What small - mid size car is friendly to transporting gear?

[guy n. cognito]

Anything with a hatch and a folding rear seat would be great.

 

[allexcosta]

Honda Fit...

 

[5stringsofdeath]

I have an 05 Hyundai accent hatchback....and I can fit my ampeg 8x10 cab, head, 2 basses and pedalboard with all cables in it. it's a tight fit, but does the trick. I will admit in about 10 years from now I really wont want to be loading that fridge up in a hatchback.

 

[Jazzdogg]

I'm seriously considering a Mazda 5; it's a very small mini-van that's fun to drive and gets good mileage. The sliding rear doors are better suited to loading gear than traditional hinged car doors - even in a crowded parking lot.

Do any of you have experience with one?

 

[Alkali Ike]

VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI. It can EASILY get 45MPG on the highway. Lots of cargo room.

 

[Alkali Ike]

I have to go against any TDI recommendations due to their HPFP failures leading to the entire fuel system being replaced. No, I'm not exaggerating.

HPFP failures - Google Search

I would bet that most of the HPFP failures are due to using badly contaminated Diesel fuel (water in it); or mistakenly filling with gasoline instead of Diesel. The latter will definitely result in a whole lot of grief if you start the engine after filling with gas instead of Diesel. Buy your Diesel from high-volume stations, and make very sure you're putting in Diesel and not gas, and HPFP is probably a non-issue.

 

[rickwebb]

ok, i'll play- Ampeg SVT-810E, 6-space rack, two SKB hardshell bass cases, one bass in a gigbag, one 3-slot folding guitar stand, one gym-bag sized bag, one collapsible handcart, at least one smaller bag full of cords and cables and
my lovely wife- all in a 1994 Saturn SL-2. still gets great gas mileage...

 

[fettbass]

I'm able to fit my upright bass, my electric bass, my 4x10, my head, and a passenger comfortably in my nissan cube.

 

[s_mcsleazy]

dunno if you get these in the u.s but my friend uses one of these (same model and colour too)

rs focus

 

[Craigster]

Chevy Silverado w/ a crewcab

 

[cdef]

Citroën Berlingo. You could fit a cow in there if she'd lie down.

 

[turbo chicken]

I've ...Pretty much any MIJ liftback or wagon will ...Doing 30K miles I'd be looking into the driving comfort first and then making sure gear fits.

Wagon or Hatchback... for a car (saturn's are good used cars i miss my sl2)... aside from that a small toyota truck.

I drive a 95 Sable... it's got plenty of room for lots of stuff. But I needed a backup vehicle that could double for family transport. If I drove 30k a year though ... I'd want something a tad better on gas though.

 

[jay loren]

VW Jetta TDI (diesel) station wagon.
Plenty of room and over 40mpg

 

[mazdah]

Golf IV

Link Removed

Used to load easily an SVT 810E, 2 basses in hard cases, SVT-3pro.

 

[sharkwagon]

I have a nissan cube, it works. Had a wrx wagon before and it was sometimes shocking what I fit in it.

 

[jasonbraatz]

WRX Wagon here. It hauls lots of gear and lots of...

 

[Pilgrim]

VW GTI. Have some fun while transporting that gear. Those things are a kick in the butt!

 

[fdeck]

Upright, amp, and passenger fit into a Scion XA. It's snug, but I don't want to own a big car just for the occasional gig.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I understand the Mini-Cooper is quite amazing in it's load hauling capabilities. The new larger one may be just the ticket for me in the future.

Ha, I was actually going to ask about the minis! I'm thinking it'll be my next car once my Explorer goes.

 

[Personatech]

Why does it have to be a small car? These are just hitting the dealers now. 32/43 MPG and gobs of room!! 236 ft. lb. of torque and 140hp VW Passat TDI: