Not totally OT - small car with a big boot?

J

Jingleballs

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 May 2008
Messages
3,353
Visit site
I wasn't sure where to post this - I'm getting rid of my jeep and trailer and getting a smaller car but I need something that has a good sized boot - big enough to fit a medium dog or bags of feed/shaving/general yard or horsey stuff and is reliable in adverse weather - I know nothing will beat the jeep in the snow but I'd like not to be stranded at home due to a slight smattering of sleet!

I figured given the abuse our cars take other horsey folks would be the best people to ask!

Current options are Hyundai i20 or Ford Fiesta.

Any other suggestions welcome!
 
I've just sold my 7YO diesel Seat Toledo (now have a car through work) to a chap with two mastiffs, as it has a 50L boot capacity. I had my two large dogs in it comfortably, and could also fit bales/feed very easily. They have a VW engine so are good runners.
 
Golfs are great. The boot is large enough for most things and I made it back from Edinburg to Leeds down the A1 in the very heavy snow in Jan when most other cars were getting stuck. The bluemotion version is very fuel efficient too.
 
I've got an older diesel Peugeot 106, it's cheap to run, great in the snow and the boot accommodates my large collie and several bags of feed easily.
 
Honda Civic! Having just had the same problem after my Subaru estate blew up :( At the moment I have a large collie and a saddle in the back of mine (obviously not literally! lol) plus a change of clothes in a bag.
 
Broke_But_Happy said:
Honda Civic! Having just had the same problem after my Subaru estate blew up :( At the moment I have a large collie and a saddle in the back of mine (obviously not literally! lol) plus a change of clothes in a bag.
Click to expand...
Ooh thanks - OH has a type R which nice as it is, has no really room and isn't really up to the job!

lhotse said:
I've got an older diesel Peugeot 106, it's cheap to run, great in the snow and the boot accommodates my large collie and several bags of feed easily.
Click to expand...

Ohhh good to know - I'm looking for something a bit newer - 09 plate onwards as I've had several older cars that have broken quite badly although a smaller car would be much cheaper to fix than a 4x4. That's the sort of stuff I store in my boot too :D Only horsey people understand our requirements!!

Cavalier said:
Golfs are great. The boot is large enough for most things and I made it back from Edinburg to Leeds down the A1 in the very heavy snow in Jan when most other cars were getting stuck. The bluemotion version is very fuel efficient too.
Click to expand...

See I think golfs are £££ though so maybe out of budget.

bumper said:
I've just sold my 7YO diesel Seat Toledo (now have a car through work) to a chap with two mastiffs, as it has a 50L boot capacity. I had my two large dogs in it comfortably, and could also fit bales/feed very easily. They have a VW engine so are good runners.
Click to expand...

I'd looked at the seat Ibiza estate which also has a good boot size - will have a look at the toledo too!!
 
Hmm, I think this is quite tricky! Depends on your budget I guess and what you are using the car for other than horsey stuff? Fords are probably pretty reliable and you get a fair bit for your cash.

I have a Fiat Sedici which is a Suzuki SX4 with a Fiat badge basically. It's FAB in the snow/ice/mud as it has optional 4WD. However, although perfectly roomy for 5 people, the boot is not as huge as I think it should be although I manage to fit my saddle in + medium dog and any thing else is on the back seats (it's a bit of a mobile tack room!). It won't be the most fuel-efficient mind you.

I would think some of the Audi models could be worth looking at as you can get a lot of them as quattros so they have the 4WD capability. I saw an A4 hatchback the other day and would think that has a decent boot looking at the shape.

If you have a bigger budget then there's the Mazda CX-5 which is a small SUV really but (we looked at some when they just came out), they look fab and they have very low emissions - I believe it was around £30 a year tax or something equally low! Also, they do over 60mpg so it is pretty economical. they should be a bit cheaper now as have been out a couple of years although I imagine still over £10k.

Suzuki have also just brought out a new, larger SX4 crossover (or something) which supposedly has a bigger boot but then that's not going to be cheap at the moment.
 
I used to have a Peugeot 206, the boot was massive and fitted a large assortment of horsey guff! When I emptied the boot when the car was written off I found 4 pairs of shoes (1 of which hadn't been seen in over a year) and 7 socks.
 
Renault Clio - has got me through the mud at Blair when bigger cars have been towed, and yet can fit 7 stable mats in it as I discovered this summer... It regularly carts eight big bags of feed around, has also taken a Great Dane in a crate, and once pulled a 4x4 out of a snowdrift.

Plus I only spend £120 a month on petrol despite driving being part of my job...

Would recommend any day :)
 
khalswitz said:
Renault Clio - has got me through the mud at Blair when bigger cars have been towed, and yet can fit 7 stable mats in it as I discovered this summer... It regularly carts eight big bags of feed around, has also taken a Great Dane in a crate, and once pulled a 4x4 out of a snowdrift.

Plus I only spend £120 a month on petrol despite driving being part of my job...

Would recommend any day :)
Click to expand...

Clios are fab! Can get three big saddles in plus bridles, grooming, hats and boots in a V reg! I have a 10 plate Clio sports tourer, love it. 51 mpg driving in stop start Birmingham!
 
Hi

I have a 2011 Honda Jazz as needed an economical car with a decent sized boot. It does 54 mpg and I can fit a bale of shavings in the boot and one in the back seat. Really pleased with it so far. I also looked at Fiestas but the boot is much smaller.

Tegan
 
Highlands said:
Clios are fab! Can get three big saddles in plus bridles, grooming, hats and boots in a V reg! I have a 10 plate Clio sports tourer, love it. 51 mpg driving in stop start Birmingham!
Click to expand...

I've had two now, an 03 and last December got a 2011... plus my Mum had a 1998 one before that... we love them :) And they keep getting better!! The new one even has an inbuilt satnav and talks to my phone and things... Can fit EVERYTHING in it. Once managed to carry all the STUFF incl tack for THREE of us for a ODE as the payload on the lorry could only cope with my horse, the two 14.2s and nothing more... and still had a passenger...
 
Depends how small you want to go. If you're wanting a serious downsize my VW UP has a very generous boot (and interior in general) for the size of car it is, can easily fit 2 bags of feed in boot without folding the back seat down and if you do fold the seats down you can get all sorts in it. Only had it a year but couldn't fault it in the snow last winter (even when I was too lazy to dig it out properly). I also drove a polo around for a bit and again it seemed fine in the bad weather but I actually think it had less space inside than my UP. I have the 2 door version but I'd say if you're going to want to use the back seats more than once in a blue moon go for the 4 door (and get it with central locking as mine doesn't have this and it's a pain in the arse!)
 
This evening my 53 reg clio had a bike in the back... I had to go rescue my Dad on his commute home after the chain snapped!

Clearly I had to flatten the seats, but I was amazed little Chloe could fit a man's bike in!!
 
Get a Skoda Fabia, which is basically the same as a VW Golf (made by the same company, same chassis etc) but half the price, cos they ain't cool. But they work perfectly in the same way!
 
skoda all the way - I have an octavia estate, 11yrs old but still going strong 120k miles+ No major repairs except for new clutch because I tow alllll the time. Tows 1400kgs @ 30MPG, mahoosive boot. I've transported oxen, 2dogs, a child, husband and all the associated gear for a few days away in just the car and trailer before! Live down a lane and it copes with wintry conditions alongside the 4x4s. If you have more of a budget than me there are 4x4 versions available (which I dream of haha)
 
DanceswithCows said:
skoda all the way - I have an octavia estate, 11yrs old but still going strong 120k miles+ No major repairs except for new clutch because I tow alllll the time. Tows 1400kgs @ 30MPG, mahoosive boot. I've transported oxen, 2dogs, a child, husband and all the associated gear for a few days away in just the car and trailer before! Live down a lane and it copes with wintry conditions alongside the 4x4s. If you have more of a budget than me there are 4x4 versions available (which I dream of haha)
Click to expand...

roughly how many mpg does it do during normal use?
 
Cavalier said:
Golfs are great. The boot is large enough for most things and I made it back from Edinburg to Leeds down the A1 in the very heavy snow in Jan when most other cars were getting stuck. The bluemotion version is very fuel efficient too.
Click to expand...

The ultra-cheap Golf option is an old Skoda Felicia. If you can find the estate version they have an enormous boot. I've even transported a 4 wheel shetland pony cart in it!

The engine, running gear etc is all golf. You just have to live with the tacky dashboard. We had one for years, and it was a great car. They do suffer from faulty thermostats, but once you know that, watch out for the heater packing up (first symptom) and it's only a couple of quid to replace.
 
I loved my old golf 1.9tdi so plenty of power cheap tax and insurance and good mpg plus the boot was plenty big enough for my big western saddle or a months supply of horse feed that old thing took everything I thrw at it.
Cheaper option is the skoda fabia same spec its a VW under the hood and the only difference I found was the interior wasn't as flash and seats not as comfy but when there's a big difference in price the fabia is well worth it just as reliable and roomy.
I have the fabia estate now as couldn't afford a new golf after engine blew up in my 13yr old one lol
 
I have a 3 door, sporty clio-with back seats down I can get 4 bales shavings/3 bales hay/lots of bags of feed/irish setter/20 chickens in pet carriers/large hutch. Its pretty good in the winter, especially with winter tyres. I also do a 65mile round trip commute every day and its not bad to drive long distance. The electrics are quirky but it is French..

We have a Golf, not sure they can be considered small cars any more-its for posh though, can't use it for the above :D
 
Thanks for the suggestions – keep them coming!!

I hadn’t really considered the Clio- mostly because my mechanic said to avoid all French cars!!!

The Estate cars would fit the bill but I don’t really want an estate – I want something really economical! Current Sorento gets about 25 mpg and I’d be looking at something that gets me 50+ mpg – I read that some of the Hyundai i20’s get 70+ mpg!

Will have a look at the Skodas or Seats too as they are basically good cars in slightly cheaper packaging!
 
The Fabia estate is very economical so don't rule out all estates on that basis. Boot was plenty big enough for the dog to go on holiday in comfort with us to France this summer. We have a non-franchise Skoda specialist is our village & have found parts/ servicing pretty reasonable too. Except if you lose one of the keys, that is expensive - hence I am very, very careful with my one remaining key.
 
DanceswithCows said:
skoda all the way - I have an octavia estate, 11yrs old but still going strong 120k miles+ No major repairs except for new clutch because I tow alllll the time. Tows 1400kgs @ 30MPG, mahoosive boot. I've transported oxen, 2dogs, a child, husband and all the associated gear for a few days away in just the car and trailer before! Live down a lane and it copes with wintry conditions alongside the 4x4s. If you have more of a budget than me there are 4x4 versions available (which I dream of haha)
Click to expand...

I'd agree - I have a 2002 Octavia hatchback now with 125,000 miles on the clock and no problems. Drives very nicely. Its a 1.9 diesel and gives my around 55-60mpg. The boot is absolutely cavernous and I can get two bales of shavings plus two bags of feed in the back without folding the seats down. Not expensive to tax or insure either. My mate has the Fabia estate and gets good economy and it also has a good boot. I bet the newer ones are even bigger.
 
BeauBear said:
I hadn’t really considered the Clio- mostly because my mechanic said to avoid all French cars!!!
Click to expand...
My OH (also a mechanic) would agree with him!

My fiesta fits quite a lot in the boot. If you want something without the 'lip', you could go for the Fusion. Basically a Fiesta, but shaped differently with slightly more boot space.
 
Another vote for Skoda. My 1.9 tdi Octavia estate takes 4 border collies and 4 humans easily, can tow all day and even with a roof box on it averages 300+ miles a week on about 28l of diesel. It's got nearly 120k on the clock but you'd never know it, cheap for tyres etc. for a car of that size, parts are reasonable for servicing or if anything breaks and it's £125 a year tax. Hubby has the hatchback version and that's ever bit as good. They're a vw or audi in all but name, you just have to see the car and not the badge :)
 
Don't get a mini! As much as I love mine it's ridiculously impractical for horses lol I haven't had the back seats up in months, and that's with just my hat and 2 different sets of boots!
My old golf was fab, older than what you want though - the polos have surprisingly big boots, went and looked at one. Also BMW 1 series - I really want one as my next car and the boot is huge!! Bit pricier though again.
 
estates are every bit as economical as a hatchback? Can many hatchbacks beat 50-60mpg?

Just had a bale of shavings, 5 sacks of feed, a buggy and a week's shop in ma boot, with room to spare! lol then spent £160 on 3 new tyres 8) I LOVE my car.

...OK so I'm setting myself up for headgasket to go tomorrow but....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top