Companion animals are often more than just your best friend who speaks a language you can’t understand. Your favorite animal is a member of your family, and you might even treat them with greater care than you would some people. This might even extend to your car. You need to bring your baby somewhere; what car are you putting them in?
This question is relevant to me right now because next week, I will be assisting many other auto writers in rescuing what will probably be more than two dozen abandoned beagles. We’ll be using large crossovers and SUVs for the job. Don’t worry, you’ll read about this in full later this week!
The easy answer to this question could be a pickup truck. Look, I have cornfields less than a mile from my apartment and fully rural America not far from there. I’ve seen old trucks running down the road with dogs in their beds, either in crates or loose. Alternatively, you can put your furry friend into the back of a giant SUV, work van, or minivan. But to me, I like finding the smallest vehicle that can still safely transport my adorable friends.
My wife, Sheryl, and I used to have an adorable little rescue chihuahua named Malort. We got him when he was near the end of his life – he had gray fur! – but we made sure those final days were a total blast. Malort got to ride in everything from a Chevy HHR and a Dodge Grand Caravan to my Nova Bus RTS-06 transit bus and my Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI.
I think his favorite vehicle was the bus. He deeply enjoyed the bus because he was able to walk the entire length of the unit, sniff everything, and then pee into the rear door. It made me laugh that he basically took himself for walks while I drove.
Second to the bus was probably the Touareg V10 TDI. When Malort wasn’t running around, he loved eating, relaxing, and sleeping. Malort definitely loved the cushy seats and soft ride of the Treg. He spent most of the drive home in his doggie bed, watching the world go by.
After Malort’s passing, Sheryl and I had one pet remaining, a green-cheeked conure named Kathryn Janeway. She was later joined by a second conure named Tuvok. Janeway’s first-ever car ride was in Sheryl’s 2010 Toyota Prius; Janeway’s travel cage was a somewhat tight fit in the backseat, but the car worked just fine to carry her. She didn’t seem to care too much about the hybrid ‘Yota.
Later, Janeway and Tuvok got to ride in Wanda, the 2001 BMW E39 wagon that we got from our daydreaming designer, The Bishop. I was surprised to find that the birds loved this car. Janeway loved playing in the leather, and on a sufficiently long trip, she’d sleep rather quietly, which was something she never did in the loud-ish Prius.
Our next pet car was a 2012 Scion iQ, and it was a struggle. Getting the birds into the iQ requires turning their cage 90 degrees, shoving them through the tailgate, and then turning the cage upright again. It was rough and messy, but it worked. The birds hated the iQ the most. Often, they bumped their heads into each other as the car hit potholes. This caused little birdy shouting matches.
The Autopian’s Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet, however, turned out to be a surprisingly good bird carrier. I cannot load the birds inside when the roof is up, but the solution to that is easy. All I have to do is open the roof slightly, slide the birds in, then close the roof. Genius!
I think my answer to this question would be a transit bus, a motorhome, or a wagon. What about you? What’s your perfect pet car?
Top graphic image: Mercedes Streeter
I managed to take Emma, my very plump but mellow probable border collie and/or Australian shepherd and golden and/or Labrador retriever (something herdy and something retrievery, though she was never much interested in either activity) in the back seat of my 1G Mazda 3 hatch, always in a supposedly crash-tested harness attached to the seat belt. Crash safety is very important, especially since pets are smaller and therefore likely to fly around the cabin. She didn’t seem to like the sunroof or windows open, so I tried her in the hatch once, but neither of us liked it when she was too far away for a stoplight scratch.
Probably the Volvo wagon with the built in dog crate option.
i dunno best, but i nominate NA miata as the worst.
i took james the farm collie to vet a few times (mx5 was only car i had at the time) -he was too big to sit facing forward, so either his face or butt in my face (and his head hanging out the window)…greatly preferred his face…
The best car for hauling pets around is someone else’s car.
What have you got?
I knew a girl that shoehorned her St Bernard into the front seat of a late 90s Saturn SC2. Butt on the seat, front paws on the floor, drooling on the dash.
So far, my rough collie has ridden in a 2001 Hyundai Elantra, 2004 GMC Sierra 1500 regular cab, 2019 BMW 530i, 2002 Dodge Ram 2500, and a 2018 Ram 2500. He seems most relaxed riding and looking out the window in the BMW. He still enjoyed the trucks (I think) but we have to pick him up to get him in and out,so I think a sedan(or wagon) is the ideal way to move a dog of his size around
I dunno about objectively perfect, but subjectively for me was a girlfriend who had a Miata and would drive with her dog, clipped in to his driving harness, riding shotgun and ready for action. I loved watching them come or go, and completely understood Lucas’ inspiration for Han and Chewbacca. “Punch it!”
When I had my Nissan 300zx Z32, I also had an 80 pound German Shepherd named Molly. By the time I got the car, she was getting up there in age and to accommodate her, I simply unbolted the passenger seat, stuck it in storage, and laid down a couple of layers of memory foam in its place. The car was so low that Molly didn’t have to jump at all to get in and out of the car; she just stepped in and laid down. Much better for both our backs since she came to work with me every day.
That’s Subaru’s jam.