I currently have a Citroen C4 Picasso, which besides being a good car (until recently) it has a huge boot and is low enough for Buster to get into. Well after a few problems with my car, we went car hunting yesterday, we were looking for one tall enough for me as I'm tall and have a bad back, and low enough for Buster to get into as he has ED, I had a list as long as my arm on what I liked but they were all far to high for my boy, but some that we did like and could potentially work with all seemed to have an additional lip in the boot, my fear as he gets older (it's his birthday today he's now 3) he will have problems getting in, we tried a Mercedes B class which was lovely but it had a blooming lip, so it looks like we are going to get another C4, I thought I was shopping for a car for me, but it looks like the car is purely to suit my lovely dog. Ohh well one day I will have a car that I would really love.
A friend who has a greyhound has the same problem and she has just bought a Honda Jaz and lies one back seat flat and the dog can get in through the lowere lipped side door. It might not be big enough for you, but you could go and have a look!
I have a Citroen Berlingo Multispace which ticks all the boxes for me, ok no street cred, but very practical, lots of headroom and a huge flat boot.
I also bought a Honda Jazz specifically for this reason. Despite being 12 with spondylosis, Brogan could get into the Jazz completely on his own. It has "magic seats" (yes, this is what they call them) which means that in addition to the back seats folding down like most cars do, the seats also flip up. What this means to a dog is that he can step directly onto the FLOOR of the car, which in a Jazz is already quite low. You can leave both seats flipped up and just have your dog on the floor of the car, or you can have one seat flipped up and the other flipped down to form a sort of low step to give the dog access to the entire back of the car. I absolutely love my Jazz...it's literally the Tardis-mobile as I can easily fit in my entire household (plus room for a large dog) when moving between Germany and Spain. It looks like a rollerskate from the outside (I do think the Picasso is more attractive) but inside it feels quite roomy. There's my sales pitch for the day, no commission required.
We do have one but he's not that keen on it, and it's quite big, we did think maybe get a footstool which is easy enough for Buster to use that as a step up and small enough to keep in the car. I have seen on another thread about about a lift em up harness which could be worth thinking about.
That was probably me too. Brogan didn't use ramps (I tried) and with the Jazz he didn't need to jump at all. He just stepped in. I think a nice harness is helpful anyway, though I never actually got to use the Help em up harness. I used the Ruff Wear one (I ordered both) and it worked a charm - not for the car but for stairs and just getting up off the floor.
You are making me miss my Honda Jazz! Have changed it for a VW Polo as I have the seats flat and a cage in the back. With the Jazz, the hatch door was too narrow at the base to get a crate big enough for two large Labs. Jazz is more economical as well, good petrol consumption.
I do love it. I say it's one of Brogan's many lasting gifts to me, because he absolutely picked it out. Came to the dealers and tried each car out and this was the only one he could get into all by himself without jumping (and you should have seen the car dealers' faces). And yes, over 55 miles per UK gallon/5.0 litres/100 km. Yay! It is definitely a maximum 2 person and one large dog car, though (though 3 people and one large dog is possible). I've had a friend's two spaniel girls in the back, but two Labs just wouldn't work if you wanted them safety secured in a crate. I looked at the Polo, too, and it would indeed have been better for a larger crate.
So my friend isn't the only person who took her dog to choose the car I think the garage dealers where a bit surprised! The Polo only does 43 miles per UK gallon, (just urban driving) my Jazz used to do 53
When I was looking I liked the Ford B-Max (or maybe it was the C-Max) it was nice and low and had a flat access BUT at the time it was out of my price range. This was for a used car less than 3 years old. Probably same kind of price as the Jazz's??
That's nothing. My sister's OH took their suitcases to choose a new car!!! Apparently, he needed to make sure they fitted. I said, surely it's easier to buy new suitcases that fit the car than a car that fits the suitcases? But, apparently, these suitcases fit the perfect amount of clothes that they need to take to Portugal to get married next year. No other suitcases will do.
I don't know what the price for a Jazz in the UK would be as I bought mine in Germany. I think used cars are cheaper there, or at least that's what I've been told. Certainly cheaper than the US. The Jazz was MUCH cheaper than a Polo but I didn't compare prices to the B Max. I did look at the B Max because it looked good on paper (or rather online) but when I went to go see it in person it was not as good build quality and if I remember a similar price to the Jazz. Nor could Brogan get into it easily. Also my father worked for Ford Motor Company for 20 years and told me he didn't think they were reliable enough for me as I'm not handy with repairs. Finally as I'm a Californian - we pretty much live by Japanese cars and old habits die hard. And it really ticked off my Bavarian friends that I would buy a Japanese car in the homeland of BMW...that was just icing on the cake. I thought the price was super reasonable for a gently used car (less than 8k kms). I paid a bit more than I could have done as I wanted the panoramic glass roof and that only came standard in the hybrid, so I ended up with the hybrid which costs more than just a regular petrol engine. But I totally love that thing. If it got smashed up today (god forbid) I'd just go out and get another just like it. By the way, that's "TB 321" for "Team Brogan Launch". It was the little Brogan rocket ship.
