BMW 435i Gran Coupe, Audi S5 Sportback with a baby?

[ftogpx]

Afternoon all. My wife and I are expecting our first child in June and I'm just mulling over our car options. I get the train to work so we're a one car family - so whatever I buy must be sensible and practical enough for my wife to drive 50% of the time. Given that she has zero interest in cars - her only prerequisites are that it's an auto and not too big (the idea of driving something BMW X5 sized around tight roads fills her with dread!) - she's happy to leave the car buying up to me.

Budget is about £20k. Must haves for me is a nice petrol engine and something with a bit of 'feel good' about it. My mates with kids have told me to forget about 'feel good' and just get something as practical as possible (think Audi Q5, BMW X3, Nissan Qashqai etc) but the thought of driving those all the time just leaves me cold (especially as the cars in budget would be diesel. The Q5 2.0 tfsi petrol seems just as bland).

Does anyone have any experience of the 4 series gran coupe or Audi S5 Sportback with a new baby? Is it workable for a one car family with a newborn, or will it quickly become a chore? They actually seem more practical than the saloon counterparts as the hatchback makes accessing the boot much easier. The BMW 435i also comes with electric memory seats as standard which is a big plus as we'll be sharing the car. If I can find one with adaptive suspension, the ride should be ok in comfort mode when we're all in the car.

The only negative I can see is the opening to the rear doors is a bit tighter due to the slope of the roof, so strapping in the little one could be more of a chore. A rear facing child seat will also mean the passenger seat needs to be pushed all the way forward (but that seems to be a problem with a lot of cars). Hopefully not a major problem as we're both not very tall (I'm 5'10 and my wife's 5'2) and my wife will be in the passenger seat when we're all in the car.

Any thoughts most appreciated. I'm more than open to any other suggestions that I haven't thought of.

[Croutons]

I'm sorry to tell you both will be a fking disaster.

I mean it.

For the first few weeks you'll be fine. Then the little fkers grow. A lot.

And you have to put them in rear facing child seats. Think about that with the profile of the rear doors, swooping down. You'll have to limbo junior's head under the door on to the seat. While his or her flailing legs are outside, then you have to get them in too. Through a really small gap. Kids grow. That gap doesn't.

You'll have a year max before a wriggling, noisy child starts to become simply too difficult to get in. And you'll sell and buy the car you should have done in the first place.

Yes, yes, people slid about on the back of vinyl Cortina seats and your best mates neighbour survives with a Ka, but if you don't have to, why the fk would you make your life difficult?

You need 4+ doors, where the back ones have a seriously large aperture, square at the top if you can. High up also means putting junior in involves less leaning down, and less of an achy back.

When they're 135cm, don't need a seat, and before their legs are too long, have what you want. Now. Just suck it up and don't find in 12 months you're having an argument about how the car has to change now, forcing you into doing so.

Or fk it and have the 435, which is much nicer than the Audi.

[Raino144]

335i Touring or S4 Avant would be my preference for practicality...

Got a 5 month old and a C class estate - we practically lose the entire boot to his (folded up) pram.... coming home for Christmas we had to add a giant roof box as well.... don’t underestimate the amount of crap you need to ferry around!

[Croutons]

Mate with a 440GC says when the child swaps to forward facing it's also impossible, as they're so wide now they sit on the sculpted rear seat.

[mikey P 500]

My brother in law has a 440 grandcoupe and also an almost 1 year old. No issues I always considered it a very practical car. (fairly large, rear doors and hatch boot). Not sure on the need for a SUV as soon as you have a baby. My kids enjoy the back of a porsche 996 and before this squeezed into back of a gt86.

[anonymous-user]

It’s all subjective. I’ve had a five door 1 Series as a child carrier from birth to 1 year old and it’s fine. You’ll survive using any of those cars. Actively buying one as a family car when you could choose something more practical seems weird though and very expensive. I’d go boring and used if purchasing specifically for family duties so a petrol Octavia would be hard to beat.

[ftogpx]

Appreciate the thoughts thanks guys. I'm really not sure what to do lol. The S4 and 335i estates really don't do anything for me, they just seem a bit bland. An RS4 avant would be great but the budget doesn't stretch to that. I may have a look at the Mercedes C63 estate - I used to have a coupe and the engine is a masterpiece, but they're looking a bit dated now.

Shame there isn't more choice of petrol SUVs at my price point. Something like the Audi SQ5 would be a perfect compromise, but the ones in my budget are diesel, not the newer petrol lump.

[ftogpx]

sotonjoe said:

It’s all subjective. I’ve had a five door 1 Series as a child carrier from birth to 1 year old and it’s fine. You’ll survive using any of those cars. Actively buying one as a family car when you could choose something more practical seems weird though and very expensive. I’d go boring and used if purchasing specifically for family duties so a petrol Octavia would be hard to beat.

I hear what you say. Something like that would be OK if we had two cars and I had access to something a bit more interesting than an Octavia. No offence to anyone who has one, but if I had to drive around in an Octavia for 5 years I'd find it too soul destroying Happy parents happy kids

[BuzzBravado]

Its a Zafira for you lad!

[gazza5]

Sounds like you are a coupe man, hence looking at swoopy cars.

Now I haven't had a look, but what about a passat CC thing (not sure if arteon is in your budget). Not exciting, but costs a lot less to run than a S5 etc.

I have a golf r estate (Cupra 300 estate is in your budget at 2 years old), I reckon I have used the boot properly about 4 times. Admittedly I have a 5 year old so no buggy is a absolute god send. However, number 2 will be born within the next month or so, so ask me then.

Honestly VRS petrol with DSG is not a bad car at all, superb may be a bit big, but up to you is you want to rule them out without a test drive.

Tbh we managed with a Astra diesel and a Pug 2008, both cars bought for your budget of £20k. Astra was 2nd hand, and main car we used for kiddy duties, my wifes car was brand new. Not very pistonheads a astra 2.0 diesel and a 1.2 2008 but my missus loves her 2008 and it worked for us (petrol 2008 due to around town dropping kid at nursery etc later on).

I woyuldn't say a astra is a huge car (astra J - previous one to current one). But we managed with all the crap that goes with kids. I'm 5 11, my wife 5 8. So we aren't small.

Kids will be in the car seat for about a year (ones that go on the buggy - Group 0), after that your free to upgrade to the next level that isn't rear facing.

We didn't bother with isofix, but thats a different thread entirely, some people would label me irresponsible for that and come at me with pitch forks.

So with my ramblings, providing its a sportback S5 you should be fine, only way though is to get to a showroom, have a look, try putting the car seat in (I did it with 4 bags of sugar and flour in the car seat (put it in a carrier bag)) - I may of looked like a right loon, but once a kid is in the car seat the weight at least doubles. Loading a empty car seat is easy, with a child (or sugar and flour) its more difficult.

[jv021]

We had a similar decision last year... 440i GC or something else.

Wife liked the 4 series and we were planning on starting a family shortly. The trouble with the 4 series is that getting the baby / baby seat in / out is doable but not easy due to it being low with a sloping roofline - the demo car we tried had an isofix base in-situ which did not leave a lot of room.

We ended up getting a X3 and now that baby is here has proved to be far easier to deal with.

Also think heavily pregnant wife will struggle getting in and out of a low car (my car is now more or less redundant!!!)

[ZX10R NIN]

The Jaguar XF in 3.0S form is a good shout as it has coupe like looks:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or the XFR

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Lexus IS F

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

If you want a sensible 1.5T in Titanium X Sport trim is a great option if you want a swift family SUV :

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[dufflecoat]

I have a new S5 Sportback, had it for 2 years now

2 kids, 3year old and 6 months, car is fine.

Boot holds enough and I bought a Thule 3/5 roofbox for pram etc.

As they get older and need bikes etc, would look for something bigger.

[mac96]

No one else can answer this really- it all depends on how much stuff you choose to cart around with the baby. I managed to have an MGBGT as an only car and go on holiday with the then wife and our baby/toddler. At exactly the same time, a friend with an Alfa 156 estate and a new baby felt it was too small and was looking at people carriers..

I am not recommending am MGB now mind you- we did fit a child seat in the back, but they have got bigger since then, and no ISOFIX!

[dufflecoat]

mac96 said:

No one else can answer this really- it all depends on how much stuff you choose to cart around with the baby. I managed to have an MGBGT as an only car and go on holiday with the then wife and our baby/toddler. At exactly the same time, a friend with an Alfa 156 estate and a new baby felt it was too small and was looking at people carriers..

I am not recommending am MGB now mind you- we did fit a child seat in the back, but they have got bigger since then, and no ISOFIX!

Agreed,

If you want to buy a horrible soulless st box and ruin your life go for it. If you don't mind some very moderate inconveniences, buy what you like.

Any 5 door mid range car is big enough for two kids and associated luggage in my book. (get a roof box if required, goes with you to any car then)

[Emeye]

Pretty much any car will do the job - it all comes down to how easy you want your life to be. I replaced my Mk1 Audi TT for a 5 door Mk5 Golf Gti 8 years ago when we had a 7 year old and a baby - my wife used it daily as I had a collection of interesting yet crappy cars for my short commute, but after a few months she gave that up for a Vauxhall fking Zafira that I absolutely hated, as the Golf wasn't big enough apparently to fit the baby gear and shopping in. Still, I had my daily £400 Alfa to keep me sane....

If you have the space and money, get a family wagon and something fun for you, unless you can find something that can do both. Oh, and take the kiddie seat and pram you want when you go look at some cars.

[underphil]

Both of those cars have a boot that is more than good enough, the most important question is rear legroom

I think a lot depends on what car seats you intend to use, with most isofix seats fitted, you'll find that you need loads of rear legroom to not have a compromised front seating position.

We used a current gen Mazda 3 at one point and although it had big legroom for its class, the passenger seat ended up a good 4 inches forward of what was comfortable. Getting the kids in and out is not a problem though, just get one of the car seats that rotates to face sideways for loading/unloading - they're great. Plus once they're a few years old they'll get in and out by themselves anyway

[Chestrockwell]

I echo everyone’s comments about the GC, I have one and it’s a disaster putting my 1 year old nephew in. It’s also very dark in the back, if you have the M sport with the black headlining and privacy glass, even in daylight, it’s pretty dark in the back, get a 3 series and you’re laughing !