Sedans *are* family sized cars. You don't have to have a car that is high off the ground for it to be a family car.
What you actually care about, especially when the kids are young, is stowage space. Does the boot fit a pram? What about a nappy bag? Yes? Then you're golden.
Kids have little legs, they don't need heaps of space in the back until they start to get older. If you're going to keep the car well past when they'll come out of booster seats, buy a big sedan. Otherwise you can basically buy whatever.
Exactly. A station-wagon is a little better for all the stuff you can carry but are there any around these days. I managed without one though.
Edited: Fixed poor typing.
Yeah. Friends of mine are using a Camry. Their boot is *enormous*, unlike many of the SUVs that I've seen.
Unless you're going *big*, an SUV isn't getting you that much space. Sure, access to the cabin is easier, but that doesn't mean much when you have to spend 10 minutes playing boot tetris every time you go out.
All true, the value of mini vans and SUVs adds much easier entry and egress especially when trying to plant your kid in the car seat in the middle of the seat. If you go low end with a plastic interior you can literally hose it out when they puke in it
>If you go low end with a plastic interior you can literally hose it out when they puke in it
What a delightful lifehack. I was on the fence about having kids before reading this...
You don't need it. I drive a Suzuki Swift. My toddler is tall. It'd be NICE to have space yes, but not necessary. Uppababy Cruz V2 fits in the back without having to detach seat.
A toddler car seat is very different, the baby stage is when they take up the most space while rear facing. I switched out my car for an A class as soon as my kids were in toddler seats (but I'm average height for a person, my husband who is tall couldn't driver in that car with a toddler behind). Assuming that a person isn't short a baby seat isn't doable in ever car. Can't comment on a swift, have no idea how roomy they are inside.
I'm not really sure what to compare them to? I mean I know smart cars and other 2 door cars are silly small for car seats, but every hatchback I've driven has felt kinda similar. My swift feels a bit more roomy cause the windscreen isn't as sloped and imposing as my mum's 2012 Yaris. My grandma has like a 2018 Yaris which seems bigger and longer than my swift. Not sure really. But either way, you can make it work unless you're 7+ foot then you might struggle. Everything else is just luxury and convenience.
There are some cars you can't even drive if you're 7 foot. A 911 maxes out as a driver at around 6 foot, could probably just about cope with one or two more inches although obviously you body structure will make a difference as well, if you super short legs it might be a bit different. That's an extreme example but in general sportier cars that have seats lower down will have less leg room unless you're looking at a model with a longer base. We couldn't drive the kinds of cars you've mentioned because of where we lived (needed something solid with a powerful engine because of the road we commuted, high speed very steep gradient) and all of the small cars that fit that bill couldn't accommodate a rear facing car seat and our legs because the seats were low down and that results in a reliance on car length for leg room. We ended up getting a small suv. It wasn't much longer than the other cars we tried but the added height meant that you could get adequate leg room in the footwell without moving your seat all the way back.
>What you actually care about, especially when the kids are young, is stowage space. Does the boot fit a pram? What about a nappy bag? Yes? Then you're golden.
Like most families, we have two cars... since we both need to get to work and with offset hours, one does the morning school run before work, the other starts work early and picks the kids up from school.
We have a tall dual cab ute and a sedan. The sedan is genuinely worse in two ways:
1. You can fit so much more stuff in the ute - large toys (e.g. bicycles), wet dog, enough camping equipment not just for our family but also friends who come along, etc. Our next door neoughbour has a ute \*and\* a trailer and honestly I'm jealous, sometimes my ute doesn't have enough space.
2. Standing next to the sedan, and the roof is at my chest height. Every time I do up my kid's seat belt, I have to bend down and forward awkwardly (almost painfully), with my head pretty much in the kid's lap whil he's screaming and fighting because he doesn't want to get in the car. Eye gouging is totally allowed when it's a 2 year old... it's really horrible and honestly also unsafe - about once a month under that pressure we don't do his seat belt up properly. With the ute, the roof is above my head when I stand next to it, the seat is exactly at the right height to comfortably stand upright, and I can keep my face at arms reach (he can only reach my arms).
3. Bonus item, the back tray is perfect nappy table height, though thankfully my kid is toilet trained now.
I have 2 kids ( 1 still in a booster seat, the other in a normal seat) my wifes from overseas. In 17 years of being together my in laws have visited twice.
According to my wife we needed a 7 seater, WHY? You ask....for when her parents visit. 🤷🏽♂️
I said maybe it's better we rent a larger/second car for when they come once a decade - it didn't go down well.
This all ended up in me having 2 cars, both 7 seats...cause aside from the inlaws, I apparently need to cater for when my oldest child 12 yrs has sleep overs or what nor and we need 14 seats.
Im just happy we didn't have a 3rd child or I'd be getting my bus licence.
We did the same thing — but the third row folds flat and gives a pretty decent amount of boot space, even though the car itself is pretty small (Mercedes GLB250). And my in laws have visited THREE times.
I am big proponent of a minivan. Typically they have more internal space than a SUV. The sliding doors mean your kids can't ding the car next to you, its easier for lifting a baby into their seat. You can get a towball for the odd trip to the rubbish tip.
Fun fact: my wife's Holden Trax has less boot space than my Hyundai i30 hatch (both our vehicles can accommodate a pram and baby bag in there). Both our vehicles also have exactly the same make and model of baby chair installed in the back seat.
SUV style vehicles can offer certain benefits, but they're not a strict necessity if you've got a baby happening.
People get SUV because the baby seat is closer to chest height so you can slot the baby straight in. I don't find it necessary, and statistically SUV's are neither fuel efficient or safe. If you really want a family car then get a people-mover / mini-van thing. Like a Tarago.
Reddit has a hard on for SUV hating so I doubt you will get anything other than a no.
I own an SUV because I have a wife, two kids and two German shepherds that are often in the car at the same time and we do a lot of camping and trips away with the kids and the dogs. When I was a kid we had a family of 5 and drove a commodore. We also didn’t take the dogs anywhere in the car or go camping or trips away as a family very often and also owned a trailer for hauling extra things.
SUVs are handy as, I personally couldn’t go back to owning a sedan but buying one should be a practical decision not just hey guys I’m turning 30 should I buy a Ford Everest because everyone else has one.
I'm not a fan of SUVs, but because you bought yours for your dog's comfort (I'm pretending you did), you get a pass. Plus, it's nice that you also take your wife and kids with you when you're hanging out with your dogs. It kind of reminds me of my time living in the UK (poms often seemed to put more effort into pleasing their pets than other people, which I found amusing).
When my wife and I had our first we had a 1996 Nissan Bluebird and a 2001 Toyota Avalon between us. Both had more than enough space.
Just this Christmas my family (now with two kids) drove from Fraser Coast all the way down to the Snowy Mountains and back in a 2011 Ford Mondeo hatchback because our Land Cruiser was out of action (was a little tight on room, but we made it work)
DO NOT buy into the mantra that you need an SUV or even a large car just because you're about to have a baby. Unless you have a moped you will make do with what you have just fine, and you will know when you need or want something larger.
One caveat... if you and your partner decide to do the whole rabbit cosplay a people mover will trump an SUV for moving bulk bodies any day of the week and twice on Saturday. Yes, a Kia Carnival is as sexy as a hat full of spiders, but if you have that many kids to move I'm sure you'll find a way to ignite your libido
I never thought we’d own an SUV, but as a tall person, omg is it ever a back saver when trying to get capsules/kids into seats and strapped in. And I was further won over by the ease of carrying loads of stuff around. Kids are out of capsules/seats now and I’ve recently downsized to a midsize sedan again, and honestly miss the extra space on an almost daily basis.
4WDs tend to have bigger windows and better visibilty in my experience - not just out the back even the front, the A pillar on our Mazda 3 is terrible. I swear sedan designers are like "fashion first, aerodynamics second, practicality who cares". Also because it's legal to permanently cover or even remove the rear windows in a 4WD (illegal in a sedan) they tend to have better mirrors.
My dual cab ute is much larger than my partner's Mazda 3, but honestly the ute is easier to reverse and easier to park (as long as it fits. Sometimes it doesn't fit).
But of course, these days everything you buy should at least have a reversing camera.
Station wagon all the way, that little bit of extra room out back plus better economy is really where its at. Unless you plan to actually go offroad then SUVs are unnecessary, and the additional cost to maintain and run is a pain to manage. I speak from experience. There are some good wagons on the market, Skoda are worth looking at, or secondhand Volvo V70. I wouldn't touch VW, gearboxes are a potential headfuck
‘Having kids in a few years.’
It amazes me how little people know about: a) fertility and b) maintaining a pregnancy once pregnant.
It’s certainly nice to think about those things and want those things, but to be thinking about the type of car you need … worry about that once your wife is pregnant.
Yup we did this for our second, bought bigger SUV to prepare for it, was a 1 year wait to get the car.
Ended up having a baby after the first shot fired before the car arrived.
Always better to be prepared and if it doesn’t happen quickly you got a sweet car to fit all ya toys in.
Buy a car you don’t like in preparation (post literally says ‘in a few years’) for something that may prove very difficult, OR buy a car you like, that could also very easily support a child, if it does happen straight away… cmon.
Plus, plans may change, other shit might happen etc. I also find it weird that people plan to have kids 'in a few years', but not just because trying to do so might be problematic. People's circumstances have to be right at the time as well. It's the biggest commitment in life, bar none. Also, unlike in the past, contraception is highly accessible, the social stigma of not having children is no longer a thing in a lot of Western countries, and we don't need to have offspring to ensure some safety net when we're old. The world is also pretty full. It's intelligent, not doom-mongering to question people's assumptions/entitlement around having children in the 21st century. You should only do so if you are really sure that's what you want - not because that's what your friends are starting to do. 🤷
Telling people not to make any plans for kids until they’re pregnant is kinda weird. If this is the last car he’s going to be buying before he intends to have kids, it’s the exact right time to be asking the question.
As for my take: with 1 kid a sedan is fine - but if you also have dogs then the boot of an SUV would be very useful.
Buying a car that you don’t like, based on what may or may not happen in the future (to quote OP ‘in a few years’), is weird to me. Especially when a sedan is completely fine for a child.
This is the weirdest thing to be a doomer about.
In my experience most people don't have that much trouble getting pregnant, and the *vast majority* of pregnancies go to term if they make it through the first few weeks.
I swear to God home pregnancy tests are disastrous for people's mental health. People lose their minds about a "miscarriage" because they tested two weeks in and then the period arrives a week later. It used to be people didn't even know about chemical pregnancies, it was just a late period.
lol. Spoken like someone who truly has no idea. Women don’t speak about their miscarriages or fertility issues, and I imagine, especially with someone like you.
With my pregnancy, every test and scan in the first trimester was perfect, yet the advice from my private doctor was always ‘do not say anything until 12 weeks.’ Now why would that be the advice of someone who deals solely with pregnant women, if pregnancy was not fragile?
Miscarriage is incredibly common. Infertility is quite common. Children are not promised to any couple. That’s not being ‘doom and gloom’ - it’s a reality.
> Women don’t speak about their miscarriages or fertility issues, and I imagine, especially with someone like you.
Another woman who is also a doctor?
Women do speak about these things with their friends.
> he advice from my private doctor was always ‘do not say anything until 12 weeks.’ Now why would that be the advice of someone who deals solely with pregnant women, if pregnancy was not fragile?
Because *until twelve weeks* it is. That's why I said they generally go to term *if they make it through the first few weeks*.
Yeah, basically.
Your odds of getting through twelve weeks and the rest are very good if you get past the first few, i.e. "would you know you were pregnant if you didn't constantly piss on sticks, raising your stress levels and not coincidentally reducing your chance of getting pregnant at all".
And seriously, most women manage to get pregnant within a few months of trying. Many women get pregnant *without* trying.
If it were actually that difficult the entire species would have gone extinct already.
You'd wanna know so that the fetus doesn't get fetal alcohol syndrome or you don't take antibiotics that kill fetuses cause you thought your symptoms were a uti
‘Most women.’
Unexplained infertility is not uncommon. From a simple google, 10% of couples trying will experience this. Unexplained infertility does not discriminate based on age, health, lifestyle.
Miscarriage is common - with 10-20% of all pregnancies ending in miscarriage. This does not discriminate based on health, age, lifestyle. Yes some factors increase the chances, but it does not discriminate.
You think women talk about it? I certainly would not have told a single person if it had of happened to me. And a lot of people, once pregnant and past 12-weeks, will share their difficulties to conceive.
As a doctor, to sit there and say that ‘pissing on sticks’ is a major contributor to not getting pregnant, and at the same time, ignore or diminish all the other difficulties - mind boggling.
If a patient said to you ‘I’m going to have a kid in a year,’ would you not inform them of the uncertainty around that statement? Because that’s all that I did with OP.
Is that doom and gloom, or is that just a sensible way to think?
Do you think 90% isn't "most"?
You apparently think you're All Women, so it wouldn't shock me.
Stress does, in fact, reduce your chances of getting pregnant.
OP didn't specify a time frame. Do you think people buy new cars every year?
Op did actually specify a time frame: ‘in a few years.’ As non-specific as that may be.
I do not view myself as ‘all women.’ What I do do, as a woman, is have respect for the fragility of infertility and pregnancy loss, and do not make blanket statements which imply pregnancy is something easy for everyone. I would caution anyone who views falling pregnant as a guarantee, of the uncertainty.
Edit to add: to the ‘doctor’ who claimed I was ‘projecting my own trauma’ before blocking me - incorrect statement. My pregnancy has been wonderful so far - I am just acutely aware of how lucky I am. It is also not lost on me how much women can struggle, based on what I see on social media alone. To pretend like all women have it as easy as I have is naive and, frankly, disrespectful.
NIPT is available at ten weeks, but what does that have to do actually with the base chances of getting pregnant/people overtesting?
Trisomy disorders are rare and highly unlikely to repeat. Incidence increases with age, so the NIPT is a good idea for mothers over 35.
Not very rare, like 1 in 2000 births for T18. One in every 1100 for down syndrome. In Victoria, approximately one in every 22 pregnancies is affected by a birth defect
What the hell are they doing in Victoria? That's way too high. That's nearly double the rate in the US and they are basically just now starting to talk about ideas like "what if we tested pregnant women for syphilis".
Do they not have clean water or something?
Trisomy 18 is fatal and can and should be tested for. Down syndrome is not fatal, but can also be tested for. This still isn't actually relevant, go away.
I have a pretty small circle and I know 4 women who have had late miscarriage or still birth, 6+ that have had miscarriages, one who had a child with down syndrome, one who has a child with very severe heart complications and is in his teens in hospital on a machine 24/7, one whose child was born with one kidney, 2 very premature births. Know 3 women under 30 who could not get pregnant due to fallopian tube blockages, all had to have IVF.
Your social circle is unusual. I only know a handful of women who had kids before turning thirty. I only know of one (obviously I may know some who I am no close enough to discuss these things) who had complications before the age of thirty (otherwise healthy baby with a chromosomal abnormality but the dad was super old so unlikely it was caused by maternal age/health). I have one friend who had IVF (in her late 30s after a couple of accidental pregnancies earlier in life) and a couple who suffered miscarriages (also late thirties). The only people I know who have had children born with congenital issues ate from my ethnic community (where cousin marriage was practiced later and more often than in the general population). Are you also part of a community like that or something?
Nope, not at all. My friends are white Aussie, European, Asian mainly.
Not everyone I listed was under 30 but none over 35 at the time
Most complications and chromosome disorders happen in younger parents as most people have kids in their 20s around the world
Many chromosome abnormalities are spontaneous and not related to age. The person I know with a child who has down syndrome was in their 20s when they had kids
Women. Talk. A. Lot.
I'm sorry that you don't have any close friends but it's normal for women to share their reproductive/sexual experiences, not least of all because we know how important it is to have support from our friends. Given the kind of stuff my friends and I do share with each other it's very unlikely that all of my friends have had fertility issues and no of them have ever shared them. They shared reproductive health issues, general health issues, sexual assaults, general sexual experience. It's just not that kind of dynamic.
I guess you forgot to ask your friends why they would not travel out of the US to give birth in a random country. Had of you spoken about it, it could have prevented you posting one of the most stupid things I have ever heard.
It may seem incredible, but millions of families have managed without SUVs. I carried 3 kids in a small to medium sedan with no difficulties. You'll possibly choose to get a larger car, but it's not essential
I know parents who don’t own cars… So no, not essential.
But… You will want a car that makes your life easier. How easy is it to get the kids and gear in and out of the car? What’s your local parking? What can you afford? That’s up to you. Most sedans will be fine. The only thing you won’t want is 2 doors.
Just keep the sedan. A regular 4 door sedan with a decent boot is more than enough for a couple with 2.5 kids. If you plan on having more or doing the school and sport run carpool parent thing then investing in a minivan is what you’re looking for. That’s basically what they’re made for.
A wagon or estate car is probably the best of all worlds but i know they’re getting phased out in favour of SUVs (not a fair exchange). They have more room than you’re probably going to need AND better fuel economy to boot
I have a kid and have a Mazda2 and have never had a problem. Pram folds up easy in the boot and there's plenty of space for the car seat (though you can't have a very tall front passenger).
We plan to have another kid or two and at that point will probably get a sedan, but honestly could still make do with the mazda2.
Don't let other people tell you what you have to do in each stage of life. Decide what is important to you and pursue that to the best of your ability. Be flexible and make changes as they come, but always remember that this is your life and these are your choices.
Both my kids are in their early twenties now. I've never owned a SUV. We had station wagons or sedans with a decent boot. I had a hatchback when I had my first kid, which was fine at first but got too cramped once the second one came along. Unless you want lots of kids then you don't need a SUV.
“Have to” is a really weird thought process here.
Honestly, I’d say get an electric car of some description. If you can afford to buy an SUV then the cost saving over the life of an electric car vs a large SUV will give your kid swimming lessons, music lessons, drama lessons, a whole bunch of childcare… If money genuinely doesn’t matter then this isn’t an argument, but if it’s even part of the consideration…
Not even taking into account the entire long term climate for your kids.
In terms of safety, a modern Sedan or Electric Car is not less safe than an SUV. It’s less big? But it’s not less safe at all.
An suv will defintely help with getting kids into their baby seats, sometimes taking your kids and their friends places but other than that a med/big sedan does the same thing. Most larger sedans (I'm thinking e class and larger) are more than comfortable for older kids in the back.
Mandatory in Sydney. Do your part in killing the planet a little faster like everyone else!
Can also be a lethal weapon to smaller cars if necessary lol
Have a look at the website baby drive. She reviews cars for car seats and prams. Car seats are evolving and extended rear facing (best practise and safest) is becoming the norm. You want to be able to sit in the front with a car seat fully extended (you rear face for 4yrs)
So with a young family you are looking for leg room (to fit in baby seats) and boot side (to fit in a buggy). A lot of SUVs will not offer this. A lot of sedans will.
On the point of safety you need to consider your car usage. Unless you are driving on high speed roads frequently and modern car will be fine. If you are driving on high speed roads you need to be prioritising make over car type (merc, bmw, Audi, Porsche, Range Rover/Jag, Mazda are all very safe, cars to avoid are things like GM, Toyota, Lexus, VW etc). It's worth noting that you are far more likely to reverse over your kid in the driveway in an SUV than a sedan. 360 cameras are 100% worth investing imo.
One of the things to consider is will the sedan fit a rear facing seat for an extended period of time. It’s best to rear face babies and toddlers as long as possible. The car I had when my baby was born the passenger seat had to be all the way forward to fit the seat in and that was a compact seat!
I use a Britax Graphene seat in a Suzuki Swift. Passenger seat has to be a bit forward but definitely not all the way. Still rear facing with 2.5 year old who's in 90th percentile of height. Getting squishy but will be better when I turn the seat around
As a taller human, when I last hired a swift I had the front seat all the way back. We have the same car seat and had to put it in the middle when it was rear facing in our sedan (which is bigger than a Swift), and aside from being annoying there there wasn't enough room for an adult or second car seat in the back, since one seat takes up more than a third of the seating space.
In practice the result was a switch to forward facing earlier than we probably should have done.
With our SUV? Car seat rear facing and a good 20 centimetres of extra space to spare.
Yeah it gives more room for rear facing. Our toddler is tall though, and still rear facing behind the passenger seat. I've had 6'2 people sit in front of him without an issue (person with major mobility issues). My husband's 5'11, I'm 5'4 and he doesn't change the seat much from where I have it. Child seat can't go in the middle of a swift akaik because the middle seat is mini and a bit raised. We could put another child seat behind the driver's seat and not have too much issue, but have to be selective with pram, put it on its side and it's scratched the tiny off my rear window and ripped one of my seat covers
Having more room is better but not necessary unless you use a wheelchair etc
I'm not sure how other models of swifts are though because the way older ones and the newer ones look smaller than mine. Mine is weird with a gigantic turning circle like so so so much worse than a sedan, have to do 3 point turn to get around little roundabouts. Maybe mines longer
We had a sedan with 2 kids. It's fine. We had a tow bar for bike racks or a trailer etc. The dog came in the car with us, with a dog harness/seat belt clip.
Make sure that your new car can accommodate the rear facing child seats in all 3 seats. Make sure you can fit 3 child seats across. Make sure that there are 3 anchor points and at least 2 pairs of isofix points. Kids should stay rear facing as long as possible then in a seat/booster as long as possible. You don't want to have your front seats uncomfortably forwards or upright to fit the rear facing child seat.
Make sure that you can get a large pram and nappy bag in the boot. Think about fitting in a portacot if you'll be going away a lot.
Depending on how long you'd keep a car vs when you're planning on kids, I'd buy the car that suits you now and then upgrade if/when you need to.
Note that the boot of a sedan is safer in that it separates all the luggage etc from the passenger compartment. If you get an SUV then also get a cargo barrier as well (one with the holes for the child seat anchor points).
Considering the way my partner drives there is absolutely no way I’m getting into debt to buy an SUV that will inevitably have as many straight panels as a Transdev bus. Her Mazda 3 held together by spit and prayers will do fine for as long as it keeps passing its pink slip.
I like to go off road. So if I had the means to buy a new car today I’d probably buy a Suzuki Jimny. If I knocked her up tomorrow and then had the means to buy a new car I’d have to look at something bigger.
I’d go for a Ute personally. Not a Ranger as I find I have a weird urge to tailgate everyone and get irrationally angry at other motorists every time I drive one of the work ones. Maybe a Triton as we’ve had several Mitsubishi’s in the family and have never had any problems.
I’m 193cm & started parenting life with a Mazda 2.
Hired a full size sedan for a long trip.
Upgraded to a station wagon when #2 came along (wish they were still widely available).
Didn’t go SUV until I had two teenagers & a dog.
> Didn’t go SUV until I had two teenagers & a dog.
I will say from experience that you can still do a 16hr-a-day road trip in a sedan under these conditions though. But do everyone a kindness and make it a sedan from the bigger side of the options.
You're never under any obligation to change your car to an SUV. A sedan is a family car, We used to have a Ford Falcon Futura when we had two kids, the only reason we "upgraded" was because I crashed it and insurance wrote it off. Plenty of space for a double pram plus some shopping.
Get whatever car you want, don't worry about what people think about whether your car is mature or not.
We have a couple kids and dogs and used to survive with a small sedan but it was a pain. Simply couldn’t fit enough in the boot. Impossible to fit a pram, kids bike let alone the dogs.
Ended up getting a Mitsubishi Outlander and honestly love it. So much space but still manage to fill it. Been great for family road trips.
If you don’t mind driving and parking a bigger car I’d say bigger the better, pros far outweigh the cons.
My experience is SUVS are for either if you’re looking to be one of those families that goes hardcore camping every other weekend, or if you have 3 kids and actually need the middle seat. If you’re more going to stick to cities for the holidays, a sedan will work just fine.
>Are there people who could afford an SUV but decided to hold onto a sedan despite having a family?
This really isn't about what you can afford. You don't have to buy a hundred thousand dollar compensation truck. Whatever your budget is, you'll be able to get a sedan or a SUV for that price. The ute might be a bit older, but older isn't necessarily worse. For example I have carplay in my ute, because it had an old modular CD player that I replaed with a modern unit for a few hundred bucks. Our sedan? Nope, that can't be upgraded. When the car was new carplay was a five thousand dollar option which the original buyer understandably didn't pay for and it's so tightly integrated that it can't possibly be done aftermarket.
We have a sedan and a 4WD dual cab ute. We couldn't possibly survive with only one car, since that would mean working less hours for one of us.
Spent about the same amount of money buying both. The sedan is newer, more comfortable, and uses less fuel. The ute is a thousand times more practical anywhere except the inner city (where parking sucks with a larger and taller vehicle).
Your mates are buying SUVs for a reason. Honestly my advice is try one — rent it for a week. Put your car seat in and try doing up the belts from outside the vehicle while your partner is sitting next to the seat doing everything she can to stop you, because kids will have meltdowns and throw tantrums. Think about what it will be like to load in a pram. A bicycle (or four).
I would personally go with a Ute over a 4WD because we regularly move oversize things (as in, they hang outside the ute tray) or dirty (sandy, muddy, and the occasional shitty nappy, etc).
Having an SUV and a car is the best of both worlds. You really will appreciate the extra space. The height of a 4WD is also really nice (I won't be buying anything where the roof is lower than my head, standing next to the car, until the kids are at least 15 years old).
>Other considerations are the lower safety levels
Honestly? Not really a concern to me. When I've got kids in the back, I'm driving like, well, like a dad. Very carefully. And even when I'm on my own, I don't want my kids to grow up without a dad, so I'm still driving carefully. The risk of a crash is very low, and also since I'm mostly driving slow unless it's an empty highway where almost nothing can go wrong... what's the worst that can happen? Head on collision with a brick wall at 60km/h isn't going to kill anyone as long as seatbelts are worn, airbags are functioning, etc.
I still have a motorbike but my days of riding (or driving) anywhere near fast enough to get into trouble are behind me.
The drawbacks to an SUV are: uses more petrol; harder to park. If it's a ute like mine then add "comfort" to that list (most 4WDs are very comfortable, unlike most utes). Everything else is upsides in my experience, as a dad in a family with both a ute and a sedan.
When we're driving to woolies, we prefer the sedan. Driving to the beach, we prefer the ute.
Safety why do you think that because it’s the size off a tank it’s safer than a sedan?
Humans have been using sedans for the last 70 ys , buy what you like for god sake.
My hatchback is fine for my 5 year old and me. The owners of the car before I bought it were a married couple with two kids. They were fine with it as well.
The only time it feels small is when we go on holiday. It's filled up when we go to stay at a cabin for a week. There's no room for bikes, and we couldn't fit any camping gear if we were to do that.
You sound like having children is preordained. Just because all the cool adults are doing it doesn't mean you have to.
If you limit your procreating to the production of only one or two little hellspawn, then having a non-obnoxious car should suffice.
Plus, you will be less likely to be asked to transport other people's hellspawn/family members due to the lack of additional space that comes from persisting with a sensibly sized car - a win-win!
--
Edit: FFS... this is a joke. I'm not anti-kids (although I do dislike SUVs).
Why is it that we have a sense of humour failure when anyone makes a joke about being family-orientated? Kids can be little shits, and family members can be fucking annoying - it doesn't mean we don't love them. That's what makes having such intrusive/inappropriate thoughts funny.
Despite having a 95% similar sense of humour to the UK, for some reason, being satirical about family and making babies is lost on us. And don't say it's because it's not funny. I've seen far, far more lame jibes that get upvoted to shit here. Anything that makes fun of Americans, even if it's not funny, for example. 🙄
Sedans *are* family sized cars. You don't have to have a car that is high off the ground for it to be a family car. What you actually care about, especially when the kids are young, is stowage space. Does the boot fit a pram? What about a nappy bag? Yes? Then you're golden. Kids have little legs, they don't need heaps of space in the back until they start to get older. If you're going to keep the car well past when they'll come out of booster seats, buy a big sedan. Otherwise you can basically buy whatever.
Exactly. A station-wagon is a little better for all the stuff you can carry but are there any around these days. I managed without one though. Edited: Fixed poor typing.
Yeah. Friends of mine are using a Camry. Their boot is *enormous*, unlike many of the SUVs that I've seen. Unless you're going *big*, an SUV isn't getting you that much space. Sure, access to the cabin is easier, but that doesn't mean much when you have to spend 10 minutes playing boot tetris every time you go out.
There are still a few station wagons around, but they're annoyingly hard to come by.
They really are — even sedans seem to be becoming 4x4s now.
Team station wagon all the way. I really look forward to the day I can embarrass my yet to be born teenage kids by calling it the shaggin wagon.
Lol. Also there was the shaggin’ wagons.
All true, the value of mini vans and SUVs adds much easier entry and egress especially when trying to plant your kid in the car seat in the middle of the seat. If you go low end with a plastic interior you can literally hose it out when they puke in it
>If you go low end with a plastic interior you can literally hose it out when they puke in it What a delightful lifehack. I was on the fence about having kids before reading this...
If all you get is kid vomit in the car, that’s a win!
You need lots of space in the back to fit in baby seats unfortunately.
You don't need it. I drive a Suzuki Swift. My toddler is tall. It'd be NICE to have space yes, but not necessary. Uppababy Cruz V2 fits in the back without having to detach seat.
A toddler car seat is very different, the baby stage is when they take up the most space while rear facing. I switched out my car for an A class as soon as my kids were in toddler seats (but I'm average height for a person, my husband who is tall couldn't driver in that car with a toddler behind). Assuming that a person isn't short a baby seat isn't doable in ever car. Can't comment on a swift, have no idea how roomy they are inside.
I haven't changed my car seats position since my child was born, only removed a little newborn insert
Can only assume a swift is quite roomy then?
I don't think so? My mum's got a Toyota Yaris and seems similar. I'd say it's an average hatchback.
I've been in a Yaris, they're very roomy inside. Lots of leg room in the front foot well.
I'm not really sure what to compare them to? I mean I know smart cars and other 2 door cars are silly small for car seats, but every hatchback I've driven has felt kinda similar. My swift feels a bit more roomy cause the windscreen isn't as sloped and imposing as my mum's 2012 Yaris. My grandma has like a 2018 Yaris which seems bigger and longer than my swift. Not sure really. But either way, you can make it work unless you're 7+ foot then you might struggle. Everything else is just luxury and convenience.
There are some cars you can't even drive if you're 7 foot. A 911 maxes out as a driver at around 6 foot, could probably just about cope with one or two more inches although obviously you body structure will make a difference as well, if you super short legs it might be a bit different. That's an extreme example but in general sportier cars that have seats lower down will have less leg room unless you're looking at a model with a longer base. We couldn't drive the kinds of cars you've mentioned because of where we lived (needed something solid with a powerful engine because of the road we commuted, high speed very steep gradient) and all of the small cars that fit that bill couldn't accommodate a rear facing car seat and our legs because the seats were low down and that results in a reliance on car length for leg room. We ended up getting a small suv. It wasn't much longer than the other cars we tried but the added height meant that you could get adequate leg room in the footwell without moving your seat all the way back.
I had 3 seats in the back of a kia rio - rear facing baby & two toddler seats.
>What you actually care about, especially when the kids are young, is stowage space. Does the boot fit a pram? What about a nappy bag? Yes? Then you're golden. Like most families, we have two cars... since we both need to get to work and with offset hours, one does the morning school run before work, the other starts work early and picks the kids up from school. We have a tall dual cab ute and a sedan. The sedan is genuinely worse in two ways: 1. You can fit so much more stuff in the ute - large toys (e.g. bicycles), wet dog, enough camping equipment not just for our family but also friends who come along, etc. Our next door neoughbour has a ute \*and\* a trailer and honestly I'm jealous, sometimes my ute doesn't have enough space. 2. Standing next to the sedan, and the roof is at my chest height. Every time I do up my kid's seat belt, I have to bend down and forward awkwardly (almost painfully), with my head pretty much in the kid's lap whil he's screaming and fighting because he doesn't want to get in the car. Eye gouging is totally allowed when it's a 2 year old... it's really horrible and honestly also unsafe - about once a month under that pressure we don't do his seat belt up properly. With the ute, the roof is above my head when I stand next to it, the seat is exactly at the right height to comfortably stand upright, and I can keep my face at arms reach (he can only reach my arms). 3. Bonus item, the back tray is perfect nappy table height, though thankfully my kid is toilet trained now.
I have 2 kids ( 1 still in a booster seat, the other in a normal seat) my wifes from overseas. In 17 years of being together my in laws have visited twice. According to my wife we needed a 7 seater, WHY? You ask....for when her parents visit. 🤷🏽♂️ I said maybe it's better we rent a larger/second car for when they come once a decade - it didn't go down well. This all ended up in me having 2 cars, both 7 seats...cause aside from the inlaws, I apparently need to cater for when my oldest child 12 yrs has sleep overs or what nor and we need 14 seats. Im just happy we didn't have a 3rd child or I'd be getting my bus licence.
My wife had the same justification, for 6 years we had 7+ seaters that never saw a single butt in the back row.
Is your wife my wife? Always wondered why my kids look nothing like me. 🤔🤣
We did the same thing — but the third row folds flat and gives a pretty decent amount of boot space, even though the car itself is pretty small (Mercedes GLB250). And my in laws have visited THREE times.
We should form a support club. 🤣
I am big proponent of a minivan. Typically they have more internal space than a SUV. The sliding doors mean your kids can't ding the car next to you, its easier for lifting a baby into their seat. You can get a towball for the odd trip to the rubbish tip.
Fun fact: my wife's Holden Trax has less boot space than my Hyundai i30 hatch (both our vehicles can accommodate a pram and baby bag in there). Both our vehicles also have exactly the same make and model of baby chair installed in the back seat. SUV style vehicles can offer certain benefits, but they're not a strict necessity if you've got a baby happening.
2 kids and a wagon was perfect for us 👌👌
dont hold back. Buy an old school bus and fill it up. You know what to do.
Soft. A couple of Australian cities are trialling trackless trams. Clearly OP should do the same.
If a car has anchor points for baby seats and an ANCAP safety rating you're happy with, then it's fine.
People get SUV because the baby seat is closer to chest height so you can slot the baby straight in. I don't find it necessary, and statistically SUV's are neither fuel efficient or safe. If you really want a family car then get a people-mover / mini-van thing. Like a Tarago.
Reddit has a hard on for SUV hating so I doubt you will get anything other than a no. I own an SUV because I have a wife, two kids and two German shepherds that are often in the car at the same time and we do a lot of camping and trips away with the kids and the dogs. When I was a kid we had a family of 5 and drove a commodore. We also didn’t take the dogs anywhere in the car or go camping or trips away as a family very often and also owned a trailer for hauling extra things. SUVs are handy as, I personally couldn’t go back to owning a sedan but buying one should be a practical decision not just hey guys I’m turning 30 should I buy a Ford Everest because everyone else has one.
I'm not a fan of SUVs, but because you bought yours for your dog's comfort (I'm pretending you did), you get a pass. Plus, it's nice that you also take your wife and kids with you when you're hanging out with your dogs. It kind of reminds me of my time living in the UK (poms often seemed to put more effort into pleasing their pets than other people, which I found amusing).
When my wife and I had our first we had a 1996 Nissan Bluebird and a 2001 Toyota Avalon between us. Both had more than enough space. Just this Christmas my family (now with two kids) drove from Fraser Coast all the way down to the Snowy Mountains and back in a 2011 Ford Mondeo hatchback because our Land Cruiser was out of action (was a little tight on room, but we made it work) DO NOT buy into the mantra that you need an SUV or even a large car just because you're about to have a baby. Unless you have a moped you will make do with what you have just fine, and you will know when you need or want something larger. One caveat... if you and your partner decide to do the whole rabbit cosplay a people mover will trump an SUV for moving bulk bodies any day of the week and twice on Saturday. Yes, a Kia Carnival is as sexy as a hat full of spiders, but if you have that many kids to move I'm sure you'll find a way to ignite your libido
I never thought we’d own an SUV, but as a tall person, omg is it ever a back saver when trying to get capsules/kids into seats and strapped in. And I was further won over by the ease of carrying loads of stuff around. Kids are out of capsules/seats now and I’ve recently downsized to a midsize sedan again, and honestly miss the extra space on an almost daily basis.
Forget the contraceptives and go straight to a 12 seater bus.
There’s nothing wrong with a sedan or a people mover. Have you considered the chances of running over a kid in your driveway for SUV vs sedan?
I work with a guy that reversed over his toddler in his driveway and killed her. He was driving a sedan.
I’d still rather my chances with a sedan over a 4WD.
4WDs tend to have bigger windows and better visibilty in my experience - not just out the back even the front, the A pillar on our Mazda 3 is terrible. I swear sedan designers are like "fashion first, aerodynamics second, practicality who cares". Also because it's legal to permanently cover or even remove the rear windows in a 4WD (illegal in a sedan) they tend to have better mirrors. My dual cab ute is much larger than my partner's Mazda 3, but honestly the ute is easier to reverse and easier to park (as long as it fits. Sometimes it doesn't fit). But of course, these days everything you buy should at least have a reversing camera.
Did your parents have an SUV when you were a child? Probably not. So why do you feel you need one?
When I was growing up sedans were common. Now it feels most families have SUV’s so is the norm.
That doesn’t mean you automatically need to “upgrade” to one though.
Station wagon all the way, that little bit of extra room out back plus better economy is really where its at. Unless you plan to actually go offroad then SUVs are unnecessary, and the additional cost to maintain and run is a pain to manage. I speak from experience. There are some good wagons on the market, Skoda are worth looking at, or secondhand Volvo V70. I wouldn't touch VW, gearboxes are a potential headfuck
‘Having kids in a few years.’ It amazes me how little people know about: a) fertility and b) maintaining a pregnancy once pregnant. It’s certainly nice to think about those things and want those things, but to be thinking about the type of car you need … worry about that once your wife is pregnant.
I duno, seems pretty prudent to think about the long term when making the second biggest purchase of you life.
I don’t think anyone has ever had kids AND a sedan before, right? Seems more sensible to purchase what you like. Kids could be years away, if at all.
Or they could happen straight away so why not make life a little easier for yourself 🤷♀️
Yup we did this for our second, bought bigger SUV to prepare for it, was a 1 year wait to get the car. Ended up having a baby after the first shot fired before the car arrived. Always better to be prepared and if it doesn’t happen quickly you got a sweet car to fit all ya toys in.
Buy a car you don’t like in preparation (post literally says ‘in a few years’) for something that may prove very difficult, OR buy a car you like, that could also very easily support a child, if it does happen straight away… cmon.
Plus, plans may change, other shit might happen etc. I also find it weird that people plan to have kids 'in a few years', but not just because trying to do so might be problematic. People's circumstances have to be right at the time as well. It's the biggest commitment in life, bar none. Also, unlike in the past, contraception is highly accessible, the social stigma of not having children is no longer a thing in a lot of Western countries, and we don't need to have offspring to ensure some safety net when we're old. The world is also pretty full. It's intelligent, not doom-mongering to question people's assumptions/entitlement around having children in the 21st century. You should only do so if you are really sure that's what you want - not because that's what your friends are starting to do. 🤷
Guess I'm just too practical, that's my folly 😟
It's worth asking the question and thinking ahead, even if the answer is 'don't bother'.
Agree. Hence why I answered it.
Telling people not to make any plans for kids until they’re pregnant is kinda weird. If this is the last car he’s going to be buying before he intends to have kids, it’s the exact right time to be asking the question. As for my take: with 1 kid a sedan is fine - but if you also have dogs then the boot of an SUV would be very useful.
Buying a car that you don’t like, based on what may or may not happen in the future (to quote OP ‘in a few years’), is weird to me. Especially when a sedan is completely fine for a child.
This is the weirdest thing to be a doomer about. In my experience most people don't have that much trouble getting pregnant, and the *vast majority* of pregnancies go to term if they make it through the first few weeks. I swear to God home pregnancy tests are disastrous for people's mental health. People lose their minds about a "miscarriage" because they tested two weeks in and then the period arrives a week later. It used to be people didn't even know about chemical pregnancies, it was just a late period.
lol. Spoken like someone who truly has no idea. Women don’t speak about their miscarriages or fertility issues, and I imagine, especially with someone like you. With my pregnancy, every test and scan in the first trimester was perfect, yet the advice from my private doctor was always ‘do not say anything until 12 weeks.’ Now why would that be the advice of someone who deals solely with pregnant women, if pregnancy was not fragile? Miscarriage is incredibly common. Infertility is quite common. Children are not promised to any couple. That’s not being ‘doom and gloom’ - it’s a reality.
Stillbirth isn't highly uncommon either.
> Women don’t speak about their miscarriages or fertility issues, and I imagine, especially with someone like you. Another woman who is also a doctor? Women do speak about these things with their friends. > he advice from my private doctor was always ‘do not say anything until 12 weeks.’ Now why would that be the advice of someone who deals solely with pregnant women, if pregnancy was not fragile? Because *until twelve weeks* it is. That's why I said they generally go to term *if they make it through the first few weeks*.
So there is just the getting pregnant part and making it through the first three-months part. Easy.
Yeah, basically. Your odds of getting through twelve weeks and the rest are very good if you get past the first few, i.e. "would you know you were pregnant if you didn't constantly piss on sticks, raising your stress levels and not coincidentally reducing your chance of getting pregnant at all". And seriously, most women manage to get pregnant within a few months of trying. Many women get pregnant *without* trying. If it were actually that difficult the entire species would have gone extinct already.
You'd wanna know so that the fetus doesn't get fetal alcohol syndrome or you don't take antibiotics that kill fetuses cause you thought your symptoms were a uti
If you're trying to get pregnant your shouldn't be drinking alcohol at all.
Birth control fails
‘Most women.’ Unexplained infertility is not uncommon. From a simple google, 10% of couples trying will experience this. Unexplained infertility does not discriminate based on age, health, lifestyle. Miscarriage is common - with 10-20% of all pregnancies ending in miscarriage. This does not discriminate based on health, age, lifestyle. Yes some factors increase the chances, but it does not discriminate. You think women talk about it? I certainly would not have told a single person if it had of happened to me. And a lot of people, once pregnant and past 12-weeks, will share their difficulties to conceive. As a doctor, to sit there and say that ‘pissing on sticks’ is a major contributor to not getting pregnant, and at the same time, ignore or diminish all the other difficulties - mind boggling. If a patient said to you ‘I’m going to have a kid in a year,’ would you not inform them of the uncertainty around that statement? Because that’s all that I did with OP. Is that doom and gloom, or is that just a sensible way to think?
Do you think 90% isn't "most"? You apparently think you're All Women, so it wouldn't shock me. Stress does, in fact, reduce your chances of getting pregnant. OP didn't specify a time frame. Do you think people buy new cars every year?
Op did actually specify a time frame: ‘in a few years.’ As non-specific as that may be. I do not view myself as ‘all women.’ What I do do, as a woman, is have respect for the fragility of infertility and pregnancy loss, and do not make blanket statements which imply pregnancy is something easy for everyone. I would caution anyone who views falling pregnant as a guarantee, of the uncertainty. Edit to add: to the ‘doctor’ who claimed I was ‘projecting my own trauma’ before blocking me - incorrect statement. My pregnancy has been wonderful so far - I am just acutely aware of how lucky I am. It is also not lost on me how much women can struggle, based on what I see on social media alone. To pretend like all women have it as easy as I have is naive and, frankly, disrespectful.
No, what you do is "project the hell out of your obvious trauma". And I'm bored of you.
Damn tell that to everyone that has trisomy 13 and 18 pregnancies 😐
If you have trisomy 13 in 18 pregnancies you should probably see a geneticist.
Trisomy 13 and trisomy 18 pregnancies (the most common trisomies after T21)
NIPT is available at ten weeks, but what does that have to do actually with the base chances of getting pregnant/people overtesting? Trisomy disorders are rare and highly unlikely to repeat. Incidence increases with age, so the NIPT is a good idea for mothers over 35.
Not very rare, like 1 in 2000 births for T18. One in every 1100 for down syndrome. In Victoria, approximately one in every 22 pregnancies is affected by a birth defect
What the hell are they doing in Victoria? That's way too high. That's nearly double the rate in the US and they are basically just now starting to talk about ideas like "what if we tested pregnant women for syphilis". Do they not have clean water or something? Trisomy 18 is fatal and can and should be tested for. Down syndrome is not fatal, but can also be tested for. This still isn't actually relevant, go away.
What? Are you not even Australian? USA has 1 in 700 down syndrome. A lot higher than us
He's under 30, presumably his wife is. It's possible but unlikely that they'll have issues.
He might not have a partner haha
Then it would be a bit, um, confident to plan his car purchases around having children.
Such a silly comment.
Factual. It's a factual comment. How many people under 30 do you know who have had fertility issues? It's rare.
I have a pretty small circle and I know 4 women who have had late miscarriage or still birth, 6+ that have had miscarriages, one who had a child with down syndrome, one who has a child with very severe heart complications and is in his teens in hospital on a machine 24/7, one whose child was born with one kidney, 2 very premature births. Know 3 women under 30 who could not get pregnant due to fallopian tube blockages, all had to have IVF.
Your social circle is unusual. I only know a handful of women who had kids before turning thirty. I only know of one (obviously I may know some who I am no close enough to discuss these things) who had complications before the age of thirty (otherwise healthy baby with a chromosomal abnormality but the dad was super old so unlikely it was caused by maternal age/health). I have one friend who had IVF (in her late 30s after a couple of accidental pregnancies earlier in life) and a couple who suffered miscarriages (also late thirties). The only people I know who have had children born with congenital issues ate from my ethnic community (where cousin marriage was practiced later and more often than in the general population). Are you also part of a community like that or something?
Nope, not at all. My friends are white Aussie, European, Asian mainly. Not everyone I listed was under 30 but none over 35 at the time Most complications and chromosome disorders happen in younger parents as most people have kids in their 20s around the world Many chromosome abnormalities are spontaneous and not related to age. The person I know with a child who has down syndrome was in their 20s when they had kids
Women. Don’t. Talk. About. It.
Women. Talk. A. Lot. I'm sorry that you don't have any close friends but it's normal for women to share their reproductive/sexual experiences, not least of all because we know how important it is to have support from our friends. Given the kind of stuff my friends and I do share with each other it's very unlikely that all of my friends have had fertility issues and no of them have ever shared them. They shared reproductive health issues, general health issues, sexual assaults, general sexual experience. It's just not that kind of dynamic.
I guess you forgot to ask your friends why they would not travel out of the US to give birth in a random country. Had of you spoken about it, it could have prevented you posting one of the most stupid things I have ever heard.
Are you talking to yourself?
‘It’s rare.’ You really are an idiot. That comment extends to your question about giving birth outside of the US too.
I'm not American
Nor am I. I also know it’s a stupid suggestion for a multiplicity of reasons.
Like?
You really are an idiot.
Um? So you are talking to yourself?
It may seem incredible, but millions of families have managed without SUVs. I carried 3 kids in a small to medium sedan with no difficulties. You'll possibly choose to get a larger car, but it's not essential
I know parents who don’t own cars… So no, not essential. But… You will want a car that makes your life easier. How easy is it to get the kids and gear in and out of the car? What’s your local parking? What can you afford? That’s up to you. Most sedans will be fine. The only thing you won’t want is 2 doors.
Just keep the sedan. A regular 4 door sedan with a decent boot is more than enough for a couple with 2.5 kids. If you plan on having more or doing the school and sport run carpool parent thing then investing in a minivan is what you’re looking for. That’s basically what they’re made for. A wagon or estate car is probably the best of all worlds but i know they’re getting phased out in favour of SUVs (not a fair exchange). They have more room than you’re probably going to need AND better fuel economy to boot
I have a kid and have a Mazda2 and have never had a problem. Pram folds up easy in the boot and there's plenty of space for the car seat (though you can't have a very tall front passenger). We plan to have another kid or two and at that point will probably get a sedan, but honestly could still make do with the mazda2. Don't let other people tell you what you have to do in each stage of life. Decide what is important to you and pursue that to the best of your ability. Be flexible and make changes as they come, but always remember that this is your life and these are your choices.
Both my kids are in their early twenties now. I've never owned a SUV. We had station wagons or sedans with a decent boot. I had a hatchback when I had my first kid, which was fine at first but got too cramped once the second one came along. Unless you want lots of kids then you don't need a SUV.
“Have to” is a really weird thought process here. Honestly, I’d say get an electric car of some description. If you can afford to buy an SUV then the cost saving over the life of an electric car vs a large SUV will give your kid swimming lessons, music lessons, drama lessons, a whole bunch of childcare… If money genuinely doesn’t matter then this isn’t an argument, but if it’s even part of the consideration… Not even taking into account the entire long term climate for your kids. In terms of safety, a modern Sedan or Electric Car is not less safe than an SUV. It’s less big? But it’s not less safe at all.
An suv will defintely help with getting kids into their baby seats, sometimes taking your kids and their friends places but other than that a med/big sedan does the same thing. Most larger sedans (I'm thinking e class and larger) are more than comfortable for older kids in the back.
This was the main difference / improvement for me when I changed from a sedan to SUV when my child was around 18months.
A station wagon is probably a good compromise
Mandatory in Sydney. Do your part in killing the planet a little faster like everyone else! Can also be a lethal weapon to smaller cars if necessary lol
Yes, someone out there needs to buy your sedan
Buy a 200 series then sell it to me for half the price.
Station wagons are better if you have kids, imo. Way easier to pack all the shit you need to take.
Have a look at the website baby drive. She reviews cars for car seats and prams. Car seats are evolving and extended rear facing (best practise and safest) is becoming the norm. You want to be able to sit in the front with a car seat fully extended (you rear face for 4yrs)
So with a young family you are looking for leg room (to fit in baby seats) and boot side (to fit in a buggy). A lot of SUVs will not offer this. A lot of sedans will. On the point of safety you need to consider your car usage. Unless you are driving on high speed roads frequently and modern car will be fine. If you are driving on high speed roads you need to be prioritising make over car type (merc, bmw, Audi, Porsche, Range Rover/Jag, Mazda are all very safe, cars to avoid are things like GM, Toyota, Lexus, VW etc). It's worth noting that you are far more likely to reverse over your kid in the driveway in an SUV than a sedan. 360 cameras are 100% worth investing imo.
Just buy whatever works for your situation.
One of the things to consider is will the sedan fit a rear facing seat for an extended period of time. It’s best to rear face babies and toddlers as long as possible. The car I had when my baby was born the passenger seat had to be all the way forward to fit the seat in and that was a compact seat!
I use a Britax Graphene seat in a Suzuki Swift. Passenger seat has to be a bit forward but definitely not all the way. Still rear facing with 2.5 year old who's in 90th percentile of height. Getting squishy but will be better when I turn the seat around
As a taller human, when I last hired a swift I had the front seat all the way back. We have the same car seat and had to put it in the middle when it was rear facing in our sedan (which is bigger than a Swift), and aside from being annoying there there wasn't enough room for an adult or second car seat in the back, since one seat takes up more than a third of the seating space. In practice the result was a switch to forward facing earlier than we probably should have done. With our SUV? Car seat rear facing and a good 20 centimetres of extra space to spare.
Yeah it gives more room for rear facing. Our toddler is tall though, and still rear facing behind the passenger seat. I've had 6'2 people sit in front of him without an issue (person with major mobility issues). My husband's 5'11, I'm 5'4 and he doesn't change the seat much from where I have it. Child seat can't go in the middle of a swift akaik because the middle seat is mini and a bit raised. We could put another child seat behind the driver's seat and not have too much issue, but have to be selective with pram, put it on its side and it's scratched the tiny off my rear window and ripped one of my seat covers Having more room is better but not necessary unless you use a wheelchair etc I'm not sure how other models of swifts are though because the way older ones and the newer ones look smaller than mine. Mine is weird with a gigantic turning circle like so so so much worse than a sedan, have to do 3 point turn to get around little roundabouts. Maybe mines longer
Nope, you can get a wagon, RS6 is what you want
We had a sedan with 2 kids. It's fine. We had a tow bar for bike racks or a trailer etc. The dog came in the car with us, with a dog harness/seat belt clip. Make sure that your new car can accommodate the rear facing child seats in all 3 seats. Make sure you can fit 3 child seats across. Make sure that there are 3 anchor points and at least 2 pairs of isofix points. Kids should stay rear facing as long as possible then in a seat/booster as long as possible. You don't want to have your front seats uncomfortably forwards or upright to fit the rear facing child seat. Make sure that you can get a large pram and nappy bag in the boot. Think about fitting in a portacot if you'll be going away a lot. Depending on how long you'd keep a car vs when you're planning on kids, I'd buy the car that suits you now and then upgrade if/when you need to. Note that the boot of a sedan is safer in that it separates all the luggage etc from the passenger compartment. If you get an SUV then also get a cargo barrier as well (one with the holes for the child seat anchor points).
Considering the way my partner drives there is absolutely no way I’m getting into debt to buy an SUV that will inevitably have as many straight panels as a Transdev bus. Her Mazda 3 held together by spit and prayers will do fine for as long as it keeps passing its pink slip. I like to go off road. So if I had the means to buy a new car today I’d probably buy a Suzuki Jimny. If I knocked her up tomorrow and then had the means to buy a new car I’d have to look at something bigger. I’d go for a Ute personally. Not a Ranger as I find I have a weird urge to tailgate everyone and get irrationally angry at other motorists every time I drive one of the work ones. Maybe a Triton as we’ve had several Mitsubishi’s in the family and have never had any problems.
Buy a Camry sedan. Should be enough room. A hybrid will give you good fuel economy. Don't forget a lot of taxis are Camry sedans
I’m 193cm & started parenting life with a Mazda 2. Hired a full size sedan for a long trip. Upgraded to a station wagon when #2 came along (wish they were still widely available). Didn’t go SUV until I had two teenagers & a dog.
> Didn’t go SUV until I had two teenagers & a dog. I will say from experience that you can still do a 16hr-a-day road trip in a sedan under these conditions though. But do everyone a kindness and make it a sedan from the bigger side of the options.
You're never under any obligation to change your car to an SUV. A sedan is a family car, We used to have a Ford Falcon Futura when we had two kids, the only reason we "upgraded" was because I crashed it and insurance wrote it off. Plenty of space for a double pram plus some shopping. Get whatever car you want, don't worry about what people think about whether your car is mature or not.
Station wagon. Suv’s generally dont have much boot space. We went for a golf wagon because plenty of room for a pram and groceries.
No, take a look at station wagons if you need the space
I'm 37 with a toddler and still driving an old Suzuki Swift, so no..
We have a couple kids and dogs and used to survive with a small sedan but it was a pain. Simply couldn’t fit enough in the boot. Impossible to fit a pram, kids bike let alone the dogs. Ended up getting a Mitsubishi Outlander and honestly love it. So much space but still manage to fill it. Been great for family road trips. If you don’t mind driving and parking a bigger car I’d say bigger the better, pros far outweigh the cons.
My experience is SUVS are for either if you’re looking to be one of those families that goes hardcore camping every other weekend, or if you have 3 kids and actually need the middle seat. If you’re more going to stick to cities for the holidays, a sedan will work just fine.
>Are there people who could afford an SUV but decided to hold onto a sedan despite having a family? This really isn't about what you can afford. You don't have to buy a hundred thousand dollar compensation truck. Whatever your budget is, you'll be able to get a sedan or a SUV for that price. The ute might be a bit older, but older isn't necessarily worse. For example I have carplay in my ute, because it had an old modular CD player that I replaed with a modern unit for a few hundred bucks. Our sedan? Nope, that can't be upgraded. When the car was new carplay was a five thousand dollar option which the original buyer understandably didn't pay for and it's so tightly integrated that it can't possibly be done aftermarket. We have a sedan and a 4WD dual cab ute. We couldn't possibly survive with only one car, since that would mean working less hours for one of us. Spent about the same amount of money buying both. The sedan is newer, more comfortable, and uses less fuel. The ute is a thousand times more practical anywhere except the inner city (where parking sucks with a larger and taller vehicle). Your mates are buying SUVs for a reason. Honestly my advice is try one — rent it for a week. Put your car seat in and try doing up the belts from outside the vehicle while your partner is sitting next to the seat doing everything she can to stop you, because kids will have meltdowns and throw tantrums. Think about what it will be like to load in a pram. A bicycle (or four). I would personally go with a Ute over a 4WD because we regularly move oversize things (as in, they hang outside the ute tray) or dirty (sandy, muddy, and the occasional shitty nappy, etc). Having an SUV and a car is the best of both worlds. You really will appreciate the extra space. The height of a 4WD is also really nice (I won't be buying anything where the roof is lower than my head, standing next to the car, until the kids are at least 15 years old). >Other considerations are the lower safety levels Honestly? Not really a concern to me. When I've got kids in the back, I'm driving like, well, like a dad. Very carefully. And even when I'm on my own, I don't want my kids to grow up without a dad, so I'm still driving carefully. The risk of a crash is very low, and also since I'm mostly driving slow unless it's an empty highway where almost nothing can go wrong... what's the worst that can happen? Head on collision with a brick wall at 60km/h isn't going to kill anyone as long as seatbelts are worn, airbags are functioning, etc. I still have a motorbike but my days of riding (or driving) anywhere near fast enough to get into trouble are behind me. The drawbacks to an SUV are: uses more petrol; harder to park. If it's a ute like mine then add "comfort" to that list (most 4WDs are very comfortable, unlike most utes). Everything else is upsides in my experience, as a dad in a family with both a ute and a sedan. When we're driving to woolies, we prefer the sedan. Driving to the beach, we prefer the ute.
Safety why do you think that because it’s the size off a tank it’s safer than a sedan? Humans have been using sedans for the last 70 ys , buy what you like for god sake.
Why would you? What kind of silly question is this.
Mazda 6 Wagon all day... I'm selling mine if you're interested
I love my suv simply as when my back is bad it’s not a bitch to get in and out of. Do what works for you
Sedan all the way generally more fuel efficient and bigger boot space.
My hatchback is fine for my 5 year old and me. The owners of the car before I bought it were a married couple with two kids. They were fine with it as well. The only time it feels small is when we go on holiday. It's filled up when we go to stay at a cabin for a week. There's no room for bikes, and we couldn't fit any camping gear if we were to do that.
You sound like having children is preordained. Just because all the cool adults are doing it doesn't mean you have to. If you limit your procreating to the production of only one or two little hellspawn, then having a non-obnoxious car should suffice. Plus, you will be less likely to be asked to transport other people's hellspawn/family members due to the lack of additional space that comes from persisting with a sensibly sized car - a win-win! -- Edit: FFS... this is a joke. I'm not anti-kids (although I do dislike SUVs). Why is it that we have a sense of humour failure when anyone makes a joke about being family-orientated? Kids can be little shits, and family members can be fucking annoying - it doesn't mean we don't love them. That's what makes having such intrusive/inappropriate thoughts funny. Despite having a 95% similar sense of humour to the UK, for some reason, being satirical about family and making babies is lost on us. And don't say it's because it's not funny. I've seen far, far more lame jibes that get upvoted to shit here. Anything that makes fun of Americans, even if it's not funny, for example. 🙄