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Original poster

Baby friendly car suggestions?

30 replies

Optimism · 14/07/2012 20:26

Baby number 1 is due fairly soon and my car is dying and needs replacing. Any suggestions of what to get that is baby-friendly?

It will need to fit baby (clearly, unless I forget him...), pram/pushchair, whatever other baby paraphernalia I'm supposed to carry about and food shopping etc but I don't want anything enormous.

Any good experiences/suggestions of medium-sized, child-friendly cars very gratefully received. Thanks.

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HaitchJay · 14/07/2012 20:31

Is it just baby?
Pram/boot issue is up to you. I have a Yaris and bought a pram to fit.
Biggest suggestion I have is 5 doors!

StBoniface · 14/07/2012 20:33

What car do you currently have?

A 4-door Ford Focus is a good medium sized car, reliable and easy to find for a decent price. If you think that baby number 2 might follow close behind then it might work out cheaper in the long run to get something a little bigger like a Renault Scenic or Meriva or similar.

StBoniface · 14/07/2012 20:34

Sorry, I suppose I mean a 5-door Focus. I've never understood why the hatch is considered a door

BlablaSos · 14/07/2012 20:41

I got a Mazda 6. To be honest it is on the big side, but the boot is huge so can fit pushchair and shopping in.

Runningblue · 14/07/2012 21:43

Pleased with my Citroen belingo- massive boot, 3 full size back seats, sliding doors are great for loading in baby in tight spaces...

HappyCamel · 14/07/2012 21:48

I got rid of my Clio and replaced it with an ancient BMW X5. I love it. I can put everything in it with no problems, the double buggy I'll need won't be an issue. I can strap dd in and lift her out with a straight back. It's turning circle is almost the same as the Clio and it has front and rear parking sensors and it's an automatic so it's the easiest car in the world to drive. Petrol is expensive but it is hardly depreciating and is incredibly reliable.

We just went away for a week and travel cot, push chair, high chair and two suitcases went in along with toys and food with no problems at all.

I always hates 4x4s and thought they were unnecessary brutes on the road. I'm a total convert now.

ItsMyLastOne · 14/07/2012 21:48

I would make sure whatever you get has isofix and doesn't have underfloor storage boxes (this is usually in people carrier type cars). If there is underfloor storage you can't use any car seat or base that has a leg, unless you get proper filler things from the manufacturer. And isofix is just so much easier than faffing with belts!

Also, if you plan on having one more child and sometimes have 3 adults in the car, or you plan on having another 2 children, then make sure your back seat is a decent shape and size to be able to fit in two car seats and an adult, or 3 car seats.

Having 3 doors isn't necessarily that bad as having the ability to move the front seat forward so far makes it a lot easier to get into the back into the middle seat between two car seats. In a 5 door it's generally more difficult to do that as you have to climb over a car seat on the side to get in the middle, or if that's not possible you have to climb theough the front over the handbrake and into the back. I've had far too much experience having to do this!

Original poster

Optimism · 14/07/2012 21:48

Thanks very much for suggestions so far. Had been wondering about a Focus and quite like the look of the Mazdas.

We are being given a pram by family who have finished with it so I suppose we need to get a car that it will fit in - though that sounds like a crazy way round to do things. Not sure what model pram it is. Do they vary much in size when folded? We haven't looked at them at all since we are being given one for free and I am completely clueless. Really need to get onto it.

Would love baby number 2 to follow close behind but it has taken us several years to get this far with baby number 1 so I am obviously not counting my chickens...

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Original poster

Optimism · 14/07/2012 21:52

Thanks again for more thoughts while I was writing the above - all sounds like very useful advice and am very happy to learn from others' experiences!

OP posts:

PotteringAlong · 14/07/2012 21:57

We've got a Toyota auris - I like it!

BikeRunSki · 14/07/2012 22:03

I chose my Skoda Fabia estate (small estate mind, sort of Golf size) when DC2 was on the way, which coincided with company A4 going back. A4 was a rubbish mum car - boot surprisingly small. Fabia is brilliant, boot is massive, but still a small car.

HermioneE · 14/07/2012 22:11

I probably shouldn't post as I have no DC yet. But we recently got a new car and went for a Honda Jazz as Which! magazine gave it the best reviews for being child/pram friendly. (In the supermini category anyway - we didn't look at anything bigger.) Isofix and a good sized boot were their main criteria.

As I say, whether it will come through on fitting DC in is yet to be tested, but it definitely seems very big inside for a supermini.

ItsMyLastOne · 14/07/2012 22:12

Folded pushchair sizes various enormously, and doubles (if/when you need one) are an absolute mine field!

ItsMyLastOne · 14/07/2012 22:16

Sorry for all the posts but I just had another thought - generally a hatchback will have a bigger, more accessible boot than a saloon type. DP has a big saloon Mercedes thing but the boot is so awkward to get into, whereas my mum's Peugeot 207 has a small boot but it's a lot easier to get our double pushchair in there.

Also check whether the wheels on the pushchair are quick release, that can make all e difference for squeezing it into the boot.

amothersplaceisinthewrong · 14/07/2012 22:21

Can't beat a Volvo estate. for the baby/small kid/buggies etc (IMHO)

sammyleh · 14/07/2012 22:54

I have a Seat Leon... nice and big but without being overly massive. Big boot, LOADS of room in the back, ISOfix and its good on fuel too :)

crazypaving · 15/07/2012 11:36

Trouble with volvo estates is that they don't always come with isofix as standard. But yes, lovely cars.

twizzlestix · 15/07/2012 14:42

Skoda Octavia, perhaps bit bigger than you'd like but tonnes of boot space! Can't fit pram plus carry cot AND shopping in the boot!

twizzlestix · 15/07/2012 14:43

Oops meant can fit it all in...

MrsJohnDeere · 15/07/2012 14:57

Baby clutter expands to fill the space available. When ds2 was a baby we had a huge Audi A6 and a tiny Ford Puma, and used both happily.

If you think you might have another child in fairly short order look for something that comfortably fits a double pushchair, rather than a pram that you might only use for the first few months.

mylittlemonkey · 15/07/2012 21:57

Would defintely recommend a golf as come with isofix, plenty of room in back seats and boot is big enough for any pram and shopping and can even gets friends buggy in as well when we go or days out with her little one.

candr · 15/07/2012 22:01

I have a Honda Civic. Fits everything in and having an open flat boot has been very useful for nappy changes atc. Fits pram, travel cot and lots of luggage too with quite big back seats for all my/babies junk.

Katienana · 15/07/2012 22:04

We just got rid of our mg for a vauxhall meriva. we would also have gone for a focus or a nissan note.

MrsReiver · 15/07/2012 22:04

We've always had Fiat Puntos - they might look dinky but there's plenty room in them.

nancerama · 15/07/2012 22:09

We love our Mini. Only 3 door, but the rear seat is much more accessible than many of the 5 door cars we test drove. We managed to go away for a week with our iCandy cherry and all our luggage easily.

We are not planning baby number 2 though - I don't think it could cope with a bigger family.

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