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Original poster

help us choose a car!!

18 replies

insanidee · 25/04/2004 07:58

As it seems very likely that our car will be written off following the accident last week, we are looking at using dh DLA to get a new car. we looked at a ford focus yesterday which seemed nice. can you fit 2 booster seats, plus a baby seat in the back if need be? (we are planning on another child soon). we are also going to look at a nissan almera tino, toyota coralla and vauxhall astra. how big are these cars in the back. i know the tino will be large as its classed as a small MPV, but dh doesnt like cars too big. he also likes to be able to see the bonnet when parking, (we currently have a Fiat punto from the insurence company and its horribale to park as cant see the bonnet on it)

also might go see these. any opinions on them greatly needed.
Hyundai accent
renault new magane (is that the one with the huge back end?)
fiat stilo
kia Rio

OP posts:

gold123 · 25/04/2004 10:10

Well we drive a renault laguna - the boot is huge - go and have a look at one and see, my DH said that the next car we will probably go for is the new megane, he has been in one and is very impressed. I am also thinking of another child and my only concern is that if I give up my laguna, I just won't have the space for pram etc.. in my personal opinion I have been very happy with renaults.

sexgoddess · 25/04/2004 10:21

My sis has a Golf and it's really comfy and quite spacious. Think I'd be inclined to go for a Freelander though.

Original poster

insanidee · 25/04/2004 10:22

the thing is, we are limited to what is available on the mobility scheme. the ones listed are available and seem like what we really need.

OP posts:

Original poster

insanidee · 25/04/2004 10:23

and they are all brand new. yippee!!

OP posts:

eidsvold · 25/04/2004 10:26

if we were staying here we were going to upgrade from a Renault Clio to the Megane - that would be with two buggies, two car seats and still seemed roomy. I think the accent from memory might be too small for what you want .. the megane is the one with the butt I would ( if it isn ot too difficult) go and check them all out and see what you think

Original poster

insanidee · 25/04/2004 10:28

we are planning to, as we really need to find the one most perfectly suited. are car grages open sundays? might phone the ones nearby and arrange test drives.

OP posts:

Tinker · 25/04/2004 11:39

I've got a Hyundai Accent - deeply untrendy but you get a lot for your money. Hyundais are supposed to be dead reliable and, mine's now nearly 6 years old and has had no real problems (don't want to speak to soon). It's roomy inside and the boot is a decent size. Bodywork is quite tinny though.

juniper68 · 26/04/2004 14:18

our last car was an accent and great we now have a mazda (premacy?) which is lovely too.
You're right Tinker accent's are v reliable

Hulababy · 26/04/2004 14:19

Not sure ont he cars listed here but my advise is, when you go and look at the cars tsake the things you normally have to take out with you - like pushchair, bad, etc. And try them to make sure it all fits. Try your car seats too. We did this and none of the garages minded at all.

BadHair · 26/04/2004 14:27

Dp has Ford Focus and loves it - boot fits a 3-wheeler in easily and its deep so you can put shopping or luggage on the top. Might have probs with 3 child seats though. Lots of leg-room in the back but not sure if enough width. Perhaps if you used seatbelt adjusters rather than booster seats?

My mum has an Almeira but she has probs parking as can't see the bonnet properly. She's only 5 foot 5 though, so if your dh is taller he'd probably be OK. Not sure about the boot as I don't think I've ever seen it.

Personally I'd go for the Focus as its a dream to drive and the doors have a reassuringly solid clunk when you shut them.

TW · 26/04/2004 14:46

I would be really careful about fitting the seats. You don't say what age your kids are, but some of the buckle bits are really tricky to get at when the back seat is full. Bear in mind that while a new baby will be in a rockatot type seat for some time, s/he will then move to a fixed one. I have a Saab 9-5 estate - my 3 are 5.5, almost 4 and just 2, so at one point, I had a newborn, a not-quite-2yr old and a 3.5-yr-old. The seats fitted fine, but of course at that point were all fixed. Now it JUST works because the ds1 has a built-in booster, which is narrower than a regular booster, so he can get his hand in to plug himself in. ds2 is in his fixed seat in the middle (which is a nightmare as he attacks the others, but it's the only way they'll all fit), then dd has a booster with a back, as she is not quite grown-up enough to sit up properly on a regular booster. Her buckle (the plug bit of the seatbelt) and the buckle for her little brother's fixed seat are together (in other words his 3-pt belt is over the left shoulder, hers over the right)so there is no way I can let her do her belt herself in case she inadvertently undoes his seat. Also, you have to pull her seat over to do her up, then shove her back again.
I know this is really long-winded, but the Saab is a big car and it's NOT straightforward. It drives me bananas - I have to do a lot of running around. You will drive your dh mad but be really pedantic when you try your seats out!

monkey · 26/04/2004 17:04

if you're looking at having 3 kids, surely you should just go for a people carrier? w swapped from a large estate to a pc just before our 3rd, and I'm so glad I pushed dh to it, because it would have been just about possible but so much more difficult even with a big estate

Jaybee · 26/04/2004 17:13

We have a Toyota Corolla but the Verso version - (slightly taller) - the boot is not as big as a Renault Laguna or Scenic but we really like it. It has two built in booster seats so you wouldn't have to put those in - you would just need to check that a baby seat would fit in between.

clary · 26/04/2004 17:14

TW you are right about the seats palaver. We have a Toyota Corolla, nice car, seems very big to me, BUT we are going to have to change it because of the silly buckety seats on each side at the back which mean that the car seats on the side are forced into the middle iykwim. Thus there is not much room in the middle. We atm have baby in the rockatot (not for much longer) and it JUST fits with DS1 (nearly 5) in a narrow booster and DD (nearly 3) in a non-fixed one. But will have to look at Citroen Picasso or Nissan Tino or Fiat froggy one (forget the name but it seats 6). So insanidee I think you might be best with the Nissan/renault which I think have in effect three bucket seats to fit three car seats. HTH

misdee · 27/04/2004 11:59

well, we took the nissan tino out for a drive yesterday, and i love it. dh is being very cagey about it, he has always wanted an astra, and tyhe new style astra is available on the scheme (available from friday i belive), but i dont like it at all. the tino has everything we need, its not excessivly big, it can fit 3 car seats in, the climate control was lovely and cool, loads of leg/head room, large boot, good steering, but the down side (according to my dh) he couldnt see the bonnet easily and he felt like he was driving a much bigger car. he will be taking it out again at the end of the week (manual, not automatic as auto was all that was available yesterday), as well as the astra and focus.
really need to make a choice this week as my old car has been written off, and the hire car goes back on the 6th, so we will be car-less for a while and the sooner we get this aorted the better.

(dd's are 4 and 19months. dd1 is a small 4 year old so has high back booster, dd2 is big and tall so also has a high back booster)

BIBIBOO · 27/04/2004 12:00

This may not be very helpful, but DO NOT buy a new VW Beetle. Boot is small and can't even get a small buggy in ours!

stamford · 27/04/2004 12:14

We have been looking for a car and have just test driven the Ford Focus C-Max. Its essentially the same as the Focus but with a bigger boot and 3 proper seats in the back (which can take 3 car seats). Its fitted with that system where you can click the car seats in (can't remember now what that is!!). If you are looking at the Focus I would certainly ask the dealer for a look at the C-max aswell.

misdee · 27/04/2004 12:20

not sure if the C-max is avilable or if the advance payment is low enough for us to afford if it is on the scheme. i think your talking about ISOFIX for car seats which is safe anchoring points for kids seats, so no messing about witrh seatbelts, tho the ISOFIX seats are more pricey atm i belive.

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