How big a car do you need?

[discocake]

We got our first car recently and were chatting about it with a couple of friends who've just had their first baby. The car's nothing unusual - a normal sized hatchback - but DH was saying how he was pleased with how it drives and we're planning to keep it for a while.

One of our friends replied: "Fair enough, unless you find that your space requirements change in the coming years" and they both smiled.

As it happens we have been TTC for a while and would still envisage keeping the same car if it did work out. Am I being a bit naïve to think beyond a certain point it's really just a matter of personal preference? Reviews for our car said a normal sized pram would fit fine and we've had no problems with bulky holiday luggage. If we had a massive estate car or 4x4 I think we'd be tempted to fill it with junk or "just in case" bits you never use.

This, also the people who when you have you have a newborn say "wait till they're crawling its so much harder" then it's wait until they're walking, wait until they're at school, etc, etc!

Thank you, both - I can already feel myself bristling at this

Dh used to have a Clio.
He is tall so pushes the driver's seat right back. It's impossible to sit behind him once your legs are long enough to go over the edge of the back seat. Ok with 1 kid in front and 2nd behind 1st (if kid old enough for front seat). Couldn't pick a friend up though.

When our jobs/ commutes changed and he did most child ferrying we swapped cars so he got the big one. I can fit 3 kids in the Clio (2 boosters). He now drives an astra estate. Camping holidays for 4 of us (plus surf/paddle boards etc) need a roof box.

I definitely feel our hatchback is getting to small for the four of us. Our two kids are second half of primary school.

Ford Focus here- had it forever. Fits absolutely loads in it. Furniture from ikea- no trouble.
My dad was over 6 ft 5 and he drove a mini!!

I had a corsa when Ds was younger. Only changed because needed something a bit bigger for ds wheelchair

Yep we had a Citroen Picasso (loved that car) which I guess is a biggish hatchback, but we did have three DC and it was the only model we could find that easily took three proper car seats (so many cars don't have a decent space in the middle).

Even then, it wasn't an estate or a seven-seater; when we went on a two-week bucket and spade UK holiday, we used to pack carefully, take minimal clothes and prided ourselves on not needing a roofbox. It makes you think carefully about what you need but that's no bad thing.

Don't think we ever took the high chair anywhere tbh and we used sling and buggyboard so no double buggy either. Never had a travel cot - also not an essential item for us tbh. So we kept the load down in that way. It was never an issue.

I had a friend who, on conceiving her second child, automatically bought an estate as nothing else would be big enough. I was a bit if I am honest.

I have a 'super mini' car. We have 3 children 10-5. A bigger car would be great, but I can't afford one. DH also has a car though - if we go camping we usually have to take both cars, but otherwise we can all fit in one car (often mine).

I have a BMW X6 Sport. It fits everything I need. DH also has his own car. When dd was a baby we always took mine because of the car seat.
Now when going out together we take whatever car is nearest.

@Wombat43

The size of the car doesn't always match the space available in it. I had a Jazz, which was far more usable than cars twice the size. I've driven a lot of cars, as I had a job requiring that & some big cars are so claustrophobic. Now drive a van & a very small car, both boxy, so good space.

Fully agree with that. Some of the "bigger" cars are very cramped inside due to wide door storage, central console, etc. Likewise some are badly designed re bootspace with wheel arches, high load bays, etc which mean that luggage etc can be difficult to get in.

For example, once on holiday (4 people with 4 full size suitcases), we were given a Honda Jazz and my initial reaction was that we'd never get the suitcases in the boot. The hire guy came and fitted them in for us - because the boot was "boxy" and low floored, he did it. We've also hired suvs where 4 large suitcases were impossible to get in due to slopey sides, high floor and wheel arches.

Most prams collapse to fit smaller boots these days, but I don't think many hatchbacks wouldn't fit a normal pram. I have a range rover vogue and a vw golf and can fit a pram and 2 car seats in both easily.

When we had DD we only had one car (fiesta) and managed fine with that until I went back to work.

We've got a qashqai now, we go camping a lot so need the space!

I think it depends on how many children you end up with and what sort of holidays you take. We went from taking uk holidays where we bunged one (shared) suitcase in the back of the Micra, to having three children, two in car seats, plus four suitcases, a travel cot, a buggy, fifteen board games, kites, footballs, rounders sets, a guitar and a games console in the boot of an XC90. And we're not even campers! It's a lot better now we're not carting about a massive pram, but you'd be surprised at how much "stuff" you can fill the car with when you have DC. I suspect it expands to fit the space available though - so if it doesn't fit you just won't take it.

We have a small red thing as a run around and two discoveries for towing/stuff, but that is dictated by hobbies.

We got a BMW i3 (small, electric car) in Sep which is working fine with our 3 and 5yr old. My FIL was dead against us getting it because it's small - but within 2 months of us getting it, he'd sold his car (a Nissan Leaf) and bought his own.

Kids don't really need that much room in cars. When I was young my mum had an old-fashioned mini and I remember my mum and us 3 kids bombing up the M1 to visit family up North for a few days and it was all fine, even when we were teenagers.

I live in a suburb of London. I man a school street road closure once a week, and spend it watching lots of people dropping off their kids to school. So, so many parents with massive cars - huge Range Rovers where they really have no hope of seeing any child height people anywhere near their car. I worry a lot about climate change, and honestly find it quite sickening; all that petrol burning for the sake of transporting ginormous metal hulks around when something smaller would've been fine and probably more manouevarable and practical).

There is a snag with the BMW i3. We like camping weekends and also go to a festival once a year, and the car wouldn't fit all the camping equipment in the boot. But we have a plan: one parent will drive the stuff in the car to the campsite/festival, the other parent will take the kids on public transport. Turns out nearly everywhere we visit is 90% doable with public transport and maybe a lift or taxi to get us the last 10% of the way. Plus the kids hate long car journeys and I hate long car journeys with the kids moaning. Train fares are expensive, but probably far less expensive than buying and running a huge car all year round just for the sake of a handful of trips.

I asked my DH why SUVs are so popular, cos it baffles me. He says it's because they don't cost much more than normal size cars to make, but you can charge more for them because they're bigger, so the margin on them is better - hence car companies have been advertising and marketing them very heavily.

Engine efficiency has come on massively in the last decade, with those improvements is mpg we should be seeing transport emissions reducing in the past years but actually they're staying level. And some of this is attributed to cars just getting bigger.

In comparison household electricity consumption dropped by 18% in the UK between 2009-2019. Amazing, but true. And that's been because of LED lights and more efficient appliances. Imagine if that'd been replicated with transport?

I used to have a totally irrational need for a massive boot (I only have one child, so didn't really have that much stuff to cart around) so drove a Landrover Discovery for a few years. I've now 'downsized' to a MB ML. It feels tiny in comparison, but it's a pretty big car still. I just like big cars I think. We're also a tall family (dh and I are both over 6ft), so having the space for legs and child car seats is needed. I doubt I'll ever drive a smaller car than I have now.

We've got an estate and we wouldn't have anything else. We underestimated how much space a big pram and loads of shopping bags takes up especially when you've got a newborn.

I wouldn't get an SUV though.

It's preference at that size point. When we had our son we owned a 2 door, quite low sports car (mitsubishi eclipse) and a small 3 door hatchback (mitsubishi colt). We were fine with both cars. Pram, carrier, whatever could always fit in.
We did change the colt to a 5 door lancer sedan 1 year in, as it was a pain in the arse to fit carrier in the back. But if we didn't have the means to do it, it would have been perfectly fine.
As kid grew we had multiple cars, some 3, some 5 door and all of them were okay. The worst was having the biggest car seat and changing it between the 2 cars, which at that time were both 3 door ones. That sucked massively. Loved it when kid switched finally to booster seat and then to nothing :)
Atm I have a Smart (and H has a bmw3). This is the point where I would not be happy driving a newborn around in a Smart, but that is not to say that it couldn't be done. I am sure our old pram could fit in the back. It is surprisingly "big".
In terms of what you pack, going away.... we did 10 years in suzuki swift and colt camping in slovenia. We always had everything we needed and still space left.
But to be fair, when I rented a Hyundai 4*4 (upgrade from a cheapest i3 luckily) it was really nice to be able to open the back, sit there and have lunch comfortably.
And yet still ended up buying a Smart :)

We have three DC and don’t have a car at all. We have rarely missed not having one. If we hire one, we get the smallest available. I think if you get a big car you end up just filling it with stuff just because you can. As you are used to not having a car at all, you’ll be fine with a small car for years/for ever.

You’ll be absolutely fine. The problem with some parents is that if you’re not doing it their way, you’re doing it wrong. Plus there seems to be this almost competitive’oh just you wait’ vibe with some (you think you’re tired now, just you wait etc!)
Personally I’ve an Audi A3 and a Mitsubishi L200. One baby son and a small dog. It’s true that the L200 is easier, we’ve a canopy on the back so essentially a huge boot but the Audi is fine too. You work with what you have.

I had a classic mini when DS was born. Bought stuff that would fit in the car and managed fine with it for many years. The only problem I did have was I couldn’t physically fit behind the steering wheel from about 8 months pregnant.

DS has now passed his test and I have a tiny Smart car which fits me and the dog!

I think you are right, unless you have triplets, get 2 large dogs and a hobby which involves equipment, that you both want to bring your kids and dogs to.

We had a Seat Leon when the 3 kids were small, it had a really generous size boot. But we found having 3 in car seats was a nightmare accessing the seat belt buckles so we upsized to a Zafira which was amazing.

We now have a Tarraco which is medium sized SUV and a love it!!!

I would say, with kids you dont always realise how much stuff you need to take with you. Daily trips, fine. Holidays, especially self catering style and you'll need a good sized boot!

The only thing I think is a must is a 5 door with kids.

It depends where and how often you go on holiday, then whether you cartnfriends around and need the extra seats, and again when they go to uni and you need to pack their stuff every term. Not so long ago we collected dd at the end of the year and had to send dh home on the train!

I recall going on holiday in a Rover 416i when ds was 3.5 and dd 11 weeks. By the time I had put the pram and carry cot in and our luggage, there was no space then for DH. We bought a Zafira when we got home! As the DC got bigger we found a bigger car more helpful.

Recently I replaced my SMax with a Honda CRV purely because it is easier for elderly parents to get in and out of than something lower. And I like it.

We have a large hatchback...it's fine for us and our two kids. It was a bit of a squeeze when we went on a self catering holiday but manageable. I don't see how one child can need so much stuff that you would need a huge car?