Family + dog car

[phib]

Certainly not an A6 Avant ... my money would be on a discovery



Phib

Edited by phib on Wednesday 27th July 11:50

[Chester draws]

Have you been looking for this car since June last year??

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Apologies if it's not you.. No probs with the new thread if it is!

If not, another 4 pages of suggestions for a chap in a very similar situation to you.

[ryry3]

Chester draws said:

Have you been looking for this car since June last year??

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Apologies if it's not you.. No probs with the new thread if it is!

If not, another 4 pages of suggestions for a chap in a very similar situation to you.

Yeah I looked into thsi last year then decided to run the car another year to pay if off fully, and see how we managed with the new bab, so never looked into it further, now its time to buy

[MYOB]

You can't beat estate cars in terms of boot space. We have 2 kids and 2 dogs and we never found a SUV with suitable boot space. We have found Volvos are unbeatable... Not so much as having the biggest boot space, but certainly the most possible practical.

Before the kids, we had a v50. When we had the pushchairs and everything, we had a V70. Now we have the v60 which when looking at the figures, has a small boot. But it's bigger than the figures allude to. Can't beat Volvos!

[ryry3]

phib said:

Certainly not an A6 Avant ... my money would be on a discovery


Phib

Edited by phib on Wednesday 27th July 11:50

Im suprised at that as the boot on the A6 is 565 L, photo just really shows you better. Although I think it would manage, and pushchair will be gone in 18 months

[phib]

ryry3 said:

Im suprised at that as the boot on the A6 is 565 L, photo just really shows you better. Although I think it would manage, and pushchair will be gone in 18 months

I think its the sloping design / rear window that causes the issue, its not that useable.

Fortunately we only need the space for the Dog, trying to find a cage that fitted was a nightmare and its actually not that big cage

Phib

[ryry3]

MYOB said:

You can't beat estate cars in terms of boot space. We have 2 kids and 2 dogs and we never found a SUV with suitable boot space. We have found Volvos are unbeatable... Not so much as having the biggest boot space, but certainly the most possible practical.

Before the kids, we had a v50. When we had the pushchairs and everything, we had a V70. Now we have the v60 which when looking at the figures, has a small boot. But it's bigger than the figures allude to. Can't beat Volvos!

The V70 is a good size at 575 L, its not a car maker I've ever had any dealings with, I dont even think I've been inside a Volvo. This is why I suppose I've not looked into it, just never had any expereinces or no anyone that has

[ryry3]

phib said:

I think its the sloping design / rear window that causes the issue, its not that useable.

Fortunately we only need the space for the Dog, trying to find a cage that fitted was a nightmare and its actually not that big cage

Phib

Yeah the slop is an issue, we dont have a cage, we were just going to use a divider 50/50 or maybe 60/40 in favour of the dog, depending on what works

[MYOB]

ryry3 said:

The V70 is a good size at 575 L, its not a car maker I've ever had any dealings with, I dont even think I've been inside a Volvo. This is why I suppose I've not looked into it, just never had any expereinces or no anyone that has

A lot of people are missing out on Volvos! Granted, they are not "dynamic" in terms of driving. But they are very nice and family friendly. But their biggest USP, is their comfort. Utterly unbeatable for long distance driving and lugging load.

[ryry3]

MYOB said:

A lot of people are missing out on Volvos! Granted, they are not "dynamic" in terms of driving. But they are very nice and family friendly. But their biggest USP, is their comfort. Utterly unbeatable for long distance driving and lugging load.

Quick look and looks to be over budget for me... the joys of running 2 cars

[MYOB]

ryry3 said:

Quick look and looks to be over budget for me... the joys of running 2 cars

Even the v50s any 60s?

[ryry3]

MYOB said:

Even the v50s any 60s?

The 60 is smaller boot at 460 L, not got a review of the 50s

[MYOB]

ryry3 said:

The 60 is smaller boot at 460 L, not got a review of the 50s

Don't get hang up on the capacity figure for the cars. You need to look at them and see how practical the boot is.

We came close to buying a passat on a few occasions as their boots are huge! However, each time, something held me back from buying.

[ryry3]

MYOB said:

Don't get hang up on the capacity figure for the cars. You need to look at them and see how practical the boot is.

We came close to buying a passat on a few occasions as their boots are huge! However, each time, something held me back from buying.

Yeah I am going this weekend to have a look at the shortlist on the boot practicality to see what is best

[ryry3]

I went to have a look today and came up with a something that wasn't on the list Toyota Verso and Avensis estate

From the list the i40 estate was nice ans smax

Only car is didnt manage to see was the Honda Civic estate

I think it might be between the verso and i40

[Sargeant Orange]

I went through this a few months back. The killer is the pushchair or "integrated travel system" as it's now known They are cumbersome to say the least.

The chassis on ours takes up a lot of space despite folding up neatly. The chassis & our 30kg lab just about fit in the boot of the new A4 avant we have. The carrycot then goes on the back seat. To be honest though we just find it easier to have the dog riding in the passenger footwell & the wife goes in the back (I tried her in the boot but it was a tight squeeze).

Whatever you get you will always end up struggling for space with a kid & dog. I tried them all in our dedicated dog carrier (a subaru legacy with the biggest boot I've come across) and it wasn't hugely improved really.

How about a van?!

[anonymous-user]

Sargeant Orange said:

I went through this a few months back. The killer is the pushchair or "integrated travel system" as it's now known They are cumbersome to say the least.

The chassis on ours takes up a lot of space despite folding up neatly. The chassis & our 30kg lab just about fit in the boot of the new A4 avant we have. The carrycot then goes on the back seat. To be honest though we just find it easier to have the dog riding in the passenger footwell & the wife goes in the back (I tried her in the boot but it was a tight squeeze).

Whatever you get you will always end up struggling for space with a kid & dog. I tried them all in our dedicated dog carrier (a subaru legacy with the biggest boot I've come across) and it wasn't hugely improved really.

How about a van?!

The a4 is a small car though so I'm not surprised you're short of space

[ryry3]

Went back today for a 2nd look at i30, i40 and verso and a test drive of the i30. Both the i30 and verso would do the job, verso is prob more practical all round for us, but a bit pricey for what they are, a slightly bigger boot and I'd be sold, but the boot is big enough the way it is shaped.

The other issue now, is justifying a diesel. I looked at my millage in my current hackback over the last 4 years and its about 8k a year. In saying that if we had a bigger car and get get what we need in with the dog then we would definitely go further a field that what we do but 2-3k more I'm not too sure.

Really needing about min 10k a year to run a diesel well enough, my work journey is 4 days a week 25 mile round trip on an A road, hardly ever really on the motorway, the odd journey here and there.

The problem is with the i30 and verso the petrol's doing get great reviews, bigger cars 1.6 engine is going to eat petrol.

[jock mcsporran]

Did you drive the i40?

We tried an ix35 and a c-max when we were looking for the wife. Ended up going for the c-max as the seats in the ix had me in agony after 30 miles. Just couldn't get them comfy. With the Ford I'm happy doing 800 mile days when we go to italy.

[ryry3]

jock mcsporran said:

Did you drive the i40?

We tried an ix35 and a c-max when we were looking for the wife. Ended up going for the c-max as the seats in the ix had me in agony after 30 miles. Just couldn't get them comfy. With the Ford I'm happy doing 800 mile days when we go to italy.

I never drove the i40, although I prefer it over the i30 just for looks, the i40 only comes in a 1.7 diesel, and also my wife found it a lot bigger. On paper there isnt much different but sit in it and there is a big difference, feels a lot bigger.

We also hated the ix35, just horrible inside. Looked at the c-max grand but I did prefer the verso, might be just because I drive a Toyota just now. I also wasnt a fan of the slide doors on the cmax grand, is it the grand you have how do you find the doors?