Whats the perfect Alps trip car?
Discussion
We are booked again for Les Gets / Morzine, although currently looking like it wont happen again.
Figured it might be fun for those that do the drive to post up what you think is the ideal vehicle for the journey and potentially driving up the mountains in the snow. We have to get our family of 4 over, so there can't be any folding down seats and ideally you dont want to use a roof box. We have 2 x snowboard and 2 x skis to transport.
I am guessing the answer is probably a Range Rover. I don't have one, but have done the journey in a friends RR and it was very comfortable and capable.
I have done it in the following.
Land Rover Defender 110 Utility
Ford Ranger
Mitsubishi L200
VW Passat R36
The Defender was slow and not very comfortable as you can imagine, but it was great fun having it out there.
The Ranger was probably the best all round vehicle. Great for carrying the gear and quite comfy.
L200 was not great, very noisy on the road
Passat was very comfy and quick, but lacked enough room for ski/snowboard.
Figured it might be fun for those that do the drive to post up what you think is the ideal vehicle for the journey and potentially driving up the mountains in the snow. We have to get our family of 4 over, so there can't be any folding down seats and ideally you dont want to use a roof box. We have 2 x snowboard and 2 x skis to transport.
I am guessing the answer is probably a Range Rover. I don't have one, but have done the journey in a friends RR and it was very comfortable and capable.
I have done it in the following.
Land Rover Defender 110 Utility
Ford Ranger
Mitsubishi L200
VW Passat R36
The Defender was slow and not very comfortable as you can imagine, but it was great fun having it out there.
The Ranger was probably the best all round vehicle. Great for carrying the gear and quite comfy.
L200 was not great, very noisy on the road
Passat was very comfy and quick, but lacked enough room for ski/snowboard.
(Hire skis, or take two cars...)I’ve done this trip a few times. We have a Cayenne S Diesel which has a V8 Diesel engine in it…0-60 is something like 5.5 secs and decent mid 30’s mpg on a run.
Not going to claim it is a comfortable as a Range Rover on the Autoroute’s (it’s very comfortable with its air suspension but maybe not Range Rover comfortable) but once the roads get interesting I would much rather be steering a Cayenne then a Range Rover. It’s a fantastic all round car….the V8 Diesel is a brilliant engine….such a shame they don’t make it any more.
From the same stable a Panamera Sport Turismo would be absolutely brilliant….more passenger space but not as much boot space as a Cayenne. But very comfortable and great on the roads in the Alps.
Not going to claim it is a comfortable as a Range Rover on the Autoroute’s (it’s very comfortable with its air suspension but maybe not Range Rover comfortable) but once the roads get interesting I would much rather be steering a Cayenne then a Range Rover. It’s a fantastic all round car….the V8 Diesel is a brilliant engine….such a shame they don’t make it any more.
From the same stable a Panamera Sport Turismo would be absolutely brilliant….more passenger space but not as much boot space as a Cayenne. But very comfortable and great on the roads in the Alps.
Cheib said:
I’ve done this trip a few times. We have a Cayenne S Diesel which has a V8 Diesel engine in it…0-60 is something like 5.5 secs and decent mid 30’s mpg on a run.
Not going to claim it is a comfortable as a Range Rover on the Autoroute’s (it’s very comfortable with its air suspension but maybe not Range Rover comfortable) but once the roads get interesting I would much rather be steering a Cayenne then a Range Rover. It’s a fantastic all round car….the V8 Diesel is a brilliant engine….such a shame they don’t make it any more.
From the same stable a Panamera Sport Turismo would be absolutely brilliant….more passenger space but not as much boot space as a Cayenne. But very comfortable and great on the roads in the Alps.
I sat outside a bar in Chamonix a few years ago when a Panamera GTS started up and the engine noise rumbled around the mountains. I have wanted to take my Cayenne GTS ever since but the Atlantic ocean gets in my way so have to fly.Not going to claim it is a comfortable as a Range Rover on the Autoroute’s (it’s very comfortable with its air suspension but maybe not Range Rover comfortable) but once the roads get interesting I would much rather be steering a Cayenne then a Range Rover. It’s a fantastic all round car….the V8 Diesel is a brilliant engine….such a shame they don’t make it any more.
From the same stable a Panamera Sport Turismo would be absolutely brilliant….more passenger space but not as much boot space as a Cayenne. But very comfortable and great on the roads in the Alps.
Have just done this in a Navara, having done it previously in a Disco 3 and XC90. Navara hands down the best in resort - 5 people, 6 pairs of Skis, 3 snowboards plus boots and poles, and 4 sledges swallowed and carted around no problem, and dealt with the snow well with winter tyres on. Not the best on the motorway but cruised at 75 easily enough - just plan to take a little longer getting there!
h0b0 said:
Cheib said:
I’ve done this trip a few times. We have a Cayenne S Diesel which has a V8 Diesel engine in it…0-60 is something like 5.5 secs and decent mid 30’s mpg on a run.
Not going to claim it is a comfortable as a Range Rover on the Autoroute’s (it’s very comfortable with its air suspension but maybe not Range Rover comfortable) but once the roads get interesting I would much rather be steering a Cayenne then a Range Rover. It’s a fantastic all round car….the V8 Diesel is a brilliant engine….such a shame they don’t make it any more.
From the same stable a Panamera Sport Turismo would be absolutely brilliant….more passenger space but not as much boot space as a Cayenne. But very comfortable and great on the roads in the Alps.
I sat outside a bar in Chamonix a few years ago when a Panamera GTS started up and the engine noise rumbled around the mountains. I have wanted to take my Cayenne GTS ever since but the Atlantic ocean gets in my way so have to fly.Not going to claim it is a comfortable as a Range Rover on the Autoroute’s (it’s very comfortable with its air suspension but maybe not Range Rover comfortable) but once the roads get interesting I would much rather be steering a Cayenne then a Range Rover. It’s a fantastic all round car….the V8 Diesel is a brilliant engine….such a shame they don’t make it any more.
From the same stable a Panamera Sport Turismo would be absolutely brilliant….more passenger space but not as much boot space as a Cayenne. But very comfortable and great on the roads in the Alps.
Cheib said:
h0b0 said:
Cheib said:
I’ve done this trip a few times. We have a Cayenne S Diesel which has a V8 Diesel engine in it…0-60 is something like 5.5 secs and decent mid 30’s mpg on a run.
Not going to claim it is a comfortable as a Range Rover on the Autoroute’s (it’s very comfortable with its air suspension but maybe not Range Rover comfortable) but once the roads get interesting I would much rather be steering a Cayenne then a Range Rover. It’s a fantastic all round car….the V8 Diesel is a brilliant engine….such a shame they don’t make it any more.
From the same stable a Panamera Sport Turismo would be absolutely brilliant….more passenger space but not as much boot space as a Cayenne. But very comfortable and great on the roads in the Alps.
I sat outside a bar in Chamonix a few years ago when a Panamera GTS started up and the engine noise rumbled around the mountains. I have wanted to take my Cayenne GTS ever since but the Atlantic ocean gets in my way so have to fly.Not going to claim it is a comfortable as a Range Rover on the Autoroute’s (it’s very comfortable with its air suspension but maybe not Range Rover comfortable) but once the roads get interesting I would much rather be steering a Cayenne then a Range Rover. It’s a fantastic all round car….the V8 Diesel is a brilliant engine….such a shame they don’t make it any more.
From the same stable a Panamera Sport Turismo would be absolutely brilliant….more passenger space but not as much boot space as a Cayenne. But very comfortable and great on the roads in the Alps.
in absolute fantasy land, I’d love to do road trip to the alps in a ferrari FF or gtc4 lusso (ideally the V12), not sure on the room for luggage or people, but imagine me and the wife could manage
back in reality, I have a bmw 5 series estate (f11) with a set of winter tyres, that i love loading up and heading off. sadly not headed for the alps, but maybe next winter when my kid is a bit older. one good thing about the F11 is that you can fold down the whole of the ‘middle seat’ in the back. so you have a big through load space for skis and boards and still have the 2 proper seats behind the driver/ passenger
back in reality, I have a bmw 5 series estate (f11) with a set of winter tyres, that i love loading up and heading off. sadly not headed for the alps, but maybe next winter when my kid is a bit older. one good thing about the F11 is that you can fold down the whole of the ‘middle seat’ in the back. so you have a big through load space for skis and boards and still have the 2 proper seats behind the driver/ passenger
malks222 said:
in absolute fantasy land, I’d love to do road trip to the alps in a ferrari FF or gtc4 lusso (ideally the V12), not sure on the room for luggage or people, but imagine me and the wife could manage
back in reality, I have a bmw 5 series estate (f11) with a set of winter tyres, that i love loading up and heading off. sadly not headed for the alps, but maybe next winter when my kid is a bit older. one good thing about the F11 is that you can fold down the whole of the ‘middle seat’ in the back. so you have a big through load space for skis and boards and still have the 2 proper seats behind the driver/ passenger
I think the 'problem' with this question is that in an ideal world you'd want two different cars: Something big & comfortable for the journey to the Alps and something small, light and nimble when you're here.back in reality, I have a bmw 5 series estate (f11) with a set of winter tyres, that i love loading up and heading off. sadly not headed for the alps, but maybe next winter when my kid is a bit older. one good thing about the F11 is that you can fold down the whole of the ‘middle seat’ in the back. so you have a big through load space for skis and boards and still have the 2 proper seats behind the driver/ passenger
Whilst there are certainly quite a few GTC4 Lusso's here in St. Moritz at the moment these days the tourists are increasingly driving big, luxury SUVs from RR to Cullinans, with a large number of Urus's in between. A few years ago the answer would have been simple; just get an RS6.
Personally I'm a big fan of a big, powerful estate and something like my Alpina B5 would certain fit the bill. However it spends most of its life in an underground garage and I run around in a Mini R53 (with a Seasucker ski rack on the roof) which is at least as capable and much more fun in snow. Even though it's FWD it's never been stuck plus the lack of width is a massive plus. Obviously a Panda 4x4, GR Yaris or Audi S1 would fit the bill if you really want AWD.
bolidemichael said:
malks222 said:
in absolute fantasy land, I’d love to do road trip to the alps in a ferrari FF or gtc4 lusso (ideally the V12), not sure on the room for luggage or people, but imagine me and the wife could manage
How big are two of the passengers? We did this when the kids were younger in a 159 2.4 Estate. The skis and snowboards went down the side of the car with the narrow fold down seat, leaving two full size seats in the back.
On the motorway it was predictably fine - went the whole way at a scratch under 100, needing one fuel stop near the end. On winters, it was unbelievably good. The track to the house was sheet ice, I look at it and thought it will never make it up the slope - but it did, with zero problems.
After the first trip down there, we left the skis etc at our mate's place, so subsequent trips were no issue. I suspect that even in a FFRR you'd still need one of the back seats for skis.
On the motorway it was predictably fine - went the whole way at a scratch under 100, needing one fuel stop near the end. On winters, it was unbelievably good. The track to the house was sheet ice, I look at it and thought it will never make it up the slope - but it did, with zero problems.
After the first trip down there, we left the skis etc at our mate's place, so subsequent trips were no issue. I suspect that even in a FFRR you'd still need one of the back seats for skis.
Assuming that the French let us back in this year, we are planning Mont Blanc in my Cayenne S. Winter tyres on it and a roofbox (we don't travel light) with additional ski holders on the roof rack. We will be in convoy with a Freelander and a Touareg - also both with roofboxes and ski racks (both the others diesels, so I am expecting to be the one that keeps stopping for fuel) - 4 up in each car although 2 of them in the Freelander are children. Will report back on findings as to who was the most comfortable. Be interesting to see how the Touareg and Cayenne fair against each other.
The other two in the party of 14 are sensible and are flying over (well, hoping to).
The other two in the party of 14 are sensible and are flying over (well, hoping to).
rxe said:
How big are two of the passengers? We did this when the kids were younger in a 159 2.4 Estate. The skis and snowboards went down the side of the car with the narrow fold down seat, leaving two full size seats in the back.
On the motorway it was predictably fine - went the whole way at a scratch under 100, needing one fuel stop near the end. On winters, it was unbelievably good. The track to the house was sheet ice, I look at it and thought it will never make it up the slope - but it did, with zero problems.
After the first trip down there, we left the skis etc at our mate's place, so subsequent trips were no issue. I suspect that even in a FFRR you'd still need one of the back seats for skis.
Ski rack!On the motorway it was predictably fine - went the whole way at a scratch under 100, needing one fuel stop near the end. On winters, it was unbelievably good. The track to the house was sheet ice, I look at it and thought it will never make it up the slope - but it did, with zero problems.
After the first trip down there, we left the skis etc at our mate's place, so subsequent trips were no issue. I suspect that even in a FFRR you'd still need one of the back seats for skis.
Also means you don't have wet, slushy dirty skis messing up the interior of the car and ripping the trim at the end of each day. :-)
A Cayenne on winter tyres is exactly what I’ll be taking to La Rosiere in February if restrictions are lifted. 30+ mpg and a 90 litre tank give a useful 500+ mile range, and it’s a great motorway cruiser. A Panamera Sport Turismo would be even better.
The man maths works too: the cost of a set of winter alloys and tyres off eBay; fuel; tolls; tunnel; and an extra night en route are *still* cheaper than 4 return flights from London to Geneva in half term!
The man maths works too: the cost of a set of winter alloys and tyres off eBay; fuel; tolls; tunnel; and an extra night en route are *still* cheaper than 4 return flights from London to Geneva in half term!
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