Family Car -Suv or others Recommended

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IrishGunner

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Ok in the market for a new car but have to do some research on them before we decide but we are looking at SUV’s. We are looking something that will accommodate Junior whom is due to arrive soon so safety & reliability a big consideration. I don’t drive much but Miss Gunner can do up to 100 to 140km a day to work. So need to take that into account in relation to fuel costs. Also wanted a high car so not to be bending down so much putting in the baby seat and enough boot space. Currently we have 2 cars a 08 Golf GT sport and a 06 civic which we want to trade in so depending on their value could be looking at extra 10-15k on top of that to spend. One of the cars that we are looking at is the Seat Ateca (https://www.carwow.co.uk/seat/ateca) we also looked at the Skoda Kodiaq (https://www.carwow.co.uk/skoda/kodiaq) but that seems more expensive. Have not tested any just liked these from checking the Net. We are looking at PCP options and need to research that a bit more. Both of us in employment but don't want to go mad on money just something we both can afford and no going overboard

Just looking for anyone with kids (especially new born) that could recommend any cars as we are both clueless when it comes to Cars.

Any tips or suggestions what to look at and other considerations that I may have missed when buying
 
Have you looked at the mazda CX-5? In process of buying one myself at the moment. Have done a lot of research on small SUV's and this comes top in fuel efficiency and also lower tax than any comparible cars like the tiguan, kuga etc.
 
also according to boards.ie the Kodiaq quota for Ireland this year is pretty much already sold out.
 
One thing to look for with a baby is a car with adequate boot space - ideally a hatch back in case your buggy doesn't fold down that much. After that it really is down to preference. I find the SUVs represent poorer value (when compared to say hatchbacks with similar spec) but that's just my own opinion. I'm not sure why you are considering an SUV or seven seater when you have just one child on the way - do you have other children that are not mentioned in the first post? If you compare the prices of SUVs versus the hatchback there is a huge difference - for example compare say the Skoda Kodiaq with the Octavia. I'm not sure the SUV price is really justified and I don't think you would find many families with one child saying an Octavia is too small!
 
Hi,

The Ford Kuga is another option... I have two "young'ish" kids when we got this - high up, boot is ok. As you drop down in the cross-over vehicle size, take the example of the Opel Mokka, you lose internal space, especially the boot space.

I'd recommend that you look into the budget of what you can spend, decide on whether you want new/second hand car and from there, decide top 3 or 4 cars - take them out for a test drive. Bring a buggy with you (if you don't have one yet, borrow one from friends / family) and put it into the boot to see how it fits. Also, depending on the car seat you are going to purchase, check if the car can take the car seat - some seats are "iso-fix", which some cars can't fit as intended...
Remember, no issue with putting a buggy into the boot space to verify it'll fit and you'll have a LOT more than just a buggy when moving junior around!
 
I don't get it about needing a big boot space. I have a tiny car and boot and never had a problem. And it's high up too. An Opel Agila (also called in Ireland a Suzuki Wagon. But for long family holidays driving thousands of miles we had a Renault Espace and Renault Scenic both of which take seven people.
 
Cheers thanks for the replies

Yes we did consider the Skoda Octavia and I was just reading about it and it gets good reviews and also has enough space. When junior arrives we will be spending money or more other important things and just don’t want to be spending anything much on the car something again that is reliable and economical. We have this in mind along with the Ateca and it’s a good idea to take the buggy seat with us to see. We have to work out what we can afford but it depends on what we can get for the trade ins so we can go to the dealers to check what they will give us and working it out from there. I don’t really do new cars but will consider this and second hand if not too old.

Can someone explain ‘iso-fix’ seems most cars have this now but do you have to get special baby seats that fix into this as just reading it on the net to find out exactly what it is.
 
Bronte said:
I don't get it about needing a big boot space. I have a tiny car and boot and never had a problem. And it's high up too. An Opel Agila (also called in Ireland a Suzuki Wagon. But for long family holidays driving thousands of miles we had a Renault Espace and Renault Scenic both of which take seven people.
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Given the baby carrying requirement, there's likely to be a buggy of some kind and these are quite bulky. A lot of the smaller to mid-size SUVs while looking spacious, would struggle to accommodate anything else in the boot if you were carrying one of these.
 
If you moving away from cross over / suvs, then as Ceist Beag mentions above, you are opened up to a larger choice of cars, and do try the hatchback - Ford Mondeo / VW Passat are good options.

iso fix : the iso fix seats connect / click into the frame of the car, which in theory are safer than using seat belts only. More info here
 
ISO fix are anchor points in the back that allow you to clip in the base of child seats.

What exactly is wrong with the cars you already have? There's not that much bending down putting in car seats.
 
Cars we have getting older and although ok moving into the 10 year old bracket and we don't need 2 cars just yet. It wont be until late this year or maybe early next year before we decide just starting the process now and things may change but hopefully not to much. Not stuck on SUV considering all options but just want to narrow it down to a few options
 
If you will only have the one child and have no immediate plans to change that then a small family hatch is plenty big enough for you - something in the Focus/Leon/S40 range would be good options I think, especially if you want to watch the budget. You should be able to get a relatively new one of these for substantially less than 10-15K on top of the trade in value of your two.
 
I would rather a large saloon car to an SUV. I just don't like the drive in SUV's and due to the large wheels the cabin space is often restricted. I'd look at a Mondeo or a Passat. You can get a cheap UK import with a good spec (air-con, cruise control etc) and good fuel efficiency. If you are doing average mileage the savings you get from a newer car can be minimal and when you factor in depreciation it may cost you money. Look at the cost of parts and services as well. Warranty Direct and Honest John are both good resources when choosing a second hand car.
 
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IrishGunner said:
I don’t drive much but Miss Gunner can do up to 100 to 140km a day to work. So need to take that into account in relation to fuel costs. Also wanted a high car so not to be bending down so much putting in the baby seat and enough boot space.
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And that's the crux of it so an SUV it is.

Saloons & hatches make you bend down to fill or empty the boot, lifting weight at an odd angle, by bending your back. The SUV-style car lets you pull the weight towards you and lower it (to the ground if necessary) by bending at the knees, reversing the process to fill the boot.

Similarly, for seating Junior, bending the back at odd angles is minimised or eliminated with the high seats.

If Mr. or Ms. "Elf and Safety" were to see the contortions required of the Mammies to seat small kids and their attendant accoutrements in saloons and hatches, there'd be war.

Out of curiosity, how many female contributors proposing non-SUVs are there to this thread? I'm male FYI.
 
mathepac said:
And that's the crux of it so an SUV it is.

Saloons & hatches make you bend down to fill or empty the boot, lifting weight at an odd angle, by bending your back. The SUV-style car lets you pull the weight towards you and lower it (to the ground if necessary) by bending at the knees, reversing the process to fill the boot.

Similarly, for seating Junior, bending the back at odd angles is minimised or eliminated with the high seats.

If Mr. or Ms. "Elf and Safety" were to see the contortions required of the Mammies to seat small kids and their attendant accoutrements in saloons and hatches, there'd be war.

Out of curiosity, how many female contributors proposing non-SUVs are there to this thread? I'm male FYI.
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Do you wear sunglasses to keep your hair back while driving your SUV? :D :p
 
Leo said:
Given the baby carrying requirement, there's likely to be a buggy of some kind and these are quite bulky. A lot of the smaller to mid-size SUVs while looking spacious, would struggle to accommodate anything else in the boot if you were carrying one of these.
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Ok Leo, why would you need anything else in the boot along with a buggy. You can't do the weekly shop using a buggy, you'd have the baby in the baby seat directly into supermarket trolley, in the seat, or when older from car seat into trolley seat, with empty boot in the car. My buggy folded into a neat size I could put on its side and still have room for more 'stuff' if I wanted. The only time we need a lot if 'stuff' us when we drive many kilometres on our holidays when I bring the kitchen sink with us.

The only reason so far for the op to have a larger car, ie more powerful is because the mother does a lot of driving. And big cars aren't as handy to park as small ones.
 
Leo said:
Given the baby carrying requirement, there's likely to be a buggy of some kind and these are quite bulky. A lot of the smaller to mid-size SUVs while looking spacious, would struggle to accommodate anything else in the boot if you were carrying one of these.
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Untrue. Rear seats in modern cars usually split 60/40 allowing the buggy to slide through from the boot and leaving junior safely seated on the 60% seat and attached to the car by ISOfix. The boot is now free to hold other stuff.
 
Ceist Beag said:
If you compare the prices of SUVs versus the hatchback there is a huge difference - for example compare say the Skoda Kodiaq with the Octavia.
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Kodiaq vs Octavia is an unrealistic and unfair comparison. Kodiaq vs Superb is more realistic and fairer. Yeti vs Octavia is a fairer comparison.
 
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