Does a car exist that's both spacious and not hideous for the environment / expensive to run?

[TammySwansonTwo]

We have twins. We currently have a VW Polo - there's just not enough room for everything we need to transport. Want to go and visit family for the weekend but we can't fit more than the double buggy, nappy bag and maybe high chairs in the boot if we play Tetris.

Considering hiring a bigger car but now we are also thinking about just buying a bigger one as I'm sure we will need the space.

Any good suggestions, fellow parents?

Oh, I was just coming to suggest a golf.
How old are the twins? The older they get the less you need to cart around with you.

I'd love the Mitsubishi Outlander Phev (Hybrid). We've got the 7 seater diesel version though because we tow and have 3 kids so sometimes need 7 seats, but the boot is massive and its lovely to drive.

What’s your budget?

Get a plug in hybrid. There is a Mitsubishi one I think...

Buying any new car is massively destructive to “the environment” hth

If it's just on odd occasions that you can't fit everything in, could you get roof bars, and use a box when necessary? While you will use more fuel when it's on, it's going to be greener than a new car. Then you can reassess later. Although my uncle has always had a Fiesta-sized car or similar and him and his two boys are well over six foot - I was never quite sure how they managed it!

What's your mileage? Unless it's very high, I wouldn't focus too much on hybrids etc. If you only use your car for short journeys once or twice a week, you could drive a Range Rover and the fuel consumption wouldn't be a big issue.

I like my Golf, but the boot isn't gigantic. A Toyota Verso fits a lot of people and stuff in.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, will look into them. DH works from home and I don't drive so the car isn't used crazy amounts at the moment (weekends and a couple of times a week probably) but we do find it quite restrictive - can fit what we need for a day out but couldn't go shopping for example as the boot is rammed. They're almost 15mo now, still in their infant car seats at the moment and those plus the bases take up the whole of the back seat with a tiny gap in the middle and soon we will need bigger car seats.

The VW Polo we have was bought nearly two years ago second hand and probably doesn't have much longer to live anyway, it's DHs first car (only took his test just before he got this) so the plan was to get something old and get used to driving in that, then upgrade when he was more confident.

He would love a Range Rover or land rover but the tax and insurance are so pricey, I'm just not sure if we really need to go that far - maybe a bigger family car would be better (plus we have on street parking so don't want anything too massive!).

Budget wise we are flexible - nothing too insanely expensive but we could afford a fair amount for something that works for us. We aren't necessarily planning for another baby in future but probably a good idea to get something we can fit a third car seat into just in case.

Ford C Max, or Citroen C3 Picasso?

Why not look into getting an Estate car?