Show us your Hatchbacks or Wagons

[keylay]

Post them if you have them. Honda, VW, Ford, Toyota, Audi, Subaru, Mini...whatever.
Thinking about getting one due to practicality, small size (better gas mileage than my truck) and fun factor.

[shanewdude]

My '04 Honda Civic SiR (Si in the US):


Mileage isn't too bad... 24-28 mpg. But lot's of fun to drive! My old hatch was better for mileage... but pretty gutless. I miss it sometimes!


And yes, I do put my bike on it, just no pics.

[1994Trek930]

Hood now matches the car. 1985 Volvo 240 Turbo wagon with almost 350,000 miles on the clock. Manual transmission, of course.

-John

[mopartodd]

Pre-rack pictures. It will have a removable roof-rack and a hitch reciever installed over the next week or so.

[A1an]

My 2004.5 Passat V6 wagon and my wife's 2007 Rabbit:


I need to get a rack for the Passat...originally I was going to go with a roof rack but I'm thinking about a hitch mount since this car already gets pretty terrible gas mileage.

[shanewdude]

Originally Posted by A1an

I need to get a rack for the Passat...originally I was going to go with a roof rack but I'm thinking about a hitch mount since this car already gets pretty terrible gas mileage.

x2.
I get worse mileage with 1 bike on the roof than with all that windsurfing gear (pretty sure it's from interference drag). The ultimate hatch-back would have a fork-mount in the back like a pick-up!

[Andrew16v]

Love the V-Dubs A1an!

I'll Play - My 2000 GTI w/ OEM Carrier bars and Thule Big Mouth trays.

Please don't mind the crappy cell phone pic!

[dompedro3]

Originally Posted by 1994Trek930

Hood now matches the car. 1985 Volvo 240 Turbo wagon with almost 350,000 miles on the clock. Manual transmission, of course.

-John

nice flat hood swap! I like the single rounds and gt grill set-up.

Any mods to the engine, or still the stock turbo?

I usually don't like the hydra's on 240's, but they look good on yours!

where is that airdam from?

[jmitchell13]

Major fun factor , great on gas milage . But an 8 week wait for a new one

[tryallrider]

[bap]

outback

[dadat40]

5 bike capacity , 5 person capacity , gear for 5 people, mid twenties fuel mileage. May not be real hot looking or powerful but very good vehicle

[zedfoto]

Here is my little hot hatch 2008 Mazda 3. Fun to drive, not too expensive, easy on gas, and I can just throw my bikes in the back.

[Sabrason]

Great pics. I'm looking for cross bars and a roof rack for my '04 Hyundai Tiburon. Thule claims they don't make one for it and I haven't found one made by Yakima either. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks.

Mike

[1994Trek930]

Originally Posted by dompedro3

nice flat hood swap! I like the single rounds and gt grill set-up.

Any mods to the engine, or still the stock turbo?

I usually don't like the hydra's on 240's, but they look good on yours!

where is that airdam from?

Thanks. Yeah, pretty much ever Volvo I've owned since my silver '82 242T has been converted to a flathood. In fact, the current hood that's on the 245, came from said 242. Had loaned the hood to a friend who wanted one for his 245. Didn't look right on his car with the hood being faded silver and the body being black. So, I traded him the blue hood for the silver hood.

Engine is an '84 B23FT that came out of my old black '82 242T. Kept the cluster from that car, since the silver 245's body only had 213K on it, and the 242 had 332K when I parted it out.

Thanks. I deleted the plastic caps and used the small caps for the 25-spoke corona alloys, then used the stock Virgo lug nuts.

Spoiler is from a '79 242GT.

You're not on Turbobricks (http://forums.turbobricks.com), are you? If you are, my username over there is 245GT-Turbo. Also, Mr. Yuck posts on T-bricks as well.

-J

[20vturbo]

heres my 07 wrx wagon, blast to drive, and awd to get around to the trail heads. Thule t2 for carrying the bikes around






when i was living in the apartment i was doing mostly solo rides so i only had one of the t2 bike carriers installed. but now theres 2 carriers and with 2 bikes on the back on the highway i'll get 26 mpg. Take into consideration thought that this car is modded and tuned and i bought the wrx for a reason, if i took it easier and loaded a different map on the car i'd see better gas mileage, when it was stock with 2 bikes i was seeing 27 and above

[BlackCanoeDog]

[socalenduro]

[pimpbot]

I miss our old Jetta GLX. The VR6 engine was pretty off the hook. Here, I was packed up and heading out to 24hoa at Laguna Seca.

From Assorted old pics

my '96 GTi 2.slo I owned since 1999...

From MC29er

[hkenshin]

Two rides that border on being criminal in the fun department

The OEM rack on the mini is such a pita to put on though, but it looks so good

[tehelmo]

'03 Matrix with Yakima rack and HighRoller

[zelig]

1995 VW Golf:


I want to see "bikes inside" pics from 245GT-Turbo, zedfoto, and socalenduro. This is, after all, an MTB forum!

[jh_on_the_cape]

volvo 850 wagon. very big inside. not fast. stickshift. very cheap. very comfy. hopefully should last a long while.

[pimpbot]

From Audi

From Audi

1999 Audi A4 Avant 1.8l Turbo.

It is in really nice shape. It's really my wife's car, but I've been driving it a bit to find the bugs. So far, only the LCD screen for the interior temp is missing a couple of segments, and the engine temp sender is wacky. It wanders between 1/4 and 1/2 of the gauge's range. I read on vwvortex.com in the audi forums that this is a common problem that is easily fixed with a new $7 sender. Gonna try to pick that up in the next day or so.

Bonus that it came with a trailer hitch for my bike rack.

[pimpbot]

Originally Posted by zelig

1995 VW Golf:


I want to see "bikes inside" pics from 245GT-Turbo, zedfoto, and socalenduro. This is, after all, an MTB forum!

I've never tried that with my GTi of the same era. I've always laid the bikes in flat. Didn't even know they could fit upright.

Thanks!

[zelig]

That was actually an experiment. Normally I take off both wheels and lay it flat so I don't have to readjust my seat. The bike is a 19.5" (L) frame, and the bars are turned 135° left to make it fit, but now I know there's easily room for another...

[9GUY9]

My old SVT Focus. This car was fun as poop to drive, I really miss it. Never did haul a bike with it though.


The current wagon. I like the car, although its not as much fun to drive as previous vehicles I've had. But its utility is unmatched.

[jh_on_the_cape]

Originally Posted by pimpbot

1999 Audi A4 Avant 1.8l Turbo.

It is in really nice shape. It's really my wife's car, but I've been driving it a bit to find the bugs. So far, only the LCD screen for the interior temp is missing a couple of segments, and the engine temp sender is wacky. It wanders between 1/4 and 1/2 of the gauge's range. I read on vwvortex.com in the audi forums that this is a common problem that is easily fixed with a new $7 sender. Gonna try to pick that up in the next day or so.

Bonus that it came with a trailer hitch for my bike rack.

our passat with roughly the same engine (i think) had a recall on the temp sensor. they replaced it but it is still wacky. local shop is doing the thermostat now, which apparently doesnt last all that long.
but try the sender, then the sensor (something about green cap). thermostat is 300 parts and labor. mostly labor.

i like those a4 wagons. hopefully stickshift on yours. we got the passat to avoid potential awd problems.

if i didnt have to spend the $$ on this thermostat, i would have gotten the chipjob this year. it'll wait now.

[Diesel~]

Originally Posted by 9GUY9

The current wagon. I like the car, although its not as much fun to drive as previous vehicles I've had. But its utility is unmatched.

STi hoodscoop?

[Cycle Nomad]

2007 Toyota Yaris

2 people camping in Rothrock Pa with camping supplies, bikes and gear, no problem.

Allen hitch rack 1 1/4 to a Hidden Hitch.

In the photos the bikes are just leaning on the rack.






Great Place to Ride!

[9GUY9]

Originally Posted by Diesel~

STi hoodscoop?

yes it is. It has a much larger esx intercooler under it.

[KRob]

Not mine yet.... but it's due out next spring. Sport Wagon version of Caddy's award winning CTS. I'm a sucker for wagons.

[tkblazer]

my xb in keyesville for the classic

[pimpbot]

Originally Posted by jh_on_the_cape

our passat with roughly the same engine (i think) had a recall on the temp sensor. they replaced it but it is still wacky. local shop is doing the thermostat now, which apparently doesnt last all that long.
but try the sender, then the sensor (something about green cap). thermostat is 300 parts and labor. mostly labor.

i like those a4 wagons. hopefully stickshift on yours. we got the passat to avoid potential awd problems.

if i didnt have to spend the $$ on this thermostat, i would have gotten the chipjob this year. it'll wait now.

The AWD is actually pretty reliable. The only real trouble spot is the rear diff seals tend to wear out and leak around 100k miles, but its not a hard fix. The main downside of the AWD is that it adds 300 pounds to the car which isn't exactly rubber burning fast, and really I am almost never going to drive in snow or on loose unpaved roads. AWD doesn't really do me much good. It is awfully fun to lean it into a tight turn with some left foot braking to wind the turbo up, then let it all go without any wheel spin.

Mine has the 1.8 20 valve turbo engine, 150 HP stock. Later in my model year, they bumped up the turbo a bit and got more boost in software to 170hp. I hear chipping gets you 190hp without any other mods.

I would be surprised if the thermostat was replaceable for $300 by a shop. Its like a $20 part, but the whole front end has to come off the car to get to the water pump area. I should do the timing belt in the next 10k miles, and I'm going to do everything at that time.

[TLL]

Here ya go:



Pimpbot, if you miss the VR6, you need to check out the 2.0FSI.

[BoxCarPhoto]

mmm, snowed in korean.

[Lowball]

With a few mods...

[rufusdesign]

2000 Audi A6 Avant wagon. Such a sick car. So glad that I bought it.

[-HolyRoller-]

Any body have good input from experience for a newber in the market for a roof rack on my dubber? or how about advice on how to convince my wife to get wagon? i love 'em but can't get her to break and I am stuck paying top dollar on gas for a rediculous durango.

[Diesel~]

Originally Posted by -HolyRoller-

Any body have good input from experience for a newber in the market for a roof rack on my dubber? or how about advice on how to convince my wife to get wagon? i love 'em but can't get her to break and I am stuck paying top dollar on gas for a rediculous durango.

Funny, my brother got rid of a Durango to get his GLI; that thing was definitely a gas hog.

He's currently running a Thule rack with Inno mounts (Thule mounts pictured).

Obligatory hatch thrown in for good measure.

[MtnBikeNC]

Originally Posted by zedfoto

Here is my little hot hatch 2008 Mazda 3. Fun to drive, not too expensive, easy on gas, and I can just throw my bikes in the back.

Have you tried fitting two bikes in yet? I have the same car and had the thule roof system on for awhile and hated it. I'm switching to a hitch but have been just sticking my bike in the back with half the rear seat folded down - works well but only for one bike.

[fighterinsnatch]

[fighterinsnatch]

1992 Civic Si with a rear hatch bike rack

[zedfoto]

Originally Posted by MtnBikeNC

Have you tried fitting two bikes in yet? I have the same car and had the thule roof system on for awhile and hated it. I'm switching to a hitch but have been just sticking my bike in the back with half the rear seat folded down - works well but only for one bike.

Yes, when my friend and I go for a ride we throw both our bikes and all the gear in the back. I have to lay them down, but I throw a utility mat between them to avoid scratches.
I have no reason to get a roof or hitch rack, most of the time it's just myself; and I would rather have my bikes locked inside a car than strapped outside.

[vdubz]

Originally Posted by TLL

Here ya go:



Pimpbot, if you miss the VR6, you need to check out the 2.0FSI.

definitely. other than the sweet VR6 tune the 2.0t is a nice engine and very fast compared to all the other vw's ive had. intake,DV and exhaust and it sounds pretty good

[pimpbot]

Originally Posted by -HolyRoller-

Any body have good input from experience for a newber in the market for a roof rack on my dubber? or how about advice on how to convince my wife to get wagon? i love 'em but can't get her to break and I am stuck paying top dollar on gas for a rediculous durango.

... a 1 1/4" hitch and a hitch rack. Uses way less gas and won't jack up the finish, plus it won't add crazy amounts of wind noise. You can actually open that sunroof of yours and not go deaf. They are also easy to pop off and put in the trunk or garage when not in use.

One nice thing about the Jetta is that the trunk is big enough to swallow a bike with the wheels off. Ultimate stealth security.

So wagon over SUV? Pssshhh! Easy! Get in a good sporty wagon like a BMW, Audi, VW Passat or Jetta Wagon, and it will spin circles around any SUV in the turns, and probably outrun it on the straights while using half the gas. You know, you turn the steering wheel... and ... whatdyaknow? It actually reacts and turns, and doesn't roll over! I mean really... how often do you go off road?

[droptopchevy]

2002 Passat Wagon

[NateHawk]

My 07 Fit

I actually have a couple of fork blocks in the back now for bike hauling duty and I don't need the straps. I can fit two bikes upright in the back with the back wheels peeking between the front seats.

[pimpbot]

Originally Posted by NateHawk

My 07 Fit

I actually have a couple of fork blocks in the back now for bike hauling duty and I don't need the straps. I can fit two bikes upright in the back with the back wheels peeking between the front seats.

I really like the Fit. Too bad they go for way too much dough (for my pocketbook) used. Still too new. I like the idea that it's light, quick, gets good mileage, and still has enough room to haul bikes inside. I think my GTi isn't long for this world, and it will be replaced with a small light commuter kinda car, but I would ideally like it to be able to haul bikes inside. As much as I love my wife's Audi A4 Avant, I think I would burn too much gas at 26MPG (at best) for my daily commute.

[nealric]

2002 Mazda Protege 5 with just a few modifications (MTX of course )

Now has Thule rack on top.

[Maadjurguer]

Here's my new sled, 09' A4 Avant.

From maadjurguer

From maadjurguer

[Nagaredama]

2006 WRX loaded down on the way to Mammoth.

[pimpbot]

The new Audi A4 is one seriously sexy car.

[Nagaredama]

Originally Posted by pimpbot

The new Audi A4 is one seriously sexy car.

Bummer you can't get the wagon in stick.

[rckhopper87]

Why do some people have their bikes set up backwards on top of their cars?

I can understand it when they have 3 bikes up there, otherwise I don't know? Better aerodynamics? More secure with the wind hitting the bikes from behind?

[Nagaredama]

On Subaru's the bike ract tray will hit the spoiler/tailgate when open if the bike is facing frontwards.

[NateHawk]

Originally Posted by pimpbot

I really like the Fit. Too bad they go for way too much dough (for my pocketbook) used. Still too new. I like the idea that it's light, quick, gets good mileage, and still has enough room to haul bikes inside. I think my GTi isn't long for this world, and it will be replaced with a small light commuter kinda car, but I would ideally like it to be able to haul bikes inside. As much as I love my wife's Audi A4 Avant, I think I would burn too much gas at 26MPG (at best) for my daily commute.

Yeah, the demand on them is pretty high. I bought mine new because I didn't have a hope of getting a used one in the summer of 07. It was hard enough to get my hands on a sport manual model. I just grabbed whichever color came up first...black isn't my first choice (would have taken red, blue, or orange over black, honestly), but it's what I found. Maybe with the 09's on the market now, the 07/08 models might start coming available at better pricing...I dunno.

I also have a pair of Thule sidearms for when I'm carrying more than just a bike or two. It's a pretty versatile car. I take trips to Lowes and load that thing up pretty good. I've hauled a few hundred lbs of concrete & mortar with it. I also brought home a lawn mower, shop vac, and other essentials when I moved into my new house. The lowes employee helping me load took one look at my car and told me I'd have to take two trips. Every last item fit, with room to spare.

It's pretty funny...I've had people chase me down just so they could ask questions about the car. One guy looked for me for two weeks after he first saw me driving around in the car.

[stib]

Here's mine. A black '05.5 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT wagon with 5-spd manual tranny.
Not the most fuel efficient car, but a heck of a lot of fun. And it's a sleeper too... http://forums.mtbr.com/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif

After a quick, rainy fire road ride on my road bike...

[Nagaredama]

Must have been last weekend on Westridge?

[longhaultrucker]

don't laugh...i only paid something like,500 bucks for this several years ago (which is less than any of my bikes) to teach my wife how to drive in.it has 170,000 miles (or is that 270,000? ),gets 31-36 mpg's,loses less than 1/2 a quart of oil per oil change (every 3500 miles),starts every time,and i don't care 1 iota to park it at the quarry all week.i'll pretty much just use it for winter months now,tho...front wheel drive ya know



sorry,it's the only pic i have...it's just an old escort anyways

[stib]

Originally Posted by Nagaredama

Must have been last weekend on Westridge?

Yeah, I think I took the picture sometime last winter... Couldn't find any other pictures of the wagon...

[Vader]

Huge seller's remorse on this. But she did have a drinking problem, and the miles stacked up quick. I owned this 05 2.7 V6 twin turbo Allroad a couple years ago. I installed K04's, a GIAC chip, exhaust, H Sport sway bars, bigger rims, ect. It was stupid fast, but you could also haul cargo, like a large capacity washing machine.

[LowLow]

New roof rack on my old hatchback!

[WVhillbilly]

My ride


Wife's, it wears the hitch rack now. Except my bikes are are sleeping until spring.

[WVhillbilly]

Mine

Wife's bike hauler

[WVhillbilly]

Wife's

[lobolator]

My AWD V70, love this thing, surefooted in the worst of conditions.
Wearing the winter steel rims with Nokian snow tires and my Inbred on the roof.

[MrMook]

97 Golf K2 edition. Love this car, just wish it didn't have all the rust from it's life in the northeast. Hatches are so sweet. I'll never own a trunk. Well, maybe a MKI Jetta coupe...but that's different.

[jmhills]

[tonyride1]

My wife's little wagon. Surprisingly it holds a lot.

[JHogan]

I haven't had this wagon together long enough to get a picture with the bike yet. I will say with much delight that two bikes fit in the back with room to spare.




it's a 1984 Mercedes 300TD with period correct Ronal 16x8" AMG style wheels, 225/50/16 tires. Car has been lowered 2" in the front and 1.5 in the rear.

Still alot of details to work out but so far it beats the 1984 MB sedan with a rack on the back.

[tonyride1]

That is a sweet 300TD.

[pawe1]

[lost27]

Here's my bike hauler... '95 850 T5R

[JHogan]

Nice T5er, is this one of the very few straight drives? I've always liked the powder yellow with the titanium colored wheels.

I'd prefer a volvo wagon with big black/blue/white stripes though. obscure?

Jay

[lost27]

Not sure what you mean by straight drive but it is indeed a rare car... IIRC only 110 wagons in that color made it over here.

[JHogan]

Manual transmission. I understand the rarity of the car. Most were automatics, a very limited number came over as manual transmissions. A total of 2500 Cream Yellow cars were produced, then 2500 black and lastly 500 olive green. That's total. I can never find a strong number for how many were made as manual transmission.

You can thank British Touring Car racing for the advent of this car because of the homologization rule. Hence the black, white, blue comment.

Again, nice car.

Jay

[RiceKilla]

Here's mine. Mainly for hauling bikes, and daily driving. My other car is mainly a weekend/track car.

4 wheel drive 1990 Honda Civic Wagon, very rare, 6 speed tranny(1 super low gear).

RT4wd model.



Seats fold down

[GT5050]

Originally Posted by RiceKilla

Here's mine. Mainly for hauling bikes, and daily driving. My other car is mainly a weekend/track car.

4 wheel drive 1990 Honda Civic Wagon, very rare, 6 speed tranny(1 super low gear).

RT4wd model.



Seats fold down

I never thought about this before, but that's an older Fit if you look at it...Honda should bring out an AWD Fit, affordable, practical, and killer in winter...

[RiceKilla]

Bingo, thats what I think of it, and older fit.

Yes, Honda does have a 4WD version of the fit in Japan only unfortunately. Hopefully eventually they bring it over.

[tonyride1]

It would be awesome if they bring that car back. I think the Fit is a bit small but that Civic is a good size.

[RiceKilla]

Picked it up for 1100 bucks, they're rare down here in florida, but you can see them more often in northern states. The previous owner came down from Pennsylvania.

My friend is about 6" 4" and weighs 280 pounds, fit comfortably in the rear seats. Definitely more spacious than the Fits.

[WVhillbilly]

Sweet old Civic.

[GT5050]

Originally Posted by RiceKilla

Picked it up for 1100 bucks, they're rare down here in florida, but you can see them more often in northern states. The previous owner came down from Pennsylvania.

My friend is about 6" 4" and weighs 280 pounds, fit comfortably in the rear seats. Definitely more spacious than the Fits.

OT...Where in Florida do you ride? I'm in Miami and go to Oleta and Markham

[RiceKilla]

Im in Boca Raton, mainly ride Quiet Waters, but do hit up Markham 2-3x a month. Oleta I will go to maybe once every 2 months.

You should post up on clubmud.com, if you don't already. South Florida MTB forum.

[The_Stig]

Originally Posted by mopartodd

Pre-rack pictures. It will have a removable roof-rack and a hitch reciever installed over the next week or so.

DUDE!!!! Thats Sick...You sure you can get a hitch for the SRT? I was told you couldn't cos of the suspension set up with it being sooooo big.

Anyways heres my Caliber SE.

[BrakeL8]

2006 MINI Cooper S - John Cooper Works

[WVhillbilly]

How do you like the Calibers, My wife was looking at one Saturday, they had a sweet copper(?) colored SRT there. Nice deals on them now too.

[The_Stig]

I love mine, you can fit a bike inside if you take a wheel off, or for just over 300 you can get a rack and a hitch (hitch from etrailer.com). I would say get one and make sure it has the fridge in the glove box.

[WVhillbilly]

We have a nice hitch rack, found a good hitch for her wagon on Ebay for $140. Dealer wanted $400+ for a hitch. She just drove a Dodge Journey, OK but not very peppy. Going to look for a Jetta SportWagon now.
I liked the Caliber better than the bigger Journey, esp the SRT4. But the AWD would be much more practical where we live.

[jeebus]

here's my hatch. Like my bikes, I customized it a bit. It has an aftermarket exhaust, intake, intercooler and ecu tune. It's been a fun car.

[stib]

Here's a current one of mine... Took her up to Mt. Wilson here in Southern California to see some snow.

[Stewmander]

Originally Posted by NateHawk

My 07 Fit

I actually have a couple of fork blocks in the back now for bike hauling duty and I don't need the straps. I can fit two bikes upright in the back with the back wheels peeking between the front seats.

Nice pics, the Fit has grown on me, if I win the lottery I would probably get a fit as a second car to haul stuff around while keeping good gas mileage. I like being able to keep 2 bikes and people in the car rather than rely on my trunk mounted rack, especially for freeway driving (that trunk rack seems a bit too wobbly for my tastes).

Originally Posted by jeebus

here's my hatch. Like my bikes, I customized it a bit. It has an aftermarket exhaust, intake, intercooler and ecu tune. It's been a fun car.

I also like the new Volvo hatch...looks really nice, although you cant really get a bike inside. Heck, if I win the lotto, I could afford both of 'em!

[jeebus]

Originally Posted by Stewmander

I also like the new Volvo hatch...looks really nice, although you cant really get a bike inside. Heck, if I win the lotto, I could afford both of 'em!

I can fit a 57cm road bike in the hatch (front wheel off). The bike has to lay on its side... not upright.

I placed some of those big interlocking foam mats on the floor area of the cargo area to protect the carpet from dog hair, bike grime and whatever else gets tossed back there.

[Nagaredama]

Road to Wilson was open?

[jeebus]

Originally Posted by stib

Here's a current one of mine... Took her up to Mt. Wilson here in Southern California to see some snow.

There's something very sexy about a Subie doing its thing in the snow.

[stib]

The picture was actually taken a little past Mt. Wilson along the Angeles Crest HWY. The HWY was open in the AM when we arrived, but had been closed when we were coming back down. The LGT really did seem pretty happy to be in its element.

[pinkrobe]

Here is teh wagon...



Yes, it's always that dirty. Like most WRXs, this car has more poser, er um power than stock.

[stib]

Niice... Love the bug-eyed WRXes...

[tozovr]

'95 Volvo 850 Turbo. Few tweaks here and there, running 14.2 in the 1/4 mile with my 215/55/16 all seasons....

Since I live where I ride, the rack actually doesn't see too much use