I know this has been posted previously yet over one year ago. I am about to put my car out of its misery. I am looking for a vehicle in which I can transport my bike inside with the front wheel off without laying it flat (eliminates room for other stuff: kids, dog, wife sometimes). I love the ergonomics of the Honda Element yet my commute is 30-45 minutes and the road noise would drive me crazy. I just don’t think I could do the “van thing.” Thanks.
I hated the idea of a van too, but my wife pressured me into the Honda Odyssey, we got it in Feb. Now, I love it…
Great vehicle.
Honda Element, No doubt…
The discussion begins and ends with Honda Element.
Not sure what you mean about road noise. I had a 2003 model that was traded in for a 2005 model. Never noticed “road noise” in either of them. Gas mileage is very acceptable for a small SUV. Mine isn’t the greatest b/c I have the all-time all-wheel drive, which gets slightly less than the front-drive version.
Cannot beat it on versatility. I can get 3 people and 3 bikes (with gear) easily inside the vehicle. I love that I need not remove the front wheel or lay down the bike. Other than a van or mini van, you will not get that in any other vehicle.
I actually have the Element and drive it 45 minutes to and from work every day…just love how easy it is to get things in and out…easy to clean out…It’s not the quietest car but I drive a major highway going 75 and the noise isn’t bad.
I had a minivan then traded it and went without a minivan for 4 years and now am back in the van mode. You cannot beat a van for utility. I know the “soccer mom” image thing is too much for some people (although as a 40 year old man who shaves his legs and wears spandex for rides through the countryside I can’t imagine how driving a van will do any harm to any macho image I may have concocted for myself) but last weekend I put my bike in the van with both wheels on as well as my daughter’s bike for her kids race which was in the afternoon after mine and she was able to relax in the second row captain chair and watch a movie on the way. I really like the Element too but it loses all of the utility aspect if you ever need to carry your bike and more than 3 people and you can never fit more than 4 in it. If my kids were grown and gone then I would likely drive an Element but if you have kids and a dog to transport along with the bike then a van is the way to go. I would choose a Honda or Toyota as my first pick (they are expensive though) and then likely a Dodge, Ford or GM van for value and whichever dealership would give me the best deal since they are all relatively the same in terms of features and pricing, although the Dodge stow and go middle seats would be useful. My van is a 2003 Ford Windstar and you can get these used really cheap.
Small pick-up truck. I bought mine back as salvage from the insurance company after a hail-storm for $600, four years ago. I just mounted fork-mount bike racks directly to the side-rail and tail-gate. I should have done that years ago. Oh yeah, I was afraid I’d hurt the re-sale value.
The Element is handy and nicely pu together, but i can’t bring myself to buy one on the looks. Honda’s mini van is sweet if you like that route. I went with a Chevy HHR, basically a station wagon. Plenty of room on the inside, put a hitch rack on it. I’ve races MTB nationals out of it , with 3 bikes and all the gear to race and practice 4 days of DH, XC, and Super-D.
You can get your bike in an element with both wheels on? What size bike? I ride a 61cm so I’d be happy w/ upright minus front. You should see me get two bikes and three people into a Protege hatchback.
Kevin
I love my Jetta wagon. and the fact that it’s a diesel, makes me feel so smug. I get 60 miles per gallon. nice
Another vote for the sweet Odyssey, although I have a Prelude with a Yakima rack I take to all my weekend training and races.
Ford Escape
With the rear seat down you can load two bikes without removing the front wheels. The front wheels, at 90 degrees, slot very nicely into the two inch gap between the back of the driver and passenger seats and the floor. The bikes stand up leaning against the sides of the car but if you’re nervous about them toppling over on a corner, a gym bag against the chain stay will do the trick. The missus and I took our two bikes, all our camping and tri gear to Wildflower a couple of years ago in the back of her Escape. They make a hybrid now too.
Toyota Matrix. HUGE amount of room for such a seamingly small car.
It has the hard shell cargo area as well.
40mpg is nice too. Best fuel mileage in it’s class. The newer models get close to 50mpg I think.
Road noise? Get some noise dampening installed aftermarket for a small price…
I don’t really notice it much… I have my stereo going most of the time though.
I second the Vibe/Matrix. Just got a Vibe about a month ago and can’t imagine what I did without it!
I’m a van man, though I lust after the Xterra’s etc. But purely from a functionality standpoint a van is the way to go. I had a 93 GMC Safari that I put 231,000 miles on it before getting an extended cab truck. That lasted about a year when I bought a used 2000 Chevy Astro in early 03. I now have 201,000 on that one and you cannot beat it. I can mount 4 bikes on the back 2 more on the roof, load all of our gear in the back end and average around 20 mpg by reasonably respecting the speed limit.
The 2nd and 3rd rows pop out in less than 5 minutes so If I am going camping etc I have enough room for two people to completely stretch out if the weather turns bad.
If I wanted I could get rid of the 3rd row seat and still carry 4 bikes easily inside if I was really worried about their getting wet on the way to the race.
I’m also an instructor with the US Navy Sea Cadets and Young Marines so at least one weekend a month I am hauling kids and gear around hell and back. You can’t beat it…
I’ll drive it till the wheels fall off it. Chevy quit making the Astro in 2005 so guess what my next used vehicle will probably be?
The Element has a lot of things going for it but if you like a semi-smooth ride with no bumps and swaying then I would not conisder it. The noise level in the car is above average. I found it OK for short trip but anything over an hour is hell. Gas mileage is not good for a 4-cyl car.
You must be short to get your bike in an escape with both wheels still on. (No offense). I had a vibe a while ago and that was a good car, but the bikes would not stand up in that, so i got an Aztek. I know every one says they are ugly, but I can put 2 bikes in there with tons of crap, plus 3 people and a bike on top(or 2). Other than an Aztek I think the only thing I found that I could stand my bike up in was a Tropper and a mini van.
Once the family starts we will be getting a mini van for sure. Probably not long before some one makes a hybrid if you are looking for mpg, but then you have to pay extra up front.
My Jeep Liberty is awesome for toting around the bikes, gets good gas mileage and is not a rolling nerd mobile.
I’d probably take a look at the Toyota RAV 4 with a V-6 (scarey fast), Honda CRV or the Honda Ridgeline Truck. I have also heard that the Saturn VUE will take two bikes without removing the wheels.
I have a Honda Fit. Because the rear seats fold flat, I fit (no pun intended) three bikes standing up with the front wheels off when I folded down the seats when I traveled to IMLP, plus all the various gear. One was obviously my tri bike. I can fit one bike with only one of the back seats folded down.
Another option is I can fit two road bikes minus front wheels across the rear passenger area with the seats folded up (nifty little feature). It helps that I’m only 5’8" and my GF is even shorter.
I’m constantly shocked at how much I can get in the car. Pretty good mileage too.