Large estate - pram, dog, car seats...
Discussion
We are expecting a new arrival and quickly figured that my GR Yaris is not the most suitable car for the job!
My original shortlist for big estates was the usual - 5 series, E class and Superb.
The 5 series fell early as the boot wasn't big enough for the dog and the pram. The Skoda boot was immense and I am leaning that way but I do have some concerns about the DSG box and potential issues with the pan roof that owners seem to report.
On the E class I like the e400d and the e53 but the e53 complexity concerns me.
Diesel for both skoda and merc are a background worry - my journey to work is only 12 miles each way and I prob do a longer 100 mile journey every other week.
So I come here for experiences of the shortlisted cars and to hopefully be told I am over thinking dsg issues on the skoda. Did I miss any other potential cars? - volvo v90 boot was too small.
Max budget 30k.
Thanks
My original shortlist for big estates was the usual - 5 series, E class and Superb.
The 5 series fell early as the boot wasn't big enough for the dog and the pram. The Skoda boot was immense and I am leaning that way but I do have some concerns about the DSG box and potential issues with the pan roof that owners seem to report.
On the E class I like the e400d and the e53 but the e53 complexity concerns me.
Diesel for both skoda and merc are a background worry - my journey to work is only 12 miles each way and I prob do a longer 100 mile journey every other week.
So I come here for experiences of the shortlisted cars and to hopefully be told I am over thinking dsg issues on the skoda. Did I miss any other potential cars? - volvo v90 boot was too small.
Max budget 30k.
Thanks
Congratulations first of all!
On the sunroof front, I've had an A6 C7 Avant (2017), a C7 Allroad (2015) and currently on a Skoda Kodiaq (2019), covered about 50,000 miles in them combined, all with sunroofs and have had no issues.
Having said that (!) on the subject of DSGs, my Kodiaq last year had a mechatronic unit failure at about 43,000 miles. It was off the road for eight weeks (supply chain/parts issues etc). The Audis were faultless.
On the sunroof front, I've had an A6 C7 Avant (2017), a C7 Allroad (2015) and currently on a Skoda Kodiaq (2019), covered about 50,000 miles in them combined, all with sunroofs and have had no issues.
Having said that (!) on the subject of DSGs, my Kodiaq last year had a mechatronic unit failure at about 43,000 miles. It was off the road for eight weeks (supply chain/parts issues etc). The Audis were faultless.
Mrs HP ferried around 4 children for 20 years in a series of E class estates, mostly diesel. It is the ultimate hand bag replacement because everything goes in.
Best avoid hybrid cars which take up underfloor space and even some brands (BMW and VW) raises boot floor height, robbing you of valuable internal space (who knew a couple of inches would be so noticeable)
Best avoid hybrid cars which take up underfloor space and even some brands (BMW and VW) raises boot floor height, robbing you of valuable internal space (who knew a couple of inches would be so noticeable)
Personally I’d have a family car like a berlingo or vw caddy / Mazda bongo shape
Sliding doors are truly superb when in a small car park, busy road loading a baby in in the rain
A large rear opening boot is great to keep you dry when changing a nappy
Being able to drive an assembled buggy into the boot single handedly with baby still in is amazing, can then pass baby forward for feeding etc
A Mazda bongo was particularly good as they are very slim, have electric blackout blinds
You can chill out in the back / very flexible seating
Sliding doors are truly superb when in a small car park, busy road loading a baby in in the rain
A large rear opening boot is great to keep you dry when changing a nappy
Being able to drive an assembled buggy into the boot single handedly with baby still in is amazing, can then pass baby forward for feeding etc
A Mazda bongo was particularly good as they are very slim, have electric blackout blinds
You can chill out in the back / very flexible seating
I'd echo the comments above. When we had young children I bought an Octavia vRS estate and that was plenty big enough for one child with the inevitable 'stuff', replaced by a mk1 Superb (twin hatch) before the second one came along.
If I was doing it again I'd get a Berlingo Multispace (or Pug Partner equivalent), as we now have a tatty one of these for DIY/tip/stables duty and it is clearly more practical for accessing child seats in the second row being higher and with sliding doors. Boot volume is also massive and usefully square in shape, whilst the overall footprint of the car is smaller than a big estate. Low entry height is great for dogs too.
They are tough and you can get one cheaply for what will be a relatively short term need for carrying pushchairs and the like around. Mine is 17 years old with 170K on the clock, and I only paid £1700 for it four years ago.
If I was doing it again I'd get a Berlingo Multispace (or Pug Partner equivalent), as we now have a tatty one of these for DIY/tip/stables duty and it is clearly more practical for accessing child seats in the second row being higher and with sliding doors. Boot volume is also massive and usefully square in shape, whilst the overall footprint of the car is smaller than a big estate. Low entry height is great for dogs too.
They are tough and you can get one cheaply for what will be a relatively short term need for carrying pushchairs and the like around. Mine is 17 years old with 170K on the clock, and I only paid £1700 for it four years ago.
Francis2020 said:
Thanks for the responses.
Good left field idea on the Citreon/Pug...
Berlingo / rifter / combo life / pro ace are all identical just badged differentGood left field idea on the Citreon/Pug...
Electric petrol and diesel
The other alternative I’ve is a Nissan town star
Basically a Nissan leaf with a berlingo shape on the back
Hard to find mind
We spent a lot of time in our bongo when the kid was small, so these days I’d consider electric, so you can sit with the heating / ac on without idling the engine
We’ve eaten many a picnic in relative comfort sitting in the back with the boot open whilst the rain passes
Even led down through exhaustion and snoozed whilst baby had its nap
I remember when we found out we were expecting our first - went and changed our Civic for a Mondeo on the same day almost and guess what... we could have quite easily coped with the Civic in terms of space (we didn't have a dog back then though!). Don't think we ever filled the Mondeo boot in the time we owned it...
Congrats to the OP. Bear in mind that the big bassinet part of a buggy is only needed for 6-9 months. After that stage a huge range of buggy sizes opens up and having something smaller and lighter, and which folds easily, can make a big difference to how often you go out as a family.
You'll want to give ride comfort a higher priority than you might have done in the past. The sportiest versions with the biggest wheels can get annoying when you're driving with a baby and a dog in the back.
You'll be surprised how much room the rear-facing car seats need. I doubt there'll be any trouble in the Superb but if the Merc had racey front seats there might be less room than you think. Have a seat base in the car as it makes it super easy to get a baby car seat in and out of the car (easier in a normal car than a SUV too).
The Superb and the E-class are the quintessential large family estate so I doubt you'll go wrong either way.
Get a car with roof rails in case you want to get a roofbox in the future (camping, driving holidays etc).
You'll want to give ride comfort a higher priority than you might have done in the past. The sportiest versions with the biggest wheels can get annoying when you're driving with a baby and a dog in the back.
You'll be surprised how much room the rear-facing car seats need. I doubt there'll be any trouble in the Superb but if the Merc had racey front seats there might be less room than you think. Have a seat base in the car as it makes it super easy to get a baby car seat in and out of the car (easier in a normal car than a SUV too).
The Superb and the E-class are the quintessential large family estate so I doubt you'll go wrong either way.
Get a car with roof rails in case you want to get a roofbox in the future (camping, driving holidays etc).Went through a similar car hunt recently with a slightly lower budget. Would perhaps be worth looking at Volvo too. We settled on a V60 Cross Country but only have the dog (and my bikes which a factory fit towbar will help with) The V90/V90CC is a big ca car with a lot of room, nice places to be as well.
The boots aren't the absolute biggest but we found the package overall to be very nice. 30k will get you into a low mile approved used car.
Tried an E43 estate which was cavernous but the hard ride put Mrs CP off and we were at the bottom end of the market so the fear of a big bill/lot of preventative maintenance I couldn't square, the A6 Avant we tried had a deeply unpleasant ride. 5 series was nice but the overall package we wanted was out of budget. We also were keeping an eye out for a petrol L&K Superb but a very rare beast so Volvo it was.
Happy to share any other thoughts on a few other things we looked at.
The boots aren't the absolute biggest but we found the package overall to be very nice. 30k will get you into a low mile approved used car.
Tried an E43 estate which was cavernous but the hard ride put Mrs CP off and we were at the bottom end of the market so the fear of a big bill/lot of preventative maintenance I couldn't square, the A6 Avant we tried had a deeply unpleasant ride. 5 series was nice but the overall package we wanted was out of budget. We also were keeping an eye out for a petrol L&K Superb but a very rare beast so Volvo it was.
Happy to share any other thoughts on a few other things we looked at.
And so it begins!
My wife has gone from an Up to an Astra then a V50 then a V70 followed by a bigger V70 and now drives a LWB VW Transporter and was overheard telling her old man something didn't fit in it... can only assume she's bought an elephant.
My take away advice from many years of estate car life is do underestimate how massive car seats are, more so when rear facing. You may find even a big estate car needs the passenger to be sat in the glovebox to fit it in so bear that in mind.
Babies seems to necessitate a ridiculous amount of crap but that tends to fade away slightly towards the toddler stages and just when you get them out a buggy and start thinking about something small and fast, they then start to drag scooters, bikes, grannies and 23 bags with them wherever they go and suddenly there's not enough space again.
Superb is a good shout. So is a Luton van.
My wife has gone from an Up to an Astra then a V50 then a V70 followed by a bigger V70 and now drives a LWB VW Transporter and was overheard telling her old man something didn't fit in it... can only assume she's bought an elephant.
My take away advice from many years of estate car life is do underestimate how massive car seats are, more so when rear facing. You may find even a big estate car needs the passenger to be sat in the glovebox to fit it in so bear that in mind.
Babies seems to necessitate a ridiculous amount of crap but that tends to fade away slightly towards the toddler stages and just when you get them out a buggy and start thinking about something small and fast, they then start to drag scooters, bikes, grannies and 23 bags with them wherever they go and suddenly there's not enough space again.
Superb is a good shout. So is a Luton van.
Genesis G70:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504161...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410315...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503210...
The V60 has a decent sized boot too:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503160...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503270...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503220...
2.5 Mazda 6 GT Nav:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503280...
For me the E53 is the pick:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503270...
But the 43 is a decent 2nd:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503190...
540i:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504131...
All the above have conventional autos.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504161...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410315...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503210...
The V60 has a decent sized boot too:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503160...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503270...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503220...
2.5 Mazda 6 GT Nav:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503280...
For me the E53 is the pick:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503270...
But the 43 is a decent 2nd:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503190...
540i:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504131...
All the above have conventional autos.
Thanks for all these helpful suggestions and well wishes.
Some great advice and suggestions...fair point on things getting easier after 6 months....
These Genesis are totally left field so will take a look.
Heart says Merc, head says Skoda...but part of me would be over the moon with a giant Citroën Berlingo
Some great advice and suggestions...fair point on things getting easier after 6 months....
These Genesis are totally left field so will take a look.
Heart says Merc, head says Skoda...but part of me would be over the moon with a giant Citroën Berlingo
Like a previous poster has said after 9 months or so they move out of a pram. On that basis I’d reconsider the excellent G31 5 Series. The fact that used ones hold their price so well is testament to how good they are. I previously owned a saloon 530d so can speak with experience.
In the alternative an Audi A6 or Mercedes E Class are fine cars. I would ignore any advice regarding getting some hideous MPV contraption. Just because you’re having a child doesn’t mean you lose all automotive sense.
I have (they are now all adults) 3 children and we fitted perfectly well into a serious of BMW saloons.
In the alternative an Audi A6 or Mercedes E Class are fine cars. I would ignore any advice regarding getting some hideous MPV contraption. Just because you’re having a child doesn’t mean you lose all automotive sense.
I have (they are now all adults) 3 children and we fitted perfectly well into a serious of BMW saloons.
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