Choosing a car for a kayaker

Hey all!
Been a long time since I been around these forums what with college and all but I am now officialy a marine biology graduate from UCSC (in other words I'm unemployed and looking to go kayaking to ease the pain. -.- ). I'm in the market for a new car and want something I can feel comfortable putting two kayaks up on top of. For that reason I have been looking at wagons (not interested in trucks or SUV's with gas prices the way they are) like the mazda3 and kia spectra5.

What I want to know is how safe do you guys think having 2 15' kayaks on a sedan would be? I know I've seen it done but I've never towed with anything but a minivan. Would a kayak rack installed on a 4 door sedan like a hyundai elantra be a good vehicle? Would I need to worry about all the weight on the roof of the car? Maybe these are silly questions but its a concern of mine.

Gas Mileage would be my biggest concern.  I'd drive any 4 banger on the market if I was in the position to pick up another vehicle.  You can get 2 yaks on any vehicle, so long as they're racked up, tied down properly and you're driving a reasonable speed you'll be good.  Wagon would be better for hauling all the extra gear that goes along with 2 fishing kayaks.

Not really related but....my bro hippie Mike owned a kia for about 6 years.  He bought it with 100k miles and he put another 85k miles on it without any major problems.  We beat the crap out of it and at one point he was hoping it would breakdown to justify buying a new one....didn't happen.  He sold it and its still on the road.

Congrats on  the degree from UCSC. I used to disc golf there years ago... So different than De Laveaga. Hit the tree, hit the trash can, hit the braless honey in the parking  lot...

Kia and Hyundai are owned by the same guy, and since 05, they have focused on quality and reliability. Their cars are close to Honda and Toyota now relative to reliability.

And any of them will handle two yaks as long as you rack em and tie them down.

Now go get a job!!!

Rich

Thanks for the advice guys. I ended up making a good deal on that kia spectra5 that I went to look at the day I posted this so I'm set! Now to get a rack to fit it!

I had a honda civic with a yakima rack system for a prowler 13 and scupper pro.  It worked well except for that one time.....driving back from Idaho I had the front towers pull from the window ledges, tear up the molding and the kayaks went flying up.  Fortunately got off the road before I lost anything, but it did do some damage to the roof.  I would go with something that had a factory roof.  A good way to go is the pontiac vibe.  Good mileage and cheaper than the matrix.

Jim

Yikes! That was just what I was worried about! Thanks for your advice and story Jim.

I had a honda civic with a yakima rack system for a prowler 13 and scupper pro.  It worked well except for that one time.....driving back from Idaho I had the front towers pull from the window ledges, tear up the molding and the kayaks went flying up.  Fortunately got off the road before I lost anything, but it did do some damage to the roof.  I would go with something that had a factory roof.  A good way to go is the pontiac vibe.  Good mileage and cheaper than the matrix.

Jim

 Another plus for the Vibe; its made right here in Fremont CA
Here is a pic of the Yak rack I picked up on C/L. I couldn't get the towers for my Focus so I made do with my truck! The first two are Scramblers.

Here's the other two yaks! I made the rack to fit both trucks in the back ground of the pics; it doesn't budge. If anybody knows, I was wondering if I moved the other two over if the cross bars could handle another set of J racks?

I have an outback wagon, good mileage, pleanty of room (w j hooks you can fit 2 no problem) the only problem is gettin things out of the trunk w the yaks on top. its not easy...jeffE