8 Festival-Friendly Cars You Can Rely On This Summer

Image - Flickr user Robert Couse-Baker

Great news - festival season is almost upon us. You can tell this partly because it's started raining again recently, and partly because all the irritating people in your social media timelines have started talking in long, drawn-out vowels whenever they discover their favourite band is playing.

To save you going to a festival in a vehicle you actually care about, we've picked seven cars you can pick up for minimal dosh, particularly if you're splitting the cost with a few mates.

Not only will you not mind too much if they get bent, vomited in or axle-deep in mud, but their cheapness means more money for booze, undercooked burgers and bootleg band t-shirts too. Everybody wins.

1. Volvo Estate

Have to start with the default do-anything vehicle here. It doesn't really matter which generation of Volvo estate you go for, since most are massive and all will go on forever. We'd stick to older stuff though, since they're the toughest of the lot.

Virtually anything built in the 1990s and before will set you back under a grand these days, you can sleep in the back, and they're comfy for those long road trips to your favourite festival too.

2. Volkswagen T4 Van

Image - VdubT4s.co.uk

Now really, the ideal festival vehicle is an old rear-engined VW Bus, with flowers painted on the side, a "herbal" smell leaking out of all the windows and a hippy chick sprawled across a shagpile carpet. But their classic status means you'd barely take one out in the rain these days, let alone to a festival, so we're looking at the 1990s 'T4' van here.

You might have to scrape out years of builders' crud from the back, but their diesel engines will go on forever, and panel vans are like a big blank canvas for amusing slogans or wild paint jobs. And there's even more room to sleep in here - no crappy tent for you. Believe it or not though, even these vans suffer from 'scene tax', so a decent example will set you back somewhere in the region of two grand. Expect to pay more for one as minty as the van in the pic.

3. Toyota Hilux Surf

We've all seen the episode of Top Gear where Clarkson tries, and fails, to destroy a Hilux. Well take that unburstability and chuck in some extra seats and a covered load bay, and that's what the Surf offers you.

Big diesel engines mean easy cruising to the festival, four-wheel drive means you won't get stuck if it lashes down, and the large load area provides you with another comfortable(ish) space to sleep. They're dirt cheap too - it isn't unusual to find half-decent ones for £1500 or so.

4. Black cab

Image - Flickr user Robert Couse-Baker

Yes, it's a London taxi. That's more of an advantage than you might think.

Firstly, there's loads of space in there. Secondly, it'll go on forever - it's already gone on forever in London, and if it can survive there then a festival will be a doddle. Thirdly, because these old taxis have all been decommissioned and are therefore useless as work vehicles, you can pick up good examples from around £1500.

Fourthly, whether you're male or female you'll almost certainly pull, since you're bound to meet some hipster at the festival who thinks you turning up in a taxi is bohemian, or ironic, or something else equally daft.

5. Volkswagen Golf Convertible

Let's imagine you're an optimist, and whatever festival you're rocking up to actually takes place in blazing sunshine this year. Wouldn't it be a shame to be stuck in a tin box while you're in a four-mile queue into the event's car park?

That's why the VW Golf Convertible is perfect. Well, it's not really perfect - actually, it's a bit dull. But it'll be reliable and solid (and all those other well-worn VW cliches) and you can drop the roof. You and three friends should also fit with a bit of room for luggage, so everyone will get to enjoy those few moments of sunshine. Good ones start from less than a grand.

6. Ford Galaxy

Image - Wikimedia commons

Festivals are always better with friends (one, two, three - ahhhhhh). And what better way than taking those friends to a festival than in an MPV? It's amazing how such a depressing family wagon can become the best vehicle in the world once you've filled all the seats with your best mates.

It's entirely possible to net a roadworthy Galaxy for £500 or so, and they come with seven seats as standard. If you don't actually have many mates you can chuck out most of the seats and sleep in the thing, and while you may be friendless you shouldn't also be stuck by the side of the road since they're respectably reliable.

7. Land Rover Defender

From the optimism of the Golf cabrio to the pessimism of the Defender. You're talking a good few grand for one of these, but there's nothing tougher on this list and you'll be positively begging for apocalyptic rain so you can get the phone numbers of all the people you extract from the car park at the end of the festival.

And let's face it - the Defender is a cool car, even if its repertoire is a little limited.

8. A rental car

Right at the top we said this list was aimed at putting you festival-bound in a vehicle you don't actually care about.

No vehicle is less cared about than a rental car, which probably makes it the perfect choice. It'll be cheaper than anything here since you'll pretty much only be paying for fuel (a damage waiver or reduced excess might also be wise), and once you've split the cost with the lads and lasses you'll have paid a mere pittance.

Got any other festival cars? Share your ideas below.