Family car

c00p

Hi everyone , I'm looking for some advice on purchasing a vehicle. I have two toddlers and two big dogs , I want to get a bigger car or suv which would accommodate all. We are also expecting a third child, it needs to fit three baby seats comfortably. My partner is starting to drive so it can't have too big an engine. Anything less than 1.8 would do. I won't go above €10000. No people carriers or estate cars.
Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

Stoolbend

To be fair by ruling out people carriers and estate cars there's not a lot left.

An 07 or 08 sharon or alhambra would be an ideal sized car in your situation.

barneystinson

So basically you require a car that is a people carrier or an estate, but ISN'T a people carrier or an estate...

You need a Quantum car, the Ford Schrödinger perhaps... :cool:

c00p

Stoolbend wrote: »

To be fair by ruling out people carriers and estate cars there's not a lot left.

An 07 or 08 sharon or alhambra would be an ideal sized car in your situation.

I understand what your saying, but I know there are vehicles out there that suit but without physically looking at them all I don't know how big the back of them are .ideally an suv is what I want but they come in different sizes which is why I'm asking people who would know from personal experience.

PLL

Kia Sportage or equivalent.

Stoolbend

3 baby seats comfortably.

Less than €10000.

1.8 engine max.

Not a mpv or estate.

I don't think there is anything.

pcuser

What about a 1.9 Hyundai Santa Fe. Slightly over on engine seize but meets all your other requirements.

Mitch Buchannon

What about getting the that has the required boot space for the dogs and then get a multimac for the backseat. That will be the kids sorted then.

https://multimac.co.uk/home

peasant

Depending on how big your dogs are (and how wide the child seats) a Mondeo hatchback might just do the trick.
Same goes for a Skoda Superb hatchback ..budget might be an issue there though.

In day to day life, an estate / people carrier will be so much easier to live with though as they are specifically designed for this kind of thing

Lantus

Your going to need a large SUV then. More expensive probably than an estate or 7. 3 car seats will fit across most big cars. Once they hit 3 to 4 the seats get smaller.

bazz26

OP, you are going to have to compromise on something. You need a car that is big enough to accommodate 3 child seats, needs a big boot for dogs and don't want anything over 1.8 litre or a MPV/estate. That pretty much rules out everything for you. SUVs that might accommodate that have larger than 1.8 litre engines as they are big heavy vehicles that need a decent sized engine to pull them around.

Large size MPVs are really the only thing that will offer 3 individual rear seats while still giving the option of a decent size boot. A Citroen Grand Picasso or Ford S-Max would facilitate that. These are 7 seaters but if you're not using the third row of seats they can be folded down to increase boot space. Both are available in 1.6 or 1.8 litre variants.

c00p

Stoolbend wrote: »

3 baby seats comfortably.

Less than €10000.

1.8 engine max.

Not a mpv or estate.

I don't think there is anything.

Thanks for suggestion, I was leaning towards that or the qashqai but qashqai looks small and I couldn't find a decent model sportage for less than 15 grand

ThisRegard

With a family like that you'd be mad to discount an estate. I've 2 kids and 2 dogs and they're ideal. I've been tempted by some of the new SUV /cross overs but the boots are poor. I won't be moving from buying estates any time soon.

c00p

ThisRegard wrote: »

With a family like that you'd be mad to discount an estate. I've 2 kids and 2 dogs and they're ideal. I've been tempted by some of the new SUV /cross overs but the boots are poor. I won't be moving from buying estates
Is it still possible to fit three baby seats in those

ThisRegard

That's the thing, the only estate I know of that probably will is an Insignia estate. Being honest it's not something I really looked into as we've only 2 and won't be having a third.

But the practical boot space is ideal. We've had an Octavia hatchback and also currently have an Insignia hatchback which both have good space but the shape of the estate makes it better for the dogs and kid paraphernalia, and there's no lip to lift things over, handy for the dogs getting in and out themselves and sliding the buggies in and out.

c00p

ThisRegard wrote: »

That's the thing, the only estate I know of that probably will is an Insignia estate. Being honest it's not something I really looked into as we've only 2 and won't be having a third.

But the practical boot space is ideal. We've had an Octavia hatchback and also currently have an Insignia hatchback which both have good space but the shape of the estate makes it better for the dogs and kid paraphernalia, and there's no lip to lift things over, handy for the dogs getting in and out themselves and sliding the buggies in and out.

Thanks anyway

fits

In my opinion you'd be hard pressed to get a decent suv for that money. And the motor tax is mental on the older ones too. A large estate or van is your best bet.

Ps I really don't understand why Irish people hate estate cars so much! I think they look better than saloons a lot of the time.

c00p

fits wrote: »

In my opinion you'd be hard pressed to get a decent suv for that money. And the motor tax is mental on the older ones too. A large estate or van is your best bet.

Ps I really don't understand why Irish people hate estate cars so much! I think they look better than saloons a lot of the time.

What would you recommend as a decent sized reliable estate

fits

I test drove a superb estate a few weeks. It was massive and grand to drive. Any of the passats, Audi, toyotas, volvos id be looking more for a well looked after car than getting overly focussed on brand in your position

c00p

fits wrote: »

I test drove a superb estate a few weeks. It was massive and grand to drive. Any of the passats, Audi, toyotas, volvos id be looking more for a well looked after car than getting overly focussed on brand in your position

From what year should I be looking at

fits

depends on the car!

Dont know what the tax would be like on this one.

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/mazda/mazda6/used-2010-mazda-mazda6-163-ts-waterford-fpa-174114355915466180

Blazer

There's very few that will fit 3 seats across.
Ford S-Max is the only thing I can think off.
Defintely wouldn't recommend a Santa Fe as I have one and would discount it for below.
a) 2.2 litre diesel
b)With the seatbelts in them (they're not fixed ) they're not suitable for a lot of baby seats and you need to use isofix in them. Not a chance you'd get 3 in the back seat. Loads of boot space though.;

Cars that come up that are 3 full size rear seats are
a) Citroen Picasso
b) Renault Scenic
c)VW Passat estate
d)Opel Zafira

AMKC

Thats a lovely Mazda estate fine car.

bazz26

I wouldn't touch a Mazda with that diesel engine. Plenty of info on the web about that engine.