Vehicle for hauling up to four bikes?

[emily_in_nc]

Hi everyone!

Long story short, as much as we love Belize, it looks like we'll probably be relocating back to North Carolina either later this year or early next year. We've had our looooong vacation (just what I needed after retiring from 25 years in the telecom software industry), met great people, had a blast traveling the country (and still have more traveling we want to do before we leave), but ultimately, we miss our road cycling, hiking, food co-op, reasonably priced wine, and privacy (we live in a first-floor condo in a resort and on an island where tourists are plentiful, so we feel like we're living in a fishbowl a lot of the time).

We sold our '04 Honda Element before moving down, and once we return, we're going to need a vehicle. We would love to be car-free like we are here (one of the big draws of moving down here), but that's just not going to work since we plan to travel in the US, and we will want to be able to drive to hiking/kayaking areas and some bike rides/events. We will only need one vehicle since we're both retired, so it needs to serve multiple purposes.

Our primary criteria are:

* Able to carry up to four bikes at times (by removing or folding down back seat) [EDIT: we want the bikes to fit INSIDE the vehicle with front wheels removed, not on rear or top racks.]
* Gas mileage as good as possible
* Reliable, safe brand
* Reasonably comfortable for long trips
* Moderately priced

An Element fits all of our criteria except for the gas mileage one -- it only got 20-23 mpg, depending on driving conditions, but it certainly ticks other boxes, especially the ability to handle multiple bikes. And since they're not made any more, we wouldn't have the option of buying new if we so chose.

We've been out of the car market since 2004, so I figured the collective wisdom here would know a lot more about the current batch of vehicles available than I do.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can make!

[Blueberry]

Do the 4 bikes need to be inside? If not, I'd look at the Jetta Sportwagen Diesel. If something happened to mine, we would buy another in a heartbeat (I traded my Element for it). We can fit bikes on the roof, one or 2 inside if need be, could do a trailer hitch, boats on the roof if need be, etc., etc. We routinely see 40 mpg on the highway, even with bikes on the roof. In town, we average more like 35-38.

Sorry to hear that Belize hasn't worked out for you, but glad to hear that you might be coming back

[emily_in_nc]

Sorry, I should have specified -- the four bikes need to fit INSIDE the vehicle. DH is concerned about security otherwise (for example, if we were staying at a hotel on a trip). We don't mind taking front wheels off, of course.

I know we're being picky, but he really doesn't want to resort to having to put bikes on the roof or back of the vehicle.

Thanks, Blueberry, and please don't be sorry! We have had an AMAZING time here that we would never trade. We have no regrets at all and are still so glad we came here. The life experiences gained, the learning experiences, the birding, and everything else we've done here, not to mention the wonderful friends we've made are worth every small negative; it just became apparent that there wasn't enough here to sustain us long-term. It has been a very eye-opening "growth" experience as we discover what we really want for our future. One huge thing we've learned here is that we LOVE to travel and want to do more of it. A lot more. We may even try RVing in the future, but we'll see how things go when we get back to NC for awhile first.

[Irulan]

This request reminds me of "light, cheap, strong; pick two" I think the mileage thing is going to be your sacrifice if you want room for 4 bikes inside. Element, Ford Escape...will fill the bill but yes, mileage is going to be average.

If you are coming back to the states, can we still pick your brains about trips to Ambergris Caye? That's on the radar for our next dive trip.

[emily_in_nc]

If you are coming back to the states, can we still pick your brains about trips to Ambergris Caye? That's on the radar for our next dive trip.

Of course! We don't dive but can help with other stuff...

And I do realize that I may be asking the impossible re. a vehicle. I just wanted to make sure there is nothing we've overlooked since we've been out of the car market for so long. You know, that proverbial fantasy vehicle that gets 100 mpg, never breaks down, and can carry a small home's worth of toys and gear inside.

[Koronin]

There is always the idea to take the bikes in the hotel room with you. (Yes we've done this actually). Anytime we take the bikes somewhere we take the Ford Ranger (small pick up) that we have a bike rack that attaches to the hitch. We just don't take the carbon road bikes on that since they have to hang by the frame. Typically it's the mountain bikes we're traveling with. But we do take them in the hotel room with us. When we took them to the beach (outer banks) we actually had them locked on an upper balcony under the roof and where you could not see them from the street instead of bringing them inside. Oh and they were locked right next to the door on that lvl.

[shootingstar]

Wow, another life change..returning to the US.

I can't help advise on cars and bike hauls since we're car-free for ( a long time).
Glad you enjoyed and learned from Belize. I guess North Carolina is best for personal reasons to relocate? It is an opportunity to consider another state.

[emily_in_nc]

I guess North Carolina is best for personal reasons to relocate? It is an opportunity to consider another state.

No, NC is best. My mother is getting up there in years and lives in the state, as does my brother. We love the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area and have many ties there, including friends, great doctors and dentists, and bike club friends. Not to say we'd never consider another area, but not for awhile. We just have too many roots there to start over in yet another new place.

We actually regretted committing to Belize by the time we actually moved. We had put money down on the condo in summer 2010 (40%, which was required), so we had to follow through, but by the time we moved, we'd gotten so into our lives in Chapel Hill, made new friends (we'd moved from a much more rural area in 2010 to "the city"), and by the end, we realized we wouldn't have moved to Belize if we had delayed our decision a year. But we had too much money in not to go ahead with it.

And we did give it our best shot; it just became apparent within about 6 months that it was not the best place for us long-term.

[emily_in_nc]

DH just confirmed --> NO mini-vans! I should have known.

So far the Toyota Rav4 is looking like a hot contender. The gas mileage is marginally better than the Element, safety is better, price is similar, and cargo space is only 1.3 cubic feet less (when seats are down in back). I had no idea. Of course, mini-vans have WAY more cargo space, but DH says no. And the smaller SUVs obviously get better gas mileage than a mini-van also.

Will look at the Jeep products too, but I wonder if repair/maintenance could be an issue. Heard some gripes from a couple of Jeep Cherokee owners I used to work with. We're so used to Honda/Toyota quality that it would be hard to take a step backwards. Especially since we'll only have one vehicle.

[emily_in_nc]

After a quick look at the Jeep site, neither the Patriot or Liberty has as much cargo space as the Rav4 or Element (over 10 cubic feet less, surprisingly!)

The Patriot gets excellent gas mileage and is extremely well-priced for a 4x4 SUV, but we gotta have that cargo space. The Liberty doesn't get very good gas mileage.

Honda Civics are definitely not expensively outfitted cars; they used to be the very bottom of the Honda line years ago; not sure they are now. But they sure are reliable, or at least used to be. My father got well over 200K miles on his.

Honda Elements are also very "plastic" inside, but that makes them easy to clean and inexpensive. I've never cared about having a luxury car or adding "appearance packages", stuff like that. I want comfortable seats for driving and a good driving position for a petite gal like me, but aside from that, I'm really looking for function over form and reliability over bells and whistles. I am what you'd call a very "basic" car buyer, I guess. Never had anything fancy, so I don't know what I'm missing.

I forgot to mention that I also had a Subaru Forester that I loved before the Element, but bikes had to lie down in the back, and the transmission gave out after only four years, so I traded it on the Element. I also really disliked the service department folks in my area after many failed attempts to fix the "check engine" light issue, so I am boycotting Subies, even if they did have one that would fit a herd of bikes!

[Penny4]

Emily, in your 1st post, you say you want to be able to transport the bikes with front wheels removed? So, the bikes would be standing?
If so, how do you secure them so they don't tip over while driving?
I have an SUV, and I lay my bike in the back, which is fine since I'm single and only have to transport 1 bike. But when the bike is laying down, it takes up the whole back, and I've been trying to figure out how to stand it up, so I can take it on vaca along with luggage, coolers, etc.
Good luck in your car search!

[Irulan]

You've never seen these? It's easy to build a bike rack for inside a vehicle by mounting them to a 2x4 or similar. About $18

[laura*]

We've been out of the car market since 2004, so I figured the collective wisdom here would know a lot more about the current batch of vehicles available than I do.

How about this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Transit_Connect

[Koronin]

Good luck in your vehicle search. Welcome back (soon) to NC.

[tulip]

Minivan. Seats fold into the floor; they are cavernous. Better mileage than SUVs because they are not 4WD.