The Mrs is pregnant - does a 3 door hatch work?
Discussion
Got the news last week. Naturally the first thing that comes to mind is I may have to sell my beloved Clio 197 in favour of something dull with 5 doors and a boot capable of swallowing prams et al.
The better part of me thinks it's rather silly buying a bigger car for the sake of a 9lb person. Be good to hear from those of you who have kept the 3rd hot hatch as a family wagon and those who didn't...
The better part of me thinks it's rather silly buying a bigger car for the sake of a 9lb person. Be good to hear from those of you who have kept the 3rd hot hatch as a family wagon and those who didn't...
Goodsteed said:
Got the news last week. Naturally the first thing that comes to mind is I may have to sell my beloved Clio 197 in favour of something dull with 5 doors and a boot capable of swallowing prams et al.
The better part of me thinks it's rather silly buying a bigger car for the sake of a 9lb person. Be good to hear from those of you who have kept the 3rd hot hatch as a family wagon and those who didn't...
Pain in the arse getting baby in and out but we manage. You might struggle with a pram in the back of a Clio though. The better part of me thinks it's rather silly buying a bigger car for the sake of a 9lb person. Be good to hear from those of you who have kept the 3rd hot hatch as a family wagon and those who didn't...
Congratulations on the baby news.
With regard to the car, getting kids into the back of a two door car is a pain.
If you have just the one child, and a car where you can turn off the passenger airbag, you could keep the baby in the front. My wife managed just fine with an Alfa Spider until the second child came along and the Alfa was traded in for a more family friendly Mummy Wagon.
Apparently she is going to go back to a two door car as soon as she has trained both children can do up their own seat belts.
With regard to the car, getting kids into the back of a two door car is a pain.
If you have just the one child, and a car where you can turn off the passenger airbag, you could keep the baby in the front. My wife managed just fine with an Alfa Spider until the second child came along and the Alfa was traded in for a more family friendly Mummy Wagon.
Apparently she is going to go back to a two door car as soon as she has trained both children can do up their own seat belts.
Big congrats 
Personal experience - the long doors of 3 door (think how far you need to open the doors in a tight car park) coupled with leaning into the back make it a right pain, both for putting them in, and then doing up all the belts. It can be done, but a 4/5 door is significantly easier - or even easier, a VW camper with sliding side door
Personal experience - the long doors of 3 door (think how far you need to open the doors in a tight car park) coupled with leaning into the back make it a right pain, both for putting them in, and then doing up all the belts. It can be done, but a 4/5 door is significantly easier - or even easier, a VW camper with sliding side door
It's perfectly doable, but it will be a massive pain after a while. Not only is it hard work getting them in and out, but also very difficult in narrow spaces as 3 door will have longer doors, which you'll need to open as wide as you can. Personally, i'd swap to something with 5 doors, there are plenty of options which won't kill the driving experience.
Some friends of ours have just had a baby and they've swapped a 3 series coupe for some godawful Renault people carrier thing, which is a total overreaction. My wife has an A3 sportback Tdi Quattro which swallows 2 kids and all their associated crap quite happily and is still good to drive.
Some friends of ours have just had a baby and they've swapped a 3 series coupe for some godawful Renault people carrier thing, which is a total overreaction. My wife has an A3 sportback Tdi Quattro which swallows 2 kids and all their associated crap quite happily and is still good to drive.
Congrats, I managed for 3 years with my trusty Clio 172 with some difficulties. You will constantly strain your back putting the little fella into the back, especially for those first rear facing months. Did you ever have lego technic as a kid? Thats how renault build their interiors, moving the seats back and forth a million times does them no good and I never did get that baby sick smell out of the alcantara.. I would have thought you would struggle to get a decent sized pram/all in one baby thing in the back of a 197? One thing you can normally forgive Renault for is when you seriously crash one and walk away with a scratch, they hold up pretty well.
Congrats, welcome to the world of parenthood
To the question of car choice, trust me a 3 door is a pain the backside! Especially one with big front seats (my S3 for example) holding the front seat as far forward with your knee whilst trying your best to pop sprog into their car seat minding their head, gah massive stress!
Now with 3 kids, an 8, 6 and 2 year old, 5 door all the way for me. For all the hate vectras get they are by no means a terrible car. Big boot, good leg room all round and with our 3.2 V6 elite very well specced and lovely engine. It also meant I got to keep my S3 and we have a big engined family car. Never thought I'd convince the missus! Ok it understeers, wallows and waves under pressure and has a Vauxhall badge but it has these pull up sun blinds over the rear Windows so the kids don't scream and moan at the first sight of light hehe These things will matter, trust me.
To the question of car choice, trust me a 3 door is a pain the backside! Especially one with big front seats (my S3 for example) holding the front seat as far forward with your knee whilst trying your best to pop sprog into their car seat minding their head, gah massive stress!
Now with 3 kids, an 8, 6 and 2 year old, 5 door all the way for me. For all the hate vectras get they are by no means a terrible car. Big boot, good leg room all round and with our 3.2 V6 elite very well specced and lovely engine. It also meant I got to keep my S3 and we have a big engined family car. Never thought I'd convince the missus! Ok it understeers, wallows and waves under pressure and has a Vauxhall badge but it has these pull up sun blinds over the rear Windows so the kids don't scream and moan at the first sight of light hehe
These things will matter, trust me.Fittster said:
This is PH, someone will be along shortly to say a caterham is a perfectly suitable family car.
I thought it would be: How did parents cope before massive SUVs and people carriers!They did very well with 2 & 4 door small to medium sized cars and we all grew up normally.
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