Best car to carry a kayak?

[vectorg]

hi,

Can you recommend a car/truck/suv/crossover/etc.

And, I need to get some good mileage while I'm driving to all the kayak spots in California.

My first thought was a Subaru, but I understand they are very bad for gas mileage.

Thanks.

[kit352]

i use a sab 9-5 3.0l turbo to haul mine. i get about 25mpg with 2 up their.

[GasSavers_Erik]

Kyaks are very aerodynamic- so any car with a strong roof rack will do the job fine. I tied one onto the roof of my 87 Acura Integra and took a 50 mile trip and didn't notice any difference in power or the way the car drove- even at highway speeds.

[SL8Brick]

Here's an 'on-topic' question I was thinking about recently...Which would be more aerodynamic with a long, "clean-shaped" item(re:kayak, canoe, or ski box) mounted on the roof??

- a typical 'two box'(sedan)
or
- a typical 'three box'(wagon)

My best guess is...The roof-mounted item is a detriment on either shape, but something tells me that a 'three box' might have an edge. I'm wondering if the rear overhang of the item on a sedan could possibly "encourage" low pressure beneath it that isn't normally present...thereby negating the 'two box' advantage?

Remember...I'm no scientist, I sell auto parts for a living

[theholycow]

My gut feeling is the wagon, because more of the combination would be an integrated unit than a sedan.

[FrugalFloyd]

My recommendation is to get the most fuel efficient sedan you find. Coupe roofs have much narrower-spaced anchoring points for a roof rack. You certainly don't need a gas-guzzling SUV or crossover to haul a 30-60 lb. kayak.

[GasSavers_Erik]

If you do go with a coupe, although it is not stylish, you can always use a long rope to tie the front of the kayak down to the frame tie downs that most cars have in front of the front wheels- just run the rope over the hood and front bumper down to the tie downs.

I hauled a full sized canoe several hundred miles at interstate speeds on my hatchback this way.

[GeneK]

VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI

[Project84]

Buying a kayak this spring myself, and I plan to just put it in the back of my fullsize pickup.

They sell many "systems" for mounting a kayak to the roof of any car, whether or not you have a roof rack. My friend and I took his kayaks about 80 miles last year on the roof of his new Camry with some big foam blocks under it at contact points and ratchet straps on the nose/tail. Worked great.