Question for parents

Many factors involving your personal circumstances as a new parent affect the type of car you may consider to fit your requirements and as such immediately deciding that an MPV or similar is required as soon as the new baby arrives isn't generally the answer. By the same token, simply saying "Any 5 door hatch is perfectly suitable and anything larger isn't required" is also incorrect.

Interesting to see people without kids commenting in threads like these regarding their perceptions of what they believe is "suitable".

"My mate has a <insert generic 3/5 door hatch here> and he seems to manage fine with his kid" doesn't quite cut it either. ;)
 
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Went from a Caterham 7 to a Ford Mondeo estate. With hindsight I should have chopped my testicles of instead :-(
 
Indeed a 5 door hatch is not suitable for everyone.. for one kid, its fine for most occasions. But if you plan using it for holidays, trips to Ikea etc or you have a dog or are planning on more kids.. you probably need something bigger.

It works for us, with some acceptable compromises, but that's not to say it works for everyone.
 
The 'my mate had 12 kids and only a pushbike with a basket and they managed fine' posts do make me laugh. One thing I'd say is that especially with your first, you do feel the need to take everything everywhere and 'making do' gets very tedious. Get whatever you want and can afford and then change it again when your circumstances change.

I have got a lot of appreciation for an M5 as a practical family wagon though! :D
 
Ezah said:
But if you plan using it for holidays, trips to Ikea etc or you have a dog or are planning on more kids.. you probably need something bigger.
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which is why I understand people getting an estate. Pretty much every car out there that has 4/5 doors also comes in an estate version so you can get something very practical that can still make you enjoy driving occasionally when the kid is not in the car.

but not a MPV :(

JonnyGee - there are so many cars out there with keyless entry and a big boot that are not a Renault Scenic...
 
Had a nice big 5 door estate, and swapped it for a ****, smaller 5 door estate...

The reason? The insurance on the existing car went up by £500 just for ticking the box to "any children under 16".
 
I dont get the 5 door thing with a baby, I have a fiesta zetec s and the misses has a 207 monaco.

Both 2 door and never struggled too much to warrent buying a new car.

My ZS has a full bootbuild in and i could still fit the buggy in, granted no room left. Its gone now :(
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Haggisman said:
The reason? The insurance on the existing car went up by £500 just for ticking the box to "any children under 16".
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That's plain ridiculous. I'd suggest carrying out a series of comparison quotes online because whoever you got that quote from regarding the premium being raised by £500 is quite obviously taking a huge amount of the proverbial out of you.
 
I had a Bedford CF camper when my daughter was born & used to ride around everywhere with my sliding door open, My God I was so cool back then. :D
I got rid of it & bought a 3 litre Senator, Jazmine loved it & used to fall asleep before I got off the estate. :cool:
 
To be fair if I had kids I'd chop the Clio in for something larger, but there is no way you'd see me in an MPV unless I got really unlucky and she was having triplets!
 
I know its an old car these days but our first baby wagon was an E30 Touring. We filled that car regularly with baby stuff for long haul trips up north.

We went scooby afterwards too - classic impreza did us just fine. Wife has had 4 door cars (Astra, Leon). Now I've got the long haul car she's sniffing round TTs but I don't think it suits families.

I just don't get folk that have children and buy coupes. It's just so much easier with 4 doors and at least some legroom.

I've a mate with a MK1 TT and he has 2 kids. I mentioned it can't be that practical and he said "I can put the back seats down and get two bikes in there, how is that not practical?" made me laugh. :)
 
Went from a Polo to a Vectra. Not the greatest car in the world, but it has acres of space. You can fit a fullsize push chair and a months shopping in the boot easily, and it costs peanuts to run.

I don't get the rationality behind buying an MPV. A large saloon or estate is perfect for the job.
 
Draeger said:
That's plain ridiculous. I'd suggest carrying out a series of comparison quotes online because whoever you got that quote from regarding the premium being raised by £500 is quite obviously taking a huge amount of the proverbial out of you.
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The same happens for me to a lesser extent - £150. Another £150 if i declare that I'm married rather than living with partner. Another £50 is I say I'll park it on the drive rather than the street. Another £70 if I estimate it's value at what I bought it at (£7500 - From father in law) rather what I believe it is worth (£9500).

The following brings down my premium: Parking in a 'residential parking area'. Increasing it estimated value by £3000. Having my wife earn the no claims rather than me. Increasing annual mileage from 8000 to 10000. declaring that there is NO tracker installed.
 
I think one of the saddest things you can see these days is a Space wagon being driven by a woman with a Man sat in the back. :(
 
4T5 said:
I think one of the saddest things you can see these days is a Space wagon being driven by a woman with a Man sat in the back. :(
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I find a husky woman driving with 15 children in the front of a Ford Transit with alloy wheels to be slightly sadder :p
 
4T5 said:
Surely you mean a Transit tipper ? :p
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Funny you should mention that. In the US, it's crazy how many people you see driving round with their kids in the bed of their pickup trucks. It doesn't seem to be illegal as it's fairly common and I haven't seen anyone get pulled for it.

Madness!
 
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