Hehe, not literally... I'm going to be buying a new car (well, second hand, but you catch my drift) for the dogs. We currently have a Jeep Grand Cherokee which is great, but it's J's work vehicle so the back is generally filled with his crap important building paraphernalia so the dogs can't go in. Which is fine most of the time, as I can usually walk them from the front door, but if I want to go somewhere with them, it's a pain when he's using that car. Our other car is a Smart Roadster, which isn't the most practical with three Labradors! Good fun, mind So, I need a car that's got enough space for three Labs to be safely transported - meaning behind a guard or, preferably, in sturdy crates like the TransK9. It needs more space for luggage even with the dogs in there, so when we travel back to the UK, we can fit all our stuff as well as the dogs. This may mean a car-derived van is the way forwards, but I'm open to hear about the perfect vehicle that you either own yourself, or who a dog walker / trainer friend of yours may have. The higher the safety rating of the car itself, the better. 4WD is a must. Go!
Ah, well it's difficult because second hand cars tend to be ridiculously expensive in Andorra. So let's pretend money is no object, then I'd find the perfect car in an old enough model to fit my purse Here's a couple of examples. No idea if these are any good, mind! Volvo, 12 years old, 180,000km, €8,500 : http://www.buscocotxe.ad/ca/cotxe/356578/volvov70crosscountryimpecable Big Merc, 9 years old, 140,000km, €23,900: http://www.buscocotxe.ad/ca/cotxe/361614/mercedesgl420cdi4matic
Why not get a trailer for the Roadster, together with three dog car harnesses, dog sunglasses and bandanas! I can just picture the three of them in the back...! My old Volvo estate was great for transporting three dogs - so perhaps an AWD Volvo? I now have a Peugeot 5008, which is also roomy and has a flat loading boot. I'm not sure whether there's a 4WD version, though.
My husband is so anti-Volvo! Hehe, I'm not surprised, they're ugly as sin. But, look very practical. Not sure what crate options are available, but I know you can get gates for them.
Volvo here with a guard, Hattie & Charlie can stand up in the back there's so much room So very practical, I am on my third with having a large family we needed them. Ugly NOOOOO they are not they are beautiful Now that we are almost down to one child I just got a new Mini Cooper, having sooooo much fun in my little car, I've waited 22 years to have a car for me, not for children or dogs x
I've got a VW Passat, guess it's a similar size to a Volvo estate. The Alltrack is the 4wd version or a Tiguan or Touareg for an SUV.
There are loads of Touaregs around here. We test drove a few when we were looking for our last car and didn't like them at all. I think they're also probably a bit Jeep-shaped, whereas an estate, ugly as they are (sorry, @charlie ) are probably more dog-friendly. The Passat Estate is worth a look at, thanks
We upgraded from a 17 year old Golf to a Volvo x60. I insisted we up grade as on our last trip in the Golf with Homer in the boot and the luggage piled up on the back seat, I couldn't see out of the rear window. So we go the Volvo and set off for our first trip with Homer in the back, which is twice the space than the Golf, two men's road bikes, and all the luggage plus two 7.5kg bags of dog food on the back seat. I couldn't see out of the rear window!
I had two Jeep Grand Cherokees for about 10 years each. Now I drive the new Cherokee, a 2014. It's almost the exact width and length of my 2003 Grand Cherokee. However, it has much less room inside it than my old ones and it has less cargo space than most in it's class as well. I cannot get a 30 inch high crate inside it. Once inside it would fit, it's getting it in that's the problem, the back door only opens 28 inches. Four wheel drive but even though I'm a snowy region and surrounded by ski resorts I really do not need the likely more robust 4x4 available in a different vehicle. It handles really well.
Just incase you were wondering how do you fit 4 children, 2 adults and 2 dogs into a Mini Cooper - you don't, I am not parting with my ugly Volvo EVER, still need it for family outings with dogs, Uni pick ups/drop offs etc., they are the BEST!! x
The Cherokee definitely won't be big enough for me. The options for the GC and three dogs are limited enough. We always travel with loads of stuff! The 4x4 isn't just for the snow (good tyres are ht more important thing there, anyway), but because we do lots of driving on uneven ground. The road to our house in Spain is 2km of unmade road and, whilst a regular drive car can get down it, it won't do it any good, long-term.
I'm very pleased with my Subaru Outback. Dogs take up the whole boot in a TransK9 box. Roof rack with a Thule bag on top takes the luggage. I think the Passat only came out in 4x4 very recently. 4x4 estates are Subaru Outback, Volvo XC70 and Audi Allroad. I have a sneaky feeling Ford are about to bring one out too but I may be wrong. The Outback is very capable but the ride height isn't huge. The Audi has adjustable ride height, don't know about the Volvo. You might find a van has decent ride height if it's not very heavily loaded and therefore deals with your unmade road ok...... If you do think van the VW Caddy is not a looker but an excellent dog wagon with room to spare. Collette has one if you're ever over her way again.
This was what I was going to say, VW Caddy. A friend of mine in Germany with four dogs says this is her dream car and we went looking at them together when I was looking for my own car. It was way too big for me, but I can see where for multi-dog transport it would be ideal. Lots of different configurations. Rather eye-wateringly expensive for me, but I was looking at tiny cars so wasn't used to that price range. I know it's all a bit tricky from Andorra so the import taxes may kill you, but Germany's system of "Jahreswagon" means lots and lots of 1-year old German-made used cars for sale.
Our primary vehicle is a Subaru Outback, which we love. They are very common in the PNW, especially around the ski areas. Our beater is an old AWD AeroStar Van which is dying, and we are looking at a Chevy Suburban. They are huge, but he gas mileage is not much worse than the AeroStar and it would be a lot more comfortable. (Our second vehicle is a Mazda Miata, not recommended for dog hauling)
Ooh, there are a couple of second-hand Caddy's for sale in Andorra. I'll go have some test drives when I get back
