It's twins.................
Discussion
Hello all.
This is my first post on Piston Heads so please go easy on me if I've put this in the wrong section etc.
So, yesterday my wife had an ultrasound at the local hospital and I heard the words many men dread. "Yep, there's definitely two there.....".
Anyway, shock aside, having a kid was a pre planned operation, we'd moved earlier this year from out 2 bed semi, into a 4 bed house.
The problem I now have is the car.
I've currently got a 07 plate Renault Sport Clio 197. It suits me down to the ground at the moment. I live about 4 miles from work and I cycle in quite often so I've only put 12,000 miles on it since June 2010.
I should also point out, I have a dog, he's a working cocker spaniel (failed police sniffer dog). Both sets of parents live about 3 hours drive from us in Yorkshire.
My wife has an 03 plate Ford Fiesta 1.4 Lx. She adores it and is insistent that she will not have anything bigger as 'her car'. Her commute is a round trip of 40 miles of 90% dual carriage way. She gets a generous maternity leave so she'll be off work for about a year but intends to go back full time eventually.
So the dilemma;
Clearly your average double buggy/ travel system won't fit in the boot of the Clio with the dog as well.
I need to find something that I can pretty much do a straight swap for it (maximum budget £8,000). Prior to finding out about the twins I was looking around at 05 plate Audi A4 Avant's. Preferably a 2.0T FSI. However, I'm concerned that even that won’t fit all the gubbins I'll need to visit the grandparents.
I'm flexible over petrol or diesel. Fuel consumption isn't a massive concern as long as it’s not significantly worse than the Clio (about 23mpg round the doors/ 28mpg on a long run). Ideally I'd like something that's fun to drive when the sprogs aren't on board.
Anyway from what my friends tell me, if anyone knows the answer it’s the good people of Piston heads, over to you ........
This is my first post on Piston Heads so please go easy on me if I've put this in the wrong section etc.
So, yesterday my wife had an ultrasound at the local hospital and I heard the words many men dread. "Yep, there's definitely two there.....".
Anyway, shock aside, having a kid was a pre planned operation, we'd moved earlier this year from out 2 bed semi, into a 4 bed house.
The problem I now have is the car.
I've currently got a 07 plate Renault Sport Clio 197. It suits me down to the ground at the moment. I live about 4 miles from work and I cycle in quite often so I've only put 12,000 miles on it since June 2010.
I should also point out, I have a dog, he's a working cocker spaniel (failed police sniffer dog). Both sets of parents live about 3 hours drive from us in Yorkshire.
My wife has an 03 plate Ford Fiesta 1.4 Lx. She adores it and is insistent that she will not have anything bigger as 'her car'. Her commute is a round trip of 40 miles of 90% dual carriage way. She gets a generous maternity leave so she'll be off work for about a year but intends to go back full time eventually.
So the dilemma;
Clearly your average double buggy/ travel system won't fit in the boot of the Clio with the dog as well.
I need to find something that I can pretty much do a straight swap for it (maximum budget £8,000). Prior to finding out about the twins I was looking around at 05 plate Audi A4 Avant's. Preferably a 2.0T FSI. However, I'm concerned that even that won’t fit all the gubbins I'll need to visit the grandparents.
I'm flexible over petrol or diesel. Fuel consumption isn't a massive concern as long as it’s not significantly worse than the Clio (about 23mpg round the doors/ 28mpg on a long run). Ideally I'd like something that's fun to drive when the sprogs aren't on board.
Anyway from what my friends tell me, if anyone knows the answer it’s the good people of Piston heads, over to you ........
The A4 avant doesn't have that big a boot. My sister and BIL have one and struggle sometimes with their two children (4 and 1) without a dog.
We have a Honda Accord Touring as our family bus and it is significantly bigger. Fairly comfortable, reliable and returns decent MPG however it isn't much fun when compared to your current Clio. I should add ours is a diesel and I haven't driven a petrol one version to compare. Should be able to pick up a decent one for 8k though.
ETA:
Suggestions from me include the Honda plus:
Audi A6 avant
Subaru Legacy
BMW 530D/540i
Volvo V70 T5/D5 (I have also have an S60 D5 as a mile muncher and its a great car and engine)
We have a Honda Accord Touring as our family bus and it is significantly bigger. Fairly comfortable, reliable and returns decent MPG however it isn't much fun when compared to your current Clio. I should add ours is a diesel and I haven't driven a petrol one version to compare. Should be able to pick up a decent one for 8k though.
ETA:
Suggestions from me include the Honda plus:
Audi A6 avant
Subaru Legacy
BMW 530D/540i
Volvo V70 T5/D5 (I have also have an S60 D5 as a mile muncher and its a great car and engine)
Edited by TryingHard on Wednesday 8th February 10:51
TheCanonBall said:
Hello all.
Anyway from what my friends tell me, if anyone knows the answer it’s the good people of Piston heads, over to you ........
Good luck with the search, you dont really say if you fancy a 4x4 / crossover or estate the most but I could heartily recommend the Mazda CX7 I have, good boot although its a 5 seater that should be all you need. 260Bhp with the 2.3T engine from the MPS and more toys then you can shake a stick it.Anyway from what my friends tell me, if anyone knows the answer it’s the good people of Piston heads, over to you ........
Should get a 07 plate for about 8k with some haggling.
E Class, Passat or A6.
The A4 Avant, V50, Saab 9-3s aren't much bigger than a hatchback. If you didn't want as estate car, the Mondeo and Octavia have mahoosive boots.
Bear in mind that you'll only be using the travel systems and crap for a 18months or so. The car will get trashed with puke, dropped food, spilt milk and water, and other orrible stuff that leaks
so it may be worth looking into buying an older load lugger for under 2k to get by and buy something nicer when they become a bit more independant in 18 months or so.
That's what i'd do if I was doing it again.
The A4 Avant, V50, Saab 9-3s aren't much bigger than a hatchback. If you didn't want as estate car, the Mondeo and Octavia have mahoosive boots.
Bear in mind that you'll only be using the travel systems and crap for a 18months or so. The car will get trashed with puke, dropped food, spilt milk and water, and other orrible stuff that leaks
so it may be worth looking into buying an older load lugger for under 2k to get by and buy something nicer when they become a bit more independant in 18 months or so.That's what i'd do if I was doing it again.
kambites said:
Octavia VRS maybe? Significantly cheaper than the A4 and I'm pretty sure the boot is bigger too.
Otherwise you're looking at the next class of estate up or a mini MPV. My choice there would probably be a Mondeo estate in that budget.
This suggestion but the Estate version. Should be fairly fun to drive when you're alone but plenty of room for kids stuff and the dog.Otherwise you're looking at the next class of estate up or a mini MPV. My choice there would probably be a Mondeo estate in that budget.
Just don't do what my old neighbour did years ago. Had a Lupo Sport and already had one kid. Imminent arrival of kid #2 meant a trip to the VW dealer (he was a VW fan) for a Passat. He got distracted by the at-the-time new Polo GTI and promtly ordered one plus roofbars and a roofbox. Doh.
What about a BMW E60 5-series Touring? Plenty of versions available under £8k - I'm not quite up to speed on the engine variants myself but plenty in the classifieds.
And congrats BTW
What about a BMW E60 5-series Touring? Plenty of versions available under £8k - I'm not quite up to speed on the engine variants myself but plenty in the classifieds.
And congrats BTW
DanDC5 said:
kambites said:
Octavia VRS maybe? Significantly cheaper than the A4 and I'm pretty sure the boot is bigger too.
Otherwise you're looking at the next class of estate up or a mini MPV. My choice there would probably be a Mondeo estate in that budget.
This suggestion but the Estate version. Should be fairly fun to drive when you're alone but plenty of room for kids stuff and the dog.Otherwise you're looking at the next class of estate up or a mini MPV. My choice there would probably be a Mondeo estate in that budget.
Firstly congratulations.
As for a car choice, not much hep but if the amount of clobber I found we had to take for a weekend at the grandparents with only one nipper is anything to go by then a VW transporter should suit you fine!
Seriously for load lugging capacity apart from the V70's then Accords, Vectra's and Mondeo's or the A6 Avant are your best bets or possibly a Legacy. You'll probably also find more useful load capacity in a nromal estate than a 4x4 or people carrier, they tend to have more height to the load area and less depth with I find useless when it comes to the buggy.
The alternative is stick with the A4 and get a roof box. The pram will fill the boot, everything else on the roof.
If you aren't that concerned with MPG then at least you have the option of lookig at all the big engined petrols that people can't give away.
As for a car choice, not much hep but if the amount of clobber I found we had to take for a weekend at the grandparents with only one nipper is anything to go by then a VW transporter should suit you fine!
Seriously for load lugging capacity apart from the V70's then Accords, Vectra's and Mondeo's or the A6 Avant are your best bets or possibly a Legacy. You'll probably also find more useful load capacity in a nromal estate than a 4x4 or people carrier, they tend to have more height to the load area and less depth with I find useless when it comes to the buggy.
The alternative is stick with the A4 and get a roof box. The pram will fill the boot, everything else on the roof.
If you aren't that concerned with MPG then at least you have the option of lookig at all the big engined petrols that people can't give away.
Congratulations, get ready for some interesting challenges! We had twin boys in October. As we already have a 3 year old, we started looking at vehicles that will take 3 children (in child seats / booster seats) across the back - very challenging. In the end I figured f
k it, this is a good excuse to buy a Discovery.
Pram-wise, we bought an iCandy Pear. The car seats (Maxi Cosi) clip onto it and then onto the bases in the car, and the remainder of the frame folds down very, very small indeed. Obviously when you are using the normal pram seat (realistically after a few months) then you have to store them somewhere, but they aren't enormous.
Personally at your budget I would be looking for a late E39 530d Touring, but then I'm relatively happy with tinkering with older stuff. Certainly an A4 Avant would be adequate, if not massively capacious.
My number one recommendation: make sure you buy a complete system which gives you car seats that have bases that stay in the car and clip onto the pram frame. Worth their weight in gold. I would recommend the Maxi Cosi Cabriofix as it is compatible with quite a lot of pram frames.
k it, this is a good excuse to buy a Discovery. Pram-wise, we bought an iCandy Pear. The car seats (Maxi Cosi) clip onto it and then onto the bases in the car, and the remainder of the frame folds down very, very small indeed. Obviously when you are using the normal pram seat (realistically after a few months) then you have to store them somewhere, but they aren't enormous.
Personally at your budget I would be looking for a late E39 530d Touring, but then I'm relatively happy with tinkering with older stuff. Certainly an A4 Avant would be adequate, if not massively capacious.
My number one recommendation: make sure you buy a complete system which gives you car seats that have bases that stay in the car and clip onto the pram frame. Worth their weight in gold. I would recommend the Maxi Cosi Cabriofix as it is compatible with quite a lot of pram frames.
edward1 said:
Firstly congratulations.
As for a car choice, not much hep but if the amount of clobber I found we had to take for a weekend at the grandparents with only one nipper is anything to go by then a VW transporter should suit you fine!
Don't laugh, but that's not a bad shout. My neighbor bought one with a rear seat conversion (can't think what it's called, think it's a Kombi or something) at the same time we bought our Passat. His van is still worth roughly what he paid for it whereas my Passat is worth pence in comparison.As for a car choice, not much hep but if the amount of clobber I found we had to take for a weekend at the grandparents with only one nipper is anything to go by then a VW transporter should suit you fine!
I dare say he'd have no problems shifting it on.
Don't think my fellow PHers will agree with this, but i how about at a Seat Altea FR 2.0 TDi 170 - it's a sort of mini-MPV yet is actually quite a good steer (shut up, it is!) and it's fairly rapid (0-60 8secs) and of course economical. Argubly looks quite good too. Plus it has a fairly big boot and lots of room in the back.
Alternatively if you need more space they do an Altea XL (not in FR form) but you could get the (albeit rarer) Freetrack version with the same 2.0 TDi 170 engine but also has a part-time 4wd system. Again good to drive (well i think so anyway, geniunely).
Alternatively if you need more space they do an Altea XL (not in FR form) but you could get the (albeit rarer) Freetrack version with the same 2.0 TDi 170 engine but also has a part-time 4wd system. Again good to drive (well i think so anyway, geniunely).
kambites said:
DanDC5 said:
kambites said:
Octavia VRS maybe? Significantly cheaper than the A4 and I'm pretty sure the boot is bigger too.
Otherwise you're looking at the next class of estate up or a mini MPV. My choice there would probably be a Mondeo estate in that budget.
This suggestion but the Estate version. Should be fairly fun to drive when you're alone but plenty of room for kids stuff and the dog.Otherwise you're looking at the next class of estate up or a mini MPV. My choice there would probably be a Mondeo estate in that budget.
Congratulations! I have 2 and 3/4 year-old twins and manage perfectly well with an S4 Avant. It's not the biggest car but it's big enough and you're always going to fill up whatever you have.
I started a thread for people like us to talk about cars and buggies and the general things that go along with having multiples:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0... Multiples Thread&mid=18250
We had a Baby Joggler City Mini Double which we still use today and has been great. Folds really flat and you can stack things on top of it.
Now go back to bed and get some sleep while you still can
I started a thread for people like us to talk about cars and buggies and the general things that go along with having multiples:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0... Multiples Thread&mid=18250
We had a Baby Joggler City Mini Double which we still use today and has been great. Folds really flat and you can stack things on top of it.
Now go back to bed and get some sleep while you still can
Congrats.
5door Focus ST???
boot on the Focai mk2 is impressive. Uncle runs a sunday league team, and it'll take 4 people plus 2x football team kits and all the other crap with ease. Albeit his is a 1800cc slug..... But the boot space will be the same.
30mpg from the 5pot turb should be do-able. And £8k will get a tidy early one
5door Focus ST???
boot on the Focai mk2 is impressive. Uncle runs a sunday league team, and it'll take 4 people plus 2x football team kits and all the other crap with ease. Albeit his is a 1800cc slug..... But the boot space will be the same.
30mpg from the 5pot turb should be do-able. And £8k will get a tidy early one
Thanks for the quick replies.
RecallUk, I'm pretty easy on the style of car. I know I'm going to have to put the sort of performance I get from the clio on the back burner for now, welcome to you 30's eh!
I had considered an E60 5 series estate/ Volvo V70 D5/ T5, but the one thing that puts me off is the millage on the ones that are in my budget.
All the cars I've bought in the past have been around the 3 year old 30'000 mile mark. I don't have much experience with higher millage cars. Any advice anyone has on this would be greatly appreciated.
RecallUk, I'm pretty easy on the style of car. I know I'm going to have to put the sort of performance I get from the clio on the back burner for now, welcome to you 30's eh!
I had considered an E60 5 series estate/ Volvo V70 D5/ T5, but the one thing that puts me off is the millage on the ones that are in my budget.
All the cars I've bought in the past have been around the 3 year old 30'000 mile mark. I don't have much experience with higher millage cars. Any advice anyone has on this would be greatly appreciated.
Congratulations again!
I had a similar dichotomy when our first arrived, what to do with dog, clobber and space. I ended buying the OH the largest car I could afford, and for the dog on long journeys I bought a boot divider:
www.dogcages.uk.com/dogguards_dividers.html
With this I can stack up two thirds of the boot without the fear of it collapsing onto said Spaniel in the remaining one third, or suffocating it in a dog crate with all the vents covered with an inordinate amount of kit!
For a bespoke divider (as they hadn't made any for a Lexus) they charged me c£130.
Just a thought and good luck with the car selection, BTW a 3 series estate was no way near big enough!
I had a similar dichotomy when our first arrived, what to do with dog, clobber and space. I ended buying the OH the largest car I could afford, and for the dog on long journeys I bought a boot divider:
www.dogcages.uk.com/dogguards_dividers.html
With this I can stack up two thirds of the boot without the fear of it collapsing onto said Spaniel in the remaining one third, or suffocating it in a dog crate with all the vents covered with an inordinate amount of kit!
For a bespoke divider (as they hadn't made any for a Lexus) they charged me c£130.
Just a thought and good luck with the car selection, BTW a 3 series estate was no way near big enough!
condition. Care taken on it. Receipts and history.
More important than miles.
Had a few milers:
- c70 with 187k on clock at 6years old
- focus tdci estate with 130k on at 5years old
- MG ZR 1400cc with 90k on clock at 5 years old
- E36 tourer 120k on clock.
Each has been no worse than low mile stuff I've had.
Current SAAB 9-3 is 2006 plate, and has 87k on clock.
That's a point, SAAB 9-3 Aero Wagon. Baby crap, dog. Tuneable, good handling car. (just crappy steering feel IMHO)
More important than miles.
Had a few milers:
- c70 with 187k on clock at 6years old
- focus tdci estate with 130k on at 5years old
- MG ZR 1400cc with 90k on clock at 5 years old
- E36 tourer 120k on clock.
Each has been no worse than low mile stuff I've had.
Current SAAB 9-3 is 2006 plate, and has 87k on clock.
That's a point, SAAB 9-3 Aero Wagon. Baby crap, dog. Tuneable, good handling car. (just crappy steering feel IMHO)
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