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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask for a suitable car for 2 kids?

32 replies

JollyBlue · 24/03/2026 23:23

DP is about to begin driving lessons and we are looking for recs for a cheap-ish but reliable daily driver. I don’t drive so I have no clue about the things you’d typically look for in a car, insurance, whether to buy outright or finance etc so anything helps. We are 23, not married yet so expecting expensive insurance. 2 kids (5 and 4 months) so needs to be able to fit 2 car seats and a decent sized boot for pram and shopping. Also don’t know if this is asking for too much but ideally I would love a car which is higher suspension as putting carseats in and out of low cars is a pisstake, and both of our backs are not where they should be for our age to be honest.

I don’t know where to start so feel free to give any advice, thanks!

OP posts:
Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies · 25/03/2026 06:06

My 22 year old dd has recently bought a Yaris (not the hybrid). It fits her 3 hulking siblings in easily.

My parents have the hybrid Yaris, which has a nice big boot, is higher, but the back seats aren’t generous. That said, adults can fit in reasonably easy, so it should be fine for your dc.

it goes without saying that you try out the car with car seats in before buying.

parietal · 25/03/2026 06:04

for whatever car you are thinking of, look up car reviews on YouTube. There are often detailed videos showing boot space and how smooth it runs etc. saves a lot of travel to see cars.

Simonjt · 25/03/2026 06:00

I second the honda jazz suggestion.

You only put the car seats in to fit, and then remove when they need a different one, so its seems very silly to buy a car to make that one fitting a tiny bit easier.

bunnyvsmonkey · 25/03/2026 05:53

I'd look for ones you can learn to drive in.

WhereIsMyLight · 25/03/2026 05:48

Sometimes SUV crossovers don’t have that much space, so we had a Karoq as a courtesy car and with a rear facing car seat, my knees were on the dashboard as a passenger.

I’d probably look at a Ford focus. Whilst not high, the boot is flat which means you slide a pram in rather than have to lift in and out.

The second hand market has exploded though so it’ll be a case of working out your budget, looking on autotrader to see what is out there. Playing with some quotes on insurance and seeing what comes out cheapest. Then seeing if the car seats will fit to narrow it down to 2 or 3 models and then searching for the best history (no crashes, fewer owners), the best mileage and best age of those 2-3 models within your budget.

WiseSheep · 25/03/2026 05:37

Get on auto-trader see what is out there and have a 'dry run' for insurance quotes on compare the market. Choose based on what isn't too bad to insure. It can be surprising my Renault clio costs more than my SUV to insure.

Keroppi · 25/03/2026 03:32

Buy second hand outright unless either of you get a car from a work salary sacrifice scheme
Anything Japanese is always reliable and not too bad to fix ie Honda Jazz would be a great option for you
Roomy and good boot space