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Does the 4 or 5 passengers include the driver?. Because 6 up would mean 3 rows of seats unless you think you can fit everyone and the dogs in the back of a Honda FR-V.
An SUV might not give as much interior height as you think. Yes, the roof is high, but so is the floor. In an MPV, the roof is high but the floor is at a normal car height. German Sheperds are well known for having problems with their joints at the rear, so I'd have said as low a loading lip as possible should be a priority. Of course you can get a ramp to help with the higher floor you'll probably have on an SUV, but not always that practical to use, especially in confined spaces.
According to Wiki, the average height of a male German Shepard is 60-65cm, so (assuming you don't actually need 6 seats) I wouldn't rule out a normal estate car without checking the height in the boot. Partly because at that budget you'll have more choice, partly because of the lower boot height, and partly because of the floor area. SUV's and (5 seat) MPV's may well have a large boot volume, but they tend not to be as long as an estate car, the extra volume comes from the height. Had a look on Google, and as far as I can find out, the boot opening on a 2007 Volvo V70 for example is 72.5cm tall, so the interior is probably going to be around 80cm which should be plenty. Might be tricky finding a petrol V70 though, but I'd check the heights in a Mondeo, Mazda 6, and Toyota Avensis.
If you do actually need 6 seats, i.e, 3 rows, that makes things a bit trickier. Most 7 seat MPV's and SUV's don't have very big boots at all with all 7 seats in place.
Edited by badbusdriver on 25/09/2021 at 18:13
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