Luggage Space!

[Guest erbear]

Hi! I have a question. I am part of a family of 7 adults who are taking a trip to Ireland, and we are renting a car. We are all each bringing only a SMALL CARRYON suitcase. We have seen pictures of the Ford Galaxy, and it looks to us like it has 7 bucket seats (no bench seat), so seating might hypothetically be comfortable for 7 adults. We also read that it has an additional 18 cubic inches of luggage space -- we think it might be possible to fit 7 small carryon's in that space.

 

Basically, I was wondering if anybody here who knows the car better might be willing to help us out in giving us an idea of how possible it would be to take a trip with 7 adults + this luggage in this car? Do the seats have to be pushed up so far that very tall adults wouldn't have comfortable leg room in order to get the full 18 cubic inches of space? How possible would it really be to fit 7 people and luggage in this car? We have seen some rental places that seem to have the Opel Zafira that seats 7, but we really don't know how that compares in size to the Ford Galaxy. We are trying to locate the BIGGEST 7 person car out there, in terms of seating comfort + luggage room, essentially.

 

Thank you in advance for any assistance anyone can offer!!!

[NikpV]

Galaxy is bigger than zafira - and the two back seats in the zafira are not very good, how about a roof rack to help with the space. You can certainly stack up cases behind the rear seats of the Gal, useful to have the load net in these circumstances. We've had a 3 wheeler bugger and 5 holdalls behind the rear seats without problems - Hope this helps

[Ivor_E_Tower]

18 cubic inches of space is tiny! That must be a mistake. All 7 seats are full size and you will get 7 adults in the car with no problem.....however, you will have to compromise onlegroom in the rearmlost seats to get 7 pieces of handluggage in; all 5 "rear" seats have a few inches of fore/aft sliding adjustment for altering legroom. Now if you don't mind stacking the luggage, and it is soft-sided (rather than rigid plastic, polycarbonate-type) you may get them all in. Alternatiely someone may have to place theirs on their lap !

 

...and as to the Zafira - with all 7 seats in place, you can just about squeeze a nailfile in behind the rearmost seats (which are not designed for adults anyway).

[Guest erbear]

Thanks a lot!! You have been very helpful!! It sounds to me like the zafira would be a very bad idea, and if we rented a Ford Galaxy, it MIGHT be possible to put 7 of us in with all our luggage stacked in the back (if we truly each had a small bag.) And, my apologies -- I accidentally typed 18 cubic inches, but I meant to type 18 CUBIC FEET. I believe I have read there is 18 cubic FEET of luggage space total.

 

I have one more question. My apologies if it's a silly question, I just don't know that much about the car. Is it possible to plan on hooking suitcases to the roof without bringing any other equipment? In other words, if we were to bring nothing but some cord and some plastic to cover the luggage in the rain, would that be all we needed? Does the car come with a rack?

 

Thanks again for all your help!

[justme]

I don't think the hire company are going to be too impressed with the dents on the roof if you simply tie down your luggage to the roof. Contact them to see if you could hire rails and a roof box with the car. Hope you enjoy your stay here in Ireland and if you require any information on the places to see I'd be happy to help.

[Guest erbear]

Of course, yes, just putting it on the roof would not be a good idea! I wasn't sure if the cars all came equipped with a standard rack of some sort. It sounds like they probably don't -- I will contact the rental company to see if it is possible to get something from them.

 

Thanks again!!

[Dally]

If you're hiring then your best bet would be either a Toyota Previa or a Chrysler Grand Voyager. These are probably the MPV's that have best person accomodation and luggage capacity. From my experience of both, these will do the job.

 

The Galaxy will be a squeze but may be OK if you take bare minimum or use a roofbox/ roof rack or trailer.

[galaxychap]

how about the new fiat, citreon or peugeot mpv,s all from same stable and very roomy i hired the fiat ulysse for a holiday to france last yr before i got my galaxy there was enough room for me,wife,two kids,mother in law,dog plus luggage and a disabled scooter

[Jeff115]

IMO the Galaxy will be a tight squeeze with 7 adults let alone luggage.

 

Chrysler Grand Voyager should be roomier :D

 

If you do opt for a top box - watch out for height restrictions on most beaches, amenities.

 

We nearly lost ours at Croagh Patrick two years ago - wifey was driving and we pulled into the public car park (at speed :D . I saw the metal cross beam just in the nick of time and shouted STOP! She duly slammed on within inches of the beam - any delay and we would have lost the top box <_<

 

Typically local councils put them at public car parks to avoid illegal campers. Usually 7 foot clearance.

 

Regards and hope that you enjoy your trip,

J.

[Guest erbear]

Thanks everybody for your feedback... I think my group is still on the fence about what to do. It sounds like some people think this would be possible if we are truly packing light, and others think it will really be a squeeze! We are all adults, some of us very tall! and we certainly don't want to spoil the trip by just being in an uncomfortable situation.

 

The reason I asked about the Ford Galaxy and the Opel Zafira is because I have seen both of these models available at the various rental car places I have been to. I would love to take the suggestion of the "roomier" Grand Voyager, but unfortunately I don't think I've been to an Ireland rental company that I can recall having that car! (Our driver can only drive an automatic, so that obviously makes it even more difficult in terms of limiting our options.) Does anyone happen to have any suggestions for car rental companies that might have a 7 person people mover other than the Galaxy and the Opel Zafira?

 

Again, thanks for all your help! Whatever we end up choosing to do, you have really helped us make our decision.

[Jeff115]

http://www.carrentalsireland.com/

 

http://www.budget.ie/the_fleet.htm

 

http://www.dan-dooley.ie/vehicles.html

 

- or Search

Ireland +car +rental +voyager

 

Have a look at these - seem to have automatics plus larger vehicles than the Shalaxy.

 

Regards,

J.

[Ivor_E_Tower]

..or try a Toyota Previa. You could always try visiting your local Ford dealer first, having found out if they have a Galaxy in stock (new or used) and try arranging the empty cases in it.

[Guest erbear]

I have a question for the person above who said they were able to comfortably fit 5 holdalls and a 3 wheeled bugger in the back of a galaxy -- was that with 7 adults (with long legs) filling up all the seats? And pardon my lack of knowledge, but what exactly is a 3 wheeled bugger? About how big is it?

 

Perhaps those of you who are familiar with Ireland driving could help me with my next question. To rent an automatic full sized 9 passenger van will be considerably more expensive than renting an automatic minivan, and that is what we are considering doing now. (I just can't seem to find an automatic minivan available for pickup/dropoff in our locations that is any bigger than the Galaxy.) My family is debating the cost/benefits of each situation, and a lot of people are saying they'd just prefer to squeeze into the Ford Galaxy minivan instead of making our driver (who is not used to driving on the left side!) maneuver a huge car through unfamiliar roadways that might possibly be very small.

 

Many of family members are "scared" we will encounter roads that we can't maneuver as a result of having a larger vehicle and feel better going with the minivan. They tell me that it would really help their decision if they had a better picture of what the driving is going to be like. Is a minivan already so much larger than a small compact car that we just won't encounter that many "problems" with a full size 9 person van that we wouldn't encounter anyway with the mininvan? (Our itinerary is such that we are not planning on having to find parking right in the middle of any major cities, like Dublin. We are dropping the car off at Dublin airport before we begin our stay in Dublin.)

 

If anybody could help give our family a better idea of the positives/negatives involved in a minivan versus full sized van in terms of the the *driving* situation, that might really help us too.

 

THANKS!!!

[NikpV]

I have a question for the person above who said they were able to comfortably fit 5 holdalls and a 3 wheeled bugger in the back of a galaxy -- was that with 7 adults (with long legs) filling up all the seats? And pardon my lack of knowledge, but what exactly is a 3 wheeled bugger? About how big is it?

 

Sorry should have read Buggy!!!. We sometimes take the family - my father & mother, mother in law,wife & 2 kids (soon to be 3 :angry: ) out on day trips. The Folding buggy fits with the single wheel between seats 6&7 (seats full back) and stacked up on either side -soft holdalls (mainly the property of the parents + changing bags etc). 5 Longish legged adults - one other seat right back (to get child seat - young child) can't remember about the other.

 

Ps for those that sneer at the cargo net - its definitely useful in this situation where you can close and open the tailgate without too many problems

[NikpV]

WRT to size - the galaxy wider than a normal saloon but not very much, parking is not really a problem, it is not as long as our escort estate car (didn't believe SWMBO so I had to measure it - bugger SWMBO 1 me 0), we often take ours to devon and cornwall a I was very surprised how it managed the lanes there.

[Guest vr6galaxy]

Take a look at the VW T4/5 TRANSPORTER, I take it your from the states so look up VW EURO VAN

it can seat 7/8 in comfort and carry your luggage, also available in auto, and you can hire them in Ireland? I drive one for work, they are great vans, so the people carrier version should be no different :angry: slightly bigger than the Galaxy in LWB form has sliding rear passenger door on the kerb side so less chance of you stepping out into oncomeing traffic! :angry:

 

http://www.dan-dooley.ie/car_images/k.jpg