacy estate which has plenty of room for dogs and feed bags, and is very easy to load, with no lip in the wrong place. It is thirsty though, and really needs one more gear for motorway driving and so on - but the permanent 4wd is brilliant in the winter and it's unbelievably good on snow in low ratio - the best vehicle by far I've ever had for getting up the steep drive here when it's packed hard with ice and frozen snow. I just love its road-holding qualities in bad weather.

[Deleted]

I had a Subaru Forester and echo Liz's comments totally, I abused mine and it never let me down in 7 years. We now have a volvo estate and my subaru was actually quite a lot smaller, similar on fuel economy.

Do you need 5 seats? If not look at small vans, you get loads of space and better fuel economy as you're not paying to cart around all the heavy interior fit out of a car. I've got a fiesta sport van which I love but doubt you'd get two crates in it unless they're for small dogs.

[julz]

Friend has a Renault megane. I was surprised to see a huge boot space and no lip, would ideal for crates and carrying bags of feed etc... Got three dogs in the boot yesterday ( Tara GSD x, a springer and a boxer - all thought the boxer climbed over lol)

[Liz]

I have a Ford Fusion which my little JRT jumps in and out of quite happily. It does not have a lip. The interior is very roomy. It is based on the Fiesta but has a longer wheel base and higher seating. I have a diesel model (recommended!) and it is very economic. They are no longer in production but a good second hand car can be found on Autotrader and you should be able to get a decent low mileage model for between 3.5k and 5k

[dandyflower]

Many thanks for all the suggestions. I don't need to carry more than one passenger so perhaps a van would work. I have looked at the Forester but the fuel cost is a bit off-putting which a shame as it is perfect otherwise. I did not know about the Fusion so will look at that.

Thanks for all the help, I will have to get another car before the end of next month when the tax runs out!

[lizpurlo]

Oh dear, good luck with the car hunting! I always see the perfect car advertised when I'm not looking to buy, it's so annoying. And yet the last time I was looking, I couldn't find anything which I really wanted, which is why I ended up with a petrol 4wd gas guzzler, when I really wanted a nice economical diesel estate. It's a minefield out there.

[dandyflower]

I posted my last reply in a hurry (always a mistake) so forgot to thank julz for the Megane suggestion. I am researching all the cars that you kind folk have mentioned and I really appreciate your help.

I will decide on something soon, and then comes the fun of actually finding one that a) I like, and b) can afford.

Would much rather be looking for a horse. (Not that I have a vacancy, I'm glad to say).

Thanks, all.

[Teeni]

I've read the above posts with interest. I got a new to me car back in May and at the time this was not an issue for me.

However I now find myself in a position where I can't get one medium sized crate in the boot or anywhere else in the car where it will sit level and I'm happy with it being secure and not wrecking the interior. It will just about go in the boot but you then can't open the door due to the lip of the boot which is pointless.

At the moment I have got a boot liner which has been taped and some creative cable ties to keep it up in place, I have a solid boot tray which has a dog blanket on it and I'm looking to get a dog guard. This really isn't ideal as I don't want to wreck the interior as I don't know if I will keep the car that long now we've got the dog. At the moment I can get away without the guard as pup will sit/lay happily in the boot, he's too small to climb over at the moment. I would feel much happier though it he was safely snuggled in a secure crate.

I hope you manage to find a suitable car that is also economical to fuel etc

[dandyflower]

Hi again, sorry for long delay but I have had computer trouble.

Yes, Teenie, I am happier with the dogs in a crate which is why I am having such trouble finding a car which will take two. I have looked at a Fusion and loved it, but don't think I can get both crates in. Naturally I did not have the crates in the car when I went past a Ford dealer and noticed the Fusion on the forecourt, so I will have to go back this week to check. The Focus estate is a possibility, that really has a large boot.

I have been looking to see if I can get a large crate that is divided in half as that might take up less room. Do people who travel dogs to shows use several small crates? The problem is always the space needed to open the crate door.

Ah well, something will turn up. Hopefully before my present car falls to bits.