Family cars

[Edith Bacon]

Have a look at Outlanders, Ken. The one I have now is the third we’ve had and when the lease is up later this year I will be keen to get another one. It’s an automatic hybrid with a big boot (I regularly transport four teenagers plus their sports kit/camping gear). It has a heated windscreen, steering wheel and front seats - all very lovely in the winter. It also has a rear camera and 360 parking assistance. J went from driving a Polo to driving his and said it was a doddle.

[Estrella]

I can’t help as we have a massive car for going away as a family (we now have a 4x4 ute :mrgreen: ) but I know a few people with Outlanders who like them. And also the Hyundai ix35 (do you get them in the UK?)

[Mayday]

I didn't think the c4 Picasso came up that well in reviews, when I was looking. Mr M is a car fanatic so did so much research.

[Kenickie]

Thanks. There is just so much choice! I will look at outlanders as well.

[Brier]

We had an older C4, it's consistently rated the best MPV and could easily fit 3 car seats in the back plus a tonne of luggage, but when it was written off we found the newer C4s to be much smaller than the old ones.

We have a Galaxy now, a 2014 model, and it's lovely. Loads of space internally, it was the biggest we looked at for boot space and there's still loads of leg room as well. I haven't driven it so can't say on that front, but Mr B found it preferable to drive than the peugeot 3008, C4, Touran and Sharran he test drove. The Sharran was the next biggest, and has sliding doors which are great in car parks and things, but it wasn't as comfortable or swanky as the Galaxy.

The heated windscreen is amazing in winter. It's surprisingly economic as well, for such a beast, especially an automatic.

[Brier]

For an idea of scale, we took our broken washer dryer to the tip this weekend - we got the washer and some other pretty bulky things to go to the tip in the boot, with space to spare, and didn't even have to move the middle seats forward.

[Flora Poste]

Have a look on You Tube for videos of boot space (we did when we were trying to work out what car to hire in NZ for our road trip and luggage for 5 - we actually ended up with a Toyota Camry which is a saloon but had a ludicrous amount of boot space).

[Scooter]

When the monsters were born, we had an IX35 and there was no way we could have got someone between the car seats. The boot comfortably fit my (giant) mountain buggy, which was the slimline side by side double. We quickly traded this for the Santa Fe, which I adored. It had a bigger boot when the 3rd row seats were down, and the 3rd row seats were big enough for me (5’11”) to sit in for shorter journeys. Still no room for an adult between the seats, although we could get the baby seats side by side and use the 3rd seat this way. It wasn’t great for baby battle though.

We traded the Santa Fe for a Kia Carnival ( ) which is a proper mum-wagon but it’s been great. We’ve removed the middle seat in the middle row so the back seats are more useable. Even with the 3rd row seats up we still fitting in 3 30kg suitcases and 4 carry ons in the boot.

Now that the monsters are out of car seats, the Carnival is up for sale and I’m eying up a GLA AMG Mercedes as I’m sick of sensible cars

I’d say get something you can fit the double buggy in and don’t worry about carrying much else. Once the monsters were 6 months old, I found it easier to use an umbrella fold McLaren and a sling/carrier than the double buggy and when we were both about we had an umbrella fold each. The car will outlast your need to lug around a massive buggy.

[Smunder Woman]

Thanks. There is just so much choice! I will look at outlanders as well.

Some posts have reminded me that my sister and mum really rate their Hyundais. My mum has a Tucson, and had an ix35 before. My sister is expecting her third child and now has a Santa Fe the size of my house.

[Kenickie]

I can totally see the point of looking to the future, but our current car fits a buggy and nothing else and it's really annoying as it's impossible to go away for a weekend (apart from to my parents as they have a cot and I got my mum to take the buggy back with her after a visit). I've got an umbrella fold and I hate using it as it's so much harder to push than the others with bigger wheels. I guess it's hard to predict how much I'll be using a buggy on my own if I'm going somewhere in a car though - it might be that slings are better options when we're both out. Although we'll have to get Tim over his sling hatred! I guess when they're sitting up /using high chairs we'll be able to go for lunch without necessarily needing a buggy.

Thinking about it, some of the stuff I'd do with a car is eg go to the zoo a couple of times a week. I think even when they're bigger a good double buggy would be the easiest way to go for a long walk round.

It's difficult because I feel like getting a second car now while I'm on maternity leave would be really handy, but I can see why it might be sensible to try and carry on with what we've got and see what we want to do when they're a bit bigger. I don't know whether it'd be sensible to try and hire some cars so we can use them properly for a few days or for a trip away and see whether a giant one is overkill or just what we need.

[Scooter]

Mine point blank refused the double buggy from 18 months and screamed the place down continually if I tried it. In the end I just gave up and used the umbrella fold, hence my suggestion. I don’t know what buggy you settled on, Ken but I’d guess if it fits in a Yaris it’s considerably smaller than mine was!

[Luce]

I have to say I would never for a second consider sitting between 2 car seats for a long journey

Sorry, god, but yes! Please never put yourself through that madness Ken! I’ve gone hysterical at the thought.

Carwow in YouTube is pretty good for showing boot space, door bins, cubby holes etc.

I’d focus on a car that you need now rather than one you think you’ll need. In theory, in just a couple of years time you won’t need any buggies or car seats so get something that suits you now and trade in later.

[ParisGal]

I once had to sit in between two car seats (a baby and a 2 year old) for about 10 minutes and it was torture I think it was a big Skoda estate.

[Kenickie]

Mine point blank refused the double buggy from 18 months and screamed the place down continually if I tried it. In the end I just gave up and used the umbrella fold, hence my suggestion. I don’t know what buggy you settled on, Ken but I’d guess if it fits in a Yaris it’s considerably smaller than mine was!

Oh no, that sounds like a nightmare! I'm hoping mine will be more amenable but knowing them they may well not be. ;)

I have three nights (all second hand) - the umbrella that lives at my mum's now and will be sold when we get a bigger car, the mountain buggy which is my favourite, and the out and about nipper which is the one that actually fits in the boot! The out and about is fab really, the only downside is that it's not got a basket underneath and isn't parent facing.

[Kenickie]

I will check out car wow. Also what car seems to give boot sizes as how many carry on suitcases will fit which is easier to visualise.

[Kenickie]

I hate car shopping.

Ford were ridiculous and made us wait and go through figures for ages before they'd even let us test drive. It seems like the Mondeo could be a really good option as it drove just like my Yaris, but has a massive boot, so exactly what Smunder said. Apparently they've stopped making the c max, and the s max is sold out everywhere so if we go for a new one it's a five month wait. I feel like I hate the garage as I was really clear when we started that I'm not interested in much beyond the size, but the one they spent hours pricing is one of the high spec ones do I still have no idea how much the basic one costs without going online as I couldn't face waiting any longer.

Kia we looked at the one with the biggest boot they do and it was significantly smaller than the Fords so that's out sadly.

Going to Toyota now and I think that's all we can do in a day before we totally lose the will to live.

[Kenickie]

Oh, and the Fords only come in diesel (apart from the hybrid version Mondeo which then has a much smaller boot which is no good) which really puts me off but I don't know if that's irrational? If it makes a difference, we like to buy cars and keep for a long time as I hate the car shopping so much so would want to but something either new or a couple of years old and keep it for say, ten years or so unless our needs change dramatically.

[Squirrel]

What a bunch of dicks. A nearly-new Ford sounds like a good bet if you’re not totally put off Fords by that horrible experience. As I think I said, mine was 5 years old with 50k mileage when I bought it, it’s now 12 years old and nearly 100k and still fine. My brother (car expert) said diesel engines age well, so there’s less concern about high mileage, but, there’s obviously a massive swing away from them now for good reason.

I heard an argument against hybrids yesterday but I should caveat that it was from my boss who is a bit of an Eeyore as well as a closet Luddite, AND I don’t know where he got the information.

Basically that owners of hybrids end up running their car on fuel rather than electricity, which is less economical due to lugging around the battery, as well as less environmentally friendly. It did actually sound plausible when he told me, although subject to those caveats!

[Kenickie]

Thanks, both. Squirrel, I guess maybe it's that if you're mainly doing long motorway drives then you won't see as much of an advantage? I also saw something the other day about hybrids getting their catalytic converters stolen a lot which is a bit concerning.

I don't really understand the thing about diesels being banned. Will that just be new ones? Just wondering what the effect would be - would it mean that they lose a lot of value?

[Squirrel]

My understanding is that manufacturers will stop making them, so the closer to the deadline we get, the fewer will be sold as anyone who is interested in resale value rather than keeping the car forever, will stop buying them.

It’s still far enough away not to be an issue for new cars now, as after 15 years any normal car will be fully depreciated if it’s still running anyway. And there aren’t enough equivalent fully electric cars on the market yet for people who need longer range and aren’t ready for electric.