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best car to carry gear?
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bga6418



Joined: 21 Jun 2010
Posts: 17

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 4:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just can't imaging driving a boring car (like prius or van) doesn't matter how much staff I can put in. It is not a image thing, I just want a fast and reliable car that I can load my staff in and be comfortable. Manual transmission is also a must.

I plan to have boards on the rack and rig inside.

Thanks for jetta idea. I will check it out (not the TDI however, I hate diesel cars).

Thanks for rack setup forum.
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DanWeiss



Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Posts: 2296
Location: Connecticut, USA

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 5:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I drive a Jeep Wrangler as my go-tp windsurf mobile. Great upsides: it is a rolling roof rack. No effective weight limit when using the A-pillars/windshield surround and the roll bar. You can stack as high as you dare. I have also lashed boards to the side for short trips! The Wrangler will get me to any launch whatsoever, and my kids LOVE riding down bouncy, dirt roads with all the beach gear on top.

Downsides a.k.a. the Jeep Wrongler: It's tiny. I can fit moderate sails inside, but no board without going diagonally down into the passenger footwell. It's gas mileage is pitiful loaded up, but not unexpected given that it is a two-brick design. And there is no gear security at all unless you use a hardtop which I do use in the cool New England seasons.

That said, you can still get a Wrangler for under $20K and make it through more conditions better than anything on the road save a HUMV or Defender D90, the price for each of which will cost you several Wranglers.
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carl



Joined: 25 Feb 1997
Posts: 2674
Location: SF bay area

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 6:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's getting to be a tall order: A fast, reliable, under 22K, and a manual trans car, that carries stuff. It's hard to find "fast" under 22K.
Most of Japan's cars are discontinuing the manuals.

Subaru Outback XT (up to 2009) was good, They discontinued the manual
on the turbo model in 2010. You could get one used probably for 20K.

There's a wagon version of the Mini Cooper, the Clubman. I've seen a guy put one small board and 3 sails in a standard Mini and still could see out. The Clubman is almost 1ft longer.
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upwind



Joined: 06 Oct 2015
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whats wrong with the CVT on the new outback. You get better milage than the manual and you can opt to paddleshift. I guess it's not the same. Power of the 4 cyl without turbo is way better in comparison to my H6 Outback from 2003. I'm sure the xt is fun to drive but the price of the car and premium fuel will crush the 22k barrier I would think.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 12:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vans "boring"? My wife's Odyssey feels very secure going well over 100 on twisty two-lane blacktops. It's like WSing; its up to us to dial in some entertainment.

But back to the OPs question: we can't answer it without knowing your criteria. If it's merely "carrying WSing gear, you can do that for a couple of grand. If you also want "fun to drive", I've seen no car this century win that title more often than Subaru's WRX. An expert driver can pack 3 boards and five complete rigs in one and still outrun almost any car costing under 6 figures from any Point A to any Point B, according to the magazines. It will sure as hell go fast enough on ANY dirt or paved road to send yer butt straight to jail for felony reckless endangerment and get your insurance canceled, and you'd STILL have a hard time wiping the smile off your face. Tip: the pre-2008's, I think it is, have a slightly flatter and longer space for boards inside.

Mike \m/
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bga6418



Joined: 21 Jun 2010
Posts: 17

PostPosted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:
Vans "boring"? My wife's Odyssey feels very secure going well over 100 on twisty two-lane blacktops. It's like WSing; its up to us to dial in some entertainment.

But back to the OPs question: we can't answer it without knowing your criteria. If it's merely "carrying WSing gear, you can do that for a couple of grand. If you also want "fun to drive", I've seen no car this century win that title more often than Subaru's WRX. An expert driver can pack 3 boards and five complete rigs in one and still outrun almost any car costing under 6 figures from any Point A to any Point B, according to the magazines. It will sure as hell go fast enough on ANY dirt or paved road to send yer butt straight to jail for felony reckless endangerment and get your insurance canceled, and you'd STILL have a hard time wiping the smile off your face. Tip: the pre-2008's, I think it is, have a slightly flatter and longer space for boards inside.

Mike \m/


Oh, I wouldn't dare going over 100 in a van (I do sometimes go that high in my current car, but really not often). I am not a speed maniac, so I am not talking about mazdaspeed, wrx, lancer evo "fast". In an urban life, fast is mostly acceleration from traffic light. Almost any car now can go fast on the highway. I do however hate slow vehicles traveling in left lane.

WRX would be a little over the budget, so let's say impreza outback sport wagon?

So far, I have 3 candidates:

Mazda 3 hatchback
VW Jetta wagon
Subaru Impreza outback sports wagon

Anyone has impreza? Is there a manufacturer rack option available?
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coboardhead



Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 4303

PostPosted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm looking out my office window at an impreza (brand new) that at neighbor just bought. Looks like a factory rack that clips into the roof rails.

Careful with factory racks and ws gear and high speeds. My bro in law knocked his racks off his suburu hitting the garage with bikes (barely hurt the bikes because the rack was weak and ripped off the roof) This was sometime back - maybe stronger now?

I drove all cars listed when looking for a replacement for my BMW wagon. I thought the Mazda was the best driving experience for the money; but alas, not up to the old bimmer.

Good luck.
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perevod13



Joined: 06 Oct 2015
Posts: 19

PostPosted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:58 am    Post subject: ROADMASTER STATION WAGON IS THE BEST WS VEHICLE! Reply with quote

Buick Roadmaster Wagon (or Chevy Caprise wagon) is THE BEST WS vehicle. You can buy them for $3-5K in a very decent shape. These cars last forver, have good gas mileage (20-25 mpg) and are very cheap to maintain or fix. They are long enough to fit even formula sails in (although it will stick between the front seats) and wide enough to carry all your gear. Unlike SUVs, they are low enough to easily put your boards on the roof-rack that comes with 94-96 models. They are super comfortable to ride, have an LT1 corvette engine and most come with a towing package so you can add a trailor. Fold the rear seat down and you can a flat area the size of a full bed so you can even camp in comfortably!!!!
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feuser



Joined: 29 Oct 2002
Posts: 1508

PostPosted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

FWIW: I recently used my brother-in-laws Mazda3 sedan during my visit to the Bay Area. My gear fit inside no problem through the trunk with the back and front passenger seats folded (240cm x 57cm wave board, 2-piece mast, 2 sails, boom, gear bag). The car feels great around town and is very quick. I wasn't crazy about the amount of torque steer (lots of HP per pound for a front-wheel drive car) but I guess you can get used to it.

I use an Outback Wagon at home, and it's very practical for transporting gear. The fixed roof rack is useless for transporting boards side-by-side, but you can stack 2 boards with confidence or put them inside the car if you travel without a front seat passenger. It's a much bigger car, though, and quite thirsty around town. I imagine that the turbo gets pretty awful mileage when you're not careful with your right foot. The automatic is a better off-roader, BTW, since you use the breaks along with throttle to keep the wheels from spinning. With the manual, you'll need to spring for a new clutch by the time you've figured this out and AWDs are hard on clutches anyway.

I have also used a rental Jeep Patriot on a trip recently. The CVT in this vehicle doesn't seem to be stepped (i.e. emulating actual gears) so it feels absolutely gross to a stick shift driver. It does get in the high 20s on the highway, thanks to the CVT spooling down engine speed to an easy 2k rpm at 70. The ease of folding the seats, the easy to clean, cheap interior and optional 4wd mode seem all very windsurf-friendly. And you can buy more gear with the money you save.

_________________
florian - ny22

http://www.windsurfing.kasail.com/


Last edited by feuser on Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:09 am; edited 3 times in total
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carl



Joined: 25 Feb 1997
Posts: 2674
Location: SF bay area

PostPosted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Since we're taking really "fast" out, there's several others to concider:

Toyota Matrix and Dodge Caliber, on both you can still get a manual and they have a fold flat passenger seat.

The Honda Element may be worth considering since the back seats all come out and the front reclines flat, for almost "van like" room. Iv'e seen 3 boards inside those. You can get a manual too, but it won't handle like a sports car. The new larger Scion xB looks interesting but haven't checked it out.
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