5-10K First child Compact SUV?
Discussion
CrippsCorner said:
My first piece of advice would be... you do not need a big car!
For our first, we had a KA & a MINI
For our second, we had a Jazz - Including successful trips to Center Parcs!
Now we're on number three, we've just upgraded to a Fiat 500L
You are right that you don't need a big car, but for me having a decent sized car made life a lot easier. For our first, we had a KA & a MINI
For our second, we had a Jazz - Including successful trips to Center Parcs!
Now we're on number three, we've just upgraded to a Fiat 500L
Don't bother with a compact SUV, you won't have any extra boot space than a regular hatchback. You will just be wasting your time when you realise that you can only get the pram in the boot and nothing else. Don't fall into the trap of the SUV is best. Got a good friend who has a Kia Sportage and he can't get as much stuff in the boot as my Insignia can. We both do a few UK holidays so the space was needed for sure.
You have to think to yourself how much stuff do I need to carry and will a hatchback cover it? For me the hatchback with the biggest boot did the trick. Partner has a small car but we only use that when going into town or local and no need to carry the house.
Might be worth looking at a Civic 2013 on-wards as the boots are huge or look into getting an estate. Having my first child we decided on getting an Insignia as the child carry around car. Boot is massive and plenty of room after you fit a pram in.
If I could go back in time then I'd have got an estate car for sure. Probably an Octavia or something. At the time with my budget and location there weren't any decent ones for sale.
Honestly though all you want is boot space because when going to see family you'll be taking a load of stuff, toys, pram, possibly a cot, high chair etc and it's all got to fit somewhere.
With your Budget you could easily get an Octavia VRS estate, Volvo V60 D3 or D4, SEAT Leon FR estate just a few other examples.
You have to think to yourself how much stuff do I need to carry and will a hatchback cover it? For me the hatchback with the biggest boot did the trick. Partner has a small car but we only use that when going into town or local and no need to carry the house.
Might be worth looking at a Civic 2013 on-wards as the boots are huge or look into getting an estate. Having my first child we decided on getting an Insignia as the child carry around car. Boot is massive and plenty of room after you fit a pram in.
If I could go back in time then I'd have got an estate car for sure. Probably an Octavia or something. At the time with my budget and location there weren't any decent ones for sale.
Honestly though all you want is boot space because when going to see family you'll be taking a load of stuff, toys, pram, possibly a cot, high chair etc and it's all got to fit somewhere.
With your Budget you could easily get an Octavia VRS estate, Volvo V60 D3 or D4, SEAT Leon FR estate just a few other examples.
Edited by Ankh87 on Thursday 15th December 16:50
Ankh87 said:
Don't bother with a compact SUV, you won't have any extra boot space than a regular hatchback. You will just be wasting your time when you realise that you can only get the pram in the boot and nothing else. Don't fall into the trap of the SUV is best. Got a good friend who has a Kia Sportage and he can't get as much stuff in the boot as my Insignia can. We both do a few UK holidays so the space was needed for sure.
You have to think to yourself how much stuff do I need to carry and will a hatchback cover it? For me the hatchback with the biggest boot did the trick. Partner has a small car but we only use that when going into town or local and no need to carry the house.
Might be worth looking at a Civic 2013 on-wards as the boots are huge or look into getting an estate. Having my first child we decided on getting an Insignia as the child carry around car. Boot is massive and plenty of room after you fit a pram in.
If I could go back in time then I'd have got an estate car for sure. Probably an Octavia or something. At the time with my budget and location there weren't any decent ones for sale.
Honestly though all you want is boot space because when going to see family you'll be taking a load of stuff, toys, pram, possibly a cot, high chair etc and it's all got to fit somewhere.
With your Budget you could easily get an Octavia VRS estate, Volvo V60 D3 or D4, SEAT Leon FR estate just a few other examples.
A 2012 Nissan Qashqai has a bigger boot than a 2012 Ford Focus, 410 litres for the Nissan Vs 316 litres for the Ford (both picked at random off Autotrader) yet they have the same footprint. An Insignia of the same age is half a meter longer, so yes it has a bigger boot. You have to think to yourself how much stuff do I need to carry and will a hatchback cover it? For me the hatchback with the biggest boot did the trick. Partner has a small car but we only use that when going into town or local and no need to carry the house.
Might be worth looking at a Civic 2013 on-wards as the boots are huge or look into getting an estate. Having my first child we decided on getting an Insignia as the child carry around car. Boot is massive and plenty of room after you fit a pram in.
If I could go back in time then I'd have got an estate car for sure. Probably an Octavia or something. At the time with my budget and location there weren't any decent ones for sale.
Honestly though all you want is boot space because when going to see family you'll be taking a load of stuff, toys, pram, possibly a cot, high chair etc and it's all got to fit somewhere.
With your Budget you could easily get an Octavia VRS estate, Volvo V60 D3 or D4, SEAT Leon FR estate just a few other examples.
Edited by Ankh87 on Thursday 15th December 16:50
What's good about SUVs is that they are taller than most other cars and that can be very handy when loading it with things and kids. Your loading at a good height rather than having to bend over to strap in babies and kids.
Thanks for the advice everyone.
An estate is entirely out of the question as it's just too long to go in the space and leave room for a door to open.
An update.
We test drove a 14 plate 2.0 petrol CX-5 today from a dealership. It was more dynamic to drive than I was expecting(and we drove to the dealership in
the 987 so it was certainly a contrast!).
The 2.0 petrol wasn't as gutless as expected either, it pulled well enough, certainly not 'quick' but that would be an unrealistic expectation.
The kit was nice, it felt well enough built and the boot is massive.
But....we brought it home on the test drive and whilst it technically fits in the space both length and width wise, neither the drivers door nor offside rear passenger door could be opened due to the pillar, so no good!
May test drive a CX-3 tomorrow as I imagine it would drive even better whilst being a bit stubbier.
There was a BMW M140i in the forecourt and I did think to myself...hmmm.
An estate is entirely out of the question as it's just too long to go in the space and leave room for a door to open.
An update.
We test drove a 14 plate 2.0 petrol CX-5 today from a dealership. It was more dynamic to drive than I was expecting(and we drove to the dealership in
the 987 so it was certainly a contrast!).
The 2.0 petrol wasn't as gutless as expected either, it pulled well enough, certainly not 'quick' but that would be an unrealistic expectation.
The kit was nice, it felt well enough built and the boot is massive.
But....we brought it home on the test drive and whilst it technically fits in the space both length and width wise, neither the drivers door nor offside rear passenger door could be opened due to the pillar, so no good!
May test drive a CX-3 tomorrow as I imagine it would drive even better whilst being a bit stubbier.
There was a BMW M140i in the forecourt and I did think to myself...hmmm.
We had similar criteria and decided on a focus, we test drove a focus and a cmax back to back and went for the cmax. It's the same size as the focus on the outside but feels miles bigger inside. We were planning for two kids.
Are you or your partner tall? It's true you don't need a huge car with one child, but depending on the child seat you buy, and how tall you are, one of you may be quite uncomfortable in the smaller cars. Taller mpvs help here without affecting external size. Take a baby seat on test drives.
Are you or your partner tall? It's true you don't need a huge car with one child, but depending on the child seat you buy, and how tall you are, one of you may be quite uncomfortable in the smaller cars. Taller mpvs help here without affecting external size. Take a baby seat on test drives.
Silvanus said:
scot_aln said:
Firstly congratulations! First child for lots usually means lots of overthinking, certainly was for us.
I can't help a lot with the car choices but you may (or not) find dropping any in here might influence the decision when the cargo is suddenly much more precious.
https://www.euroncap.com/en/
Word of warning with ncap, you really need to go through them properly and look at the results. For Example when the Grande Punto went on sale it scored 5 points. Skip forward to a couple of years ago, the Punto was tested, which is essentially an updated Grande Punto with more safety kit. That car scored a zero because the goalposts had changed! There are quite a few cars that are safe in an accident but score low because they are not pedestrian friendly or might be missing a warning bong or an active safety device.I can't help a lot with the car choices but you may (or not) find dropping any in here might influence the decision when the cargo is suddenly much more precious.
https://www.euroncap.com/en/
Basically useless now and I wouldn't even bother looking.
No idea what my Duster is but I imagine it scores quite badly, would guess 1 or 2 stars.
A thought.
I've been using the incredibly handy carsized.com to compare car sizes.
It does look like the short stubby nose of an Evoque may just be able to sneak close enough to the front wall to allow the short front doors to open without catching on the pillars at all.
I'm sure I'd be RIGHT at the top of my budget and couldn't be fussy on spec. But the boot size looks very good and I imagine it's a sharp enough drive.
I've been using the incredibly handy carsized.com to compare car sizes.
It does look like the short stubby nose of an Evoque may just be able to sneak close enough to the front wall to allow the short front doors to open without catching on the pillars at all.
I'm sure I'd be RIGHT at the top of my budget and couldn't be fussy on spec. But the boot size looks very good and I imagine it's a sharp enough drive.
LukesLog89 said:
Thanks for the advice everyone.
An estate is entirely out of the question as it's just too long to go in the space and leave room for a door to open.
An update.
We test drove a 14 plate 2.0 petrol CX-5 today from a dealership. It was more dynamic to drive than I was expecting(and we drove to the dealership in
the 987 so it was certainly a contrast!).
The 2.0 petrol wasn't as gutless as expected either, it pulled well enough, certainly not 'quick' but that would be an unrealistic expectation.
The kit was nice, it felt well enough built and the boot is massive.
But....we brought it home on the test drive and whilst it technically fits in the space both length and width wise, neither the drivers door nor offside rear passenger door could be opened due to the pillar, so no good!
May test drive a CX-3 tomorrow as I imagine it would drive even better whilst being a bit stubbier.
There was a BMW M140i in the forecourt and I did think to myself...hmmm.
A point on the estate cars. The Skoda Fabia Scout and Dacia Logan Stepway are bot estates yet shorter and narrower than the Mazda and have enormous boots. The Dacias boot is usefully bigger than the Mazdas. For me it would be a Dacia Duster or Logan Stepway, both will be newer than other cars mentioned for the budget and should have no issue fitting in the space. An estate is entirely out of the question as it's just too long to go in the space and leave room for a door to open.
An update.
We test drove a 14 plate 2.0 petrol CX-5 today from a dealership. It was more dynamic to drive than I was expecting(and we drove to the dealership in
the 987 so it was certainly a contrast!).
The 2.0 petrol wasn't as gutless as expected either, it pulled well enough, certainly not 'quick' but that would be an unrealistic expectation.
The kit was nice, it felt well enough built and the boot is massive.
But....we brought it home on the test drive and whilst it technically fits in the space both length and width wise, neither the drivers door nor offside rear passenger door could be opened due to the pillar, so no good!
May test drive a CX-3 tomorrow as I imagine it would drive even better whilst being a bit stubbier.
There was a BMW M140i in the forecourt and I did think to myself...hmmm.
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff