Aibu to want a massive car?

[cultkid]

I have an Arteon at the minute. It's basically the biggest cabin and boot size I could find without having a van/ SUV which would be quite the gas guzzler / possibly a bit too big to be respectful on school run

We have 3 bikes and my youngest will have one soon too. We love the outdoors. Lease is coming up in Jan and I need to order a new car sort of in the next 12 weeks or I need to extend the lease

The car is 260£ all in pm which is a great price and I really love it but the car is too small for the boys now with their long legs/ car seats in the back

I can't even fit between the two car seats in the back and I am only 47 kg

What cars could I look at and is it bad to get a big one? I want another baby, my husband doesn't but I think we will have one anyway. It would likely be during the lease period of this next car I order so what ideas could I have?

Thinking of
Sharan
Seat Altecca (i think that's what it is)
Mercedes Vito or whatever the van one is called
Transporter (husband had one for work but has now got a crafter coming it only has 3 seats)
Xc90 (but not keen)

I want to find a good deal as wellon the car

Ideas?

I really like the look of the kia e Niro. SUV but electric and huge range

Not RTFT but don't get a Sharan. Its a perfectly good people carrier but a lousy stuff carrier. There is very little luggage space unless you take the two back seats out. We are sporty/outdoorsy people too and we have had lots if different people carriers as my DH gets a new company car every 6 months or so. None of them are great for luggage to be honest. We need to take at least one back seat out to fit our sailing gear in most, and there's no chance of a hockey goalkeeper kit fitting in any of the ones we've had with all the seats in.
If you want your bikes inside you are going to need something like a Transporter IMHO. We did take 3 bikes and enough stuff for a week's self catering holiday abroad in a Sharan last year but that was with both back seats out and the bikes completely disassembled. You could put a towbar on with a bike carrier of course but a 3 or 4 bike carrier makes your vehicle pretty long - it would have taken us up to the next price bracket on the ferry - and I think your bikes are quite vulnerable in that circumstance. A Transporter may be just as long or longer, but at least its solid! I guess it depends on how far you are driving and on what kind of roads, but I am not keen on my bikes being on a carrier for anything other than short journeys.
Not sure why people are having a go at you about your weight by the way. 47kg is about 7.5 stone isn't it? Hardly abnormal unless you are tall.

Have a look at the Toyota estima.

Re:Kia Niro, my boss has a hybrid one. They are smaller than they look (he was replacing an Octavia and is a bit disappointed) but the fuel consumption is fantastic (fantastically low) and the electric range is very good.

MrsAvocet gives exactly the reasons why we got our Transporter for the bikes, after about a year of 2 of having them on a 4 bike tow bar rack.

'AIBU to want a big car'. Not 'AIBU to have a baby even though my husband doesn't want one!' 😂😂 Go get a bigger car...

Why get a huge car when you can use a bike rack? You've only got two small kids.

You know kids grow right? And with a dad over 6ft tall, they'll probably grow quickly. I was taller than my mum by about 7/8 years old and she's similar in height to op. Might as well get a bigger car to fit them in a few years if they can afford it. Plus if they have a third child, they'll need the space.

So many joy thieves on here trying to put down the OP

I echo others in that a Transporter could be your best bet.

XC90 T8 hybrid has very low CO2 emissions and should silence the sudden influx of green eyed monsters posters on here.

@Baaaahhhhh I don’t think anyone would want to go backwards in terms of child seat safety. It used to be easy to fit three kids in the back when no one bothered about car seats and if they had boosters they were tiny things. And people thought nothing of taking a journey sat on someone’s lap or in the boot.

Why get a huge car when you can use a bike rack?

Car handling
Bike security
Bike protection
Bike maintenance
Ease of use (even the bike racks that tip up are a PITA)
Ability to go under height limiters (roof mounted racks)
Ability to fit into standard length parking spaces (rear/tow bar mounted rack)

I actually think you'd be well suited to a large estate, OP. The Skoda superb is particularly excellent as it's HUGE inside (not much less space in there than my current Q7) and really well built. I'd have an estate any day if I didn't have 4 kids.

@Pinkypie86 no chance of them managing in an x3. We have one and we like it but we have to move the car seat on longer trips when we switch driver as DH isn’t comfortable with it behind him (he’s tall but not unusually so) and the boot wouldn’t fit four bikes.

An X5 or one of the larger estates might be an option.

@TheStoic

You are going to have a baby against your husband’s wishes, AND you want a big car, AND you’re only 47kg???

You could’ve had 3 different threads. Lazy.

Lol

We have an XC90. It's a tank but I love it!

@thisaintmyusername

I actually think you'd be well suited to a large estate, OP. The Skoda superb is particularly excellent as it's HUGE inside (not much less space in there than my current Q7) and really well built. I'd have an estate any day if I didn't have 4 kids.

Top comment very much agree - Superb is just that when it comes to sheer load space inside.

OP would you consider something a bit mad? When I was car shopping I looked around and came across the Mercedes GL (or now called GLS).

It's so roomy, a proper seats-7-adults and luggage configuration, and is built like a tank.

I have 3 dc and a big suv (sorry Mumsnet). I think you'll struggle to fit three of your type of car seats across the back in anything other than a transporter. We just managed it but two dc were in high back boosters by the time dc3 arrived. I ended up buying new boosters to get narrower ones even though my car is huge.
If you do find a car you're happy with, try a tow bar bike rack which tips away from the car so you don't have to take it off to access the boot.

I'm with the person who suggested the car is not the main issue here.

So many joy thieves on here trying to put down the OP

No, just people who care about the environment and don't want large cars blocking up the roads. Saw a case in point the other day. Big bully SUV wanting to turn right, car behind wanted to go legt, couldn't get by. If the SUV had been a normal sized car it could have gone by and carried on its way. SUVs create congestion so aren't just polluters themselves, but cause more pollution.

Yes kids grow. They can still fit on the back seat of a normal car.

@cologne4711

I respect your point, and I ended up flamed all over a 900+ post thread that I created last year saying that I resented SUVs.

They do create congestion, they are often far too big for UK roads, but a lot of the post about them on here are as much motivated by digs at people, as they are about genuine environmental concern.

And anyone who spends any time on here will know that telling someone to do something always has the opposite effect. People like their SUVs on here because quite a lot of folk don't want to be seen in a Sharan , a Galaxy, or an Alhambra. I've had folk categorise those as "taxis", they want a "lifestyle" vehicle.

Omfg. We're on mumsnet. Lots of people have children, some multiples of. The most environmentally unfriendly thing you can do. But yeah, bloody 4x4 drivers are ruining the planet. 🤨🙄

Omfg. We're on mumsnet. Lots of people have children, some multiples of. The most environmentally unfriendly thing you can do. But yeah, bloody 4x4 drivers are ruining the planet

Yeah, but there are also quite a few of us, who although they have two children, have never seen the need for huge cars. I have had a succession of convertibles and coupe's, because that's what I like to drive. My biggest car/boot was a VW Golf TDI. DH cars were all executive type coupe's, which we very successfully drove across Europe several times with two children on board, plus all the stuff required.

Well, I have a 4x4 (bought second hand, so that's recycling, no?) but I only have 1 child. Evens things out doesn't it?

@GinDaddyRedux

We looked at one of them actually when we had our first baby..
It feels SO expensive

Still might be the best option

It's a beast isn't it?

@bulldogmum

We have an XC90, you can get a hybrid version and it’s in the top 10 low emission cars so that could solve the gas guzzling issue. We love ours, have a booster seat for our 4 year old and a rear facing car seat for our 2 year old (GB vaya which is same size as a Cybex sirona) and I’m bigger than you and can fit in the middle comfortably. The boot space with the rear seats down is huge, we get 2 dogs and a double buggy in. With the back seats up it’s enough for a balance or small bike. The rear seats give lots of space. My DH is 6ft 5 and he can sit to drive comfortably with the rear facing seat behind him. The hybrid xc90 would probably cost more though per month than your current payment.

I've got the XC90 hybrid (T8) and love it! So much space for camping gear etc. Re bikes you will need a roof rack or a tow bar rack.