Recs for car - expecting first baby, would like 4wd, sports gear, parents (ours) getting less mobile?

[CaptainWentworth]

I currently have a 3 door Audi A1 which I want to trade in as it will be a nightmare with a car seat. DH has a Golf GTD which is lovely and we want to keep, but we are thinking of swapping the small car for something bigger than this.

We both cycle and frequently use a roof rack on the Golf or shove a bike in the back with seats down, so want to be able to do this and still fit in all the inevitable baby/ child gear.

DH needs to be able to get to work (and do visits from there) even when it snows; we are in an urban area but his job is based in a more rural hilly area and he struggled a bit at times with the Golf this winter (NE). We also drive over to the Lake District and to rural Northumberland and North Yorks frequently to visit family.

We test drove a Discovery Sport and an Audi A4 Quattro estate earlier in the year (during a snowy spell); liked both but worried about fuel economy with the Discovery - although the higher position is tempting due to ease of strapping in a baby and also our parents are starting to struggle getting in and out of lower slung sporty cars, which the Audi is a bit.

Wondering if we should consider other SUV type things like a Volvo XC60 (or 40?), but wouldn’t fuel economy be just as bad for all of them?

Also, is everything bigger and 4wd automatic these days? I could get used to it I think but why is this the case?

We considered buying on finance but as we tend to keep cars for more than 3 years, would probably be better to buy nearly new outright instead- also concerned about keeping a PCP car in good condition to hand back!

Thoughts would be very much appreciated!

Have a discovery sport here. Very pleased with it. Children are past needing car seats but I often muse how easy the car would have been to get seats in and out. Lovely driving position and plenty of room in the boot. Back seats move forward and back so give loads of leg room or loads of boot space whichever you need at the time. Back seats recline a little so bit more comfy on longer journeys. It’s 5+2 so have 2 occasional seats in the boot. You do lose boot space but have come in handy if taking friends or grandparents out for the day. Ours is an auto and I wouldn’t go back to manual now. Everything in it is automatic makes life so easy. It’s literally stop and go and an absolute pleasure to drive. Even in the snow I was confident the car would go anywhere! Never let us down once. Personally not keen on BMW’s so x5 and the like were not a consideration for us. Volvo meant to be very good but possibly even dearer. Jaguar f pace is also a lovely looking car and one we did consider but had a long lead time which didn’t work for us.

I drive a q3, which is probably a bit small for what you need but q5 worth looking at. Also the skoda Octavia does a v nippy 4x4 version that a lot of the rural medics round here have.

Not clear why you’d need anything bigger than you have! The buggy will take up a lot of the boot space, but you can fit stuff in around it. Plus you have the roof rack etc for your sporting. If it’s only the one child then you don’t need a big car. We had a VW Golf when we only had one kid. It was plenty big enough.

Plus those big 4x4s are terrible for the environment.

Yes I know they are - which is why we’ve not gone and bought one so far! The main things are that the Golf isn’t 4wd, and we want to be able to fit enough stuff for say a family self catering holiday in the boot plus bikes on top- you can’t use a roof box and get the bikes up there as well, I don’t think.

XC60 is amazing. I had one for a few months as a courtesy car. Fuel economy even on the big diesels is really great, I actually thought the fuel gauge was broken because it took so long to make any dent into the fuel.
Very comfy, fantastic boot and apparently the XC60 is one of the safest cars on the road.

For getting around in winter you don't necessarily need an SUV. Front wheel drive with 4 decent (good reviews) winter tyres will get you most places and other vehicles are more likely to be a problem than lack of ground clearance vs a SUV. Lighter, lower cars are easier downhill in snow as well.

SUV fuel economy suffers because they are big and high - 4wd estates (Passat 4x4, Skoda Scout) can have as much space as an SUV. Mondeo Estate is huge.

Can bikes go on a tailgate mounted rack rather than the roof?

randomsabreuse yes as per the OP we have been considering an estate - but also thinking of elderly parents increasing having trouble getting in and out of lower down cars, and bending down to strap in unwilling toddlers in future- but perhaps that’s overthinking things.

Re the bikes - we’ve never liked the idea of a tailgate rack as they just don’t look secure for expensive road bikes. On our roof rack you take the front wheel out and lock the fork into place on the rack using a skewer.

Try putting Michelin CrossClimate tyres on the Golf before deciding you need 4WD. I put CrossClimate tyres on my C-Max and had very little trouble with the slippery country lanes around us. Other people said the roads were treacherous, but for me the main danger with the CrossClimate tyres was over confidence. They are all season tyres, but unlike most all season tyres you get premium summer tyre performance as well as winter grip.

www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Michelin-CrossClimate-vs-Primacy-3-Long-Term-Review.htm