family car recommendations??
 

Hi, with a new born just arrived my wifes mini cooper s not the most child friendly so we going to grow up and get a family car:cry:

She likes the citroen picasso after driving her mums to scotland a while back, I also have looked at the nissan almero tino as these seem to be cheaper for similar spec.

Any thoughts on these two or any other suggestion??

Rather than slit my throat and have a people carrier we went for an X trail.

Depends on how old/messy the kids (just the new born then?)are but we appreciate the wipe clean leather,tough surfaces and biiiig boot.

Driven a C4 picasso.Daft as it sounds felt sea sick with the odd glass roof and the strange steering wheel.Ok but not my cup of tea

You have one new child, and you need a people carrier??????????

Just buy a 4 door Golf/A3/A4/Passat etc.

Mini clubman. More room than the Cooper S but still a great looking fun car:thumb:

Put the kid up for adoption and buy a Ferrari :lol1:

Very puzzled as to why you want to give up and buy a people carrier especially with just one child, thought you would need at least 3 to consider buying a people carrier?
However, I did drive a new shape Zafira at work a month or so ago and it drove very well for a MPV

More to do with the comfort and big boot. Also looking at focus etc, just not decided yet.

audi a4

We have two small kids and bought a 07 plate Mazda 6 diesel (143bhp version with 6 speed box) hatchback. Superb car - tons of space, great pace and we're getting close to 50 mpg. Bought it 6 months ago for £10,700.

Astra 1.9 TDi SRi 150 bhp. Me mates is Awesome.

What you need is a back door that opens nice and wide, ISOFIX, and good boot space for prams, nappy bags etc. Any Focus are bigger sized car would be great.

Strange suggestion but what about about an impreza?:D They would make a very good family car!

Mondeos are nice driving cars with loads of room if you dont mind looking like a sales rep. Audi's and VW's are over rated in my opinion. Too much money for a car that doesnt do any more than any other car. I like the mazda 6's. Really good cars.

i have a mondeo st tdci on a 06 plate if your interested? diesel engine with good looks and a massive boot, i have a child and all his stuff fits in no probs. pm me if you want the info. got it up for a bargain price as were moving house:thumb:

Audi are out as looking to spend about £5k.
Thanks for the offer moneys but you may be a bit too far away from me if you based in liverpool.

Originally we had the wifes Mk4 Golf 5 door GTI as a great compromise and it worked well untill our daughter was old enough for the huge forward facing seats (at about 9 months) then it was only a matter ot time before the passenger was going to get a constant kick in the back of the seat - the rear legroom in the Golf/A4 isn't the best. Also if its your 1st born and its also the 1st grandchild then you'll need a people carrier, roofbox and a trailer for the kids 1st trip to the inlaws at Xmas ;)

vw T4 (transporter)

go for caravelle.

search on autotrader- you'd be surprised just how much better value they are than all these little girlie MPVs are.

high miles isn't a prob- they'll do 400K

we have a picasso and i love it, get an ex motability one from the auction 3 years old, £5k,

I am in the same boat, I am selling my P1 as it is just not practical at all. I am thinking of getting either a Mazda 6 diesel or a Toyota Rav 4

You just need 4 doors with a kid - and then only at the point they get into a proper kiddie seat. We had 2 3-door cars at first and only needed to go 4-door at that stage. My brother brought two kids up quite happily with a spate of 'normal' 4-door cars.

Seriously though, there's a good thread here that has 2 great family cars ... https://www.scoobynet.com/other-marq...ini-lp640.html

Enjoy!

Dave

New shape mazda 6 2.0d sport - all the toys and look good IMHO

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d9...y/IMG_1576.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d9...y/IMG_1573.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d9...y/IMG_1570.jpg

No way do you need a Picaso or anything similar.... I have 3 kids = 1 child seat and 2 booster seats and 2 boxer dogs. me thinks your wife needs a reality check ;) :thumb:

To be honest the wife has an astra and that often has all 3 kids and 2 pushchairs in so no way would I have an MPV :nono:

Good luck whatever you decide

GB

Cheers for the comments guys, still not sure what we are going to buy though!!

You can get a huge amount of car for your money with a Legacy. They are really nice to drive as well. I much prefer my Spec B to the STI that I have just sold.

Most people don't even know they exist, so shhhhhhhh keep it a secret.

A Mondeo should be on the list
 

No kids but multiple friends with kids. Bags of room even with 2x 6 footers in the front. Buy the estate and you can take the house.

We have a 130BHP 6 speed LX Estate (bottom of the range estate) it can be fun to drive and it handles tidily - surprised a few boy racers in it.

Its my fishing wagon at weekends and can get gear for 2 including bed chairs bait etc in it with no problems ( I cheat and have a 500 litre roof boox for any weeks away!)

If you are planning more than 2 then I can see people carrier.

Old shape mondeos are now really cheap- we paid 11.5K in 2006 - now probably 7-8K - thats 2 years old low miles FSH etc.

Look out for Zetec and Edge Models - probably worth the extra. ZETEC has "sports" suspension - so would tighten handling even more.

Also consider ST220 or STTDCI - loads of car for now verty little money!

Personally I'd buy a used picasso for as little money as possible..

We bought a used one and ran it for 5 years during which time the inside suffered vomit, Mcdonalds, prams, clobber and more vomit.

Then walk away LOL

Shaun

Focus C-Max

Focus c-max a bit too expensive for what is a disposable item like a timex watch :)

You will also end up transporting other kids and their stuff....... buy something dirt cheap (like a Picasso) and don't bother even cleaning it LOL

Shaun

Don't know if your still looking but.......

I'm looking at a SEAT Altea FR 20i tdi, 170bhp with 285lb torque

Go like stink looks the part and have a superb NCAP rating

Rob

When we had a baby (Ez :luvlove: ) wifey insisted she wanted a 5 dr estate with aircon




I bought an MY99 2000 Turbo Wagon :D :D :D

Did us as the family car for over 5 years, racking up 97000 miles, holiday trips to the south of France, north of Ireland and loads of other places in between. Practical, spacious enough even bearing in mind wife's proclivity for luggage :cuckoo: & with a tenderish foot, 30+mpg at m'way speeds.

Did a few trackdays too ;)

Sold it on when started commuting 150 miles a day 4 years ago.

We now have a Volvo XC70 D5 which is 40+ mpg and luxuriously comfy & even more space. Not everyone's taste maybe but if not then there are lots of well spec'd V70s. We've now got added dog & still no reason to want to get an MPV. Just came back from Ireland in total comfort with a torquey motor and all the bags & clobber necessary for a holiday.

It's my throwaway car (163K miles at the moment) but its reliable as anything & I'm not planning on changing anytime soon.


However, get the wagon if you can swing it :D

LOL I've got a wagon and it's a nice family motor, but now we have two kids instead of one, I must say I've been eyeing Ford Galaxys and massive 4x4s. All this time I wondered why mums with kids needed such huge monster motors, now I know - it's because of the damn seating laws. Toddler has a Recaro throne in the back and new baby has her backward facing car carrier on its base in the back as well, meaning there is no way on Earth you can ever get more than two adults in as well!

How fondly I look back on my days when I used to sit on my mum's lap in the front seat without a seatbelt as we toured around Europe in the 70's in a Renault 12...

Things like Qashquai look like just the ticket!

audi q7
droooooool
wiley