Here’s a picture of a triathlete vehicle…
Honda Element, hands down. Its a CRV for a couple thousand less (Mine was $20k, EX, the works, fwd only. A comparable CRV is $22k). Easy cleanup. Bikes fit with no takedown whatsoever. Seats are completely removeable. Completely jammin sound system. Honda motor. Honda reliability. Privacy tint lets you change in the back of the vehicle. Best gas mileage of any vehicle remotely calling itself UTILITY (I’ve got two trips now where I averaged 29-30mpg highway. Commuting is about 23-24 in stop/go 25 mile trips). Lower scenter of gravity makes it drive more like a car, making it somewhat fun to drive also. Quirky looks say “I’m not your average guppy in the crowded fishbowl of life.”
I may sound biased because I own one, but I’ve also owned a CRV, Passport, old-school full sized blazer, old-school suburban, and various sedans/coupes with full rack systems. IMHO, its better than those options if you are two people, no kids doing the tri thing. The only thing that could possible compete is a minivan, but they are more expensive.
The only negative I’ve found in a month of ownership is that I have to be super vigilant when driving because people are constantly swerving toward me on the road as they get “target fixation” staring at it.
any convertible.
I have to put my vote in for the Land Rover Discovery… Easily fits two bikes in the bike, plenty of space for other gear as well… Now if the gas mileage were only a little better…
I have a 99 CRV, the size is great, holds my 59cm bike inside with the wheels on, and if I need to carry two bikes I take the wheels off and they both fit fine sitting upright behind the second row of seats. Major down side is the utter and complete lack of guts. It runs with a Civic engine, but is a hell of a lot heavier than the Civic and pretty poor aerodynamics. Mileage is not spectacular either since you pretty much have to floor it to get up to 75-80 Mph - which is the flow of traffic in California. Forget about climbing, too.
My next car is either going to be a Pilot which has over 100HP more than my CRV and gets pretty much the same (if not better) mileage, or a Ford F-150 super crew - if only it did better than 16 Mpg.
I second the vote for Land Rover Discovery. Tons of space in the back and a lot of height too. Not to mention a large back window for the USA Triathlon sticker. These are great for off road triathlons too. Fun to get dirty.
I installed 3 quick release skewers under the collapsable second row seats in my '03 Z71 Tahoe. I can carry 3 bikes, side by side, all racked (no rubbing, scratching) inside my LOCKED car (you could also buy the locking skewers, if you wanted). What’s really cool is that when the bikes are out, the skewers are COMPLETELY hidden (under the second row seats, when they are being used, or under the panel that flips down when the second row seats are collapsed). But there is practical flaw: when carrying 3 bikes, there is only seating for 2 in the cabin…
With my tinted windows, I keep my bike racked in the back all the time. That way, when the sun’s out and I have a break, I can be riding in 15 minutes…
Also, if you’re going to try to install the skewers yourself, BE CAREFUL. I nearly drilled through the gas tank 
on mine.
The Tahoe is an expensive option (both in terms of the cost and in terms of gas), but I love it.
I second that. The skewers on the floor of any vehicle large enough are great. I think the minivan is probably a better bet, but my wife decided to replace her Olds Silhouette (a great van, IMO) with a Suburban and it works in there as well. She gave up about 6 mpg in the switch, though. One added advantage of the Suburban or the longer minvans over the Tahoe is that you can keep seating for 5 with the same setup.
I’m not very familliar with the Honda Element, but I’ve been very impressed with the Toyota Matrix (upon which I believe the Element is loosely based). To me it seems like a good blend of a “sporty-ish” car and a cube van. The XRS (top line) is still relatively inexpensive (~25k CAD), and it’s plastic in the back so you needn’t worry about the mess.
If this is to be a secondary “race specific” vehicle, then your best bet is a cube van. You could carry a 1/2 dozen bikes plus gear if you needed to, or just have the luxury of laying out every coceivable item you may ever need for you and your partner. If you ever make it down to Wildflower, you’ll appreciate the extra cargo hauling space, too.
Porsche 911 Turbo, you can fit a bike, 4 wheels, wet suit and all your gear - get there quickly, and in style.
Second - 3000GT VR4, still has the turbos and AWD, but you can fit even more stuff in it! (Bike, six wheels and all your gear.
Just say no to roof racks.
We have found the issan Xterra an excellent choice - We are able to get two bikes inside with the optional interior bike rack.
We also added the Yakima bars to the rack and are able to put a cargo pod on top for the longer trips that require extra gear.
Kat
A bike surely? 
For two triatheletes you of course have a choice of two bikes or a tandem…
With the quality of the roads around here in SE Michigan, a large SUV is good choice. I saw a number of pot holes in the past few days that would swallow up one of those little CRVs. I drive a 3/4 ton Suburban and love it, not only for going to the races, but for hauling construction equipment, and taking the wife, two daughters (under 3yrs), two dogs and a bike or two up north for the weekend. The down side certainly is the milage issue for 1 - 2 people travelling. The convenience of being able to get 6 people with bikes and gear to a race is better than taking 2 vehicles to do the same make it worth it.
If you don’t want to go with an SUV, take a look at the VW Passat. Both the sedan and the wagon have impressively huge trunk/cargo space, though you’re talking one bike + gear, with the other bike on an external rack. You’ve also got good gas mileage, it crashes extremely well, (allegedly one of the safest cars on the road) and handles very nimbly. Also an AWD option if you’re wanting to take it on rougher roads.
VW Golf TDI turbo-diesel; two TT bikes inside with the seats down or four on the hitch-mount rack; great driving car; 50 MPG on the highway.
I’ve driven in comfort and safety from Detroit to XTERRA Richmond (Virginia) with two passengers, three bikes, tons of gear and one tank of fuel (14 gallons.)
The Jetta/Golf/Beetle’s are among the safest subcompacts and according to a recent study they have a lower driver fatality rate than most SUV’s. (They also pose a much lower fatality risk for other drivers as well.)
http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/EETD-SUV-Safety.html
I will say I’ve had one main reliability issue due to a faulty relay – a known problem from the 99 model year.
Thank you so much for all of your comments. Lots of food for thought. You guys are the greatest. Please feel to continue to add more input. I appreciate it a lot.
Samok, you have made no mention of price or country which makes the whole exercise a little difficult. A lot of cars with 4 seats can fit 2 bikes in once you take off both wheels. One on the floor behind the front seats, one on the back seats and all the wheels and gear in the boot. Or any combination thereof.
Take your bikes to the car showroom and see if they fit in.
Big 4 by 4s (I use my wife’s Pajero) are great for piling everything in. Comfortable, easy to drive and come with a fridge option.
If you have the cash then it has to be the Porsche Cayenne Turbo. I’ve yet to see 2 bikes in a 911.
Thanks. I am from Vancouver, BC, Canada. Basically the same availability of vehicles as in the US. However our gas prices are much higher, so fuel economy is a consideration (not the main one though). Price range up to $30,000 US ($50,000 Cdn). I am not quite ready emotionally for the mini van life cycle… maybe when the rug rats join the picture in a few years. But then again a minivan has lots of practical uses…
Lucky guy being in Vancouver.
Have a look at http://www.edmunds.com/new/
As I’m a Brit most of the car names are different but it’s a good site.
Decide if you want to go off road or not. If you don’t then have a look at the Nissans. Until just now I’d never seen a Nissan Infiniti G35 coupe but it looks nice. I used to go to tris in a Nissan 240zx 2+2 hatchback when I was in the UK. The back seat went down for lots of room and it got me from A to B quickly, comfortably with lots of fun. It now has 100,000 miles on the clock and still goes fine. See if you can get both your bikes in the back of a 350Z! Might as well enjoy the 2 seats whilst you can. You can buy a fast Volvo estate later on in life.
I’m now in the Gulf where 25,000 USD would get you a 325HP Chevy Lumina SS. 4 door sedan with lots of space and power. Not available in the USA unfortunately.
Paul…you are on the right track with the Cayenne…(I can’t wait to test ride one…March 15th!!)but the BMW X5 4.4 is my choice now…0-60 in 6.4 (you’ll be the first to each race in order to to get a good transition spot)…aldeit with less money in your pocket do to 13 MPH. The BMW nav. system will get you there without thinking…(so you can concentrate on pre race strategies)…bike rack on the hitch mount w/4 bikes…three buddies inside and all of our gear…seat heaters in front and back so as to get the bows moving b4 the race…great cup holders for pre-race fluids…DVD in the back for old IM movies for longer trips…and all this for only $64k…(wait a minute…did I really spend that much on a freaking car?) Yup, and I love more and more every time I drive it.