I'm thinking of changing my car. At the moment I have a Fiat 500 and inky goes on the back seat. Mostly it's just us in the car but I'd quite like the option of him in the boot area. Wondering if anybody else has a smallish car where the dog travels at the back?
Hi @Inky lab, I have a Peugeot 207, cassie travels in the boot compartment, I worried that she wouldn't have enough head room, but she does, and ample room to lie down, but she hardly ever does. She's very busy eye balling the people in the car behind, watching dogs etc ☺. She seems quite happy there, never complains and I can carry 4 extra people if necessary.
Oh yeah, another chance to extoll the virtues of my Tardis. AKA a Honda Jazz with Magic Seats. You can put the dogs in the way back, but even better, you just flip up the back seats (think theatre style seating) and instantly the entire seating area becomes a huge dog bed with virtually no step up for your dog. I slap a dog bed and some seatbelt attachments and I'm good to go. NOT a solution if if want your dogs in crates, however. Also it is very low to the ground and considering that 75% of the roads I go on lately aren't paved, I really wish I had opted for the next bigger Honda 4x4 that also has the Magic Seats. OK, Honda advert over now.
I have a Mitsubishi I30 hatchback and the hatchback area is perfect for Maxx. They aren't expensive; I paid 11k AUD (6k GBP / 7k EUR) for one that was a couple of years old at the time. Of course car prices are probably very different over there
I have the basic Skoda Yeti 1.2 petrol and love it. There's loads of room for 2 Labs in the boot and plenty of headroom.
Toyota Yaris. Love it. Back seats fold forward in 1/3 or 2/3 split. Loads of room for dog and shopping, it's small but really sturdy and good to drive, and being Toyota is v. reliable . Touch wood.
If I was looking for my dog to be "loose" in any area of the car (as opposed to in a crate), I would be looking for a car with a 5* safety rating.
Hey a little respect to the Tardis. It's had a destroyed windscreen, been backended and had a big fat nail jab into its brand new tires, all within the last two weeks. We must talk of it it in gentle tones until it recovers. Just because I DRIVE like a nana does NOT make it a nana car. Despite the fact that it looks like a little cool box on wheels, it's a hybrid automatic in retna-burning blue with full panoramic roof, so at the very least that makes it a 'cool cool box' car, de verdad?
You know, @Emily_BabbelHund I'm completely on your side here. Before the Labratour started, and there was mention of your tiny car, I was thinking of something like this: But then it turns out it is a Jazz, which is a perfectly normal sized car for people with a dog who live in places with narrow streets and not much parking. It is a good fine car and is probably easy to drive and park and turn around with ease. You have made a good vehicular choice.
I have a Peugeot 206 estate - smallest estate I could find with a dog guard I had the dealer fit when I bought the car. Both dogs fit comfortably and its low enough for them to get in without much effort. Only problem with it is it has a dodgy temperament - by which I mean, its computer will shove up a warning on its little screen, utter a silly ping and display 'ICE ALERT'. OK you might think, but hey, in July with the outside temperature around 25? No, not to be trusted at all.
I'm not sure what "the boot" entails but I love my Honda CRV! It's very dog friendly (as long as your dog can jump into the back or be lifted) and I regularly drive my lab and his best buddy around in the back. My pug stays buckled in the middle seats. It has great safety reviews, also!
Ella sits on the back seat of our RAV4 (in a crash tested car harness). She shares the seat with our toddler and there's plenty of room for both of them. We need the boot space for the pram (and all of the other crap that you have to pack when you go somewhere with a toddler) and Ella travels much better on the back seat.
What are your requirements Inky? City driving or countryside? Asphalt roads or gravel? Do you have a proper winter? Does you Lab jump up easily in to cars? Do you drive a lot of miles/kms?
