C-Forum

My ancient Ford Taurus station wagon is on its last legs (or wheels?) and I'm looking for a new paddler-friendly car. I am ashamed to admit that I can't lift my OC-1 onto the roof by myself unless I prop it onto the back of my car and slide it on from there... so I think my next car has to be a hatchback or wagon. Does anyone have any recommendations about a paddler-friendly car or roofrack? I have heard good things about Yakima and Subaru, of course, but Subarus are pushing the limits of my price range.

thanks!

It is the Pontiac version of the Toyota MAtrix, but has option of rack in rear. Will need to add bar in front for good spread. Good value, power for small car, and excellent gas mileage.

volvo 850 turbo wagon.
i always thought volvos were stupid until i drove one.
these things are very well built, FAST, fun, and the most comfortable car i've ever driven. sleep in the back- no problem. the roof is nice and low and there's tons of real estate up there. my 60 inch bars fit the roof perfectly. fits five people and their creekboats and gear comfortably you can pick them up cheap, and they are good for 300k easy.
the more modern v70 is even better, but a little more $.
i have a 94 850 and recently upgraded to a 2000 v70 R and put about 30k on them a year. ...love em.

Larry Horne wrote:volvo 850 turbo wagon.

I love my 850. I've gotten 29 mpg heading out to WV with a Probe 14 on top.

If you're getting a volvo (or or any wagon, I imagine) make sure that you get the "Euro-style" factory rack rails that run the length of your roofline. They give you a lot more options, such as adding a third crossbar. I don't have them, and my thule stuff works great for a boat or two, but about half of the roof space is still wasted.

Adding the full length rails would involve drilling the roof - no thanks.

I just sold an 2000 V70XC with high mileage (160,000+) for $7K. This is the AWD version. (I believe 2000 was the first year they made this) It was an AWESOME boating car. I used the yakima low riders which clip very easily to the factory racks which is nice cause you can remove them with ease. Great car....wish I still had it!

I use Yakima's boat loader ( http://www.yakima.com/Product.aspx?id=53 ). It works great.

Jim M

I do not drive one but I will second the Volvo reccomendation. I have a paddling buddy that has an older Volvo Wagon (I think it is an 850) that has over 340K miles on the odometer. It has a 5 speed stick shift and runs up and down the mtns just fine. Great paddling vehicle and built well...

hey walsh, good point.
you can get the euro rails from a dismantler for about a hundred bucks (or 200? can't remember.. but it was worth it) and they are really easy to install because the car is set up for them. you just pop out the plastic trim on the roof and the euro rails bolt right into the roof where the trim was. no drilling...the bolts come with the rail...all you need to do is cut the plastic trim to fit because the front part of it reinstalls. i put the rails on both of my cars.
try this place. www.erievovo.com or just do a used parts search

Forget a car, get an Toyota Truck! I have a '01 Tacoma and before that a '91 regular cab. Cars only get you to paved paths, get a 4x4 and get out to the good put-ins and camping sites!!

Put these in the bed:
http://www.orsracksdirect.com/yakima-8001137.html

You can carry 2 canoes up top and 3-4 C1s or, in my case, your friends kayaks in the bed.

MAKE SURE YOU LOCK THEM ON SOMEHOW, MINE GOT STOLE AT THE BULL SLUICE PUT-IN ON THE CHATTOOGA.

Larry Horne wrote:hey walsh, good point.
you can get the euro rails from a dismantler for about a hundred bucks (or 200? can't remember.. but it was worth it) and they are really easy to install because the car is set up for them. you just pop out the plastic trim on the roof and the euro rails bolt right into the roof where the trim was. no drilling...the bolts come with the rail...all you need to do is cut the plastic trim to fit because the front part of it reinstalls. i put the rails on both of my cars.
try this place. www.erievovo.com or just do a used parts search

SERIOUSLY? Wow, I initially figured it would be like this, but the goons at my local dealership told me it would involve body work.

Awesome . . . Safari rack here we come!

Nothing wrong with another Taurus wagon especially if you have the racks and loading procedures down. On the used market they are pretty darn affordable and get decent gas mileage.

A lot of people like the Subaru Legacy wagon. That is a very nice although kind of underpowered car as well. The Volvos are good as well. My problem with any of the imports is service. In remote locations it often hard to find someone to work on them if they break down on you. Subarus and Volvos are no more reliable than a Taurus. As with any vehicle it is in how you maintain them.

Wendy wrote:It is the Pontiac version of the Toyota MAtrix, but has option of rack in rear. Will need to add bar in front for good spread. Good value, power for small car, and excellent gas mileage.

The car you speak of is the Pontiac Vibe; I own one. In years past, I wouldn't have touched a GM car, but the Vibe is largely a Toyota Matrix. Both the Vibe and Matrix are based on the venerable Corolla chassis and have 100% Toyota drive trains.

The only functional difference between a base Vibe and Matrix is that the Vibe has built in roof rack. You can put a Yakima rack on a Matrix using 4 towers and a set of bars, but the spread is terrible. On the Vibe, you can put a bar up front on a pair of towers and a bar across the rear factory rails using Low Riders. The spread can be adjusted and encompasses almost the entire roof line if one so desires.

I regularly get 30+ MPG on the highway, can carry a surprising amount of cargo and have absolutely no problem carrying a 16 foot tandem canoe or a 11 foot kayak AND 14 ft. solo canoe at the same time on the Yakima rack. Bow and stern tie downs are a must of course.

Mind you, the Vibe is not a pavement pounder with it's 128HP engine, but scoots when I need it to, is roomy and generally fun to drive.

Phreon

Walsh wrote:

Larry Horne wrote:hey walsh, good point.
you can get the euro rails from a dismantler for about a hundred bucks (or 200? can't remember.. but it was worth it) and they are really easy to install because the car is set up for them. you just pop out the plastic trim on the roof and the euro rails bolt right into the roof where the trim was. no drilling...the bolts come with the rail...all you need to do is cut the plastic trim to fit because the front part of it reinstalls. i put the rails on both of my cars.
try this place. www.erievovo.com or just do a used parts search

SERIOUSLY? Wow, I initially figured it would be like this, but the goons at my local dealership told me it would involve body work.

Awesome . . . Safari rack here we come!

well... technically it is bodywork. they just didn't tell you how easy it was so they could try to charge you an arm and a leg. stealerships are very good at ripping people off (factory trained), and volvo dealers are probably the best stealers out there. it would take them about 15 minutes to do the job. took me about an hour the first time and half an hour the second.

moral of the story : find a good independant shop that knows what their doing. NEVER let a dealer touch your car unless it's for warrantee work think about it..they are in the car SALES business..if it costs too much to add those euro rails to your old 850, you might just start looking at that 2007 cross country with the rails already installed.

I just bought a 98 Forester and think its awesome. I can fit 2 playboats inside w/ the back seats folded down. Putting a rack on is easy because it already has a factory rack so use can use the Yakima Lowriders, they are very easy to install. The extra roof height give great gear capacity. The back seats don't have a ton of room but I drive so what do I care. It has plenty of power and the all wheel drive makes the car very capable. It gets reasonably good gas mileage also. Subarus are a dime a dozen in MT so they're easy to come by. My paddle also fits diagonally in the back so it doesn't have to interfere w/ the passengers. Thats it.
B

thanks for all the advice... i'm definitely looking at the Pontiac Vibe and I think the Yakima boat loaders will even make sedans an option too... too many options!