First born inbound do I hold out?
Discussion
PurpleTurtle said:
Not sure which ones you've been looking at OP, but a rear facing newborn seat (something like the Maxi Cosi Pebble that most people seem to go for) uses an ISOFIX base that doesn't protrude much further forward that the rear sear cushion. It won't be forcing you to put your passenger seat against the windscreen massively in those cars.
We had ours in the back of my E46 M3 Convertible with no issues, didn't have to adjust the seat, likewise our Honda FRV hatchback.
I wouldn't be rushing to change cars for that reason. Equally, I don't expect to see a massive correction in used car prices any time soon either, so if you can get the deal you want on the 5er that you've seen then go for it.
As with all newborn PH threads, feel free to come back and tell us how you've spaffed four figures on a 'travel system' (me:Uppababy) but find that the whole weight/size thing is a pain in the arse for even a decent sized car boot, so you soon find yourself plumping for an additional old skool Mclaren style fold up pushchair as your 'car buggy'. Ask me how I know etc etc etc.
My wife kept her RX-8 when #1 came along, only sold it and got a more sensible[1] car when #2 was nearly due. We had ours in the back of my E46 M3 Convertible with no issues, didn't have to adjust the seat, likewise our Honda FRV hatchback.
I wouldn't be rushing to change cars for that reason. Equally, I don't expect to see a massive correction in used car prices any time soon either, so if you can get the deal you want on the 5er that you've seen then go for it.
As with all newborn PH threads, feel free to come back and tell us how you've spaffed four figures on a 'travel system' (me:Uppababy) but find that the whole weight/size thing is a pain in the arse for even a decent sized car boot, so you soon find yourself plumping for an additional old skool Mclaren style fold up pushchair as your 'car buggy'. Ask me how I know etc etc etc.
Only issues were that the back is a *LONG* reach in and you have to open both doors wide as well as fold the seat forward so it's an utter arse. So we didn't use it in the back and stuck the base in the front instead with the airbag turned off and the seat all the way back. Also the travel system needed the wheels taken off to fit in the boot.
...but then again we also had a Mondeo Mk2 Estate as well.
Issue I found is that with the rear facing seats on a base they would use a *LOT* of rear space and even in a large car like the Mondeo it was quite limiting on how far back the front seats could go, I'm not that tall and I couldn't have baby behind me and drive comfortably for example.
[1] Mazda 6 MPS
karl922 said:
Roger Irrelevant said:
757 said:
5 series is little overkill tbh for a newborn purchase, makes me wonder how my mum coped in 1985 in a Austin Metro with two kids for years....
I expect if the OP is able to spend £27k on a car he feels he may as well do a bit better than just 'cope'. I always think that if you're going to get an estate then get a big one, and if I didn't want something with a modicum of off-road ability then a 5-series would be right at the top of the list. To the original question: unless you've got something really impractical now then I probably would wait and see at least for a few months; with everything that's going on at the minute I can't see things like fairly new 5-series going up in price any further.
May be worth as others have suggested is leave my price on the table with the dealer, and see if they call a few weeks down the line accepting.
karl922 said:
The 6 series GT is also raising my eyebrow, boosts a bigger boot and generally better spec for less money.
The looks are a little unconventional, but otherwise these seem a cracking car. Very well specced vs the equivalent 5-series, reasonably priced as you say and huge boot.Roger Irrelevant said:
Seems a sound plan to me. One thing I would say re being able to 'just sling a bike in the boot': if it is an important consideration (and it would be to me too), then check that you can indeed do this with a 5-series (or anything else), before you buy. Yes stuff like 5ers, A6 Avants, big Volvo estates etc all have big boots, but modern mountain bikes are big awkward things and are not guaranteed to go in in one piece. I went to pick up an mtb I hired from Dalby Bike Barn and it just (and I do mean just) went in the back of my Subaru Outback, and that was a square-backed farmer's car that was all about practicality. We later tried getting it into my friend's Mazda 6 estate and there was absolutely no chance. The peculiarities of the shape of the boot opening make all the difference with this sort of thing!
Bike rack on the roof?...and even a roof-box at same time when we go away - free's up entire boot then, how I've always run my estates over the years (E91/V60) with the little ones, immediately buy a roofrack system off eBay or marketplace.The days of me fiddling about with usually a dirty horrible bike in the interior of my cars is long gone, plus the rain can wash it
I’ve now got 3 children under 6 and have an Audi Q7 as our main family car - utterly brilliant with 6 isofix as standard and, importantly, 3 across the rear.
On your question - we’ve had both the 5 series and the 6 gt alongside. I was very impressed with the 630d x drive gt (!) we had, I’ve recently just replaced it with a 530d x drive estate because whilst the 6 gt was great, for me, I prefer the estate. The interior of the 6 is slightly better and the boot enormous.
When our first came along, I bought an E class estate, so it’s a natural reaction (for me) to “go big”!
Edited by B1202 on Friday 13th May 20:51
B1202 said:
I’ve now got 3 children under 6 and have an Audi Q7 as our main family car - utterly brilliant with 6 isofix as standard and, importantly, 3 across the rear.
On your question - we’ve had both the 5 series and the 6 gt alongside. I was very impressed with the 630d x drive gt (!) we had, I’ve recently just replaced it with a 530d x drive estate because whilst the 6 gt was great, for me, I prefer the estate. The interior of the 6 is slightly better and the boot enormous.
When our first came along, I bought an E class estate, so it’s a natural reaction (for me) to “go big”!
Thanks for the info, there doesn’t seem to be much info about the 6GT, seems it didn’t sell very well. On your question - we’ve had both the 5 series and the 6 gt alongside. I was very impressed with the 630d x drive gt (!) we had, I’ve recently just replaced it with a 530d x drive estate because whilst the 6 gt was great, for me, I prefer the estate. The interior of the 6 is slightly better and the boot enormous.
When our first came along, I bought an E class estate, so it’s a natural reaction (for me) to “go big”!
Edited by B1202 on Friday 13th May 20:51
What was it like to live with? I know the looks are a little odd, but it seems to have more space in the rear and boot, one thing I’m not sure of is head room for the dog seeing as it has a sloping boot. Do you think a medium sized lab would stand up fine?
For reference I used to have an A7 and the dog was okay in that.
What made you lean towards the 530D?
On the 5 - it’s a little more fun to drive but I also find the boot (esp with the split opening), a lot more useful. It’s easier to take 3 car seats across the back - the 6 series’ side bolsters made it a bit tight. Despite the same engine, the 5 series feels a little faster, I think the 6 was a little heavier.
If your dog was fine in the a7, I can’t see any issues with the 6 series - with the “parcel shelf” removed, it’s big. To drive, it was just very easy, very (very) well made, quiet and with the air suspension, as “comfortable” to drive as anything I’ve had / driven. With the panoramic roof it’s great. I’d happily have another one.
I don’t quite know why there were so unpopular- I guess the additional price over the 5 series touring made people go for that instead.
I hope that’s helpful!
I have a 630d GT xDrive and a 2 year old, can highly recommend it as a family vehicle.
Loads of room in the second row seating, huge boot, really comfy for long journeys. But we only use it for long trips as we have a smaller EV for around town. It’s a beast (5m long) that is not great around town and in car parks. It’s also 100% not a driver’s car and not sharp at all on a country road.
Compared to the equivalent 5 estate you get a lot more for your money, the F11 seems to be £5k more for the same engine (eg 630d v 530d) plus the standard spec on the 6GT is so much better as stuff like the reversing camera, adaptive LED headlights, panoramic roof is standard while loads of the 5 series cars won’t have all of those specced. Options like tech pack with the HUD are also a lot more common with the 6GT. Mine has Driving Assistant Plus and it’s brilliant when you need to zone out on a long motorway journey and get out the other end totally relaxed and still have the energy to look after a toddler
Loads of room in the second row seating, huge boot, really comfy for long journeys. But we only use it for long trips as we have a smaller EV for around town. It’s a beast (5m long) that is not great around town and in car parks. It’s also 100% not a driver’s car and not sharp at all on a country road.
Compared to the equivalent 5 estate you get a lot more for your money, the F11 seems to be £5k more for the same engine (eg 630d v 530d) plus the standard spec on the 6GT is so much better as stuff like the reversing camera, adaptive LED headlights, panoramic roof is standard while loads of the 5 series cars won’t have all of those specced. Options like tech pack with the HUD are also a lot more common with the 6GT. Mine has Driving Assistant Plus and it’s brilliant when you need to zone out on a long motorway journey and get out the other end totally relaxed and still have the energy to look after a toddler
holyramenemperor said:
I have a 630d GT xDrive and a 2 year old, can highly recommend it as a family vehicle.
Loads of room in the second row seating, huge boot, really comfy for long journeys. But we only use it for long trips as we have a smaller EV for around town. It’s a beast (5m long) that is not great around town and in car parks. It’s also 100% not a driver’s car and not sharp at all on a country road.
Compared to the equivalent 5 estate you get a lot more for your money, the F11 seems to be £5k more for the same engine (eg 630d v 530d) plus the standard spec on the 6GT is so much better as stuff like the reversing camera, adaptive LED headlights, panoramic roof is standard while loads of the 5 series cars won’t have all of those specced. Options like tech pack with the HUD are also a lot more common with the 6GT. Mine has Driving Assistant Plus and it’s brilliant when you need to zone out on a long motorway journey and get out the other end totally relaxed and still have the energy to look after a toddler
Thanks for that, this is why I’m considering the 6GT, most of the standard kit is a must have for me, so narrows down my choices with the 5er. What are you getting to the gallon average, and on long motorway trip? Loads of room in the second row seating, huge boot, really comfy for long journeys. But we only use it for long trips as we have a smaller EV for around town. It’s a beast (5m long) that is not great around town and in car parks. It’s also 100% not a driver’s car and not sharp at all on a country road.
Compared to the equivalent 5 estate you get a lot more for your money, the F11 seems to be £5k more for the same engine (eg 630d v 530d) plus the standard spec on the 6GT is so much better as stuff like the reversing camera, adaptive LED headlights, panoramic roof is standard while loads of the 5 series cars won’t have all of those specced. Options like tech pack with the HUD are also a lot more common with the 6GT. Mine has Driving Assistant Plus and it’s brilliant when you need to zone out on a long motorway journey and get out the other end totally relaxed and still have the energy to look after a toddler
karl922 said:
Thanks for that, this is why I’m considering the 6GT, most of the standard kit is a must have for me, so narrows down my choices with the 5er. What are you getting to the gallon average, and on long motorway trip?
Spritmonitor.de 630d xDrive Gran Turismo7,5L/100km (=37MPG) seems realistic. I'm running an F11 530d Xdrive (LCI with adblue) that needs 7l/100km (40MPG) when mainly used for longer journeys. Anything less (6,5l/100km=44MPG is possible) will need you driving like a saint and stroking the accelerator...
When you use it for lots of short journeys 8-8,5l/100km (=33MPG) is a worst case scenario.
karl922 said:
Thanks for that, this is why I’m considering the 6GT, most of the standard kit is a must have for me, so narrows down my choices with the 5er. What are you getting to the gallon average, and on long motorway trip?
41.7 mpg averageIt’s used for long motorway trips 95% of the time so that’s basically the long trip average. I set adaptive cruise to 75 most of the time so not blazing speeds but not gentle with the right foot either when on a slip road or overtaking
Pit Pony said:
When our second was born we had a metro and an AX. Not sure why you'd NEED anything bigger.
Nobody needs anything bigger than a metro with just one child agreed, but why put up with such massive compromise when you could get something that fits into your lifestyle? Good luck getting a kayak, mountain bikes, a dog and baby seat in a metro whilst towing a caravan though. Pit Pony said:
When our second was born we had a metro and an AX. Not sure why you'd NEED anything bigger.
Nobody needs anything bigger than a metro with just one child agreed, but why put up with such massive compromise when you could get something that fits into your lifestyle? Good luck getting a kayak, mountain bikes, a dog and baby seat in a metro whilst towing a caravan though. We had a Mk2 Focus alongside an E Class estate with a baby and a teenager.
We could all get into the Focus with the baby gear in the boot - but it was tight for anyone in the front or back in terms of legroom and I took 10 minutes of playing Tetris to fit everything in the boot. If we stopped to pick up some shopping it has to sit in someone’s lap.
However with the E Class you just launched everything in the general direction of the boot with no concerns and everyone had plenty of room so even long journeys were a breeze. If we ended up coming home with more stuff than we left with, it was never a problem.
So, yes, these things are doable with a smaller car - in the same way Some people have 4 kids in a 2 up 2 down house, it’s compromised. Nobody is suggesting a 5 series estate is essential with small children, but it will certainly make life easier.
We could all get into the Focus with the baby gear in the boot - but it was tight for anyone in the front or back in terms of legroom and I took 10 minutes of playing Tetris to fit everything in the boot. If we stopped to pick up some shopping it has to sit in someone’s lap.
However with the E Class you just launched everything in the general direction of the boot with no concerns and everyone had plenty of room so even long journeys were a breeze. If we ended up coming home with more stuff than we left with, it was never a problem.
So, yes, these things are doable with a smaller car - in the same way Some people have 4 kids in a 2 up 2 down house, it’s compromised. Nobody is suggesting a 5 series estate is essential with small children, but it will certainly make life easier.
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