I'm getting a new car. I want something fairly small and as cheap as possible. I'm planning to have the back seats folded down flat and then have a crate in that space. Any of you use your car like this for your dog and what car suggestions do you have to fit my criteria!? Thanks.
eek! Just bought a car with a boot to suit my dog *sigh* not easy within my budget. Not many small cars have seats that fold down flat unfortunately. I used to have a Hyundai Getz and their seats were great! Folded down then up against the back of the front seats leaving a flat floor and also creating a bit of a barrier to the front. The new hyundai's dont have this though I kind of gave up and compromised and got a new clio.
OH used to have a Renault Twingo - tiny car, but the seats fold very flat. Don't know what the newer ones are like.
I have got a Mini Cooper (I know not cheap but second hand) and with the back seats folded flat, the crate fits in but I have to pad the small boot well out so the crate doesn't move. Also my lab will grow and I don't know how long the crate will be ok. It is a problem. My older lab has always worn a dog seat belt and just sat but at the moment can't see this one doing the same. Anyway, it's working well for now which is pleasing as didn't think I'd be able to transport her in my car. Good luck!
Honda Jazz (Fit in the US) all the way. Seats fold up (look up Honda Magic Seats) as well as down. It's a Tardis of a car - bigger on the inside - the ultimate very small dog car! Well, I should say the car is small...you can fit a very big dog back there.
Apparently you can fit a full sized refrigerator inside - I've not tried. But what I have done is load up my entire household in Germany and move it down to Spain twice now. And if you look in the back when it's fully loaded, all you can see is a dog bed. That's pretty amazing. When I had Brogan still, I picked up my father and his partner in the airport, so had three adults, a 32 kilo dog and four full sized suitcases. It took a bit of jiggling, but that all fit too.
Problem with Honda Jazz (have had two, excellent cars) is that the rear hatch back door opening, curves in at the bottom, so that you cannot get a wide crate in. I now have a VW Polo and had a cage made specially by "Dog Pod" Ledbury and he makes sure he uses every available space, I have to big Labs, not fat, but tall.
I'm in the I'm in the UK so don't have a Honda Jazz! Wish we did, they sound great. I'll try find a similar alternative.
We had a Honda jazz but found it uncomfortable on long journeys. We now have a Golf SV. Loads of space inside as its bigger than the standard Golf, but not as long as the Estate. We can get a full-sized double bass in it so a dog crate should be easy-peasy!
Yep, definitely can get them in the UK, so you can go down to a Honda dealer and have a look to see what you think. They did a model overhaul a couple years ago and actually most reviews for the older model (that's the one I have) are better than for the newer model. But people like new, so the older models should be able to be had for a good price. I got mine in Germany for what I thought was a very reasonable price. The only thing I was really concerned about was driving long distances as it's really a compact car, but I've now put 55K km/34K miles on it in 1.5 years...so no problem on 8-10 hour drive days. Like any compact car, it's going to be noisier than a touring model and even for larger models, Honda isn't known for super comfy seating. I wanted small, though - as I do a lot of driving in old historical towns with narrow streets, I'm very happy to trade off a bit on long-distance comfort to be able to feel like I'm not going to scrape the walls going down cobblestone streets. My car has also managed the Brenner pass now four times without breaking a sweat, which frankly was kind of a surprise as I thought it would struggle with the Alps. I will say that if you read reviews people comment on the noise of the motor when it accelerates onto the motorway. They aren't joking. As I had read the reviews, I expected the suspiciously-like-an-overstressed-lawnmower noise for my test drive so it didn't bother me, but I do joke now about how hard my "gerbils" are working to get us up to speed. If you like sleek cars with engines that purr, this is NOT your car. However, I wanted a car that would take me lots and lots of miles with the absolute least chance of giving me a mechanical problem plus would provide the most comfort for my dog, so I've been thrilled with it so far on those criteria. After all that, I should probably note that no, Honda did not pay me for this endorsement.
