I agree. My mum and I hired a van when I got my new house, because it wasn't local enough for more then one trip. Most of my house (inc plates and glasses lol) is from Ikea and I saved a fortune, even with the van cost.
Yeah, definitely hire a van. Ikea wanted to charge me �85 for a 50 minute journey but I managed to get it in the car in the end. They were really helpful though, I had 6 staff members helping me squeeze it in!