Which family vehicle

[Massey mad]

Hi all as title we are in a bit of a dilemma as to which family viechle to go for. I currently run a 2 seater van and my partner has an Audi a3. We are hopefully just shy of 10 weeks away from having our first child. We are wondering what to replace the Audi for as I want my partner to be able to get anywhere she wants to be able to come and see me at work down lanes across fields etc and also feel comfortable doing shephearding duties and we are also getting in the position now where we really need to be able to tow aswell. The question is what do we go for? Is a twin cab pick up impractical for a new born child seat?

 

[Highland Mule]

Hi all as title we are in a bit of a dilemma as to which family viechle to go for. I currently run a 2 seater van and my partner has an Audi a3. We are hopefully just shy of 10 weeks away from having our first child. We are wondering what to replace the Audi for as I want my partner to be able to get anywhere she wants to be able to come and see me at work down lanes across fields etc and also feel comfortable doing shephearding duties and we are also getting in the position now where we really need to be able to tow aswell. The question is what do we go for? Is a twin cab pick up impractical for a new born child seat?

First of all, congratulations.

Not sure if a twin cab would have isofix seat mountings. That would be fairly important to you, I’d guess.

What’s the budget? New or older?

 

[Fendt516profi]

How much weight do you want to tow Kia Sportage Ford Kuga that sort of thing

 

[melted welly]

Recently bought a second hand skoda karoq. Really like it, it has the flexible seating in the back where the 3 seats are individual and can be removed or slid to different positions. So you could have one left on for mounting an isofix child seat and other 2 out to give you a huge boot for carting stuff about.

Ours is a scout model and has soft roader 4x4, gave it a bit of a try out but got a row once I got it seesawing so had to stop the test. Seemed capable enough.

I wouldn’t want a double cab as a family vehicle, massive on the outside, tiny on the inside, expensive, thirsty, pain in the backside to park and trying to wrestle kids seats thru the tiny back doors brings out language best not aired in the toddler group car park.

 

[Wurzeetoo]

I was close to buying a karoq a few weeks back but the model we liked had a gsd? Gearbox which was very nice but I hadn’t realised how much extra money it added to the car. We ended up with a Kia Sportage and I love it. Even though it was 6 months old they put a fresh 7 years warranty on it. It’s got diff lock, hill descent,4wd and also somehow is a great safe family town car. Well worth a look in my opinion

 

[raymono57]

Just traded an A4 Audi Allroad diesel for new Subaru Outback petrol- both would do the job - depends on price I suppose.

 

[HasthorpeGrange]

I have a Honda CRV old shape 55 plate. Bomb proof, spacious, can tow and not too precious about it with little money tied up in it. Would recommend to for you in your position. I have a wife and an 18month old daughter with another baby on the way in 8 weeks.
My wife has a Mercedes’ GLA and although it’s nicer to drive there’s no space in it and it’s going to be a struggle with two babies in it.

 

[Massey mad]

Thanks everyone for the replies, giving us some food for thought. Out budget would around the 10k mark give or take depending if we find anything suitable in that bracket. Will definitely be looking more down the suv route now.

 

[HasthorpeGrange]

You could have a Honda each with that budget

 

[idgni]

VW Touareg Great allrounder and you’ll have a smile on your face if you need to pull a trailer

 

[Farmer Fin]

Hi all as title we are in a bit of a dilemma as to which family viechle to go for. I currently run a 2 seater van and my partner has an Audi a3. We are hopefully just shy of 10 weeks away from having our first child. We are wondering what to replace the Audi for as I want my partner to be able to get anywhere she wants to be able to come and see me at work down lanes across fields etc and also feel comfortable doing shephearding duties and we are also getting in the position now where we really need to be able to tow aswell. The question is what do we go for? Is a twin cab pick up impractical for a new born child seat?

Ranger has isofix, actually the perfect height for getting a child seat out of without busting your back.

 

[melted welly]

I was close to buying a karoq a few weeks back but the model we liked had a gsd? Gearbox which was very nice but I hadn’t realised how much extra money it added to the car. We ended up with a Kia Sportage and I love it. Even though it was 6 months old they put a fresh 7 years warranty on it. It’s got diff lock, hill descent,4wd and also somehow is a great safe family town car. Well worth a look in my opinion

We had a Kia Soul, it was a great car, would recommend a Kia too.

 

[Phil P]

Congratulations and I hope all goes well, kids are a life changer!

As regards a twin cab pickup both my kids have been fastend on the back seat of my old Ford ranger from birth. (4 and 7 now) I won’t lie though it’s a pita getting a new born baby seat in and out of the back seat and there’s no way my Mrs would manage to reach over to fast the seatbelt and even lifting the seat in once the little nipper starts to gain a few pounds can be a struggle at times, it’s ok if your near 6’ but if your Mrs is petite it can be hard work.
Pickups are also really impractical for the day to day stuff like parking in Asda and getting the kids in and out as you need to fully open the back door to get a baby seat through it as the door is so short. It’s fine as long as some ass doesn’t park tight up against you! I still wouldn’t be without one though.

I’m not going to recommend one as there’s plenty of better vehicles out there but Mrs uses the X5, has the iso fix for if you really want to spend a fortune on a iso fix baby seat that they’ll only use for the blink of an eye then once they’ve grown out of that there’s plenty of room to climb in the back to fast seatbelts once they’re in a booster seats.
I’ve also not found a field or track it won go across and even chased hare Corser’s across fields in it in the middle of winter so it’s not tenable off road but there’s definitely more capable vehicles for that sort of thing. The boot is massive though for buggy’s and the rest of the stuff you never realised you’d need just to nip out on a quick (ha ha) errand.

 

[Oliveau]

Peugeot 3008 diesel ??

 

[mx110]

We're thinking about an extra vehicle along similar lines, is anyone running a vw tiguan or a Honda crv around a 10 plate? Won't be doing big miles or much off road other than farm tracks but it could Pull the 8*5 flat ifor occasionally

 

[TripleSix]

Have a look at the new shape Suzuki vitaras, excellent cars, beware that they're not all 4x4 though!

 

[Highland Mule]

We're thinking about an extra vehicle along similar lines, is anyone running a vw tiguan or a Honda crv around a 10 plate? Won't be doing big miles or much off road other than farm tracks but it could Pull the 8*5 flat ifor occasionally

X trail. Go for the second generation one, so still square shaped but with the dash on front of the steering wheel and not in the centre console.

 

[George from SJM Planning]

I can't comment on cars but I would recommend a Joie 360 car seat. Even in the most awkward door opening getting the little one in is a breeze.
We have the 360 in the Mazda 2 and Hyundai Santa Fe and a fixed one in the Hilux for occasional use. If the Hilux is going to be used regularly I swap the seat out for the 360.

 

[ollie989898]

If you have kids then Isofix points in a modern car are a must. There is no argument about this. Children are much much safer in a purpose built car seat, particularly in a side collision or roll over. I would point out that children today must legally be in a car seat (or use a booster) until they are 12 years of age or 135cm tall, whichever comes first. Keep your child in a rearward facing seat for as long as possible, ideally until they are 15 months old before you turn the seat around. A seat belt and booster cushion offers fudge all protection by comparison.

Child car seats: the law

The rules for child car seats and booster seats - height, weight, age, type of vehicle, car, minibus, licensed taxi

www.gov.uk

You will need a baby sized car seat thingy but don't let them lie in it for ages as they are bent in half basically and it's not that great for them. Don't be surprised if the maternity unit get into a flap if they see you arrive to collect your newborn and don't arrive with the travel seat thingy under your arm.

 

[JeepJeep]

Transit Custom Crew... They'll be Isofix.

That's one of the next on the radar..... 6 Seats Haul... Cruise and everything else

Daily and work

Lift Tailgate though so it'll sit over the 6-man Berghaus Air tent. Never enough room for 2