Best vehicle for bikes

[DJR]

I can help pointing out what you DO NOT want: 

1. Old Land Rover Defender

2. Jeep Wrangler

You will be ice cold cool if you get one of those, but you will also be broke. Bike budget will be totally broken. I know, I have those and my two student sons borrow them at will, always know how to return it with just 1 litre of fuel left in the tank and take one that has recently been filled up. Come to think of it, NOW I see their sneaky plan................

Edited February 4, 2023 by DJR

[ichnusa]

I would suggest transporting the bike inside the car, not outside on a rack where it will get stolen or ripped off easily

[Jewbacca]

My issue with 2 seater vans is that they suck as actual cars. 

Going on a road trip with mates? yeah nah

Carpooling to and from places? Yeah nah

They ARE rad for festivals, going places with bikes/surfboards/toys etc when you are alone/with a partner/1 friend.

As a student, fuel economy and ease of parts/service costs should be a priority. Practicality comes into play.

So many people buy cars based on what they 'might' do 3% of the time and the car is pretty junk at hitting the above check list 97% of the time.

What will you be doing with the car 97% of the time, where will it live and realistically how much money do you have a month for fuel/servicing and upkeep?

You really want to buy a practical car and figure out how to transport bikes afterwards. 

I know, that is SO boring, but as someone who has historically owned 'cool' cars I would, in hindsight, trade them all in for a reliable, cheap to run, way less cool car.

[buckstopper]

Honda Jazz definitely. In 2014, my son, then a student, went from Grahamstown to do the T-Bav with 2 mates. They loaded 2x29er HTs and a 26er, their kit and then hopped in to a 2010 Honda Jazz 1.3 and drove to Willowmore, and back after the race. The seats fold flat and very low.  My daughter left us her  2011Jazz when she went overseas in 2019. The car does no more than 6l/100 around town and on a recent trip with 2 fillups did 5.2 and 4.7. Today the car is used as"the dogs car", and also chosen over a Pajero Sport and Koleos for town inkopies. Warms up quickly, small for parking and not super precious. (No Toyotas or Polo's in our fleet. Just too hijack risky and expensive to insure.) Gangstas want Hondas too, but older Ballades and Civics, not The Jazz. Oh, and I seem to recall the Jazz also won the JD Power rating for reliability some years back. (2009-2014 iteration). Oh, also 4 airbags.

[Eddy Gordo]

The Jazz is highly underrated, go check one out. Also nissan livina, Mazda 5 (but these are large), Fiat Doblo(fiats are solid and reliable). The you get something like a chev orlando. These are multi seater "vans" worthwhile to look into depending on your budget and see if it fits your needs. There are most likely some cheaper brand vehicles that you could get for a steal as well. Alternatively you could start a side business and get a Mazda marathon, Hiace or similar and offer shuttle services for fellow students around town and to those who cycle.

Edited February 4, 2023 by Eddy Gordo

[RiverInTheRoad]

5 minutes ago, Eddy Gordo said:

(fiats are solid and reliable).

🤣😄😄

Buy a Honda Jazz or a Honda CR-V that was well looked after.

Bike relevant cars I have owned and can recommend:

Honda CR-V gen 1. GREAT car. Slightly thirsty. Reliable. Huge load area, no need to remove a wheel to fit an XL 29r

Honda CR-V gen 2. Ditto the above but better highway handling. 

VW Caddy Maxi. Awesomely huge practical load area. Great engine and handling. Fuel efficient. Overpriced VW parts and servicing. Shitty thin bodypanels. Noisy inside due to being a van. Low ground clearance.

Honda Jazz. The best. Zero sex appeal. Get n girlfriend before getting the car. These cars are great. 

Toyota Fortuner Gen 1. Great engine. More economical than a CR-V if you get a diesel. Cheaper to service than any of the above (at the Stealers even). Shitty handling on highways. Fits an XL 29r without removing the wheels. Very large boot. Also it is one of the few cars that you make money on when selling.

 

TLDR - get a Jazz

[The Ouzo]

I'm so glad so many suggested the Jazz. It was the first thing that came to mind but being a Honda Salesman I did not want to put it out there.

 

Jazz also has what Honda call Magic seat. The rear seat bottoms (i.e. the part you sit on) lift up, creating a huge cargo area behind the front seats. If you take the wheels off your bike you can fit it in there and then still have a closed boot to put other luggage etc. in.

 

They are not the most exciting cars to drive, but reliable as hell. For slightly more exciting see if you can pick up a Jazz Sport, but I dont think your budget will reach to a decent one.

[Rgans]

12 hours ago, babse said:

Honda jazz as a student? 🙃

 

Think we need more specifics of purpose/use for the vehicle

I have spent the last 4 years on campus with my bikes only. Never found use for a car. However, this year I started dating a girl who's studying in Tygerberg. The main use for the vehicle would be for commuting between Tberg and Stellenbosch. It would, however, be nice to take my bike with and explore some trails outside of Stellenbosch whenever I have the opportunity.

[babse]

3 hours ago, ichnusa said:

I would suggest transporting the bike inside the car, not outside on a rack where it will get stolen or ripped off easily

Issue I have have with in car storage is it make you easily think you can run errands while the bike is safe inside...not in skelmbosch or surrounds (rest of SA).

On the rack you know it's just to and fro the trails and nowhere else. 

[Rgans]

11 hours ago, OVERDRIVE said:

What is the budget? 

Budget is between R100k and R150k. 

[Nico van Loggerenberg]

Everybody suggesting VW for a student must be keen to see it donated, quickly, to the... ahem... communal vehicle fund. 

[buckstopper]

You will get a very high miler caddy for your budget. I would caution on that re maintenance costs. Also get insurance quotes on your short list before committing. Honda Jazzes have been favoured by upmarket older people who've been around and have had their bling car years. Go figure. We've just moved from the big smoke to Gtown. Our Jazz costs us R267 pm to outsure fully comp. (Yes you'll pay more as a student- check out Naked insurance). You'll get a very good low mileage gen 2 Jazz (made in Japan, not India as the gen 3s) for R120k. They say a man drives the smallest car his ego can live with. Maybe also look for a Duster but again you won't get a good diesel one for that price and you'll spend 60% more than the Jazz on fuel. And if a diesel breaks... They also need servicing more often. 

[ajnkzn]

Another vote for the Jazz. 
 

Or Mazda 2 or Etios. 
 

That Etios feels solid on a dirt road and services etc will be cheap. 

Edited February 4, 2023 by ajnkzn

[Milosh]

+1 for the Jazz and its Ncap 5 saftey rating, It is super reliable and ecomnical 

You will have spare cash for girls and bikes 

[babse]

4 minutes ago, Milosh said:

+1 for the Jazz and its Ncap 5 saftey rating, It is super reliable and ecomnical 

You will have spare cash for girls and bikes 

Will need a bit of spare cash to impress driving a jazz 🤭

[Milosh]

40 minutes ago, babse said:

Will need a bit of spare cash to impress driving a jazz 🤭

The girls will be fine , you will cop some flack from your mates though ! 

As electronic card machine and tap to pay have made premium gold/Platimum cards redundant as ego boosters ,  Uber will do same for dating 

 

A card that goes through for dinner is worth more than the car 😉 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Milosh