[Closed] dad to be - what car?

A really big one - sorry not helpful

One kid? Any Focus sized hatchback. Two - any estate. When we had our third I caved and bought an S-Max.....

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HTH

Ford c or s max, vw touran. Both good access to rear seat and decent boot. Good availibilty second hand.

Hatter has the best suggestion.

Golf Focus Citreon DS2 sort of hatchback tings should do it

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This is the minimum that will keep your precious one safe and sound, anything less and it would be irresponsible 😉

or sensible answer any mid size 5 door car that you will run into the ground as it will be chewed, vomited on and have all sorts deposited down the seats 🙂

If you want small then Honda Jazz, otherwise C Max.

budget? annual mileage?

Only 1 kid, then a small hatchback like a fiesta or clio IMO...preferably 5 doors.

Planning on more...then bigger 5 door hatch.

3 or more then S max type...you can also get a full bike in the back with its fold flat system! Mine was great...but heavy on fuel even with diesel engine.

On a slightly less pithy note, 5-doors are a must and the need to lug pushchairs, travel cots and assorted bumpf around means that a serious boot is a very good option.

The ability to get everything in easily first time at the end of a long day could just save your marriage in the very near future.

1 or even 2 kids any 5 door hatch is going to work well. If you buy a big car you will carry about more stuff so it can be self defeating. It's worth checking the access to rear seats, cars that are a little low/narrow rear door can make lifting the little one in and out a pain (literally). If car is generally just going to be the mrs plus sprog then he/she can ride in the front with airbag switched off.

Good luck with the arrival.

I sometimes use my a4 avant for family duties (2yo & 4yo) which you'd think would be fine, but the door openings are far too small/low so threading an infant into a car seat is something of a challenge. This is what the mpvs are all about. Not needing 7 seats is a red herring.
We've got a Zafira too which is pretty good, but if I was buying again I'd get a berlingo as they seem to make much better use of their space.

VW Golf estate, drives like a real car, fantastic performance and fuel economy and doesn't have the aerodynamics of a brick. They can easily handle all the kit associated with two kids.

Also, rock solid residuals.

Why buy a mini van when you don't need one? IME the usable boot space on a Touran is substantially less than a Golf estate.

Went for a focus in the same situation. Handles well, reasonably economical and reliable. Also had a big boot to swallow prams and other gubbins with ease. Decent access and overall v happy.
Bought a newer one after no 2 arrived. Can see us having to get something bigger in a few years but for now if we need more room for holidays the roof box gives us much more room.
Oh aye.. apparently the boot in the new one is smaller- good to know.

I bought a MK1 Golf GTI with full roll cage. With the rear seats fitted you could squeeze the baby seat in nicely. Really rather safe and safety conscious I thought. It lasted a year!

Not that girly but kid seat friendly doors and go quite cheap.

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Or i30s are supposed to be quite good in this bracket.

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I hardly ever post without reading every post, no matter the number of pages... But I've made an exception. A small Volvo. Safe, reliable and safe. Unless she hits a landrover, she'll come out tops

As above, small 5-door, as your back won't thank you for lifting a surprisingly heavy child in/out of the back of a three-door. If this isn't going to be the only car and the other one is bigger, need to cart huge amounts of junk (eg travel cots) isn't really relevant as buggy & change bag is about all you need day to day. Bear in mind some buggies remain huge even when folded, and car seats can be massive too.

DOI - Ran Astra/Golf when we had one child, with roof box for holidays. Now run Astra/Avensis with two kids and still need roof box on holiday.

Fiesta or Ibiza.

p.s. these 5 door cars mentioned on here only have 4 doors.

We've a Passat Estate and a Meriva now (2 kids) but made do with a [b]TWO[/b] door Corsa for years.

When our first came along the wife had a Focus and I had a 1987 Porsche 944 turbo. Seemed to be a perfect combo at the time. When number 2 came the Porsche had to go unfortunately. But was replaced with the SMax. No spoertscar, but a stinking car all the same. It's like a nice Snap-on toolkit. Well built and practical.

We replaced the wife's Ka with a fiesta, which is good for getting her and EG junior around when it's just them, then use my bigger car at the weekend longer trips etc...

What sort of budget are you looking at?

Get the pushchair first and then the car to suit. This is also a good introductory lesson for your new priorities as far as time and money are concerned...

5 doors and split fold rear seats. Then you need to decide how much else you need to take with you, if you're planning on going away then you also need to fit travel cots, high chair stuff and an inordinate amount of clothes. I'd not be wanting to go smaller than a focus for a main car.

one with sliding rear doors ime/imo

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet but;

[b]One you can hose out.[/b]

would, in retrospect, be my choice.

Never thought this day would come, but I'm going to suggest a 5-door Golf. The mk4 is quite round and girly.

We used to have a Jeep Cherokee, which was ace, but ultimately a bit too big and the boot space was woeful. Now struggling with a pre-2000 Clio, 3-door, and looking for a new car with the same criteria as OP. The Golf is a strong contender for the change, because I can't see the wife letting me buy the W8 Passat I'm after 🙁

Also, do try whatever buggy you buy in the boot of whatever car you're looking at.

We had a Mountain Buggy and the Golf's boot was too narrow to fit it in.

You can manage with just about anything (to counter the usual muppets...)

But for convenience, these would be my requirements:

- 5 door
- boot big enough for your pram (you'll be surprised, just how big some can be - my 206 wouldn't take the pram without taking the wheels off which admittedly wasn't too difficult but a bit of a hassle when it's raining and Clubber Jnr was screaming
- If you're tall, check that you can move the seats back and still have room for the baby car seat
- Seats in a colour that will clean well... (unless you buy cheap and don't care)

We have a Focus (as well as the 206 which has since been replaced) and that was pretty good - good day-to-day, reliable and just about big enough for weekends away without having to restrict (excessively) what we took.

wwaswas - Member
Also, do try whatever buggy you buy in the boot of whatever car you're looking at.
We had a Mountain Buggy and the Golf's boot was too narrow to fit it in.

We can get a mountain buggy in the boot of the wife's Panda so you're not trying hard enough. That said I'd not want to be doing that as a main car as it does need the wheels off.

Grand news, Jimbo! (Email me if you want/need any tips on how to manage with a mini-person! Having just about got through the first year without a single drama, I think I'm fairly well qualified!)

FWIW - A big car. You will never understand quote how much stuff you suddenly "need" to take with you to visit the grandparents, etc.

So, big, safe, comfy and reliable estate. V70, Mondeo, Superb, etc.

Of course, the big plus there is that they are also excellent bike cars...! If you ever get time to ride, that is.

On a slightly less pithy note, 5-doors are a must and the need to lug pushchairs, travel cots and assorted bumpf around means that a serious boot is a very good option.

This. Anything else is just a bonus. If you go 2nd hand make sure the car has isofix fittings, not all do.

[i]We can get a mountain buggy in the boot of the wife's Panda so you're not trying hard enough[/i]

We had the 'terrain' version., I think, which is fairly hefty and the problem was the length when folded, even with the front wheel off.

And my wife spending 10 minutes dismantling a mucky push chair with a screaming kid in the car was a bit of a non-starter really.

Anyway, it's just somethign to be aware of with a smaller boot - even if the pushchair fits will you get a weeks shopping or whatever in there too.

Hatter has the best suggestion.

+1 😀

If you go 2nd hand make sure the car has isofix fittings, not all do.

It's a bonus, but there are pros and cons to Isofix. It's worth having should the idea appeal to you (our car does) but when we started digging and speaking to friends that do and don't have it, we decided not to use it

In your shoes 21 months ago we went for a newer shape 2.0 tdi A4 Avant.
Plenty of space for the 3 of us, a great size boot for weekends away, holidays etc, swallows the pram no problem with room for all the other cr*p you inevitably cart about, (dont underestimate how much stuff you need in the early months!). The wife liked it because the flat load area meant pulling the pram out of the boot was very easy for her. Isofix, parking sensors all round, decent drive, low running costs and of course roof rails for the bikes too 🙂

Weirdly, after I bought it I was strangely compelled to go and buy an Orange....??!!

It's a bonus, but there are pros and cons to Isofix. It's worth having should the idea appeal to you (our car does) but when we started digging and speaking to friends that do and don't have it, we decided not to use it

I never used it - but then it wasn't that popular 13 years ago in Spain. I only mentioned it as something to be aware of.

Golf or Focus - basic, practical cars which you'll be able to shift onwards when the smell gets too bad.

I never used it - but then it wasn't that popular 13 years ago in Spain. I only mentioned it as something to be aware of.

Sorry, that wasn't meant to be a dig. I agree - it's worth being aware of. We went through it all a few months back, so it's all still fairly fresh. One set of friends were semi-rabid in their love of it, others weren't too keen.

OP - FWIW, we stuck with a Skoda Octavia estate. Bags of room for most things, yet not awful to park and a bigger boot than the Golf / Leon / A3 it shares a platform with. And it has Isofix (if you want it). 😉

We got a Ford Fusion because it doesn't have a lip on the boot so the pram slides in and out.

focus here, been excellent, reliable, reasonably economical- with 1 kid could fold 2 seats down and load it with stuff

Now have 2 little uns, this year managed to get tent, trailer, weeks camping gear, 2 bikes on the sarris and drove to devon no probs

however, now looking at an c/s-max

All good suggestions above.

Whatever you opt for, the interior will end up looking like a cross between a toy box and a dustbin.

Good luck!

Wife has used a Yaris for years.
Movable rear seat help a lot.
Enough room to move around in to do up seat belts.
Fits a collapsed bugaboo cameleon in the boot.
All other paraphernalia in boot, back footwell or front passenger footwell.
Unfortunately not too good on headroom for the vertically unchallenged.

Main car is a Passat estate. Fitted everything we needed in the massive boot for two week driving holidays to France, and all under cover and out of sight. I am a master at packing, if I do say so myself 😉 .

You won't believe what you find under kids car seats when/if you clean it out.
Get seat back protectors and proper blinds for the windows.

I really would suggest getting something bigger and getting used to parking it. Having a little one in the back and a pushchair in the boot doesn't leave too much space for shopping. Bigger car, more airbags, more space. We used to have a Mitsubishi Colt which just fit the pushchair in the back. Missus was adamant we (she) wouldn't be happy with a bigger car but nevertheless, I bought a 2011 X-Trail CVT. She loves it and has no issues parking it. After all, big supermarkets have parent parking spaces with a little more room.

Depends how many kids you (or more accurately your SO)are planning on having, we now have 3 boys and even Mrs Ddmonkey has had to admit that I was right all along and a VW T5 is the only way forward 🙂

thanks everyone - didn't think it would be that popular a thread!

Looking at that meriva - think it could be a winner in a baby blue 😉

budget is in the 9-10k region

CFH - thanks old chap, all happened rather faster than I expected!

will drop you a line soon.

all happened rather faster than I expected!

I'm sorry to hear that. You need to concentrate on something else while you're doing it. John Prescott naked, perhaps. Anything to take your mind off it, and then maybe it'll last longer next time.

Oh, sorry, I see what you mean now. 😉

I'll just think of you sporting some lycra flashy :p

😆

How about a Qashqai or even a Nissan Juke? The Qashqai is very popular (therefore loads to choose from at all budgets) and loads of space inside. The Juke may fall in the 'cute/girlie' category, although I admit the looks are a bit marmite.

We had a VW Touran for 7yrs and it was perfect for a growing family. No longer than a Golf but huge inside, and importantly big rear doors and you don't have to bend down to lift the little one in and out.

Last year we decided to change it. Over the period a two months we drove almost every car known to man,and guess what? we got a new Touran. Dull I know, but kids are hard enough as it is, and the Touran just makes travelling that bit easier.

What ever decent sized Hatchback you prefer. 5 doors is easier for getting them into their seats, ISOFix isn't necessary never used it any of mine even though it's been in them.

I've had 307, Golfs and A3 they've all been big enough for 2 kids and their gear. Estates and those funny bulked out people carry things offer more room but it's not needed.

A lot of people on here have suggested the S-Max. At the risk of being boring: we've got an S-Max. It's quality, deceptively massive and very nice to drive.

just to add my 2pc worth, we had 5 door Focus with one child and now Mondeo estate with two, bonus of Mondeo is bike will go in back with seats flat pretty much fully built 🙂

As dull as they are Beringos, Partners and Doblos are great cars for lugging loads of crap around in while still being a small car. They also make very good bike carriers.

We also have a small person due on 8th May. My OH has a Qashqai in preparation, I'm hoping to keep hold of my 3 series coupe for as long as I can, I only got it 3 months ago!

Just about any car will do with 1 kid.
We have had several different sized cars on loan or rented but have gone for medium sized MPV's when buying cars - three times in a row. I like to fit both family and sports gear (bikes / skis etc) in the car and those combined will take lot of room.
It is probably foolish to buy the car based on only for how it will work on holidays but that's how I do it.

Octavia estate here with first baby due in march...... With 2 Labradors to factor into the equation I'm hoping that will do us 😯 May need to make the roof box a permanent fixing!

We bought a Honda CRV. Great piece of kit. Dull as dishwater, but in EX form, it has all the toys inc essential leather (easy wipe clean), isofix, sat nav, rear dogging camera, front & rear sensors, double height boot, sliding and reclining rear seats etc etc. it's been absolutely perfect for us. It will never break and costs buttons to run.

We also run a VW T5 with front bench seat so we can all sit up front, and a track day-tweaked VX220 which I use to take the little one to nursery.
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Live life on the wild side.. Don't throw in the man card just yet!

Fiat panda works for us . But we had to chose the pushchair carefully . When your child outgrows the travelsystem thing and needs a proper child seat one that turns through 90 degrees is a plus. We get brat and camping gear including massive tent in with a roof box .

Vw transporter. Embrace the opportunity to get a proper vehicle.

I've always wanted a Defender 90. Then I found out we were having a kid....... so bought one anyway 😀
Actually, it works quite well- the baby goes in the front and the wife on the side-facing rear seat. With the passenger headrest removed, she can actually tend to Freddy without even needing to take her seatbelt off. And the Land Rover buggy we found on eBay goes in the back without even folding flat 😉

Seriously, I think you need to retain some sense of self to be a good parent. So as long as what you need to put in there fits- buy whatever you like 🙂

Embrace the opportunity to get a proper vehicle.

I agree.

Edit: Ha! Just seen Crosshair's post. Great minds. 😀

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Can someone give a summary of the pros / cons of isofix? I thought it was supposed to be considerably easier than using the seatbelts but reading the above I'm not so sure...

From our experience, the primary reason for opting for ISOFIX is that the child seat is attached to the chassis/strongpoint of the vehicle. Therefore, in theory, it is safer - less movement in a collision etc. Certainly, our ISOFIX child seats have less movement than our none ISOFIX ones.

However, the single most important tip I have for you is to buy a baby seat that has a permanent base that is left in the car (most tend to be ISOFIX). This means when the little one falls asleep in the car seat they can be removed or placed into the car easily, without waking them. In our case the baby seat dictated which buggy we bought.

thanks everyone - looks like she's decided on a Peugeot 3008. big boot (bike capability), roomy, parking sensors and all that jazz.

can;t wait for it to get ruined!