Adulting time - Baby on the way

[Coowhan]

As above, been doing a lot of battling with myself but the time for a more sensible car is coming up fast Currently I'm driving something not very sensible at all, a mapped M240i running about 460bhp with a diff that my fiance absolutely hates In all honesty it is far too fast for any road to enjoy speedwise and I'm pretty sure my neighbours hate me a little more every cold start. I know I am definitely gonna miss the feeling when flooring it for sure..

Have always had performance cars and obviously will be needing something with more doors and a decent boot. Was thinking back to a hatch. Something I can throw stuff in when needed and still have some fun in from time to time. Like the idea of a Leon cupra, decent spec as standard and seems fairly good value. I used to own a megane 250 that I used to take on trackdays etc and tbh it was probably my favourite car I've owned. I remember when owning it the Leon coming out and always liking the look of them.

Imagine there is a few people been in the same situation. Any advice/recommendations? I've toyed with about 20 different cars in the past few months from diesel estates to all types of hatches and everything in between it feels like. Never owned a diesel and not sure it's for me. I am not a fan of my OH's dad's 3L A6 diesel at all really and I tend to do shorter journeys and really only about 6k miles a year anyway.

 

[Coowhan]

Are you going to have 2 cars or 1?

Best thing car-wise I did was buying a 308SW as soon as our first was born.
https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/gallery/PEUGEOT-308-SW-GT-6089_9.jpg

Still Loadsa space for 2 now we have our second and the boot space was larger than a 5-series estate perfect for 2 prams or whatever else.

Reasonably priced, looks decent and you just know that when you or your SO is half cut on sleep deprevation there will be some some kerb rash etc and you wont feel it's a big deal because the car is there for doing the parenting job...

dunno what your budget is like but if you could squeeze in a dedicated family bus then it might mean you also get to have something nice to play around in.[/QUOTE]

Other half will have another car with a bigger boot that we'll probably use most of the time. Will just be something I can fit a buggy in the back and a car seat really if needed. Have been thinking about just keeping it, I know how it's been treated since new basically and it hasn't done a lot of miles. Tbh I've had my nephew's in the back of it and it wasn't that much of a pain, but that's once in a blue moon and would probably get annoying fairly regularly.

Actually I'm pretty sure I'd struggle with a bulkier car seat, the gap past the seat and the door pillar in the 2 series really isn't that big even with the seat pushed all the way forward. I had some trouble with the smaller nephew and his seat:cry:

 

[Coowhan]

Is it your 1st kid? problem is your mrs will go utterly loony and buy the worlds biggest pram and baby seat and the rest of the crap that goes with having kids. My kids are 8,7 and 3. This was the 1st year i could really go back to a normal car after estates and suv's. Ive now got a 3 series saloon, a roof box and a bike rack.

An Audi A3 5 DOOR HATCH sized car would be ideal for you. Most estates in this segment arent all that big, even my A4 avant wasnt that big.

Yeah first kid, most of her/my family are buying a lot of stuff so I should probably look into things that aren't the size of the moon to mention when the time comes OH likes leaving me to things like that anyway as I like to research haha.

Mercedes C63 wagon.

I would love one, I think the fuel bills would start to get annoying. I feel like I have to fill up every 3rd or 4th time I'm in the 240 at the moment Granted it does have a pretty small tank, like 50L or something.

I did forget to put the budget in, would be up to like 25k used with a mixture of loan and some cash lying about. Potentially a few thousand higher for something I reeeally wanted. I like to mod my cars so I tend to steer away from finance these days.

 

[Coowhan]

I went to a new Kuga but to be honest, even with one baby sometimes the amount of stuff you need to shift is crazy, especially if you are going on holiday or something. I now have an S-MAX on order as the boot is bigger (don't need the back rear seats) and I have another baby on the way. I'm sure a Mondeo Estate or similar would also fit the bill and I would have preferred that but the wife didn't. This way, you don't need to worry about hauling things or compromising on prams that fold up a certain way etc. Also good for family trips and other times you need to move stuff (bought all your new furniture yet?). However, it sounds like you already have access to a car like that, so why another?

I have a cheap run-around Fiesta for commuting and things that has mostly sat on the driveway since Covid and the baby seats go in that just fine, although I'd never get the big pram in the boot easily (although a fold-up stroller is no issue of course).

I also have kept a car in the garage for actually enjoying driving (Lotus Elise Sport 220), so if you do like driving it may be worth considering getting one practical car and one fun car. I've always found that easier than trying to kill both those birds with one stone.

My OH currently has a horrible little fiat 500 that she's had for about 4/5 years, so we'll definitely need to chop that in for something else at least. I can't sit in it without being hunched forward a bit and my head touching the roof lining. Can't stand sitting in it Then you have my car with 2 doors and quite an awkward boot. The boot actually holds quite a bit, it's more the shape/size of the boot opening that's a pain. Also the space between the back of the seat even when fully pushed forward and the door pillar getting things/yourself in and out the back isn't brilliant on the 2 series as mentioned above.

 

[Coowhan]

Honestly you don't need a massive car. Believe it or not I managed to fit a pram under the bonnet of the 911, and as the guy with the cayman will agree, there's not much space there. The caveat being that it was a 6 plus pram so no good until they can support their weight.

That is really surprising actually, would never have thought a pram would fit under there. Mad Think I'm just gonna help the OH find a decent bigger car and keep the 240 for now. See how it goes, I'm sure we'll manage. Seems a bit ridic both buying a new car. She seems to be coming round to that idea now to

Thanks for all your input in this with all your experiences with different cars, never needed to think about any of this when buying a car until now

 

[Coowhan]

You can cope, don’t panic buy something massive. Mine is almost 2 and the only cars we’ve had since he was born are a Toyota Yaris and a BMW i3s. Just be intelligent with what accessories you buy - for example our pram is a babyzen yoyo+ and fits in a footwell, our travel cot folds down to minuscule size. It costs more but it was cheaper than a larger car. We’ve had holidays in southern Spain and France in the Yaris without any issue.

In fact, we expected the Yaris to be too small, so I bought a 470L roof box last year. Not used it yet (albeit holidays are somewhat limited at the moment).

That's good to know about the babyzen, was actually looking at the yoyo2 the other night and they do look very compact. Did you bother with the extra newborn pack with it or is it a different model?

New family car is a 5 door m140i with 2 child seats into her back chosen for how short the bases are. No regrets.

Did actually think about chopping it in for the M140 hatch, could even transfer the sports cat/diff and license for the map haha. Probably just see how it goes for now with the OH getting the fiat 500 replacement

I'll give you one piece of advice, don't bother getting one of those big expensive travel systems. You don't need it, and it will quickly turn into an expensive pain in the arse.

Have heard this from a fair few people recently, one being my sister who said it was a bit of a waste of money in the end.

 

[Coowhan]

Your biggest issue with the 240 will be the fact that it's a coupe. Yes, it has Isofix. Yes, there's room in the back to actually get a child in a seat in it. Yes, you'll likely fit what you need to in the boot. But trust me, squeezing in and out with the child seat through the coupe doors and all the associated faffing involved (cleaning up sick, picking up dropped toys, etc.) will get old REALLY fast in a coupe.

Yeah this was exactly my thoughts. I do quite like the 340, even the estate. Although I don't love the floaty feeling the 240 and 140s seem to have when pushing it on a fast B road. Obviously not a full M car, so assuming the 340 would be more of the same. Was already thinking of swapping to something else before we got the news. Although the noise from the B58 in the 40s is amazing, coming from the megane a proper set up handling car seems to feel more important to me. Not that the 240 is bad, it just feels a bit GT cruiser and feels a bit wooly compared. A lot of people say it's the cheap dampers. The OH is gonna be swapping her car to something probably SUV related so I think I will just get something 5 door and a bit more fun to throw about

There are loads of 5 door hot hatches. The Civic Type R is probably the largest and most practical if you can live with the looks.

I do really like them and think they feel really good to drive, I just think they look quite embarrassing to look at. I am 29 but I still think they look way to Barry boy from the outside personally.

 

[Coowhan]

HOWEVER - for someone coming from a 460hp bememoth, I can't help but think it would be massively underwhelming, even with the top engine (180hp).

Honestly wouldn't mind coming down power wise a bit, but yeah 180 would probably feel pretty slow. To me around the 300 mark feels fun for a good balance of actual useable power on the road and a nice feeling acceleration wise without being totally ridiculous. The sensation of speed with 460hp is good and all but when you barely get a second or two of acceleration before the next corner over and over it can get a bit old. Along with the rate you get up to license losing speeds and beyond without any effort whatsoever when you do get the chance and you've got Mr. Speed gun waiting for you somewhere can be kinda anxiety enducing.. Enjoyed some of my past cars driving on the road more being totally honest.