Year of the Dog, or for your Dog

During 2015’s Geneva Motor Show, Dutch automotive designer Niels van Roij revealed a two-seater Shooting Brake Rolls-Royce concept (see below) with an easy access ramp in the rear to straddle your pet pooch in luxury. While that would have been absolutely fitting for a Victoria Vinciguerra and a long-haired Afghan Hound, few of us actually think about pet conveniences during car purchase.

Before UberPETs, travelling around with your pet pooch by taxi was a difficult affair. Having a car certainly helps – but knowing what kind of cars or features are dog-friendly really helps.

Perhaps to kick-off with what it means to have a dog-friendly car, the X-Trail is one of the few SUVs to feature its 4Dogs concept with a utilitarian boot tricked out specifically to improve canine comfort. It includes an integrated 360-degree dog shower and dryer, a slide away dog ramp, boot A/C vents, non-spill water and food dispensers. Like the new Honda Odyssey, it also features a 2-way (dog) cam so that good boy over there at the back knows that you’re right there without having to yelp and try to reach for you over the seats.

Unfortunately, though, that concept hasn’t really panned out to a real-life version. Instead some regions were offered a canine-kit that had some of the amenities shown on the concept version that you could add on as an accessory.

While good to know that the company and the model is ready to look into the best interests for your dog, for the moment, we’ve to make do with the cooled cupholders that can quickly chill the doggie-bottle.

Either way – this sets the standard in the year of the dog for putting your dog on par with or perhaps exceeding your level of in-car comfort.

The folks at Amazon’s Grand Tour for example, discovered during one of their shows that the automatic tailgate on their SUVs do not close when they sense the dog in the boot. How then would you load a muddy mutt in the back and be able to drive off if it isn’t going to close?

To begin with, most B SUVs either have an enclosed boot or barely sufficient boot space, making it uninhabitable for dog transport. Not so for the Jeep Renegade. Besides being “equipped” with the manual tailgate that isn’t going to be overly-mutt conscious, the boot has generous depth and space for even the taller dogs such as the German Shepherd. On top of that, there are plenty of custom-made dog guards and boot conversion kits readily available for Jeep Renegades, making it fully canine-compatible.

By the way, most automakers offer the power tailgate disable feature on the vehicle’s settings. Once that is turned off, the tailgate will no longer lift or close automatically and you could manually close the boot after you’ve loaded your dog in.

Or… both your off-road Jeep Renegade and your dog can happily get muddy without worrying so much.

When it comes to cooling the rear, or boot – few cars have put that into consideration given that it is meant for goods or the occasional kids and extra passengers. Even most 7-seater SUV clinics have come to the conclusion that customers who buy 7 seater SUVs usually only use the first 2 rows. So why bother cooling?

Imagine running around in a tropical country like Singapore in the sweltering heat with a fur coat on. That’s the kind of torture that our doggie companions endure – and to make it worse, climbing into a hot car boot is only going to make them pant as much as the engine.

Fortunately, some 7-seaters still come with 3rd row cooling that offer some relief for your pet, should you need to put them in the boot instead of the front seats.

Hyundai Santa Fe & Kia Sorento

Hyundai Santa Fe has most of the modern tech wizardry of today such as auto-parallel parking, cruise control, emergency braking, downhill brake control and most importantly your 3rd row air-con. It also offers a large panoramic sunroof offering plenty of light and spaciousness to further keep your dog’s tail wagging in excitement.

If the Santa Fe’s 2.4L engine is perhaps too hefty on your fuel efficiency and mileage, perhaps a similar featured Kia Sorento would be worth looking at. Similar priced but featuring a 2.2L diesel unit.

The next time you are out car shopping or deciding on an upgrade, do remember to keep in mind things that will greatly enhance the ride comfort of your pet dog. After all, they are part of the family and they too would love to be well taken care of!

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