Honda shows Tourer Active Life concept car with integrated bike mounts & accessory bays

Written by Tyler Benedict Sep 10, 2015 5:43 p.m. ET

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Designed to make the most of its available space (and show that space off impressively), the Honda Civic Tourer Active Life is able to hold two bikes inside along with all the accoutrements we might want before, during and after a ride.

By placing the gas tank in the center of the car, it allows for a very deep well behind the rear wheels, which lets the forks mount low into the body. Pull the bike out, flip it around, and those same mounts double as a pull out work stand while lights in the tailgate illuminate it. The tailgate also provides an extending shade screen to keep you cool while playing mechanic.

Inside and out, there are numerous compartments to hold bottles, helmets, etc., and even an integrated inflator…

The aero design and gas sipping 1.6 liter i-DTEC engine make it just as friendly to your budget and the environment, too, setting a world record for best real world fuel economy over a recent 25 day tour through Europe. The actual gas mileage? How’s 100.31mpg (2.82l/100km) sound?

Along the sides of the boot are a tool box, water take, water bottle storage and more.

It’ll be shown in person at the Frankfurt Auto Show this fall, but we’re guessing it’ll remain a one-off concept rather than an option at your local dealer.

Automobile.Honda.com

Tyler Benedict

11,200 articles

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com. He has been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for almost two decades. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel to killer riding locations throughout North America.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler loves family adventure travel and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part to make his bikes faster and lighter.

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Sam

8 years ago

For people in the US you can’t even get the standard Civic Tourer(pity considering the mpg ratio), so extremely unlikely that we would be able to get this concept.

gatorskin

8 years ago

All the good cars don’t come to US. This one is 1.6 liter? It seems you have to be at least 2.2 liter otherwise the gas company don’t make any money…
I remember a recent Opel with pull out platform bike bike rack, hidden in the rear bumper. That may be an expensive number to change, but it surly beats mounting/removing the rack all the time.

Shanghaied

8 years ago

All the potential savings you would have made from the cheap petrol in the US are evened out by the bigger cars and longer distances. We were visiting the west coast a few years ago, and the girl at the rental place was like “you have a lot of gear and will be traveling on some rough roads, are you sure you don’t want to upgrade from 2.3l Ford Fusion to a 3.6l Dodge Journey?” We were like “sure, the petrol is cheap in the US right?” As it turned out, boy, it sure was fun paying $150+ for fuel each and every day.

Stampers

8 years ago

No thanks, I’ll take my hitch mount and Kuat NV any time over this setup. Plus that storage setup on the roof is ridiculously small.

Antipodean_eleven

8 years ago

Interesting idea but it turns your 5 person car/wagon into a 2 person and two bike one. Fine if you’re a couple or ride alone (and don’t mind the larger sized car) but anyone else, not so great.

Some cool ideas in there though that I can see being applied to other vehicles.

holmes

8 years ago

Honda made the best vehicle for bikes the element untill the MB sprinter.

Bill

8 years ago

i-DTEC in 1.6L is diesel, right? Even with the slight cost increase here in the US for Diesel, that’s pretty awesome mileage, to the point of hard to believe.

But, this is the country that looks at electric and hybrid electric and somehow a “coal rolling” crowd comes out of that.

8 years ago

So, its like removing the seats and fitting a bike in the back of my Subaru, or VW, or Toyota, or most wagons? Interesting, but it is a concept after all.

Derek

8 years ago

Diesel is cheaper than unleaded (in California at least). I wish there were more diesel options. I would love a diesel Ford Transit Connect.

canstipated commando

8 years ago

I like it!! It should come with a bike like the old Kona Ford Focus did!

Jeff

8 years ago

As far as the engines go it was explained to me that they do not meet US emission standards and that is why we do not get them. Which is stupid because even though they might be a bit dirtier per gallon they get so much better mileage that they still put out less pollution than US cars. But politicians can’t be bothered with that logic, rules are rules after all!

Scott B

8 years ago

Take my money

MaraudingWalrus

8 years ago

Is no one else bothered by the fact that in the first photos the bike has Campy, and in the last (rendering?) it’s got DA9000?

JBikes

8 years ago

@jeff –
Not really true. Diesel engines put out very different emissions than gas. Namely particulates, which are extremely bad for human health. Europe is seeing this. US has higher particulate standards and as such our diesel have to come with very extensive emissions equipment.
Direct injection gas engines also generate particulate and at some point I don’t doubt the same emissions equipment may also have to be adapted.

jennifer lacker

8 years ago

With my Honda Element, with rear seats removed I can easily roll in 3 bikes without removing the tires.

Taras

8 years ago

Note that’s British 100mpg. 83.4mpg in American gallons.

bearCol

8 years ago

I would coal roll the hell out that 1.6 diesel motor!

8 years ago

Why the teams don’t uses like pickup trucks? Too American or what? It just seem so much more convenient to me.

Cheese

8 years ago

Actually it’s primarily NOx emissions that are tighter in the US than in Europe, JB. That’s why passenger car diesels are starting to include urea injection (which class 8 trucks have used for a few years now).

Will

8 years ago

Still have to take the front wheel off… Hmmmm next..!!

Andy

8 years ago

I love this concept. Compared against a rear platform hitch rack however, this offers no advantages.
– no interior space for any gear or passengers, so useless for long road trips
– pain in the butt to load/unload bikes
– interior will get scuffed and dirty

Chris L.

8 years ago

Pick up trucks don’t work as well for team cars. On team cars the bikes are on the roof and the racks often have special clamps different from what you find on a Yakima or Thule rack. Pop one lever and the bike drops right out – much faster than lifting a bike up and over the side of a truck bed. Also most team cars are 4 door sedans and since the bikes are on the roof a mechanic can actually work on the bike while the car is driving down the road by either opening the sun roof or sitting on the window ledge (or even standing completely outside on the window ledge though this would result in a fine from the UCI). On a truck you can’t reach the bikes since they’re behind you. The limited cab space also doesn’t leave much room for coolers, food, spare clothes, etc. Finally a truck means losing two seats and in big races those seats are often used for promotional uses by sponsors to give VIPs a “day in the caravan” adventure. There are 4 door trucks but some like the Toyota Tacoma/Hilux have too short of a bed and others such as full sized American trucks are simply too big and not maneuverable enough to safely keep up with riders.

xc-fr

8 years ago

same picture with two 29ers with 740mm bars please 😉
“in car bike mounts” are all massive space wasting solutions. sure, they looks nice, but they are not very useful.

Matteo

8 years ago

@MaraudingWalrus…. and aren’t you bothered by the fact that in the last rendering one of the bikes has crankset and transmissionn on the left side???

JBikes

8 years ago

Your right cheese. But particulate size and quantity are also being monitored and in 2017 the allowable levels are being reduced (thankfully)
Diesels will continue to get very good mileage but they are not the simple or robust units of just 10 years ago.

dude

8 years ago

I bet it won’t work with the saddle raises for a 92cm inseam 🙁

Tom

8 years ago

Anybody that doesn’t think this would work as well as a hitch rack doesn’t live in the PNW. Bikes inside the vehicle is a nice option to have, even if you don’t always roll that way. I love to see a major car company thinking this hard about pleasing cyclists!

scotty

8 years ago

The bike industry is moving away from quick release fork/axle set ups. Mountain Bikes already use thru axles, which means you can’t use a fork mount rack. Some road bikes also have them. How about instead of wasting all the interior space Honda makes an integrated rear rack that looks good with the car and can be folded somehow into the rear of the car when not in use.

Slow Joe Crow

8 years ago

@ Chris L.
Do you know if any bike racing teams have tried using small vans like a Ford Transit Connect or Citroen Berlingo instead the more common station wagons? The sliding side doors and more flexible interior layouts would make life on the move easier, but the higher roof line could cause roof rack access issues.
Transit Connects are actually popular in the US for 1-2 people and bikes scenarios since there is lots of room without the back seats.

Chris S.

8 years ago

Thanks but I think I’ll keep me 25 year old Nissan Pathfinder. It still runs and still gets the same L / 100kms as it did when new… did I mention that I can get 6 bikes inside, plus another 6 on the roof rack. And it’s 4×4.