To ask about prams and small cars?

[Funnyface1]

Recently had my car written off by a driver hitting me from behind. I'm having a lot of trouble finding a replacement. I'm short and feel uncomfortable in big cars but can't have something too tiny as I need to fit a pram in.

What do you drive that's not big but fits a pram? Also does anyone drive a Toyota aygo and fit any kind of pram in it? I'd love one but dh maintains its too small and is probably right.

[MrsDarkDestroyer]

We have a new style Peugeot 308. The boot is fairly large and comfortably fits my Bugaboo Cameleon. Also I'm fairly tall and my ds and dn fit comfortably behind in their car seats.

[floatyjosmum]

I had an aygo with dc3. we had a silver Cross surf and just had to pop a wheel off to put it in the boot. the seat went in the back of the car and we used an isofix Base.

it wasn't our main car but was what I drove all the time with her and we managed.

[ProfessionalCynic]

I also had a Babystyle Oyster with a Toyota Aygo. Not ideal, but fine. I couldn't find anything that would fit better, and it was actually a really nice pram/pushchair.

[FancyFlaps]

My Aygo happily took a Babystyle Oyster. One seat needed to be collapsed to take the carrycot when using the pram, but when ds graduated to pushchair the full thing would fit, if folded parent facing.

[mumthatruns]

I have a new Citroen C1 and can get my sons silver cross pop pram in the boot. He's also 2 and still rear facing in a cybex sirona car seat (not the smallest!).
It's usually just him and me in the car as hubby has the bigger car for work, but I have had passengers in too with no space issues.

I can get a rucksack and a couple of other bits in the boot with the pram.

[Cheby]

Another vote for the Jazz here. I can fit my tank of a bugaboo in the boot and two ERF seats in the back. Additional storage under the rear seats, which also fold completely flat so you can fit tonnes in it. We could get more in the Jazz than in our big family saloon.

[Frazzled2207]

Babyjogger def fits in the back of an aygo.

[CottonSock]

We just traded in our jazz btw. It was a very good car but not very comfy ride.

[CottonSock]

I've just switched to a ceed estate and find visibility really ok and I'm very short. In bigger and newer cars the seat goes up and down.

[silkpyjamasallday]

We have a Ford Focus and a bugaboo bee 3 and it fits with loads of space to spare, but passengers who want more leg room or to have the seat reclined have to lump it if the baby's car seat is behind as you have to have it quite far forward to fit the car seat in. We have also found that the seat belts are a bit too short and it is a struggle to strap in the seat if it isn't at the perfect angle. My old clio now driven by DB also fits the buggy in the boot no problem.

Definitely go and try it out at the garage as both prams and cars are big cost outlays and need to work together

[Girafaig]

I'm short and have been comfortable with mid-range cars. I've currently got an Astra which comfortably takes a large pram (although I can't remember what a parcel shelf is), and previously had a Megane. It wasn't bad adjusting from the Corsa I learned in.

DH has larger cars. I'm fine with the external proportions of the car, but the driving position can feel out of alignment. His Octavia is particularly annoying as the gears are by my hips, the hand brake behind me, and the accelerator hinged from the floor an absolute bugger for very small feet- not an issue for his size 11s!

Small driver doesn't have to equal small car.

[Funnyface1]

My dh was keen on a Honda jazz, said he thought that might be a good car for me so I will check it out, thanks.

Have given up on an aygo, I really do think it would be too small for all of us.

[pinkandstripey]

*corsa

[pinkandstripey]

Taking the parcel shelf out is the way to go with small cars sometimes. I had a 10 year old cords and a uppababy vista, frame folded in half stood up, pushchair seat sort of wrapped round it. If you're using the Pram attachments (bassinets) they usually fold flat ish.

I now drive a Nissan Juke and have a baby jogger mini and that fits flat, even though the juke boot is tiny.

[SpagettiNetty]

I had an aygo when DD was born. You can fit a loola in the boot if in two parts. I tended to just use the wheels of the loola with the car seat and leave the seat unit in the house as it was much easier.

Umbrella folds will fit in an aygo, but mine (silver cross pop) wouldn't lie completely flat, it had to be in at a slight angle.

I've changed my car to a Hyundai I20 now, and I love it :) I find it much easier than the aygo to drive, and can actually fit shopping in the boot now and not just the buggy :)

The other thing about the aygo is it felt quite flimsy to drive, especially on the motorway or in bad weather. I feel much safer in the i20 to be honest. I originally bought the aygo as it was the smallest car I could find, and I was a very nervous driver.

After someone reversed into me in a petrol station last year, insurance company gave me a i10 courtesy car - that was lovely to drive, and the boot is slightly bigger than the aygo even though the car itself is not much bigger. Driving the i10 gave me the confidence to test drive the i20 and now I love it :)

[LadySalmakia]

Oh and the other good thing is that the front seat is really adjustable and so my very tall DH can all drive it comfortably.

And although a bit expensive, the basic models of Honda come with way more bells and whistles than other makes. The automatic wipers are my favourite bit of "don't need it but...".

[LadySalmakia]

I've got a new style Honda Jazz and it's brilliant. Generous boot, drives like a smaller car and can be quite nippy if not very loaded, backseats have tons of space for kids. The seats fold down in really handy ways for moving lots of crap around as well.

It's also one of that most highly rated cars in tbf class for safety. It all went out of my head as soon as I'd bought it but it won awards for high safety specs in 2016.

The oldest ones are probably 18mos now so you should be able to get a second hand one but I got an excellent deal on a pre reg.

[SelfObsessionHoney]

I've got a skoda citigo and I can fit the metal base of my pram into the boot, but the seat bit has to go in the car, it just won't fit in the boot as well. It's a complete pain in the arse really.

[Sunshinegirl82]

I have a Peugeot 2008, it's great. Big boot and 5 doors but doesn't feel like a massive car to drive. Dacia Stepway might be worth a look as well, cheap too.

[winewolfhowls]

Honda jazz. Drives like a smaller car like a corsage but generous boot.

[MalcomTuckerInSpace]

We had a c1 which is the same shell as an aygo. It fitted a car seat and a pram, but the carrycot part had to go on the back seat not in boot, and you couldn't fit anything much else in. We had to sell when I got pregnant with dd2, no way would it have fitted two kids. So possibly also depends if you're planning a second.

[poppy2021]

Seat Leon. Fab boot. 5 doors. Nice to drive and economical. Get one with parking sensors front and rear.

[OwlinaTree]

Yes to car seat issues. The larger rear facing take up a lot of space.

[liquidrevolution]

I have a C3. Have been on holidays with DH, DD (2.9) and a large collie dog in it since she was born. Now shes older DH wants me to get a bigger car even though the amount of stuff we need for DD is much less

He can eff off. I love a nippy small car.

[Funnyface1]

Thanks all. I had a Micra and while​ I loved it, it was a bit small and it felt like there wasn't much between the impact and my baby. So it's an impossible ask really, small car, massive boot.

I think I will have to consider a bigger car and just work at getting use to it. Dh drives a much bigger car and I manage in that when I have to.

Yes, booster seat for ds and rear facing for dd.