Best car to drive a newborn home from hospital in?

[JD PH]

So, Mrs JD PH is due to give birth to our first baby towards the end of November. As you can imagine, we're really rather excited!

Anyway, along with all the typically bloke-ish activities of choosing the most gadget-laden baby accessories my thoughts have turned to an extremely important matter that has no doubt occupied the minds of many car-loving-fathers-to-be before... what is the best car for driving the baby home from the hospital in?

On the one hand, my initial thoughts are around safety. Something big and tank like would do the trick as I ferry my precious cargo home and for any trips during the first few days of its life. Something a bit like a FV4034 Challenger 2. Or a Volvo.

On the flip side, being able to claim that the first car you ever travelled in was something exotic would be pretty cool for my offspring, so is obviously of paramount importance!

Being realistic, there are some obvious rules that need to be adhered to:

1) Must seat 3 people (so don't rule out a McLaren F1 just yet!)
2) Must be able to carry a small amount of luggage.
3) Must be able to safely carry a baby seat, (preferably via Isofix)
4) It needs to be unusual / exotic / luxurious / memorable / safe
5) It needs to be unnecessarily fast. Whilst I've got no intention of travelling above about 20mph with the baby on board, I may well need to make some emergency trips to the shops to stock up on nappies, baby wipes and gin. In my experience 400bhp is about the minimum required for such outings.

So come on, what do people suggest?

JD

[JD PH]

Hackney said:

MX5


Oh, wait.

They do sell those luggage racks for the boot lid though. Perhaps we'll put it in the "maybe" pile for now?

[JD PH]

The Beaver King said:

This is Pistonheads;

If you only need two seats, the answer is MX-5.

If you need more than two seats, the answers is a TVR Cerbera.

Seriously, the Cerbera....

Damn. I forgot to add something to the criteria:

6) Must be reliable.

[JD PH]

jeremyc said:

You just know you want to.

Now that's a good shout Jeremy. Can you drop it round to my house in a few weeks?!

[JD PH]

jeremyc said:

es, yes I can. Just as soon as you drop a case full of six hundred used £50 notes at mine.

How about a bag full of I O U's written on post it notes?

Come on though people, aside from an RS4 Avant, what other suggestions do people have?

[JD PH]

“Look what I got! Now people will stop intentionally ramming our car.” – Marge Simpson

[JD PH]

Pixel Pusher said:

What's wrong with the Seat Altea quoted in your profile as a family wagon?

I refer you to point 4 of my original post!

[JD PH]

Countdown said:

I'm not sure tbh. I think the only people that would care would be a bunch of middle-aged pipe smoking misogynist pub bores. It's highly unlikely to score highly on the totty-pulling scale.

I'd suggest something with tall, with rear doors that open very wide, with enough legroom for Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

Either the 2.5L S-Max, or a Zafira VXR.

Interesting take on it and duly noted. But neither of them even have a V8, and as has been previously mentioned a good engine note will surely help the baby to relax on its first ever car journey?! Maybe?!

[JD PH]

Pixel Pusher said:

Brilliant!

I wish mine looked a bit more like that. Not sure Mrs JD PH would be all that keen on (what she'd undoubtedly describe as) "the big metal bit poking out of the bonnet". What does she know though huh?!

[JD PH]

LotusOmega375D said:

My brother fetched his new-born offspring back from the Hospital in his Ferrari 456 GTA, which seems to tick these boxes.

Now we're talking!

[JD PH]

a7x88 said:

Tesla model S - safest car around (apparently) and a little bit cool/different

Interesting idea. I'd perhaps be a but concerned about running out of electricity. This would be especially concerning should there be a zombie apocalypse on the day we're driving back from hospital.

[JD PH]

Marc p said:

Unsure on budget, but my recommendations would be:

E60 M5(That V10!!!)
Aston Martin DBS/V8 Vantage
Merc SL55 AMG(I think these have rear seats?)
Shelby GT500
Jag XR-R, XF-R(RS if funds allow)

Budget isn't an issue... Because I'm intending to ask a manufacturer nicely if I can borrow a car to write something about it (assuming we decide on something current!)

[JD PH]

SimesJH said:

A Supercharged full-fat Range Rover perfectly meets all your requirements.

Will be most handy for the potential unpredictability of November's weather.

My daughter, now 3, always fell asleep in my Discovery 1 V8. The V8 analogy purported earlier is true, in my own experience.

Full-fat V8 Range Rover is definitely in the lead right now - it seems to tick the most boxes (especially the safety side, which is obviously the most important to me!). A Rolls-Royce would be nice but I'd be worried about leaving it parked and generally using it when not fully "with it". Plus it won't be quite as capable if the aforementioned zombie apocalypse does coincide with the journey home!!!

Keep the suggestions coming though!

JD

[JD PH]

SimesJH said:

A Supercharged full-fat Range Rover perfectly meets all your requirements.

This certainly seems to be shaping up as the choice of champions, although Audi RS4 / RS6 also seems a popular suggestion...

I have to say that I'm amazed this thread isn't more Volvo-flavoured. I was convinced that it would be.

[JD PH]

Blown2CV said:

is the OP indicating that he may acquire or rent a car specifically to bring this baby home from the hospital in, or is it hypothetical?

No, the OP happens to be a lucky so-and-so who works for PistonHeads and as such has occasional access to posh cars in exchange for writing about them. Hi!