[badboyscad]

dude, taxi operators are totally different from individual customers, they could get the whole amount they pay for a single service from 1 or 2 trips and the amount from the rest of the trips are simply profit..this is not the same with individual customers who use the ride for daily commuting..

regarding reliability, i would agree with you..but that doesnt mean that the safari and scorpio are unreliable..in my case, my ride has clocked 90K kms and still it stings..

[theMAG]

No vehicle apart from an MUV/SUV will fit your dog comfortably. Ask me , I have a 50 kg bushy German Shepherd and he's positively miserable whenever I need to take him in my Swift.

Buy a Safari and dont look back (pun). While there are other MUVs, the ride quality is more important for your dog than for the human.

[prabhuav]

Angelo,

If you are looking for the refinement of the skoda its estate version, the combi is a perfect fit.. My aunt has a lab an he is extemenly comfortable in the back. You can try either the Innova of the Safari but neither come close to the Skoda in terms of refinement and comfort.

Cheers
Vijay

[rocksterraghu]

I would recommend a Safari. Great ride quality and head room.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by Angelo

and the best thing i liked about the octavia is that its rear seats are completely foldable and my St.Bernard and happily hop in with a lot of room for him to enjoy a drive...

though. You need more space for a St.Bernard. Innova may be a good choice. And how he/she's keeping with our climate?

[esteem_lover]

If you are a real dog lover, get a SUV like the scorpio or the Bolero, specially since you have a large guy/girl/. I had a golden retreiver & she enjoyed herself in a bolero. BTW, does the skoda really return 20kmpl ? i am not so sure, please check.

[Nitin]

I'd recommend an SUV..either the Bolero or the Safari.
No matter which vehicle.. you'll need tough leather or even the rugged type of imitation leather. So much easier to clean up after the doggie sits in the car for a few minutes. Especially if the dog sheds a lot.
I have a tough time cleaning up my car after my Jack Russell Terrier-beagle mix dog gets into the car.. cloth seats are tough to deal with !

[speedy]

angelo welcome to the forum.
i would suggest you look into the skoda combi, since you are allready fond of the skoda. innova and the safari would be the next cars to look into. my friend owns a st bernard and has kept a gypsy king just for him. so space as i understand is of utmost importance for him/her. it definately reduces the travel stress if they have place to move around with comfort.

[lamborghini]

Since you love the Skoda, i would reccommend an Octavia Combi Diesel.
We just bought one for our german shepard.

[Angelo]

Thanks guys for all the tips and info...well i will check out the Safari and Innova...
The Optra dealer actually agreed to let my St.Bernand take a test drive in the OPtra Magnum

thanks again....

[madan80]

i would strongly urge against any station wagon simply because the rear glass does not open. from my experience, dogs love sticking their heads out, so you should consider a mpv / muv. As others have suggested, an innova or scorpio. You could also look at the travera (going to be lynched for this) but its roomy and the glass opens. The magnum is nice and highly recommended on this forum.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

We just bought one for our german shepard.

... Sometimes i wish i was a dog too.

[midlifecrisis]

With a daily run of 45 - 50 kms you're treading the diesel zone. I agree with most of the posts earlier which suggest an SUV. How much of highway would you be doing? From the reports I've heard (can't back this up with data unless you want to meet my friends and ask them !) the Scorpio is not as comfortable as the Safari. The new 2.2 Dicor should be a good bet. But since its a new model and knowing TATA, you might want to wait till the bugs are sorted. I would suggest looking through the forum on ownership and test drive reports. OR you could buy it and post the ownership reports

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by madan80

i would strongly urge against any station wagon simply because the rear glass does not open. from my experience, dogs love sticking their heads out, so you should consider a mpv / muv. As others have suggested, an innova or scorpio. You could also look at the travera (going to be lynched for this) but its roomy and the glass opens. The magnum is nice and highly recommended on this forum.

Whoa. Sticking head out = Blind Dog.
Do not allow dog to do that unless you have protective eyegear for the dog.
Every tried to stick your head out of a moving car. Your eyes will start watering and soon you will find it difficult to open them.

[huntrz]

Originally Posted by madan80

i would strongly urge against any station wagon simply because the rear glass does not open. from my experience, dogs love sticking their heads out, so you should consider a mpv / muv. As others have suggested, an innova or scorpio. You could also look at the travera (going to be lynched for this) but its roomy and the glass opens. The magnum is nice and highly recommended on this forum.

Exactly.. The dog must be allowed to stick his head out.. Even if you go for safari it should not be caged inside the rear parallel seat area.. Even a Merc is a waste if the dog is not allowed to stick its head out.. I have owned a dog(lhasa, which actually is very small in size) for 10 years and taken it to many long drives on my dad's M800.. And no, sticking head out doesn't blind dogs..

It reminds me of a quote I read on a biker's community-

*Only a biker knows why a dog sticks his head out of a car window*