Help Me Get The Right Car

[Batfink 201]

The missus hit me with a bombshell. She suggested we should get an MPV

I told her I still wanted to enjoy driving (hence we are looking at BMW touring), but she is thinking practical for when the kids are bigger and want friends over after school. Shes using the ease of getting kids strapped in too due to being higher up.

 

Our children are 4 months old FFS!

So I need ammo for why MPV's are s*it lol

[welshpug 1,657]

theyre crap because Clarkson says so

 

if she wants practical, get a minibus

 

MPV's are much heavier, so thirstier, suspension parts tend to cost more.

 

you have twins? so does my sister+bro inlaw, they got a C5 estate, it handles brilliantly in a classically French way, and is extremely comfy

[m_attt 31 1 Cars]

show her the room between the back window and the back seat, and say do you really want a child sitting there in a rear impact? compared to a Touring Bmw

[BlueBolt 156]

Or just get the Zafira VXR???

 

Who on earth thought that up???!!

[Anthony 1,003]

Buying a car on the basis of something that might be needed in 4-5 years minimum seems a little odd to me.

 

I mean, I'm sure I'll be old and infirm at some point, but that doesn't mean I'm rushing out to buy a Nissan Micra with a piss-stained beige interior and a slight whiff of cabbage for that eventuality, does it?

 

Mind you, I've never understood women's logic (if that isn't a oxymoron in itself) at the best of times

[Masekwm 2]

My wife asked for a bigger car than our Mazda2.

 

I sold the 2 and bought her a Xsara VTS.

 

Now she wants a newer car that is the same size.

 

I can't win

[Pileopants 0]

LOL, how did people cope before Renault invented the Espace

 

To put her off show her a picture of a Fiat Multipla

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Point out how big and tricky to park the MPV will be.

 

This may however backfire as my GF will quite happily drive about in our LWB Shogun.

[welshpug 1,657]

LOL, how did people cope before Renault invented the Espace

 

To put her off show her a picture of a Fiat Multipla

 

Citroen CX Turbo estate, 505 gti familiale, Renault Safrane V6

[Carbs4me 45]

would it not be worth looking at a LPG converted MPV?

[welshpug 1,657]

535D

[Batfink 201]

would it not be worth looking at a LPG converted MPV?

 

so it will blow up in a bigger fireball?

 

535D

 

nice thought but automatics are boring...

[welshpug 1,657]

oh, do they not do a manual?!

[Zara 41 1 Cars]

bmw's are faar nicer! MPV's are horrible, look ugly and take up faaaar to much space on the road! they are nothing but a pain in the ass and the people who drive them are idiots! I hate them with a passion....you cant see past them. Horrible cars same as the big ugly 4x4's!

 

My dad has a bmw 5 series....beaut car to drive, can see out....not too big, not too small. very very comfortable and i can drive it tooooo pretty bomb proof too.... my dad is on his 2nd in 9 years and only reason he had the 2nd one is because he wanted something i bit bigger than the 3 series we had! :D

[matt.f 16]

Depends how much your spending,what age you want.

Subaru forester 2.5t,handle like a car and are higher up,quick aswell.£440 tax though.

[1 FAT PUG 39]

my girlfriend kept on wanting a bigger car so i got her a cheap renault espace to see how she gets on with it, she loves it but doesnt like the way the petrol goes down, so now i think she is wanting to go back to a normal car haha, women........ they can never make there minds up

 

what about one of them volvo 7 seater estates.?? just like a car and probly be a bit cheaper to run than an mpv and also got benifits of more seating as and when required

Edited April 13, 2012 by 1 FAT PUG

[eddie bullit 37]

4 months old.. You can squeeze them into the boot of most cars up until they are about three. If its an inevitability then may as well embrace the change. Get yourself a corduroy jacket while your at it. RIP driving fun! Lol

Edd

[Atari Boy 11]

We have a 14 month old son. I have a BMW 530d estate, loads of space and good to drive too.

My wife changed cars recently as her A3 could not handle all the baby stuff. (and that's with only one of them). She wanted a VW MPV thing, I persuaded her to look at Passat estates. The estate drives better, more economical and most importantly in her eyes, can take loads more stuff.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

I love my Honda FR-V. 2.2 CDTI goes well, handles well and is really practical, especially for feeding babies in situe whilst driving. Mine has done 130k and on all original bushes and there is no timing belt. I think they look nice tool and are no longer than a Civic

[GilesW 41]

Lol. I'll be hated but........

 

The misses wanted to ditch her 2seater cab for an mpv for when our baby was due (have a 5year old too).

So we looked at lots, with various things in mind including keepin motoring costs down (fuel, tax, insurance).

 

We bought a 1.6 16v dynamic+ scenic, and I have to say I think its great.

It holds its own fine on the road. You can strip the seats out now you want to, or flip them up etc do it gets used as a van too, and has a boot bigger than many family hatches which is also wide enough to take the biggest buggy straight in. And you Mrs comment of loading the kids is correct- far easier than pretty much any normal car.

Indeed my mates binned off their v6 passat estate for a galaxy after being in it a few times.

 

But it is horses for courses- I have an a3, and the pug so get my kicks out of them. I drive lots for work, so a forced relaxing drive in the scenic is a welcome change.

 

Plenty of quick and good handling mpv's out there if she won't budge. But they do have some advantages over estates and hatches for those who have to do lots of kids moving.

 

[2-Pugs 57]

Our twins are 1 in a couple of weeks. We do perfectly well with a powerful Beemer and a civic for the OH. What I've found already is that as they get older you need to ferry less bulky stuff aroud. Having said all that space is very handy and I am considering swapping the umm-funf for some sort of estate this year.

[GilesW 41]

Don't get me wrong - perfectly do-able and no real problems for my first 2 - had a focus and a mondeo.

 

But there are some little things that (good) MPV's can do slightly better.

[BlueBolt 156]

But there are some little things that (good) MPV's can do slightly better.

 

Such as going away for a week or weekend... My mk1 Leon is bulging this weekend and we bought a stroller especially to save room!! Still going to be a struggle to get it all in and we only have 1 baby of 8months old...

 

Glad I got the Seat though, has the isofix bits and I can fit three car seats in the back, well 2 booster seats and a full on car seat!!

If you're worried about the possibility of having more children in the car than just yours, the car seat thing is something to think about.....

[Atari Boy 11]

My wife can sometimes be over thorough packing wise, but this was the back of my BMW when we first went away, two adults, one 3 month old for two nights. There is no such thing as too much space.

 

 

 

[Lan 24 1 Cars]

lwb sprinter traveliner its practical has more than one purpose as refined as normal cars and would put her off the idea of the mpv crap as a van would't be the compromise she would be after

 

 

oh and they handle surprisingly well add the more powerful engines and there pretty quick too, they would certainly blitz a trans*it round the ring, just be prepared to hurt the wallet