Hi there

I have two Golden Retrievers, a male and female and will soon be adding another puppy. At present I am driving a Renault Scenic which has a fairly roomy boot. It will however definitely NOT fit another adult Golden.

So I've been thinking about cars the past few weeks. The cars I'm considering are the Ford Mondeo tdci Estate, and also Volvo V70 Diesel estate. Do any of you drive these cars? and what are your opinions of them? Also, how many dogs can you comfortably get in the back?

As for everyone else, especially those with more than two dogs, what car do you drive? and would you recommend it to others?

I will definitely have a budget and with PX the total cost for the new car won't go over £4k. I do plan to deck it out as soon as I purchase whatever car I plump for with a tailgate guard, boot liner and dog guard.

I have considered a small van, but I still occasionally take passengers which would effectively rule this out.

Looking forward to hearing what your experiences are...

Tanya

I used to fit 4 dalmatians in the back of a VW Passat estate, without putting the back seat down.

which model scenic do you have? i know when we had ours i could remove all the back seats ? just a thought?

Ford Galaxy for us, we have 3 small dogs, but when we go to the Lakes the dogs can travel in 2 medium crates, and all the luggage goes on the back seats. Also it means we can have a 5 seater in case of normal usage and need to give lifts, and 7 seater if necessary say for non doggy group outings.

Are you looking to put the back seats down as well or just the boot space? Also different models will have different space, so the V70 does differ in space as do say the Passat.
I'm trying to find the model I want for around the same price which my car is worth so a straight swap for a V70, but i'm struggling, think I need to add a few £k's to get what I want :-( They hold their value where as the Ford's don't so much.

We had a passat and could just get 3 bernese in for short trips, they used to sit in a row and look out the back window..LOL must have been quite a sight from behind! We now have a Sharan and have the back boxed out across the back seats and a tail gate guard fitted and 3 fit in a treat with room for all to lay down (If a bit snug!!) That leaves us 5 seats for passengers so win win all round
Aileen

I had the Mondeo TDCI 130 ghia - gorgeous to drive, and it easily fitted 3 adult Rotties in the back..... however it did have a problem which we couldn't find a fix for. The coil light would flash and it would lose power and cut out, usually when accelerating a bit harder than normal, so overtaking and hills were a challenge. It had a new turbo, sensors replaced etc (at a cost of c£1,500) and it still didn't solve the problem. LUckily (sort of) it was written off in a slow motion prang (somebody drove into the side of us at a roundabout) - nobody was hurt but because the centre post was creased it was not financially viable to repair it.

We now have a Vectra diesel estate. Again dogs fit in nicely but I still prefer the Mondeo.

So in summary, loved the Mondeo, but I would suggest taking a good mechanic with one of those computer thingys to read faults, or take it for a testdrive on a road where you can put your foot down for a short burst - that should identify whether the fault is there or not. If you google flashing coil light mondeo diesel you'll find loads or forum posts.

Ahhh bad luck, my mam and dad have just sold their V reg V70 estate (swapped it for a 57 plate) you could of had that.

They absolutely swear by them. I dont think they've driven anything else for the past 20 years they just swap them every so often for the newer model. Dad keeps complaining that they keep making them an inch shorter everytime they bring out a new one so much so that he could only just fit his fridge freezer in the back of his new one when taking it to the tip!

They have 2 dogs (dalli and a ridgie) and tow a caravan so they have a 2.5litre Diesel Automatic. They don't really have a bad word to say against them i reckon you'd easily fit all the dogs in, weve often had their two and ours in the back no problem. They drive it to the south of france and back every year so they clock up the mileage but have never had any serious problems with them and all the ones they've ever owned have been fitted with a dog guard as standard and the past 2 have had rubber/plastic boot covering so no worries about mucky carpet! They sold their V reg V70 to an antique dealer who needed one to fit antique dressers and chests of drawers in the back of so i think that answers your questions about space!

I drive an Audi A4 estate, ive got 2 setters and a Kelpie, they do all fit in the back but the Kelpie does tend to cause upset when he gets bored so usually he is in his cage which takes up 3/4 of the back seat.  My little ones car seat takes up the other 1/4.  Thankfully my buggy breaks down into lots of "bits" which can be "stuffed" into spare gaps   (not forgetting bikes on the roof ... and the caravan !!)

I would love a volvo XC90 just cant afford one at the moment.

I have a Mondeo estate and it's a dream to drive. My lot are big dogs so I can only get two in the back,though the boot area is huge. I had the coil light flashing,lose power trouble with mine as well.It was worse in cold weather. Turned out to be the eccelerater senser. Had that replaced and no trouble since. My dream vehicle is a dispatch van. Only need to win the lottery and I will be off to the dealers lol

> I would love a volvo XC90 just cant afford one at the moment.

Claire what a spot on vehicle that would be, in metallic black, tinted windows... yep just love that vehicle.. Shame its so expensive.

I know the Mondeo has more boot space but you know what you want/like and i'm not one for changing my mind - well not that often ;-)

Hi Claire

I have a 'Y'Reg Scenic. I did have a Honda CRV which was great but would still have the same dilemma now I'm adding a third dog. The OH needed a new car for work, so traded in my beloved CRV for an Accord Estate, which would fit 3 dogs, but he's not for letting me have it! My Scenic was still in the garage (they were selling it for us) so I took it back. Great car, and yes I can take all the seats out which is really handy, but although I could probably take 2 seats out to make space for a cage for the pup initially, I don't think it would be very practical long-term.

Perhaps I just want a new car really :)

Funnily enough, my OH and son were peering into the back of a V70 the other day and came home and told me they didn't think it was big enough! Also, the only ones I've been able to track down have had really high mileage. Also, which ones have the biggest boots? If I can get one at the right price and for the right mileage (say under 100k) they it would likely stay with me for a long time.

I had considered the Passat but the only ones I've driven have been quite hard drives, same too with the Audi. Love Scenics and Sharan's but the price of them might be too high for me. My sister has a Seat Alhambra (sp?) it has a massive boot but not sure a large people carrier is what I need now the kids are all grown.

Yes, a small van would be the ideal especially if I do add a 4th dog in a few years. For now though, I'll be needing a vehicle which can take me to shows reliably especially if I'm travelling alone, and also holidays, weekend trips etc.

Thanks for the tip about the problem with the Mondeo's. Is it a specific year, model etc? Will look into that more closely. Incidentally, does the Mondeo have the biggest estate boot, or is there another car?

Until quite recently I was sold on the idea of getting a small campervan such as a Bongo or Frendee but they're a bit small to kip overnight - where would the dogs sleep...lol!!!

I have a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso and absolutely love it :-) With the last row of seats folded down I can fit 1 borzoi, 2 collies and a silken in for just travelling to the field and back everyday. For longer journeys I slide the middle seats as far forward as they go, still with them up though and make the boot even bigger. It's quiet, economical, nice driving position and it handles really well, not like a big car at all.

If you're after a decent priced second hand car then there are lots of the 1.9td Fiat Ulysse around, I know you said you're not sure about a large people carrier but these are really reliable and with the last two seats removed they're really just big estates :-)

I swapped my clio for a Renault Kangoo - but I have 5 toy poodles - and have 3 in boot and 2 in back seat - all in cages.  The boot takes a 3ft cage

I have a Doblo MPV type, the first person on the board to get one and I started a trend!  LOL.

I have had my friend's 3 FCR's in the boot space today without having the back seats down and have had my 2 Munsters, a Hovawart and a Lab in the back on another occasion.

In it's defence, it's only group 3 insurance.  When you drive on roads like the A1 where the speed limit is 60mph a lot of the time the economy is great, I went down to South Shields & back on Saturday on three quarters of a tank of diesel, including getting lost and going via a friend in Edinburgh on the way home.

However mine is old and it's had a lot of work done to it so it's been expensive  but for driving it's great, good vision, nice upright firm seats.  I would have another, if I could afford a new one.

Landrover Discovery X reg, 3 in 42 inch crate in back (4 at a push) and two on back seat with footwell filled with luggage.  Only 30mpg though.

I have a Ford Focus estate and I can quite happily get 2 Bulldogs and 2 DDBs in it without putting the seats down. They all line up to look out of the window on the way to where we're going and they all lie down flopping all over eachother on the way home once they're tired out!

I love my car and when I do change it, it will only be for a newer model, I'll definately stick with the same.

Well I now have Scenic but originally had a Galaxy and my husband has a Galaxy. Galaxy is the one for me. Four Goldens in no problem. Would most definitely take a cage and two others. Love the drive of it too.

I have a fiat ulysses.  The boot is mahosive.  I have to have 6 seats so I have the front 2, rear 3 and 1 in the boot so half the boot is taken by a seat but there is still enough room to have a giant sized cage in the other half.  I attatch bungee straps to the top so I can clip things on and use the head space too.  The fuel economy is good if you get deisel too.  Great car!  I wouldn't touch vauxhall or renault.  Crappy, light-weight engines.  Get a good HDi.  Peug, fiat or citreon.

>> Turned out to be the eccelerater senser

We changed that too! Just couldn't get to the bottom of it, and wondered whether we actually needed the new turbo in the first place.

>> Is it a specific year, model etc

Not sure - ours was a 54 TDCI 130 Ghia, I seem to recall other models had the problem, but can't remember whether the ages differed.

>> , does the Mondeo have the biggest estate boot, or is there another car?

The mondeo boot is was bigger than our Vectra (although marginal), and both are much bigger than the Passat we had as a loaner whilst waiting for the insurance payout. Nice car but I couldn't get to grips with the fact the handbrake was a button!

Our dog car (because it is an estate is a Legacy Spec B. It has plenty of room for three dogs and I should image you could fit another on in without any problems ! (Labs)

The previous car which is sorn at the moment so could reappear one day is an Imprza WRX 5 door which again quite happily fits 3 dogs in the back.

Both very good cars with 4 wheel drive which is good if you are going out with the dogs and have to travel up muddy lanes etc to get to the walk.

The only downside is the fuel consumption but the pros far out weigh the cons !

have 3 newfs, gave up with cars and brought a van and caged it out, best thing we ever did, the dogs love it and so do we.

Ooh which van did you go for? I want a van when the mondeo goes off to scrapyard heaven lol

My Dad would only go with a Mercedes engine van (Sprinter) or a Fiat Ducato, but that's from the repair and reliability angle, as he is an ex mechanic.  He has had both as Camper base vehicles and the Sprinter van (only gave the van up as had difficulty insuring it for private use as he was retired).

I drive two vans (not at the same time mind, obviously, now that would be dangerous). A black Volkswagen Caddy van Sportsline (really fast). And black Renault Traffic van (rides slower than tourtoise on a push bike).

> Renault Traffic van (rides slower than tourtoise on a push bike).

Think I'll give that one a miss then!!

I have a medium sized breed .. 3 of them fit in a volvo estate , no discomfort .. but sick of dog slaver and hair so got a L200 and now they all fit nice in the boot bit ... and i can drive without slaver and hair ,if i am going somewhere important and need to look respectable ....lol...