I have decided to wait until I can better afford it to get a Defender I found something wrong with ever 4x4 I tried so have decided to get an estate in the meantime I have tried a few but really liked the polo I tried 1 problem when you open the boot its not flat it drops down about 6 inches  does anyone know if I will be able to get a crate to fit?
This will be all over soon I will get a car and keep quite for a while I promise.
Mary

My fave estate was the Audi A6 TDI 2.5, but we just traded it in for the Volkswagen Passat Estate TDi. We fit two large breeds in the boot no problems. The VW does seem alot more plastic internally compared to the Audi. The electrics are good though and the boot is alot larger than it looks. The diesel is very economical & the leather interior means I can wipe the dog drool off the seats no bother :).
We got a deal on the Passat, it was a brand new 04 reg retailed at 23k...but we didn't pay anywhere near that so it might be worth you shopping about before going for the polo.

Oh and just to add...the VW sales rep agreed to fit a dog guard free of charge, so they may well do the same for your polo!

Abbymum you can get custom made crates to fit most estates now :) Shouldnt be a problem

The Volvo V40 estate is really nice too & you can pick up a decent used one quite cheaply, we can fit 2 large breed dogs in that too.

Thats what we have Spook :)
Loads of room and really comfy to drive :)

If you are going to be travelling to a lot of dog shows I wouldnt recommend a Defender the constant drone from the gearbox and tyres will drive you mad, especially if its motorway driving, even turning the stereo up doesnt help, I had a 90 then a 110, but once I started travelling a lot to dog shows from the South up to NEC etc I had to change to a Discovery which I adored, (had 2)but they are v.expensive to run and thats the diesel only 29 mpg on a good day, even less in a Defender. I now have a Seat Alhambra  same as the Ford Galaxy/VW Sharan to look at but more spec for less money a good people/dog mover, take the rear seats out can get a big cage in with 3 or 4 med size dogs, even more if take the next row out, good mpg 40+ very good for the size of car.
 

i cant say anything about the defenders or discoverys but i can recommend the Ford Galaxy

huge amount of room once you take some seats out
ive only got the back two removed but i can easily get two largish cages in there with dogs in and still have plenty of room left for a ton of other stuff
and still seat 5 people comfortably if i have to

take more seats out and theres no end of room

couple all that with a nice GPS system to save you getting lost on your way to all these dog shows and you have a nice stress free journey :)

Z

Is the GPS like the Road angel thing ?

we just have me reading directions :D and lots of swear words :D

GPS - Global Positioning System

similar to a road angel only better and more advanced

basically it works out your position from the relative position of certain satelites orbitting the earth to an accuracy of approx. 30foot

you give it a destination
then it gives you voice directions to get you there - turn left - turn right - next roundabout take the 3rd exit - turn around you missed the turning ya muppet - stuff like that
also tells you stuff like exactly what time you will get there - how many miles to get there
warns you if there is a speed camera coming up and what the speed limit is
also tells you what speed you are travelling at much more accurately than your cars speedo

ive used one for the last year or so and i have to say that its one of the best things ive ever bought for the car
no more arguing as soon as we leave the motorway any more :)
always arrive stress free now :D

Z

Thank you everyone I will let you know what we decide.
Mary

Have you thought about a mitsubishi delcia? You get the best of both worlds as its a people carrier and its got 4WD! Heres the owners club website.  http://www.mdocuk.com