my wife is expecting twins in the summer.
is an estate essential with all the stuff that goes with kids? if so any ideas for around £4k - ford focus estate? something japenese? don't care as long as it's reliable and doesn't handle like a bus..
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Congratulations!
Are these your first/only children? If so then any mainstream estate will suit your needs. There's plenty available for that price. You will find an estate very useful, though some may argue not essential.
When our children were young (0 and 2) we had a Fiat Regata estate. Apart from the usual problems with Fiat Regatas, we found it very useful when we went any distance. Your children will come with a number of accessories given time, prams, travel cots, GNP in nappies, extra clothes etc etc.
For my money nowadays, anything from the Astra estate to a scenic may suit.
H
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thanks - yes, they are our first - i think for the slight downside of an estate (looks / handling)it would make a lot more sense. i think i was trying to pretend they wouldn't come with too many accessories!
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Depends a bit on your lifestyle and how much ease/comfort you desire.
A large pushchair will go in the boot of most cars, and two car seats will also go in the back of most cars. But all the other baggage defies belief.
However, if you intend to carry anything else at all, then you would need a large saloon at least, and preferably an estate.
Seems my wife is going to present us with another child next weekend, so I'll be able to comment first hand fairly soon. But even one takes a surprising amount of space.
Congratulations on your twins.
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In my experience all children of any age need to carry an incredible amount of stuff around, and will easily fill any car they are provided with. We've always found nothing less than an overloaded Volvo will do, but some friends managed two children from birth with a Citroen 2CV - prams on the roof rack.
I think its an image thing really - what sort of family do you want to look like?
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We just found the estate practical. It got us though a tricky patch, though when our youngest was a few years old and stopped needing large amounts of child raising accessories we managed to dispense with the estate and go to a Pug 309 hatchback.
Part of the reason we did this was because the 309 came from a family member and with low mileage.
Mark, best of luck with your next child BTW - I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
H
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if u want reliability over all else go for a corolla estate
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I would suggest seriously that you look at rear leg room in whatever you are getting. Ive found that the space taken up by most child seats is huge. Even the baby rear facing jobs. Thats why the arrival of No 2 forced an upgrade from an A4 avant to a volvo V70. By the time the rear seats are taken up with child seat (check how long the rear seat belts are as well - some are rather short for fastening child seats in with. my f-i-l's saab 9-3 is poor in this respect) and the boot/estate area with a double buggy or two singles, you will find there is nowhere to put the shopping / dog / etc.
Estate every time.
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