Question for all dads out there - car buying
Discussion
Went hunting for a car for mom as soon as we got the news. The brief was very pragmatic as it would be a vehicle for the mundane tasks. The main characteristics were: sliding doors, small footprint,, large windows, large boot where we could throw in the baby pram with no disassembling, automatic gearbox.
We ended up with the most unsuccesfull model in MB history, the Vaneo. Brilliant for the job, but it looked horrendous. What we appreciated most were the sliding doors, the massive windows ( children need to see outside) the boot that would swallow anything and the small footprint of the car. We could not find a replacement for it, but models like the Berlingo , Kangoo or similar.
Children grow and hopefully get brothers or sisters. The amount of stuff that gets carried around is not to be underestimated.
We ended up with the most unsuccesfull model in MB history, the Vaneo. Brilliant for the job, but it looked horrendous. What we appreciated most were the sliding doors, the massive windows ( children need to see outside) the boot that would swallow anything and the small footprint of the car. We could not find a replacement for it, but models like the Berlingo , Kangoo or similar.
Children grow and hopefully get brothers or sisters. The amount of stuff that gets carried around is not to be underestimated.
We used an estate and a roof box to get the buggy in so it was out of the car, can be a struggle to fit the fancy travel systems in it though.
if you holiday in the uk an estate is perfect really, even though you dont need anything big for a first child i found it a must personally for us.
We went over to suv type vehicles after a few years but wish we had not, its just the missus prefers the ease of a higher vehicle.
We may go back to estate life next time round now ours is older.
if you holiday in the uk an estate is perfect really, even though you dont need anything big for a first child i found it a must personally for us.
We went over to suv type vehicles after a few years but wish we had not, its just the missus prefers the ease of a higher vehicle.
We may go back to estate life next time round now ours is older.
The Golf will be fine. Or certainly fine enough that there is no need to change it now. No point in buying a car with a bigger boot now, only to find out it was rear room that was the issue or height or whatever. It'll do the job.
10 years ago now but we had a 330i Touring. Had it before child #1 arrived and saw no need to change. Two interesting points though. Firstly rear facing seats take up a lot of the length. We had to have the passenger seat fully forward to fit it in and that meant that the other half would generally travel in the back for a while as space in the front was uncomfortable. The law is that they must remain rear facing for first 15 months. It's all very well hearing tales of 70's kids coming home from hospital on the parcel shelf of a bubble car but if you want to comply with the current law then you do need a lot more space than days of old.
The other thing that has changed a lot in recent years which is a double edged sword is that you typically now take the car seat in and out of the car rather than leaving it in place. This has the advantage that if your baby is asleep, they have a chance of staying asleep which is highly valuable but on the other hand, modern car seats built to modern legal safety standards weigh a metric tonne. The baby is the lightest component in that assembly! I don't think there is any need to rush out and buy an SUV or anything but I personally would not entertain the idea of lifting a child with seat out of the back of a 3 door hatch or Coupe regularly and it would be a pain to get them into a fixed rear facing seat in the back accessing from the front of a three door car. It's always a nice idea to imagine using a 911 or something for your baby mobile and occasionally it would be fine but if the kid needs to be in the back, doing it every day would be a total pain, quite literally.
The rest of space requirement is really up to you. You'll fill whatever you have and manage just fine. We had our 3-series touring stuffed to the roof when #1 was a baby and we went anywhere. In hindsight we could have left half the stuff at home and you quickly realise this after a few weeks. Travel systems take up a tonne of space though. Probably still worth it if you have room.
10 years ago now but we had a 330i Touring. Had it before child #1 arrived and saw no need to change. Two interesting points though. Firstly rear facing seats take up a lot of the length. We had to have the passenger seat fully forward to fit it in and that meant that the other half would generally travel in the back for a while as space in the front was uncomfortable. The law is that they must remain rear facing for first 15 months. It's all very well hearing tales of 70's kids coming home from hospital on the parcel shelf of a bubble car but if you want to comply with the current law then you do need a lot more space than days of old.
The other thing that has changed a lot in recent years which is a double edged sword is that you typically now take the car seat in and out of the car rather than leaving it in place. This has the advantage that if your baby is asleep, they have a chance of staying asleep which is highly valuable but on the other hand, modern car seats built to modern legal safety standards weigh a metric tonne. The baby is the lightest component in that assembly! I don't think there is any need to rush out and buy an SUV or anything but I personally would not entertain the idea of lifting a child with seat out of the back of a 3 door hatch or Coupe regularly and it would be a pain to get them into a fixed rear facing seat in the back accessing from the front of a three door car. It's always a nice idea to imagine using a 911 or something for your baby mobile and occasionally it would be fine but if the kid needs to be in the back, doing it every day would be a total pain, quite literally.
The rest of space requirement is really up to you. You'll fill whatever you have and manage just fine. We had our 3-series touring stuffed to the roof when #1 was a baby and we went anywhere. In hindsight we could have left half the stuff at home and you quickly realise this after a few weeks. Travel systems take up a tonne of space though. Probably still worth it if you have room.
Two cars. You need two cars. One for the family that will fill up with mess and paraphernalia, and one for you that the children are occasionally allowed in if they are good and wash their hands first.
This not only ensures your sanity, but also gives them a sense of wonder and appreciation for a special car. My grown up daughter now says that some of her happiest childhood memories are being allowed to sit in my car whilst I warmed up the engine. She does not remember the family Audi estate at all.
Some more advice you didn’t ask for would be:
1). The first 6 months is basically a siege. Get supplies in, hunker down and prepare for chaos.
2). Peak age to my mind is 2-3 years old. At this point they can walk and talk, are cute, and have few opinions. Sort of like having a Pokémon.
3). If you have a boy he will scare you silly until his teens and then is great to have around. Girls are the opposite.
4). You’ll give your first child beautiful, expensive gear and specially prepared organic food. You’ll give the second one practical gear and clothes and regular kids food. The third one will get handmedowns and will eat whatever you do. It gets easier because you learn what doesn’t matter.
5). Do not listen to any advice from anyone.
HTH.
This not only ensures your sanity, but also gives them a sense of wonder and appreciation for a special car. My grown up daughter now says that some of her happiest childhood memories are being allowed to sit in my car whilst I warmed up the engine. She does not remember the family Audi estate at all.
Some more advice you didn’t ask for would be:
1). The first 6 months is basically a siege. Get supplies in, hunker down and prepare for chaos.
2). Peak age to my mind is 2-3 years old. At this point they can walk and talk, are cute, and have few opinions. Sort of like having a Pokémon.
3). If you have a boy he will scare you silly until his teens and then is great to have around. Girls are the opposite.
4). You’ll give your first child beautiful, expensive gear and specially prepared organic food. You’ll give the second one practical gear and clothes and regular kids food. The third one will get handmedowns and will eat whatever you do. It gets easier because you learn what doesn’t matter.
5). Do not listen to any advice from anyone.
HTH.
67Dino said:
Two cars. You need two cars. One for the family that will fill up with mess and paraphernalia, and one for you that the children are occasionally allowed in if they are good and wash their hands first.
This not only ensures your sanity, but also gives them a sense of wonder and appreciation for a special car. My grown up daughter now says that some of her happiest childhood memories are being allowed to sit in my car whilst I warmed up the engine. She does not remember the family Audi estate at all.
Some more advice you didn’t ask for would be:
1). The first 6 months is basically a siege. Get supplies in, hunker down and prepare for chaos.
2). Peak age to my mind is 2-3 years old. At this point they can walk and talk, are cute, and have few opinions. Sort of like having a Pokémon.
3). If you have a boy he will scare you silly until his teens and then is great to have around. Girls are the opposite.
4). You’ll give your first child beautiful, expensive gear and specially prepared organic food. You’ll give the second one practical gear and clothes and regular kids food. The third one will get handmedowns and will eat whatever you do. It gets easier because you learn what doesn’t matter.
5). Do not listen to any advice from anyone.
HTH.
Fantastic (much needed) advice, especially the numbered points, thank you This not only ensures your sanity, but also gives them a sense of wonder and appreciation for a special car. My grown up daughter now says that some of her happiest childhood memories are being allowed to sit in my car whilst I warmed up the engine. She does not remember the family Audi estate at all.
Some more advice you didn’t ask for would be:
1). The first 6 months is basically a siege. Get supplies in, hunker down and prepare for chaos.
2). Peak age to my mind is 2-3 years old. At this point they can walk and talk, are cute, and have few opinions. Sort of like having a Pokémon.
3). If you have a boy he will scare you silly until his teens and then is great to have around. Girls are the opposite.
4). You’ll give your first child beautiful, expensive gear and specially prepared organic food. You’ll give the second one practical gear and clothes and regular kids food. The third one will get handmedowns and will eat whatever you do. It gets easier because you learn what doesn’t matter.
5). Do not listen to any advice from anyone.
HTH.
I fully agree with 2 cars. ive always kept 2-3 up until before covid, then just went to one as I had the van too. It is something i will consider when budget opens up abit in the future.
Sheepshanks said:
Some of the suggestions in the thread are hilarious- even more so when the OP’s budget is £3K.
One of my daughters has two little kids and has coped fine with Honda Jazz - they’ve (including her husband) been on UK family holidays in it.
I think from what everyone has said...and even looking at it objectively. The golf plus does seem to tick all the boxes. I will obviously test this too, but it seems more case of panic by me where it was probably not needed.One of my daughters has two little kids and has coped fine with Honda Jazz - they’ve (including her husband) been on UK family holidays in it.
Gad-Westy said:
The Golf will be fine. Or certainly fine enough that there is no need to change it now. No point in buying a car with a bigger boot now, only to find out it was rear room that was the issue or height or whatever. It'll do the job.
10 years ago now but we had a 330i Touring. Had it before child #1 arrived and saw no need to change. Two interesting points though. Firstly rear facing seats take up a lot of the length. We had to have the passenger seat fully forward to fit it in and that meant that the other half would generally travel in the back for a while as space in the front was uncomfortable. The law is that they must remain rear facing for first 15 months. It's all very well hearing tales of 70's kids coming home from hospital on the parcel shelf of a bubble car but if you want to comply with the current law then you do need a lot more space than days of old.
The other thing that has changed a lot in recent years which is a double edged sword is that you typically now take the car seat in and out of the car rather than leaving it in place. This has the advantage that if your baby is asleep, they have a chance of staying asleep which is highly valuable but on the other hand, modern car seats built to modern legal safety standards weigh a metric tonne. The baby is the lightest component in that assembly! I don't think there is any need to rush out and buy an SUV or anything but I personally would not entertain the idea of lifting a child with seat out of the back of a 3 door hatch or Coupe regularly and it would be a pain to get them into a fixed rear facing seat in the back accessing from the front of a three door car. It's always a nice idea to imagine using a 911 or something for your baby mobile and occasionally it would be fine but if the kid needs to be in the back, doing it every day would be a total pain, quite literally.
The rest of space requirement is really up to you. You'll fill whatever you have and manage just fine. We had our 3-series touring stuffed to the roof when #1 was a baby and we went anywhere. In hindsight we could have left half the stuff at home and you quickly realise this after a few weeks. Travel systems take up a tonne of space though. Probably still worth it if you have room.
a few great points you have made there, and something for me to think about, especially with regards headroom/legroom. As it stands the golf plus has great headroom, legroom I cant speak for until I try and get a baby seat fitted, and as the vehicle sits "alittle" higher im hoping bending down and twisting with the baby seat wont be to much of a nightmare. We did go and see some baby seats and kinda blown away at just how heavy these are and quite arkward to carry too. 10 years ago now but we had a 330i Touring. Had it before child #1 arrived and saw no need to change. Two interesting points though. Firstly rear facing seats take up a lot of the length. We had to have the passenger seat fully forward to fit it in and that meant that the other half would generally travel in the back for a while as space in the front was uncomfortable. The law is that they must remain rear facing for first 15 months. It's all very well hearing tales of 70's kids coming home from hospital on the parcel shelf of a bubble car but if you want to comply with the current law then you do need a lot more space than days of old.
The other thing that has changed a lot in recent years which is a double edged sword is that you typically now take the car seat in and out of the car rather than leaving it in place. This has the advantage that if your baby is asleep, they have a chance of staying asleep which is highly valuable but on the other hand, modern car seats built to modern legal safety standards weigh a metric tonne. The baby is the lightest component in that assembly! I don't think there is any need to rush out and buy an SUV or anything but I personally would not entertain the idea of lifting a child with seat out of the back of a 3 door hatch or Coupe regularly and it would be a pain to get them into a fixed rear facing seat in the back accessing from the front of a three door car. It's always a nice idea to imagine using a 911 or something for your baby mobile and occasionally it would be fine but if the kid needs to be in the back, doing it every day would be a total pain, quite literally.
The rest of space requirement is really up to you. You'll fill whatever you have and manage just fine. We had our 3-series touring stuffed to the roof when #1 was a baby and we went anywhere. In hindsight we could have left half the stuff at home and you quickly realise this after a few weeks. Travel systems take up a tonne of space though. Probably still worth it if you have room.
Brownie_B said:
I think from what everyone has said...and even looking at it objectively. The golf plus does seem to tick all the boxes. I will obviously test this too, but it seems more case of panic by me where it was probably not needed.
In all honesty, you'll probably spend less money by buying stuff that suits your current car rather than a car that fits the kit.Parenthood gets expensive, best to get into a rhythm first one your baby's born and then buy a car you think suits you better (if you need to).
We had a Seat Arona when our first came. A buggy travel system took up the entire boot. When the second came we were in a Merc B class by this point. Day to day just fine but if you wanted to bring a double buggy and spend a week in Cornwall, it's just not big enough. Now have a C4 Grand Picasso. With a roof box and sensible luggage you can still do a week away with all 7 seats in use. Kept and still have the 2 seat sports car througgout and a perood during COVID aside always also had another daily type car.
Sheepshanks said:
Some of the suggestions in the thread are hilarious- even more so when the OP’s budget is £3K.
One of my daughters has two little kids and has coped fine with Honda Jazz - they’ve (including her husband) been on UK family holidays in it.
He never said he had a budget in his first post One of my daughters has two little kids and has coped fine with Honda Jazz - they’ve (including her husband) been on UK family holidays in it.
Sheepshanks said:
Some of the suggestions in the thread are hilarious- even more so when the OP’s budget is £3K.
One of my daughters has two little kids and has coped fine with Honda Jazz - they’ve (including her husband) been on UK family holidays in it.
My daughter has 2 kids, she has a Clio IV, OK it's a bit tight but doable and she's been on holiday in it in the UK too, with the boyfriend. One of my daughters has two little kids and has coped fine with Honda Jazz - they’ve (including her husband) been on UK family holidays in it.
A Golf Plus is more than sufficient for 1 child, hell 2 will be fine too, why do people suddenly think they need something huge when a child comes along and only £3k to spend, you'll end up with something very ropey and likely to give you problems, if the Golf is giving you good service, stick with what you know.
When I learned Miss Badger was pregnant I sold my DC5 Integra and bought an FD2 Civic Type R (4 doors). Then changed to a Subaru Impreza STI, quite practical but poor on fuel.
I've now got an FK8 Type R and cannot fault it as a family car, it is brilliantly practical, has lots of cubbies and storage, clever parcel shelf, lots of rear leg and headroom, massive glovebox, huge boot with a flat floor when the seats go down, will fit a Christmas tree no problem and has all the safety aids and a comfort drive mode for just pootling. Plus it's obviously still fun and engaging when necessary.
I've now got an FK8 Type R and cannot fault it as a family car, it is brilliantly practical, has lots of cubbies and storage, clever parcel shelf, lots of rear leg and headroom, massive glovebox, huge boot with a flat floor when the seats go down, will fit a Christmas tree no problem and has all the safety aids and a comfort drive mode for just pootling. Plus it's obviously still fun and engaging when necessary.
As a dad of three, from experience the reality of buying what you like to throw kids in and enjoy driving gets tiring after a while.
As long as you're strapping in and out of car seats, pulling over to deal with emergencies (think wee stops, sick, nappies, screaming toddlers on the side of the road) you'll be thankful for some sort of MPV.
Think S-Max, Sharan, French/Jap/Korean equivalent or anything else with a bit of height, and width where you can actually step into the back if needed. Also a big enough boot you can literally throw everything in without having to think about it. Essential after a long day out where you just need and want to get home.
If like me, my wife was happy to drive this kind of thing as her daily and therefore I could buy whatever the hell I wanted. Win-win. :-)
As long as you're strapping in and out of car seats, pulling over to deal with emergencies (think wee stops, sick, nappies, screaming toddlers on the side of the road) you'll be thankful for some sort of MPV.
Think S-Max, Sharan, French/Jap/Korean equivalent or anything else with a bit of height, and width where you can actually step into the back if needed. Also a big enough boot you can literally throw everything in without having to think about it. Essential after a long day out where you just need and want to get home.
If like me, my wife was happy to drive this kind of thing as her daily and therefore I could buy whatever the hell I wanted. Win-win. :-)
You'll always face the wrath of those who proclaim that an Elise is perfectly acceptable... and I'm sure it is possible, in the same sense cutting the grass with nail scissors is possible and so is climbing Ben Nevis in flip-flops. So whilst yes, technically possible, probably not the easiest or smartest solution and frankly, as new parents in at the deep end, anything that makes life that little bit more hassle free is a good thing. Space, ease of use and an air of "do not give a damn" is pretty liberating when it comes to baby transportation. Boring, probably... but easier, definitely and that's why most have a Labrador instead of a Bengal Tiger as a pet.
Given the time is looming, to be honest if the Golf Plus is in serviceable condition and not on its last legs then I'd be tempted to sit tight and just run with it. It's a pretty solid choice, most iso-fix equipped car seats will fit, it's not excessively harsh or noisy, the boot will take a reasonable sized pram and a few bags alongside and if it's at the stage where you're not anal about it, you won't care when the buggy scuffs the boot or you're doing battle at the local soft play centre with other parents who have car presentation way, way down their priority list. If however you can get an RS4 for the £3k budget, please give me a shout as I'll take two at that money.
If however you do decide to change, then I'd be in favour of an estate or SUV with a flat load bay... never underestimate just how handy that is for those emergency roadside nappy changes or for sliding in a Euro pallet full of stuff the little darlings seem to need for even the most basic trip out. Also worth disregarding the nonsense about how "We used to go to Skeggy in Mum's Mini Metro, all 9 of us and managed" as time's have changed... it's no longer acceptable to wedge your 3 week old in the glovebox or stick them on the parcel shelf.
You'll be fine
Given the time is looming, to be honest if the Golf Plus is in serviceable condition and not on its last legs then I'd be tempted to sit tight and just run with it. It's a pretty solid choice, most iso-fix equipped car seats will fit, it's not excessively harsh or noisy, the boot will take a reasonable sized pram and a few bags alongside and if it's at the stage where you're not anal about it, you won't care when the buggy scuffs the boot or you're doing battle at the local soft play centre with other parents who have car presentation way, way down their priority list. If however you can get an RS4 for the £3k budget, please give me a shout as I'll take two at that money.
If however you do decide to change, then I'd be in favour of an estate or SUV with a flat load bay... never underestimate just how handy that is for those emergency roadside nappy changes or for sliding in a Euro pallet full of stuff the little darlings seem to need for even the most basic trip out. Also worth disregarding the nonsense about how "We used to go to Skeggy in Mum's Mini Metro, all 9 of us and managed" as time's have changed... it's no longer acceptable to wedge your 3 week old in the glovebox or stick them on the parcel shelf.
You'll be fine
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