Anyone with twins/young kids who can offer some car advice?

[Spleen Sauce]

Appreciate this is a bit of a long shot but thought it worth a go… apologies in advance for the long post.

We found out last week that we’re expecting twins. Exciting and terrifying in equal measure! We’ve got a bit of time but I need to start looking at options around cars.

We currently have a Golf R 7.5 (5 door) which I drive and a 2019 3 Series BMW (coupe) which my wife drives. Both cars are owned outright, no finance etc.

Today we popped to the shops and had a look at prams/car seats and a few other bits. My wife has decided that she wants a tandem buggy, specifically the Uppababy Vista V2 and she wants car seats that’ll fit directly onto it.

It was immediately clear that my car (the Golf) isn’t going to be much good, and while we do have the 3 series I thought it best to look at other car options as we are both going to need to be able to transport the kids in either car at any given time (due to jobs it’s not easy for us to plan ahead every single time on who takes what car). We’ll also need to be able to all travel as a family in one car on long trips and load it up with everything we need to be away for a week or so - and we both need to be able to drive it.

So, I decided to take an XC60 for a test drive, assuming that it would have ample space - and the boot is just about decent enough but when I tried to get a rear-facing car seat in behind my driving position (even a modified driving position that isn’t entirely comfortable) it just doesn’t fit. Now, I’m tall but not excessively so - at 6ft3 - so was really quite surprised at the fact that I couldn’t fit the seat in.

The car seat was one of those isofix seats that allows it to rotate, so I’m assuming it’s a bit bulkier than some seats/isofix mounts (this is all new to me so sorry if I sound like an idiot).

I haven’t been able to try it yet, but I can only assume that if the baby seat didn’t fit in behind me in the XC60 then it almost certainly won’t in the 3 series either. I will try it later this week when I get chance but the wife is currently away with work with the car.

What is the most sensible next approach? Do I look at the XC90 and cars like that? Skoda Superb estate etc? Basically, I’m happy to trade in the Golf which I’ll assume will be worth around £19k part-ex, and I can put an absolute maximum of £12k towards something new but want to avoid maxing that out if possible as we’ve got a lot of other stuff to buy!

I’m likely being dumb and missing something obvious, so voices of reason and solid advice from experience would be really good. Thanks in advance.

 

[brendy]

Out of all the cars we looked at (at the time we had a need for three different stages seats/carriers/booster) for getting room for three across the rear bench, the X5 was the only option that could do it comfortably. It's high enough that it doesn't break your back doing it either.
I know you need two (for now) but the rear legroom gives you so much more space that for us it was a no brainer, the Q7 wasn't really that old and was a little out of budget though never actually got to see the rear bench clearly and the wife didn't want a Volvo.. I know I know. I ended up opting for a 4.6 V8 IS for the fun aspect though I didn't drive it too often but the odd blast to Donegal was swallowed up easily, this is going back over ten years ago now but kept it for 7 years, worth saying to have a warranty if you go down this route.

 

[MissChief]

Skoda Superb Sportline Estate. The only thing short of a 5 series touring that has the pace you’re used to and enough space for the buggy. Not cheap though. Octavia VRS Estate also has a huge boot.

530i/535i/540i Touring also an option. Get one in white and watch everyone move out of your way.

Oh and congratulations, you’re in for some ride!

 

[Diagro]

Good luck finding a car that meets your requirements.

We ended up looking at Ford's. SMax, Grand Cmax..

Ended up with a Grand CMax, which allows me to fit well onto front seat whilst also having an isofix rear facing baby seat behind me.

However, I did also test a BMW Gran Coupe 440i and the seat also fit behind the drivers seat no issue.

Enjoy the search. It's fun

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

Specifically twins owners only?

We have 2 midgets and they've both been in differing seats at the same time.
The worst to use being the high back boosters that you secure with the actual seatbelt, very chunky things.

I moved from a Mazda 6mps (would barely have fit a buggy it he boot nvm a doubler) to a Ford Grand C-Max (Cavernous!) to a Kodiaq (7 seater)
I looked at the XC's at the same time, but add a single half decent extra and yer into LOLTAX instantly.

The ISOFix clicky rotatey bases actually makes things a fair bit easier, once you've gotten the base installed and (from the ones I looked at) are a little more compact overall.
Even with the kodiaq, the width of the C-Max is still notabley missing, the Grand Cmax allowed you to have the centre section down to access the rear seats as well.
No other 7 seaters I've seen does that, meaning a bit of an obstacle course via the boot to get everyone seated haha.
Should also add that the slidey doors on the Grand C-Max were a godsend, makes things a million times easier if a parent+kid spot aint available

V Spec?

I'd also not rule out some of the larger Jap MPV's that ppl typically mod into half campers, highway star, bongo, that type of stuff.
Seen a few where all of the seats are like armchairs

As for the buggy, we has a one behind the other jobby, absolute pig to manoeuvre anywhere.
And a decent wind to the side and it had a mind of its own, avoid haha

It's not just the buggy that ate up all the room, its all the other assorted kid tat.
My Kodiaq pretty much lives with a roofbox on it now (long slim jobby) and when the bairns were younger it got used regularly.
I did take it off for a short period but there was negligible change in the fuel consumption so it went back on (makes it easier to spot in the car park too)

 

[sovietspybob]

Swivelling isofix seats do take a lot of room unfortunately, when we were expecting we looked at various cars to replace the wife's Suzuki Swift and it's amazing how bad the leg room is on all but the most massive SUV's. In the end we just muddled by using my car and didn't change the wife's in the end but that won't work for everyone.

Look at the larger estate cars as they have much more leg room in the back, my Toyota Avensis estate has been great, lots of room to rotate the car seat without impacting on the front seats.

Life gets a lot easier once they're forward facing and when they get to about 3 they can climb in themselves which while it sounds a long way off will flash by, trust me!

 

[wesimmo]

For a kid car, I'd look at Skodas.

Its going to get trashed if you run it for a few years, compared to what you're used to anyway!

For a middle-of-the-road budget car, with acres of space for the size, you can't really go much wrong with an Octavia, i had the mk2 vRS a few years ago and my mum got the mk3 1.9tdi (?) version and wouldnt have anything else now, and apparently the Superbs are decent too.

 

[Sirrel Squirrel]

Skoda Kodiaq is a good option if you want more of an SUV shape, loads of room in them

 

[Terminal_Boy]

Has the OP considered a used Honda CR-V? Huge boot space and large rear doors to make lifting car seats in and out easier. They’re dull, but utterly reliable and dependable serviced once in a while.

The Volvo XCs are nice when new, but the AWD system eats tyres and costs the GDP of Norway to repair when it breaks.

 

[jellybeard999]

Id second the Skoda Superb / Kodiaq option. Whatever you get, you'll need a much bigger boot than you think. We have an Octavia estate and an 18 month old and the boot is regularly pretty full. If we are away for the weekend, with all the extra kit, travel cot etc (which isn't often enough to be an issue) I think the Superb would have been handy. I imagine with twins you'll need bigger than an Octavia, or be selective with what equipment you buy or what you take/leave behind.

I don't know how my parents managed with some of the cars we had... Though I guess cars seats, buggies etc were death traps compared to now!

I'd consider your pram options carefully. Some are massive and don't really fold down very small, and some (most? Ours was a group 0 carry cot type) travel system car seats only last a year or so before you need a bigger car seat. At this point, we found the systems main benefit of being able to clip from the car seat to the pram had gone and baby wanted to be more upright, so moved to a smaller pushchair and a group 0-3 car seat.

Just make sure you don't make a car purchase based on a short term requirement or because you want a specific trendy pram.

Aside from that, it would probably be a good idea to buy the pram, or measure it folded up, to see what boot space you'll be left with.

Good luck

 

[Journey]

Today we popped to the shops and had a look at prams/car seats and a few other bits. My wife has decided that she wants a tandem buggy, specifically the Uppababy Vista V2 and she wants car seats that’ll fit directly onto it.

Wouldn't get too hung up on the exact car seat to match a pram, as you shouldn't keep babies in them for longer than needed, and you should be letting them lie flat(ish) and have room to stretch out their legs and arms when and where possible. It's great for convince but being so confined due to the design will harm the baby and it's growth if keep in it regularly.

As for cars the best one for the job is the safest one you can afford, not the one that is the easiest to get in and out of.

 

[qbazdz]

From my experience with two young kids (currently 4 & 8) having room at the back for 3 (2 kids + 1 adult) is hard to achieve unless you look at really big stuff (XC90/V90 or similar).
If you only need space for the kids (say two car seats) the choice is much better. Frankly, the buggy and way it folds will be your biggest factor. On a side, can't recommend Uppababy enough - great choice. Our Vista lasted 7 years before we sold it on for the 3rd kid to enjoy it (and it still felt almost as new).

If your wife is already set on the buggy, I'd almost go ahead and get that and take it with you for any test drives/car hunting to see how it will fit. This is exactly what we did when we looked for my wife's smaller car.

Depending on the budget, I'd probably be looking between 5 series Touring, V60/V90, X5, Qashqai, Karoq, Superb, Kodiaq.

Be careful when it comes with estimating how much space you actually need - any new parent simply takes way too much than it's needed and you just end up lagging this around with you and using maybe 50% of it - certainly we did as we had the boot space.

What are your top 3 must haves and top 3 nice to haves with the car?

 

[Axeboy]

I went to the larger side with a Mercedes Vito Tourer. Sliding doors, plenty of Isofix, loads of room and a boot that swallows a couple of prams without having to fold them.

We absolutely love it. Holidays and trips are so much easier with it too, tons of room and space.

In my case only a 1 year old, but my Mums getting on, my brothers blind and they have a dog too and live just down the road, so we use it as the extended family bus.

 

[sandys]

Be careful when it comes with estimating how much space you actually need - any new parent simply takes way too much than it's needed and you just end up lagging this around with you and using maybe 50% of it - certainly we did as we had the boot space.

Missus still does this 14 years on......

Problem with bigger cars is parking them in the places you end up going to with kids both, the width and length becomes problematic as getting those seats in an out is not easy unless there are child spaces or you have sliding doors.

If your wife is already set on the buggy, I'd almost go ahead and get that and take it with you for any test drives/car hunting to see how it will fit. This is exactly what we did when we looked for my wife's smaller car.

Yep that's what we did, ended up in a Scenic which was basically a van and actually excellent fit for everything, there are loads better cars about now though, we ditched the fancy pants system thing very early on, just to complex and heavy

You want to be looking at light weight and compact, they're not going to be in those things long. We never had to carry two at same time but not sure I'd want to stack kids on top of each other in that pram either, once some weight comes on the kids I can't see that having any stability in anything but flat surfaces, if your missus is a big bruiser maybe she can fight physics, otherwise she might get taken out one accidental slip off the kerb avoiding dog poo.

 

[tom_nieto]

I’d look at a superb estate. Absolutely huge and decent value. The only other thing to consider is whether you’ll be giving a lift to friends or grandparents. I quite fancy a XC90 for the huge space and 7 seat capability, but this comes at a price.

Our Sportage is too small inside in every dimension, but even with a rear facing child seat I can drive comfortably with a safe gap between the drivers seat and child seat behind.

Pushchairs are very personal things, they all have compromise and their use is short lived. As far as child seats go, we love the Cybex Cloud Q as it can lie flat which is great for transferring a sleeping child from car to buggy or into the house!

Good luck! Two of different ages is hard work, twins is going to be another level of crazy!

 

[coupe69]

Speaking as a father of twin 6-year-olds, I'd probably advise against getting anything too posh initially, because as others have alluded to, it will just get completely wrecked! Think puke, nappy accidents etc.

When they were first born I had a Skoda Superb hatch which to be honest was brilliant for everything. Loads of room in the back, which made it easy to get them in and out of, and a humungous boot. I soon got bored of driving the Superb though and moved on to a Mk3 Skoda Octavia VRS estate, and while this was infinitely better to drive and still pretty spacious the massive front bucket seats made the room in the back that little more cramped. I've since part-ex'd this for a Passat B8 GT estate. Much better room in the back, an even bigger boot, and stuff like the pan roof/virtual dash make it feel reasonably upmarket. Ultimately it's a fairly boring car to drive (not as bad as the Superb), but priorities change somewhat when you get two at once!

You'd get a reasonably new low-mileage Passat GT or R Line estate for 19k. I'm now waiting for them to grow up a little so I can get into something more exciting....

 

[Spleen Sauce]

I really appreciate all the responses so far - this is genuinely a huge help. I'll try and get through some of the responses

Skoda Superb Sportline Estate. The only thing short of a 5 series touring that has the pace you’re used to and enough space for the buggy.

These are currently very high on the possibility list, you seem to get a lot for your money. I've found a couple of the 2019 272 Laurin + Klement 4X4 models that have pretty much everything on them that I'd want, and just about within budget. None close to me through so I need to find another I can test drive.

Oh and congratulations, you’re in for some ride!

Thanks mate. It's certainly going to be a complete change to what I'm used to with no kids and being quite selfish most of the time

Ended up with a Grand CMax, which allows me to fit well onto front seat whilst also having an isofix rear facing baby seat behind me.

However, I did also test a BMW Gran Coupe 440i and the seat also fit behind the drivers seat no issue.

The mrs absolutely won't have a CMax, already hinted at them and she's not having it. She is particular (badge snob).

Specifically twins owners only?

Haha, fair point, amended

I moved from a Mazda 6mps (would barely have fit a buggy it he boot nvm a doubler) to a Ford Grand C-Max (Cavernous!) to a Kodiaq (7 seater)

I quite like the Kodiaq and hadn't considered them because I'd been searching for vehicles over 200hp, though the 190 4x4 would be fine I think. I shall definitely start adding those to my shortlist and try and test drive one.

I'd also not rule out some of the larger Jap MPV's

Again, the mrs won't entertain it so rules them out.

As for the buggy, we has a one behind the other jobby, absolute pig to manoeuvre anywhere.
And a decent wind to the side and it had a mind of its own, avoid haha

Can't be any worse than one of those incredibly impractical side-by-side buggies that won't fit through any doorways?

Life gets a lot easier once they're forward facing and when they get to about 3 they can climb in themselves which while it sounds a long way off will flash by, trust me!

Feels like thats a long way off at the moment, but I am sure it'll fly by!

For a kid car, I'd look at Skodas.

Yep, on it.

Skoda Kodiaq is a good option if you want more of an SUV shape, loads of room in them

Yep definitely going to go and take a good look at these.

Has the OP considered a used Honda CR-V?

I've considered it, but the mrs doesn't like Honda (I know, I know)

The Volvo XCs are nice when new, but the AWD system eats tyres and costs the GDP of Norway to repair when it breaks.

I was wondering about this. Anyone have any ideas what Volvo's extended warranties are like? I'd be looking at getting one once the approved used warranty is up if I did go Volvo.

Id second the Skoda Superb / Kodiaq option. Whatever you get, you'll need a much bigger boot than you think.

Yep definitely leaning this way so far.

Just make sure you don't make a car purchase based on a short term requirement or because you want a specific trendy pram.

Of course not, I'm looking at something that'll meet my imminent needs, as well as be a family car that I can keep and run for a good few years that'll 'do everything' as the kids grow.

Aside from that, it would probably be a good idea to buy the pram, or measure it folded up, to see what boot space you'll be left with.

Strongly considering this. At the moment I've been cheeky and taking the test drive cars to Mamas and Papas and getting them to load kit in to test it but they're quickly going to get fed up of doing that.

Wouldn't get too hung up on the exact car seat to match a pram, as you shouldn't keep babies in them for longer than needed, and you should be letting them lie flat(ish) and have room to stretch out their legs and arms when and where possible. It's great for convince but being so confined due to the design will harm the baby and it's growth if keep in it regularly.

As for cars the best one for the job is the safest one you can afford, not the one that is the easiest to get in and out of.

Yep, good points which we do already know - this is more for the fact that we're not going to have a great deal of help from parents, etc so we're looking to keep things as simple as possible. So, for example, if we're off the to the shops or another short trip, we want to be able to easily take the babies in the seats, attach to pram, do what we need, back in the car, head home, etc. They'd be in the cots otherwise, or the seats when a little bigger. The Uppababy Vista V2 does seem to tick all the boxes, albeit for a pretty penny. Most important thing (outside of children's safety of course) is that my wife has to be happy with it.

If your wife is already set on the buggy, I'd almost go ahead and get that and take it with you for any test drives/car hunting to see how it will fit. This is exactly what we did when we looked for my wife's smaller car.

Yep, pretty close to pulling the trigger on what she wants - just a case of finding the best deal/bundle, etc. We have a discount pram centre close to us who are meant to be quoting.

Depending on the budget, I'd probably be looking between 5 series Touring, V60/V90, X5, Qashqai, Karoq, Superb, Kodiaq.

I like the X5 but I'd want a version of iDrive that has Carplay support so that's quite limiting for me in the budget I have. Qashqai I've driven and I really don't like. The others are all possibles definitely.

What are your top 3 must haves and top 3 nice to haves with the car?

Must haves:
Space - Enough space so I can drive comfortably, fit the kids in the back (when they're newborn as well as when they grow), and have enough boot space to be able to get the necessary bits in for short and long trips away.
Power - no diesels, needs enough power to not feel glacial (something around 200hp or more), automatic.
Tech - needs to support Carplay and have decent audio.

Nice to haves:
Power - something that's at least 250hp and AWD/4WD.
Tech - Memory seats as I'll be sharing the car with the wife and it makes life a lot easier (its almost a must-have this). Adaptive cruise control (I've gotten so used to it now that it'd be hard to not have it), reverse/360 cameras would be nice.
Space - a 7 seater might be nice for longer term but its absolutely no essential.

I went to the larger side with a Mercedes Vito Tourer.

I like the Vito but my wife won't let me buy a van

Thanks again for all the responses.

 

[Spleen Sauce]

Speaking as a father of twin 6-year-olds, I'd probably advise against getting anything too posh, because as others have alluded to, it will just get completely wrecked!

When they were first born I had a Skoda Superb hatch which to be honest was brilliant for everything. Loads of room in the back, which made it easy to get them in and out of, and a humungous boot. I soon got bored of driving the Superb though and moved on to a Mk3 Skoda Octavia VRS estate, and while this was infinitely better to drive and still pretty spacious the massive front bucket seats made the room in the back that little more cramped. I've since part-ex'd this for a Passat B8 GT estate. Much better room in the back, an even bigger boot, and stuff like the pan roof/virtual dash make it feel reasonably upmarket. Ultimately it's a fairly boring car to drive (not as bad as the Superb), but priorities change somewhat when you get two at once!

You'd get a reasonably new low-mileage Passat GT or R Line estate for 19k. I'm now waiting for them to grow up a little so I can get into something more exciting....

I'll take a look at the Passat, nice one

 

[Wizzkidy]

I have an Hyundai i800, we have 5 children and the twins are 3 and a half. This gives great room in the back for the older ones and enough room for two isofix seats in the middle and someone sitting in-between the two car seats. Also you get a MASSIVE boot on top as well that will fit mostly anything.

Yes the thing rattles and isn't the most comfy of drives or has loads of mod cons but you can't beat the space in the thing. no idea what I will replace it with when the PCP is up, i want another one but they have gone up in price like everything else

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

Yeah I originally was looking at the 1.5 TSI Auto and when I test drove it was more than happy with it in all honesty (first auto I've driven)

Was like a 14month wait on the spec I wanted, but they just happened to have a 2.0 AWD Auto in where the order had fell thru for some reason.
Only thing Missing I would have liked being the family pack, for the leccy child locks and built in window blinds, but tbf the factory tint is fine.

Adaptive cruise was an extra I wasn't fussed about, but the reversing camera 100% useful
The 7 seats have come in useful on outings, makes the boot a little smaller but that's where the roof box comes into its own.

Regrets?

Black bloody paint lol! Looks clean for 15mins after cleaning and that's it.