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

SDK^ said:
You need a Golf R Estate :D
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This would already have been top of my list if it wasn't for:
1. Mrs hates the look of them (I really quite like them personally)
2. Rear legroom still isn't much good in the estate compared to the hatch. They've saved all the space for the enormous boot!
 
I looked at loads and ended up with a Mondeo.
Absolutely huge boot and it's a hatchback so easily fit two big prams/buggies in with room for shopping and then room to spare.
Plenty of room in the back for two big isofix seats. With room to spare between them and the front seats.
I didn't come across any other car that ticked all the boxes.
 
Spleen Sauce said:
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.
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take a look at the tesla model Y, my wife has just bought one as it's SO much bigger inside both in terms of space between seats and front seats, and the size of boot, it really is far bigger on the inside than it is on the outside!
 
jellybeard999 said:
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!
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When I was growing up it was step mum, dad, 4 step sisters, me and my brother. So 8 in total (before my half sister was born!), probably between the age of 3-10. We all squeezed into a Renault Savannah estate with luggage to go on holidays. 3 on the middle bench 3 on the 2 seats in the back :D. Wouldn't get away with it these days.

When my half sister was born Dad got a Peugeot 806 which was basically a van, still a 7 seater but then we also had a Renault Clio so weren't breaking the law anymore.

I have no idea how 'large' families like that are possible these days unless both parents are driving a big old estate.
 
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Spleen Sauce said:
This would already have been top of my list if it wasn't for:
1. Mrs hates the look of them (I really quite like them personally)
2. Rear legroom still isn't much good in the estate compared to the hatch. They've saved all the space for the enormous boot!
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pretty arteon has golf R motor / drivetrain too - but surprisingly, used still seems mid 30K's ..
estates going to be easier to park on the supermarket run I'd have thought, is that challenge on your test drive agenda; Aldi for one don't seem to have family spaces;
colleague swore by his earlier generation Peugot MPV for family duty with the nice ZF type box.
 
jpaul said:
pretty arteon has golf R motor / drivetrain too - but surprisingly, used still seems mid 30K's ..
estates going to be easier to park on the supermarket run I'd have thought, is that challenge on your test drive agenda; Aldi for one don't seem to have family spaces;
colleague swore by his earlier generation Peugot MPV for family duty with the nice ZF type box.
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I really like the Arteon shooting brake but they're daft money for a half decent petrol one with any kit on it.

Edit - also, it has the absolutely terrible capacitive buttons on the steering wheel and for the climate controls. Hate them.
 
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Spleen Sauce said:
I really like the Arteon shooting brake but they're daft money for a half decent petrol one with any kit on it.

Edit - also, it has the absolutely terrible capacitive buttons on the steering wheel and for the climate controls. Hate them.
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5 Series GT? Ugly things but absolutely massive inside. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209270175561 is a Jap import 535i. Every other Petrol one I could see was a 550i with a V8! There are quite a few 535D's available though, they have a decent turn of pace: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212052285725
 
Spleen Sauce said:
As I mentioned above, the mrs is a bit of a badge snob. She's only just coming around to the idea of a Skoda, so I've no hope with these :)
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Shame because you would be the envy of the playground with your sliding rear doors and ease of rear access, not to mention dirt cheap running costs and almost zero depreciation.
 
Mason- said:
When I was growing up it was step mum, dad, 4 step sisters, me and my brother. So 8 in total (before my half sister was born!), probably between the age of 3-10. We all squeezed into a Renault Savannah estate with luggage to go on holidays. 3 on the middle bench 3 on the 2 seats in the back :D. Wouldn't get away with it these days.

When my half sister was born Dad got a Peugeot 806 which was basically a van, still a 7 seater but then we also had a Renault Clio so weren't breaking the law anymore.

I have no idea how 'large' families like that are possible these days unless both parents are driving a big old estate.
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They buy a mpv 7 or 8 seater van. They don't muck about with estates and SUVs.
 
If you want ultimate practicality and good reliability for reasonable cost then a Sharan/Alhambra is the way to go. I had an Alhambra x cellence from new (67 plate car) and it was great for the family. Electric sliding doors, full leather, pano roof, auto and I had the powered towbar factory fitted for the bike rack. It made journeys really easy and when in Center Parc you see the neighbours trying to get everything into their vehicles there was a certain smugness about driving a really practical car.

Downsides? They are not he most,erm, dynamic, looking cars and a little part of me did die when I realised that I was driving a people carrier. Don't get me wrong, the US minivans can look awesome and are super easy to live with (as we have done on many US trips), but the Shalhambra hasn't really been updated since introduction and feels a little old fashioned in terms of interior design. (But it did have carplay/satnav, etc.)

This one is exactly the same as the one we had:

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Two adults and two kids. Give anyone else a lift and you need 5 full seats.

Though I did know someone who did a driving holiday in France with 2 adults and 2 kids in Cinq.
 
SkodaMart said:
Citroen Berlingo / Peugeot Rifter - job done.
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He's listed 200bhp as a must have, the Rifter tops out at around 130 for the fastest version.

Don't get me wrong, a few years ago I was actually looking at the Rifter because it had a very big boot for a good price (seems prices have risen a lot), but it doesn't meet his performance needs.
 
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