Baby on the way / Petrolhead fun

[chocolatefingers5000]

Hi all,

as per the title, baby no. 1 is on the way, due in september, and I'm considering a change up between the wife and my car setup. I drive to work daily in a 320d F30 saloon which, as it stands, will have the car seat, boot for pram etc. I think it's spacious enough for one child.
My wife's car is an SLK200 which she enjoys but is happy to let go. I find the seats quite uncomfortable (despite rest of car being very nice), and fancy "living a little" while we can enjoy larger engined cars.

Considering - C55 / E55 estate (the latter seem pretty rare), 330i estate (N52 engine), 130i hatchback (again, N52), or an M113 V8 merc estate (E500 but again, rare and many seem to have been scrapped due to rust).

Budget of around 8k, no rush and I'm keen for something semi family friendly, with an interesting engine up front, good seats, plenty of space. Would be interested and appreciate any PHers thoughts and experiences

[RoVoFob]

chocolatefingers5000 said:

Considering - C55 / E55 estate (the latter seem pretty rare), 330i estate (N52 engine), 130i hatchback (again, N52), or an M113 V8 merc estate (E500 but again, rare and many seem to have been scrapped due to rust).

Budget of around 8k, no rush and I'm keen for something semi family friendly, with an interesting engine up front, good seats, plenty of space. Would be interested and appreciate any PHers thoughts and experiences

I have a three-year-old son and your brief sounds pretty similar to mine - interesting engines and decent seats were two of my top priorities. So far I’ve been through:
2006 Audi A6 Avant 4.2 V8 SE, c 80k miles - £5,500
2009 Volkswagen Passat R36 Estate c 110k miles - £8,500
2007 Audi A6 4.2 V8 S Line c 70k miles - c. £5,850
2011 Audi S5 Sportback 88k miles - £9,850

Had a £2,250 Subaru Legacy 3.0 R Spec-B Tourer manual with 86k miles on it during Covid, plus three BMW 130is, including one while my son’s been alive.

My favourite is the R36 - sounded the best, had the best automatic gearbox, was practical and had incredible seats. Still wonder why I sold it. I got about 35mpg on the few hundred miles after picking it up too - was surprisingly economical for the performance. Most are high tax. You can also get saloon and Passat CC versions with the same engine, plus the Skoda Superb 3.6 V6 with a 260hp detuned engine, compared with the normal 300hp.

My current S5 is great - big, easily accessible boot, drives well, comfy, well equipped. It’s faster than the Passat but doesn’t quite sound as good and the gearbox isn’t as responsive. It also uses more fuel, despite being c £400 tax compared with the £700+ of most R36s…Still a very good all-rounder, though.

I had my 130i alongside this. The boot wasn’t big enough for baby bassinet, but mine had three sets of ISOFIX, including front passenger (think this was optional) and a very good spec. A bit more analogue than the S5 and R36 and still decently comfy and refined (I fitted Bilsteins B12s to it, but still found it comfy, partly due to the seats).

I liked my A6’s and they were good value and sounded good (one had a Milltek, which made a positive difference), but neither was particularly comfy or handled that well - even the estate on air suspension.

Personally, I wouldn’t have the most faith in the reliability of those Mercedes - the N52 is more robust and BMWs of that era don’t rust as badly as the Mercs. I’ve had good reliability from my Audis, though they do need to be maintained. Have a set of other interesting-engined options to share shortly…

[ZX10R NIN]

If you're looking at an E Class then even the saloon will have ample space for your needs, you won't get a 500 but the 350 is a good pick:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505292...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504301...

Leftfield & a bit overkill but this Genesis is hard to look past but not a fun steer:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502108...

[blank]

Have you actually tried fitting a rear facing seat in the back of a 3 Series? I think the person in front will end up with very little legroom.

Rear facing child seats take up an unbelievable amount of space.

[wyson]

There s a channel on youtube called BabyDrive. As you d expect, they load different cars with lots of kids gubbins. Well worth a watch, if they featured a vehicle you are considering, to check out the practicality.

What I would say, unless you have a lot of family support, you will have way less time.

I got a brand new family SUV on a lease because I couldn t be arsed with maintenance, I just wanted an A to B box that worked. With a baby, you have to drive gently all the time anyway, unless you want wailing, them puking up etc. Also the higher seat and higher roof really helps with buckling them in, there is much less bending at the waist. I found it counts when you are sleep deprived and utterly exhausted.

Will also say buy everything early and prep as much as you can. You should be ready to go by early August, if not sooner. You definitely don t want to be caught out by an early delivery etc and have to go around sleep deprived trying to sort st out.

If you are doing test drives, have someone sit in the back. Is the ride rough back there? Will it wake a sleeping baby etc.

Edited by wyson on Thursday 29th May 19:50

[Tinkermantony]

I use a 360 car seat in my f30 and it works great.

[chocolatefingers5000]

blank said:

Have you actually tried fitting a rear facing seat in the back of a 3 Series? I think the person in front will end up with very little legroom.

Rear facing child seats take up an unbelievable amount of space.

Had not considered this... may be a rapid change of thread if the 3 series is too small!

[chocolatefingers5000]

wyson said:

There s a channel on youtube called BabyDrive. As you d expect, they load different cars with lots of kids gubbins. Well worth a watch, if they featured a vehicle you are considering, to check out the practicality.

What I would say, unless you have a lot of family support, you will have way less time.

I got a brand new family SUV on a lease because I couldn t be arsed with maintenance, I just wanted an A to B box that worked. With a baby, you have to drive gently all the time anyway, unless you want wailing, them puking up etc. Also the higher seat and higher roof really helps with buckling them in, there is much less bending at the waist. I found it counts when you are sleep deprived and utterly exhausted.

Will also say buy everything early and prep as much as you can. You should be ready to go by early August, if not sooner. You definitely don t want to be caught out by an early delivery etc and have to go around sleep deprived trying to sort st out.

If you are doing test drives, have someone sit in the back. Is the ride rough back there? Will it wake a sleeping baby etc.

Edited by wyson on Thursday 29th May 19:50

Thank you so much for the pre-arrival intel! I am firmly anti SUV but reading what you're saying, maybe need to consider a change of mind as I don't want a bad back to go with a bad shoulder already!

[wyson]

Yes, I m anti SUV as well. Will definitely go back to a normal hatchback or estate when they are old enough to sort themselves out and not need so much stuff carted around.

Mine are a bit older now and have graduated from baby stuff, but now its scooters, roller skates, helmets, small bikes etc.

During the baby days, one thing I found super useful was to be able to slide a folded push chair into the boot on its side, so it didn t take up a lot of floor area. It was the first test I did evaluating a car. If it passed that, it was the rear facing car seat space test. If it failed either of those it was out. Ridiculous right?!

Edited by wyson on Thursday 29th May 20:40

[RoVoFob]

blank said:

Have you actually tried fitting a rear facing seat in the back of a 3 Series? I think the person in front will end up with very little legroom.

Rear facing child seats take up an unbelievable amount of space.

I got one into my 2006 130i. Admittedly the front seat was quite far forward, but it can be done, even with a reasonably sized car seat. The boot was more of a limitation, but it’s still bigger than that of a VW Golf R32 of the same age - contrary to what Clarkson claimed when they were new…

[RoVoFob]

wyson said:

There s a channel on youtube called BabyDrive. As you d expect, they load different cars with lots of kids gubbins. Well worth a watch, if they featured a vehicle you are considering, to check out the practicality.

I got a brand new family SUV on a lease because I couldn t be arsed with maintenance, I just wanted an A to B box that worked. Also the higher seat and higher roof really helps with buckling them in, there is much less bending at the waist. I found it counts when you are sleep deprived and utterly exhausted.

Edited by wyson on Thursday 29th May 19:50

Another Youtube channel worth looking at is Dadcars. He’s a father of four daughters and goes for far less practical stuff than I’d ever consider with just one son, but it’s good to know that there’s no inherent need for an SUV - and estates are often more practical. May help you gauge what’s important to you.

My S5 is pretty low and the shape of the rear door is more of a limitation than the height. The lower height also means that kids can climb in themselves more easily when they get older. SUVs are often better in terms of boot height and worse for floor area than estates, which can limit what you can carry, too. A load that fitted easily in my Passat Estate simply wouldn’t fit in an X3, despite the boot volume being similar, as the floor space was so much less… While some SUVs are particularly practical, many are not, so SUVs shouldn’t be a default choice on practicality terms.

[Marquezs Stabilisers]

When I became a Daddy I swapped my 3 door Fiesta for a Blobeye Impreza WRX. You'd get a great one for your budget - though not an STI. The boot in the saloon is huge, it has Isofix, and an interesting engine.

[RoVoFob]

A few leftfield options:
5.7-litre V8 estate with 630-litre boot: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503150...

5.2-litre V10 saloon with all-wheel-drive: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505282...

Low tax 4.4-litre V8 estate: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505282...

VR6 estate goodness with fantastic seats: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504121...

Cheaper, low tax VR6 goodness: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504211...

Sleek but practical supercharged 3.0-litre V6: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504121...

Plenty of interesting cars to choose from, if you want something practical with a sweet sounding engine. Lower mileage versions are out there, but can take a while to find...

[chocolatefingers5000]

RoVoFob said:

A few leftfield options:
5.7-litre V8 estate with 630-litre boot: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503150...

5.2-litre V10 saloon with all-wheel-drive: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505282...

Low tax 4.4-litre V8 estate: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505282...

VR6 estate goodness with fantastic seats: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504121...

Cheaper, low tax VR6 goodness: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504211...

Sleek but practical supercharged 3.0-litre V6: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504121...

Plenty of interesting cars to choose from, if you want something practical with a sweet sounding engine. Lower mileage versions are out there, but can take a while to find...

All extremely interesting options!

Task one is to check the rear seat in the 320d this weekend, as otherwise it may be off to SUV-ville if it is a back breaker.

The VR6/DSG combo is probably top of my list, given the BMW v8 and audi v10 reputation for reliability, but aware those DSGs need maintenance that tends to not get done as routine. So waiting for a well-maintained one could take a while - or require some digging for every option that comes up.

[dirtbiker]

I had the same dilemma and ended up with a 2015 Audi SQ5, which did a great job of baby duties for the first few years.

I wanted a 3-series touring but the boot is quite narrow due to the wheel wells which was not the best for some of the bigger prams.

I've now got an X3 M40i which is doing the job nicely but there's a lot less stuff now my girls are 4 and 6!

[M.F.D]

Some good options listed. I must advise against daily use of an Impreza with kids, unless you have deep pockets for maintenance. I daily drove a JDM twinscoll STI fairly recently and it was fun until it wasn't.

F10/F11 530/535d would be a really good all round daily with the family in mind.

[Marquezs Stabilisers]

M.F.D said:

Some good options listed. I must advise against daily use of an Impreza with kids, unless you have deep pockets for maintenance. I daily drove a JDM twinscoll STI fairly recently and it was fun until it wasn't.

F10/F11 530/535d would be a really good all round daily with the family in mind.

The twinscroll STIs are a lot, lot heavier on fuel and maintenance than a WRX. That's why I didn't get one! (oh, and the missus refused to drive a car with a pink knob on the front and the letters STI on the back).

Also you could get a big Bugaboo pram in the boot.

[M.F.D]

Marquezs Stabilisers said:

The twinscroll STIs are a lot, lot heavier on fuel and maintenance than a WRX. That's why I didn't get one! (oh, and the missus refused to drive a car with a pink knob on the front and the letters STI on the back).

Also you could get a big Bugaboo pram in the boot.

That's true, however the EJ20's are infamous for their reliability or lack thereof. I'm a massive fan but I wouldn't be daily driving one again for family duties personally.

[Jag_NE]

In my experience, and without dogs like ive always had, some sort of large exec saloon is ideal.

Plenty of space in the back for child seats, massive boot and lots of 6cyl engine options and often quite good value vs big SUV's and estates.

If you dont mind the image, the Jag XF is a brilliant all rounder.

You could probably run one for another 10 years whilst the kids wreck it as long as you keep on top of the maintenance.

[M.F.D]

Marquezs Stabilisers said:

The twinscroll STIs are a lot, lot heavier on fuel and maintenance than a WRX. That's why I didn't get one! (oh, and the missus refused to drive a car with a pink knob on the front and the letters STI on the back).

Also you could get a big Bugaboo pram in the boot.

That's true, however the EJ20's are infamous for their reliability or lack thereof. I'm a massive fan but I wouldn't be daily driving one again for family duties personally.