Best Car for Kayaking

You beat me to it Frank
Yesterday I posted one of the first replys, which never made it with the stupid reception we are getting down here, so I gave up, but I said; " I visualize the OP sitting on top of his up side down vehicle padlling merrily along without a care in the world"



Jack L

yep
my daughter got a 8yr old 5spd manual Accord wagon with 150k miles in incredible shape, not high ground clearance but adequate for all the dirt roads she’s been on.

LIKE MANY, WE SEARCHED FOR…

– Last Updated: Dec-16-10 10:43 PM EST –

...a Toyota Camry, a Honda Accord, or a Nissan station wagon. Heck, I'd even had a nice experience with a Ford Focus I'd had for a week on a business trip.

But back in '04 when we began looking, all of these but the Focus Wagon had already gone the way of the dodo bird...

So we checked out the Subie Outback, the VW Passat, the Audi A3 and A4 Wagon, and the Focus -and even considered used Bimmers an Benzes. The latter two were rare -few Benzes, fewer BMWs -and more money than we really wanted to spend, with more miles than we wanted to start out with, and the Focus and the A3 were a tad too small for what we wanted in a hauler. The regular Passat required premium fuel for its turbo, and the Passat diesel was pricey, and tho' the former drove well, at that time it had a pretty poor service record per Consumer Reports, and pretty bad recs from a few friends of ours that had had them. The Subaru Outback had -and still has -a world or admirers, especially among the outdoor set, and particularly among paddlers -but the straight 4 had little performance, and the turbo 4, or regular 6, with satisfactory performance, required premium fuel; additionally, I was quite underwhelmed by it's overall handling -it felt to me more like a plodding mainstream US sedan...

We'd just about given up when I saw an article in Car & Driver or Road and Track, not sure which, that noted how much fun and how pretty well-designed the Mazda 6 was, and how they really got that "Zoom-Zoom" stuff down just right. So we checked the M6 out, and lo and behold, they had... ...a station wagon!

So we took one for a test drive, and I was impressed with the handling, interior layout, roof height (nice and low, especially compared to our late, lamented, wrecked (by a friend...!) wonder hauler but getting taller every year Jeep Grand Cherokee), and the purchase cost was great after I'd finished negotiating for a brand new '04 early in the '05 model year.

We're soon to remove the kayak racks because we're prepping up now for our trek to the wintry north in Illinois as we take a 'Home for the Holidays' Christmas trip to Sally's family in downstate IL about 40 miles north of St. Louis. I look forward to another enjoyable trip in a car that does road trips very, very well.

We've had it 80,000 miles so far, and it's been a terrific car for us. I'd heartily recommend it, except...

...that Mazda, too, has stopped producing station wagons...!

So good luck with your search, may you find a nice ride and an even better hauler to take you around, and your boats to and from the water, when you

PADDLE ON!

-Frank in Miami

yep, and it’s stylish too!
There’s nothing like driving a beast to the put-in with boats piled high.

There is something alluring about
that long flat roof! The price is a budget-buster, though.

Or Maybe
Civic or Corolla wagons.

Checked out Mazda, Toyota, Honda, etc. .
(and have owned these brands in the past) . . . ended up with a Kia Sorento. Best price. Best value. Mine seats 7. Lots of nice extra features. Check it out.

To high
"ended up with a Kia Sorento. Best price. Best value. Mine seats 7. Lots of nice extra features. Check it out."



I think the O.P. was looking for something where you do not have to use a step ladder to secure your boats. That’s the only problem with the Sorrento as a friend of mine has one.


Amen
on the Mazda reliability. Have a 2006 Mazda 6 sedan with 110k as my sales car and absolutely NO problems…not one. Wish I would have purchased the wagon as the sedan is skimpy on long roof line…the wagon would be perfect. Someone above mentioned the Buick wagon…our daughters grew up in the 1985 Buick Estate Wagon, nickname “Wally Wagon”, complete with fake wood paneling…but oh would this baby haul 2 17’ canoes…lol. Swear the rack would hold a dozen yaks as it was strong. Mileage was 19mpg regardless of how fast you drove…would get one again if I could fine one in good condition. Oh, and tie downs? Heck anywhere on the heavy steel bumpers was fine.

Flex mpg
is not to good. I have a 2007 and 2011 Hyundai Sante Fe. Thule makes an excellent rack system for this car and yes the front crossbar can be set all the way forward on the rails. Drawback to Sante Fe - high roof, but other than that I love the car.

Dodge Grand Caravan
has been working well for us for several years. We’re on our second one now, using the factory rack rails and Yakima cross bars, spaced almost 5’ apart. The height may seem intimidating at first, but sliding the kayaks up over the back is pretty easy for one person loading. Used ones are readily available at a good price. More than makes up for the 22-23 mpg.

No ladder
The O.P. did state “low roof” AND “decent ground clearance.” That is some skinny vehicle! It’s hard to have both.



Anyway, I do load long kayaks without a step ladder by pushing them on from the back.

2003 Toyota Tacoma super cab P/U
Or the newest full size pick up of your favorite flavor. Mine’s Ford. Decent hwy mileage, big comfort and safety.

Low roof line and high ground clearance
limits the feild a lot. Subaru pretty much wrote the book. Volvo XC70 is nice. Suzuki offered the SX4, I think it was, but Suzuki seems to have gone away, at least around here.

I really like the sport wagons, BMW, MB, Mazda,Saab, etc. but about four or five times a year I find myself badly abusing my car, or giving thanks that I brought the truck.

So many choices,

T

mini cooper
http://mattwilkinson.zenfolio.com/p393185879/h1e8eb43d#h1e8eb43d

this one!
http://montaraventures.com/pix/amphicar.jpg

Second the sport wagons
My Saab 95 is a fantastic boat/gear/people hauler. With 4 snows and front wheel drive, it also goes almost anywhere.

Elantra Touring
I don’t know if it has enough ground clearance for you. Mine’s been great so far. Very nice price. Good gas mileage and Consumer Reports says it shouldn’t need much repair… and not too ugly.

Audi A4 wagon

– Last Updated: Dec-16-10 5:01 PM EST –

or a used COP Audi Allroad.

ditto ET
Roof rails with a higher weight capacity than Yakima or Thule (which is rare), what Kudzu said and pretty fun to drive.