THE BEST CARS FOR DOGS
01 Nissan X-Trail 4Dogs
Nissan unveiled its most important concept car ever in 2017. No, not the 400Z, it’s an X-Trail with a built-in shower. The X-Trail 4Dogs was kitted out with wipe clean padding, pull-out shower with hairdryer and extra ventilation for the dog. Sadly the 4Dogs never went on sale in real life.
04 Aston Martin DB5 Shooting Brake
But don’t think the DBX is Aston Martin’s first ever dog friendly runabout. Oh no. Back in the Sixties, 12 DB5s were converted by Radwood Shooting Brakes. The result was stunning. Pricey these days – this car was guided at auction in 2019 for $1.4m. That’s a lot of Bonios.
07 BMW i8 Roadster
Or rather, a comfy dog bed as modified by British modelmaking and visual effects firm AsylumFX, to create a BMW April fool’s joke that really ought to be in the BMW accessories catalogue, instead of those tasteless M Performance carbon fibre side skirts. You know who you are.
02 Land Rover Defender
All the latest LRs are offered with a treasure trove of pet friendly ramps, beds, showers and a ‘spill resistant bowl’. You can spec all this on a Range Rover Sport, but it looks so much cooler applied to the boxy Defender. Why aren’t border collies on the car’s official options list?
05 An old Volvo estate
The classic can’t-go-wrong dog car is a car you don’t care about filling with wet hair, chewed twigs and that suspicious brown patch your mutt rolled in earlier. Alongside our tongue-in-cheek lifestyle choices, the best dog car is the rattiest, boxiest Volvo you can get your paws on.
08 Any sensible Skoda
Skoda is the world’s most sensible car company. As you’d expect, it has an enormous warehouse of bits and pieces to dogify your Octavia or Kodiaq. Like this comfy hammock, known as the backseat protector. We quite fancy using one of these next time we go camping.
03 Aston Martin DBX
If your dogs are so pedigree they only chase pheasants and widdle up against antique table legs, allow us to suggest Aston’s first ever SUV and its £2,800 Pet Pack. You get the same sort of load bay covers, portable washer and accessories as the Defender, but in leather.
06 A sidecar
...or, if you think four legs good and three wheels better, try a sidecar with matching goggles and doggles. Best only attempt this if your neighbours keep house cats. You don’t want an eject-o-dog moment the second your passenger spots the neighbour’s kitten defecating in your flower bed.
09 Tesla Model 3
Tesla’s ‘dog mode’ doesn’t set the car to sniff other car’s exhaust pipes, but merely keeps the temperature stable while the car is locked so you can pop into the shops and your pet doesn’t overheat. Just a battery saver really, but it’s a canny slice of marketing.