Toyota Highlander for bikes?

[GLC1968]

If you wanted to save a little cash and still get similar (or better) mileage, you could try the Toyota Matrix. We have one and while we ended up with the 'super charged' version that has slightly lower mileage (we get 30 mpg combined city/hwy), it works well. With the seat down we can fit two bikes with wheels on if we lie them down. With out the front wheels, they'll stand with half the back seat still upright (except for DH's crazy high seat post which he refuses to remove! ).

I'm only 5'4" and I can easily toss my bike in there by myself with little effort.

Perhaps not quite as environmentally friendly as a hybrid, but with the milage and initially lower costs, it's certainly more pocketbook friendly.

[KnottedYet]

Bikes would fit nicely in the back of a VW diesel wagon.... or the back of a Subaru diesel wagon (but you'd have to wait a couple years for that). Or on or in a diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Around here biodiesel is 50 cents per gallon cheaper than dino-diesel. (it used to be the other way around. My SIL is loving current gas prices.)

Knot-tooting-honking-and-pounding-the-biodiesel-horn

www.biodiesel.org www.biodieselnow.com www.fuelwerks.com

[laughlaugh18]

All great thoughts-thanks.

I'm the biggest princess and the pea ever, so comfort is the #1 issue for me. I actually try to rent a car before I buy it to make sure the drivers seat fits me (that's how I discovered that the Prius made my neck spasm!).

I have to admit that I don't quite see myself as a station wagon person; even considering an SUV is a big deal for me - I much prefer an enclosed trunk. I can easily pop my bike into the back seat of my 93' Camry, and would have loved the Camry hybrid but the trunk in the new Camry is the size of a thimble (I don't think it's even big enuf to lay a bike tire flat in it!). What were they thinking?!

Farrelcollie - yeah, ladder. That'd probably be me, too!

KY - I still don't see that many diesel signs in LA, so the idea of it worries me.

What I'm learning is that gas mileage on hybrids is really variable, and mostly never near what the EPA estimates. The Highlander Hybrid real life mileage seems to be closer to 25-27 in mixed driving. Still, that's better than the 20 I'm getting now!

[Lenusik]

I can recommend Nissan Murano belive it or not. We are getting 22 m/gallon in it consistantly, when a Highlander hybrid gets only 23-24. We were looking at it and decided that it is not worth it.
You can easily put two bikes inside a Murano. But we also have 3 dogs and decided to get a bike rack. Check this baby out: http://www.1upusa.com/1upusarackhome.htm
It is sweet. Tt takes only 20 seconds to set the bikes on it.

[dachshund]

Around here biodiesel is 50 cents per gallon cheaper than dino-diesel. (it used to be the other way around. My SIL is loving current gas prices.)
www.biodiesel.org www.biodieselnow.com www.fuelwerks.com

Thanks for the info - I'm forgetting now why I stopped looking into biodiesel.

[beeba]

I originally thought they were quite ugly, but I have fallen in love with my Honda Element!!! It is so versatile! The hubby and I made a "removable" bike rack for the back out of some MDF and 2 fork mounts. Anytime I go for a ride I throw up the back seat and screw the fork in! And clean up is an absolute breeze!!

[dakay]

I originally thought they were quite ugly, but I have fallen in love with my Honda Element!!!

I also love my Honda Element. With the back seats out there is plenty of room for two bikes and I don't even have to move the dog crate.

Kathy

[jeannierides]

A friend of mine just got a Saturn Vue, and it comes with a fork rack for two bikes in the back.
Another quirky little car is the Toyota Scion - at least one bike will fit in the back - very inexpensive and good on gas.

[Tuckervill]

Don't forget diesel. You can run biodiesel, which is made from deglycerinzed vegetable oil. Friendliest powerplant we've got at the moment. When the Subaru diesel comes out, I'm planning to seriously look into it. (though I love my current Subie, I'd rather be running biodiesel)

Plus the mileage from biodiesel is impressive. My sister in law gets 54 mpg biodiesel on the freeway in her VW Jetta.

I have a New Beetle diesel, and I traded my gas Beetle for the diesel so I could make my own biodiesel (and diesel was cheaper than unleaded at the time). But it's not as simple as just deglycinerizing the vegetable oil. (Although some people do run straight vegetable oil.) After studying the subject thoroughly, I'm not sure I want to go to the trouble. Plus, the workshop where we would make it is full of shtuff that we haven't cleaned up. IOW, I'm procrastinating (for two years!).

Most people now-a-days, if they live in the NE especially, will consider biodiesel to be what you can buy at the pump in the form of 85% soybean/15% petro deisel. I get 40 miles a gallon in my Beetle on the highway on petro diesel. (Your SIL's car is probably a stick, and she likely drives the speed limit or slower.) When I was in Brattleboro, VT last summer, right after Hurricane Katrina, I paid $3.09/gal for 85/15 biodiesel from a gas station there. I did not get better mileage on that tank.

Right after that, diesel crept up to the price of premium unleaded, and it has never gone back down. The going price in my town is $2.93 for regular no-lead and $3.09 for diesel (ironically what I paid in Brattleboro for biodiesel). I have taken measures so that I just don't drive much, but when I do, I'm still getting 40 miles per gallon!

The only benefit I would get from making my own biodiesel is that I will likely get the veg oil for free, even though there is the initial investment of equipment to process it (less than $200). Mathematically, it seems worth it, but time-wise, I'm not so sure, as little as I try to drive. If the biodiesel were available at the pump here, I'd buy it, though, because of environmental/political concerns. That's not likely to happen, living this close to oil-rich Oklahoma.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

KY - I still don't see that many diesel signs in LA, so the idea of it worries me.

That was a problem almost 3 years ago when I got my diesel Beetle. But I did learn which stations consistently have diesel (BP is the only one I can think of that is nationwide). It's not always on the sign. You have to look for a pump with a green nozzle, or a pump set off to the side so trucks can use it.

Even if there's no green handle, look for the pump that has more than the usual number of nozzles (if the other pumps have 3, look for one that has 4, if all the pumps seem to have 1, look for one with 2).

If all else fails, you can line up with the big rigs and use their pump at the truck stop. It's kind of confusing, though. They don't usually have card readers, and the nozzles are really big and deliver the fuel very fast, so it's easy to spill. There are also two nozzles for each pump, one on each side for dual tanks...so you have to use the one with the switch on it. Some of the truck drivers have asked me about the Beetle or the diesel, but most of them just look at me funny.

I enjoy my diesel car. It can go 10k miles between oil changes (synthetic) and other than tires and brakes there are fewer maintenance issues.

Karen

[massbikebabe]

I had a Highlander;

LOVED IT, LOVED IT, LOVED IT, especially for bikes. We could easily fit 3 bikes in the back. I had to sell it because I had a stroke and could no longer drive and when gas hit 3 bucks a gallon I was glad it was gone because one complete fill of the tank cost me well into the hundred of dollars If you can get your hands on a hybrid I highly recommend it. I am a huge fan of ALL Toyota products. I had a Corolla that would not die, I think when it did it had well over 300+ thousand miles on it!!

karen

[LaBiker]

I've never had more fun driving a car than with my current Honda Element. I've taken the back seats out and have two large wire crates for dogs and I can still get my bicycle and other gear packed inside. And I don't have to remove wheels!

I drove from Washington State to Colorado this summer, fully loaded with dogs and show equipment. I ran the air conditioner on high most of the way, and encountered hours of stiff head and side winds. Even with that, I got 24.5 mpg.

The Element provides terrific visibility and handles well.

When I first saw one, I thought it was one of the ugliest creations ... now I own one and think it's cute.

[tehj]

I also drive a 2003 Honda Element. I have both rear seats removed and have framed out (with plywood) separate areas for my road bike with both wheels attached, several Rubbermaid containers with my work equipment, and a 30" by 40" dog bed (the dogs go to work with me every night). I've still got room back there for my Mountainsmith bike cube and some extras like an ice chest and tote with extra clothing. The look of the car did take some getting used to-- it grows on you. I have gotten gas mileage as high as 30 mpg but my average is around 24 mpg.

[emily_in_nc]

I originally thought they were quite ugly, but I have fallen in love with my Honda Element!!! It is so versatile! The hubby and I made a "removable" bike rack for the back out of some MDF and 2 fork mounts. Anytime I go for a ride I throw up the back seat and screw the fork in! And clean up is an absolute breeze!!

Hey, my husband did the same thing - here I thought we were the only ones!

Another Element owner here...

Emily, who wishes they came in a Hybrid model too....but they're worlds cheaper than a hybrid Highlander - just can't justify that upfront cost.