The Mrs is pregnant - does a 3 door hatch work?
Discussion
Welshbeef said:
If they do then a small (think Golf size) car with the huge seat cannot have an adult sat in front its that big.
We've not got one of these things but if and when the law changes you can only have MPV or 5 series size plus cars. 3 door.. Simply wouldn't be possible to get then into the seat due to its swivel max angle.
This is all wrong.We've not got one of these things but if and when the law changes you can only have MPV or 5 series size plus cars. 3 door.. Simply wouldn't be possible to get then into the seat due to its swivel max angle.
TheInternet said:
Welshbeef said:
If they do then a small (think Golf size) car with the huge seat cannot have an adult sat in front its that big.
We've not got one of these things but if and when the law changes you can only have MPV or 5 series size plus cars. 3 door.. Simply wouldn't be possible to get then into the seat due to its swivel max angle.
This is all wrong.We've not got one of these things but if and when the law changes you can only have MPV or 5 series size plus cars. 3 door.. Simply wouldn't be possible to get then into the seat due to its swivel max angle.
AlmostUseful said:
Watched a fairly small lady trying to get her child from the back of a 107 today, not something I'd wish on my wife, I'm much happier with her getting the nipper out of the back of a qashqai.
We've just upgraded the wife's car from an Ibiza to a new Qashqai. Just makes things easier, plus better safety features etc. The rear facing seat is big, but still enough room for the passenger in the Q. Would definitely recommend one.morrisk1 said:
We've just upgraded the wife's car from an Ibiza to a new Qashqai. Just makes things easier, plus better safety features etc. The rear facing seat is big, but still enough room for the passenger in the Q. Would definitely recommend one.
Out of interest, which rear facing seat do you have? Would it fit behind the drivers side in the Q?FreeLitres said:
morrisk1 said:
We've just upgraded the wife's car from an Ibiza to a new Qashqai. Just makes things easier, plus better safety features etc. The rear facing seat is big, but still enough room for the passenger in the Q. Would definitely recommend one.
Out of interest, which rear facing seat do you have? Would it fit behind the drivers side in the Q?IN answer to the original question a 3dr is doable, but more doors will make life easier. You don't need to rush our and buy a people carrier though or equivalent just to carry a baby around despite what some people will say.
We use a old shape xkr regularly as family transport including weekends away 2 adults and a baby (once in a forward facing seat) fit fine including the buggy. The "kiddy" car seat is brilliant byt he way, very safe, almost impossible to put in incorrectly, light weight and easily transfered between vehicles. Even simpler to use than isofix!
We do have a more practical car and living with the jag only would have been painful.
One thing I would strongly recommend considering if you tend to go away for weekends or go on long journeys is make sure you can put the buggy length ways in the boot, so you can pack other things at side of it and not on top. That way when you break your journey you don't have to empty everything out to get to the stupid thing. This point actually made me change the estate car we have from a 156 to Mazda 6, although most Mondeo sized hatch backs have a deep enough boot. I briefly had a freelander hire car and found that even on a large vehicle like that with a buggy the usable boot was no better than the 156!
We use a old shape xkr regularly as family transport including weekends away 2 adults and a baby (once in a forward facing seat) fit fine including the buggy. The "kiddy" car seat is brilliant byt he way, very safe, almost impossible to put in incorrectly, light weight and easily transfered between vehicles. Even simpler to use than isofix!
We do have a more practical car and living with the jag only would have been painful.
One thing I would strongly recommend considering if you tend to go away for weekends or go on long journeys is make sure you can put the buggy length ways in the boot, so you can pack other things at side of it and not on top. That way when you break your journey you don't have to empty everything out to get to the stupid thing. This point actually made me change the estate car we have from a 156 to Mazda 6, although most Mondeo sized hatch backs have a deep enough boot. I briefly had a freelander hire car and found that even on a large vehicle like that with a buggy the usable boot was no better than the 156!
kambites said:
Looking at various safety tests, the front facing ones with these odd things instead of harnesses seem to do better than the rear facing ones anyway:
That's what we have - the weird looking thing hold the infant in (seatbelt goes round it) once they above a set weight that is no longer used instead the seatbelt fastens just like it does for an adult. Note our 3 year old can easily touch the rear of the front seats with her feet -- when naughty think about someone kicking you in the back for the entire journey.... That's in a Honda Accord so reasonable size/not significantly different space wise to the F10 in that respect.
If you have a baby seat with a maxi cosi isofix base a 6'2" passenger in a Honda Accord has knees really tight into the dash - a smaller car would be Hell!
I'm rather restricted in what I can get by the need for it to fit in the Elise (most physically wont go because the seat is so narrow) using the seatbelt and desire for it to use the Isofix mountings in the Octavia. That one I linked above is the only seat I've found which will do it; the fact it's also won all sorts of safety awards is an added bonus. 
We've still got a few months with the group-zero seat to go yet, anyway.
We've still got a few months with the group-zero seat to go yet, anyway.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 31st March 09:31
kambites said:
I'm rather restricted in what I can get by the need for it to fit in the Elise (most physically wont go because the seat is so narrow) using the seatbelt and desire for it to use the Isofix mountings in the Octavia. That one I linked above is the only seat I've found which will do it; the fact it's also won all sorts of safety awards is an added bonus.
We've still got a few months with the group-zero seat to go yet, anyway.
Yep its a good seat hence we bought it - if I were you keep an eye out now onwards incase there is any sale/discounts and buy well in advanceWe've still got a few months with the group-zero seat to go yet, anyway.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 31st March 09:31
I'll echo what has been said before, having just had a new arrival, the 159 SW is more than big enough. My friend's 3-series touring just isn't sufficient.
The only reason for this? Pram sizes. Some fold down to the point where they'll fit in a 1-series, others just require a van of some sort to go in.
If you have one that folds down neatly, it'll work. You'll also won't take all that extra stuff. At one point we had 3 things with us where the kid could "sit". :crazy: In a smaller car, you'll just have to plan a bit better to not take too much extra stuff.
The 3dr could be a problem in parking bays. Getting a car seat/kid in and out requires some space and effort. If it's just 1 parent you'll quickly use the passenger seat thought.
The only reason for this? Pram sizes. Some fold down to the point where they'll fit in a 1-series, others just require a van of some sort to go in.
If you have one that folds down neatly, it'll work. You'll also won't take all that extra stuff. At one point we had 3 things with us where the kid could "sit". :crazy: In a smaller car, you'll just have to plan a bit better to not take too much extra stuff.
The 3dr could be a problem in parking bays. Getting a car seat/kid in and out requires some space and effort. If it's just 1 parent you'll quickly use the passenger seat thought.
I will probably repeat some of the sentiments expressed throughout this thread
Our daughter is 8 months old now and we survived up until that point with a 3 door Alfa GT (did have another car but it was a track car).
WE could just about fit everything thing in with a squeeze and we did not do any long journeys for the following reasons :
My seat is too far back for wife or car seat to fit behind me
Wife has sit behind me and is cramped
Its just awkward
Long journeys not possible - 1 hr max is all we could do
Boot is large it just wont fit luggage and buggy for example
Now upgraded to a 4 door and wife is happy so is daughter more room and make life so much easier you will wonder why you struggled along for so long...plus i'm happy as I have a 5.2 V10 for family duties :-)
Our daughter is 8 months old now and we survived up until that point with a 3 door Alfa GT (did have another car but it was a track car).
WE could just about fit everything thing in with a squeeze and we did not do any long journeys for the following reasons :
My seat is too far back for wife or car seat to fit behind me
Wife has sit behind me and is cramped
Its just awkward
Long journeys not possible - 1 hr max is all we could do
Boot is large it just wont fit luggage and buggy for example
Now upgraded to a 4 door and wife is happy so is daughter more room and make life so much easier you will wonder why you struggled along for so long...plus i'm happy as I have a 5.2 V10 for family duties :-)
kambites said:
Looking at various safety tests, the front facing ones with these odd things instead of harnesses seem to do better than the rear facing ones anyway:
I'm struggling to see how that can be safer than rear facing. In the most serious crashes, the baby will be flung forward with great force. The damage occurs to the baby's neck because the body is held in position by the belt/brace but nothing it holding the head except for the baby's slender neck. In rear facing, the baby's head and body are kept in alignment and pushed back into the seat.I think this video shows what I mean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKIeExpDLDA
FreeLitres said:
I'm struggling to see how that can be safer than rear facing.
Me too, but the few empirical safety tests which I've found seem to be saying that it is. Maybe it's just that the mainstream rear-facing group-1 seats, being relatively new, aren't actually very good yet. I have little choice anyway, none of the few rear-facing group-1 seats currently on the market in the UK will fit in my car. In fact, not many of the front facing ones will, so I'm just happy that one good one does.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 31st March 20:17
Yes, those rear-facers are huge. I have one behind the drivers seat of my Passat and I have to have my seat further forward and more upright than I would like. I might try and move it behind the passenger as my Mrs usually sits in the back with baby anyway so I can sacrifice front passenger space.
FreeLitres said:
Yes, those rear-facers are huge. I have one behind the drivers seat of my Passat and I have to have my seat further forward and more upright than I would like. I might try and move it behind the passenger as my Mrs usually sits in the back with baby anyway so I can sacrifice front passenger space.
Now imagine trying to fit one in an Elise. 
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