What car - expectant father

[Level 7 Boss]

Yeah I know, another what car thread, but, with a slight twist.

I have to say goodbye to my 350z, and hello to 4pots, and practicality.

My budget is £12k, but could possibly stretch. My commute is a 16 mile round trip, mostly 30-40 zones. I prefer the sleek lines of a coupe, or a 3 door, but realistically, will the cars below be practical enough, or do I have to bit the bullet and get a 5 door car?

Requirements

• 0-60 in sub 7 seconds, with strong in-gear performance
• 26 mpg urban mpg
• Good remap potential
• Isofix
• More up-to-date interior than the 350z
• Usable rear seats

The candidates

• RS Megane 250 – great looks, difficult to find the specs I want.
• Scirocco/ Scirocco R – Is this practical enough?
• Edition 30/MK6 GTI
• 325i – Will this return 26 mpg?

Looking for some advice, and insight.

[Rawwr]

Ever noticed how nearly every 'what car' thread these days has a 'with a twist' caveat on it, which ultimately doesn't appear to have any kind of twist?

I realise this post was not helpful at all.

Carry on.

[J4CKO]

You dont need a huge SUV for one baby like some seem to do, or an MPV, but you do need 5 doors to make life less difficult, a Sirocco, trying to get a baby seat in would be hard work for a car that really, though good isnt that much better looking than a Golf, Golf GTI 5Door or maybe a Focus St.

[gashead1105]

Is this the sole car for you and your partner to carry the baby around in, or are you only concerned about occasional journeys with baby? If it's the former, you really need to have a think and chat with the partner, because I would not expect you'll get a great reaction suggesting 3 door performance cars.

Specifically, with the megane 250, you will find that the high bootlip means that you/your other half will struggle to get the travel system in without scratching the bumper badly. Also your other half will moan about the very firm ride. She will prefer the golf. I had an ED30 and got pretty bored after a year or so, but my wife loved it. I also hated the rusting front wings, crap A/C compressors and generally large maintenance budget I needed for it. Combined with 22MPG urban - no thanks.

I'm fortunate, my wife has had a V70 since my eldest was a year old (she's just started school, I also have a 2 year old) which means that I can have a fiesta ST as a daily and the exige as well. The V70 has a lot going for it as a sensible family car in my opinion, and we bought a 3 year old one (3 years ago) for 13k...

ETA - if you are only concerned about a second car here for occasional trips with baby at the weekend, don't worry about any of the above. You'll regret having a 3 door for a few months/a year or so but after that it's fine. I take the kids around in the fiesta at the weekends and it's fine, having a second set of car seats that rattle around empty for 5 days a week is the only downside.

Edited by gashead1105 on Tuesday 6th September 12:32

[ZX10R NIN]

If it's your only car then I'd say a Mondeo Titanium X Sport with the 2.0 Ecoboost from the Focus ST so remap/tuning wise you can carry out the same mods as the ST plus it'll be very practical whilst being a wolf in sheep's clothing, as most people will be expecting a diesel.

Plus no one said you have to be truly sensible our second is due shortly & I'm not changing from the coupe admittedly the OH has an Alpina D3 which is practical enough for our needs.

2011 Mondeo Ecoboost 240bhp 22k FSH (Very good steer whilst still being practical)
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2011 Audi A5 S Line 5DR 50k 180bhp
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2008 Passat R36 53k 4WD 300bhp FVWSH (I think this would be my pick with it's rare V6 it'd be hard to resist)
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Audi A3 2.0T S Line 59k 200bhp
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Less Practical 20-24mpg

2006 BMW 550i M Sport 57k 370bhp
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2005 Mercedes C55 AMG 72k 370bhp FMSH
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2007 Audi S4 53k 345bhp
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2011 Vauxhall Insignia VXR 50k 325bhp
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

A bit leftfield but well worth a look:

2011 Mazda 3 MPS 51k 260bhp FMSH
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2012 Alfa Giulietta TBI Cloverleaf 40k 235bhp FASH(go & take one for a test drive they're pretty good
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Thursday 8th September 00:26

[castroses]

Ho often do you think you'll do '0-60 in sub 7 seconds' with your new baby in the car?

If it's often then, maybe, well, you know......

[Risotto]

There may be other possibilities, depends how flexible your criteria are. I managed ok with a 911 for example. Admittedly it was a bit of a chore when the baby seat was rear facing. Luckily my wife is fairly short so the front passenger seat could go far enough forward to leave room in the back for the baby seat. Once the child moves to a front facing seat that remains in the car it isn't an issue.

Edited by Risotto on Wednesday 7th September 21:09

[Hub]

5dr Golf GTI. Had mine when my daughter was born and it was a supremely practical all rounder. I think you'd struggle with the more coupe-like Scirocco and Megane as they have more restrictive rear seat access and smaller boots and openings.

The baby seats are quite heavy and chunky and if you have to carefully manoeuvre a snoozing baby out you want it to be as easy as possible, and 3 doors in car parks can be tricky!

You could go full on dad and get a 3 Series touring or Octavia VRS. I swapped the Golf for a Focus ST estate and that has a bigger boot but slightly less rear legroom and access than the Golf, but still ideal!

[Skyedriver]

Volvo 940 Estate and a TVR Chimaera

well it works for us!

OK my wife has a suzuki SX4 but if we all go out it's the Volvo (with the two dogs in their cages in the back).
(And I've got a Caterham in bits)

[anonymous-user]

Hub said:

5dr Golf GTI. Had mine when my daughter was born and it was a supremely practical all rounder. I think you'd struggle with the more coupe-like Scirocco and Megane as they have more restrictive rear seat access and smaller boots and openings.

The baby seats are quite heavy and chunky and if you have to carefully manoeuvre a snoozing baby out you want it to be as easy as possible, and 3 doors in car parks can be tricky!

You could go full on dad and get a 3 Series touring or Octavia VRS. I swapped the Golf for a Focus ST estate and that has a bigger boot but slightly less rear legroom and access than the Golf, but still ideal!

Or R32!! Yum

[anonymous-user]

Zafira VXR
Audi S3
Alfa 159
BMW 335i M Sport
Honda Civic Type R
Ford Focus ST Estate
Volkswagen R32
Volkswagen GTI
Audi S5
Audi S6
BMW 530d
Jaguar XF
Jaguar XJ
Kia pro c'eed
Kia Sportage
Mercedes C32
Mercedes E55
Subaru WRX STI
Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000
Subaru Impreza WRX
Volvo S60R
Volvo V70R
Anything Volvo polestar
Suzuki Kizashi

[g7jhp]

Manual 5 door Golf GTI Mk5 will be perfect. You don't need an SUV or estate.

[blearyeyedboy]

^ What he said, but if it's your main car, you will need rear doors.

I'm in a similar boat but the reason I'm hunting for an estate are bicycles and a dog, not the baby! I think Focus ST's look better as estates anyway.

If you want something without the appearance of rear doors and don't need loads of space, do you fancy a Giulietta?

[CaptainSensib1e]

I was in pretty much the same situation as you - 350Z with a baby on the way.

I plumped for a B7 Audi S4. Actually a very practical car, looks good and that thumping V8 sounds great (especially with an aftermarket exhaust). I get around 20mpg on my 8 mile commute, which I can live with.

[kiethton]

VW Passat CC

Coupe looks, Passat practicality - or an Audi A5 5dr if a badge snob

[Dave Hedgehog]

Hub said:

5dr Golf GTI. Had mine when my daughter was born and it was a supremely practical all rounder. I think you'd struggle with the more coupe-like Scirocco and Megane as they have more restrictive rear seat access and smaller boots and openings.

The baby seats are quite heavy and chunky and if you have to carefully manoeuvre a snoozing baby out you want it to be as easy as possible, and 3 doors in car parks can be tricky!

You could go full on dad and get a 3 Series touring or Octavia VRS. I swapped the Golf for a Focus ST estate and that has a bigger boot but slightly less rear legroom and access than the Golf, but still ideal!

yep, i doubt you can find a better blend of family friendly, performance, quality, fun and value