Originally Posted by John E

This is why we are clinging to our beloved 2001 VW Passat wagon as long as we reasonably can. Hanging from the garage rafters I have a preassembled pair of VW crossbars and Yakima bike racks I can literally lower onto the car's roof rack if I need to carry 3 or 4 people, but normally I just fold the rear seat cushions forward against the backs of the front seats, then drop the rear seatbacks for an almost-6-foot-long, nearly flat load floor. Best-sized, best-configured car ever offered on the American market. We also have a 2016 VW Golf Sportwagen, but the cargo space is noticeably smaller.

Originally Posted by Road Fan

Yeah John, I had a '93 Passat sedan which was an ugly beauty - I wished I had the wagon. In EU VW has come out with a Passat Alltrack, but I'm not sure it will ever come here.

Originally Posted by Road Fan

I havent seen a "Cars for Carting Bikes" thread for a while, so since I'm about tto buy a little bigger car, lemme see what the old bike guys think.

I've been driving Prius' since about 2007. One Mrk 2 was totalled so we replaced it with a 2009, Wife needed her own so we got here a used 2007, retired from Toyota so we traded the '07 Prius for a Lexus SUV, then we hated the Lexus and for a 2018 Prius (new).

The '18 Prius is a Mk 4 and a little lower in every way than the Mk2: harder to get in and out, the cargo floor os not smooth, and it's harder to fit two bikes. The cargo height is lower in the rear, as well. So even with the better fuel economy (better hybrid system and the "Ukieh-O Samurai Warrior" body style are more energy efficient than the lozenge-shaped Mk2, we like to drive the Mk2 Prius (2009, recall) better, even though it is close to 180k miles.

We're thinking now of trading the Mk4 (2018, 17k miles) for a 2018 VW Golf Alltrak SEL wagon, with 3500 miles. It seems to be a little old lady house-locked by Covid situation, except for the 6-sp manual transmission!

The bed seems long enough for a long wheelbase (105 cm) 650b, even two of them, it has loads of toys and safety features, and an easy to understand dashboard. I don't mind pulling wheels of of bicycles, but on the 650bs we have SON dynos and it's a tricky job to disconnect and reconnect the wiring. So we like a cargo bed where we can just lay bikes down.

Next alternative for a station wagon is a Volvo V60 or an Audi All-road (based on the A4 sedan). Mercedes-Benz has this year an E-class wagon, but the "cheap one" is $67K. V60 is available as a hybrid but that costs as much as the E-class. The Subaru Outback is also still in the picture, so I have to take a better look at it.

What have you folks found as good choices in the current market?

Originally Posted by rydabent

The simple answer is a crew cab pickup with a hard tonneau cover like I have. It is a do all vehicle, and most bikes fit in the bed safe and secure with the tonneau cover locked.

Originally Posted by Steve B.

Forester or an Outback can hold a single bike with front wheel on, laid down in back with rear seats folded flat. 2 Bikes with no F wheels attached, sorta upright leaning on each other.

Originally Posted by rydabent

Many years ago there was a Ford pickup advertisement that stated if you have two vehicles, the second one should be a pickup. Why have two cars, when they do the same thing. That really seemed logical to me.

Originally Posted by Road Fan

At the moment we're strongly preferring the 2019 Golf Alltrack.

Originally Posted by Bill in VA

I have a Hyundai 2010 Santa Fe SUV. For day rides, both bikes fit in the rear with front wheels off. An old sleeping bag goes between the bikes for padding and to minimize entanglements with pedals. For longer overnights or vacations with the dog, both wheels come off and go into wheel bags, and the bikes sit on top of the luggage with the bagged wheels on top. Small bags for hotel stays are accessible for in and out.

For all trips a painters tan canvas drop cloth covers the cargo. It prevents peeping eyes. I do not use external racks due to the inevitable busy, curious fingers messing with bikes and controls in external racks.

Using the pickup with a locking fiberglass cap is even easier.

In my experience with SUV and station wagons, wagons are easier for bikes. I just saw an Alltrack yesterday and it looks to me to be more spacious than the mid-size SUV,

Originally Posted by Road Fan

My life is not simple enough for that answer. We do not want a tall vehicle. We had a Lexus GX 450hl several years back, and we hated it. It’s height was only one of the most hateful factors.

Originally Posted by zacster

My Honda Odyssey was the best bike carrier I ever had. With the rear seats folded I could put 3 bikes inside upright with ease, probably a fourth if needed. That minivan is now gone and I have a Tesla Model 3. With that car the only good option is a trailer hitch mounted rack. You can't use a roof rack because of the glass roof, although Tesla themselves sell a rack which can take a roof bike holder from any of the regular brands. That said, I've also read where the stress of the bikes has cracked the glass. Trailer hitch plus 1Up or some other hitch rack gets expensive fast. I have put my bike inside with one rear seat folded down. I haven't tried adding a second, maybe facing the other way. I don't have trunk mats yet so I'm being careful. I'm still on the fence about the hitch rack. I know we would throw two bikes into the minivan at the drop of a hat, but would we do it if it weren't so easy?