What to think about in a family car?

Barneysmom

Cupholders.

pinkteapot

Kilty - one thing I liked about the Mazda5 was the sliding rear doors - no risk of kids whamming the doors open in car parks. And on the top model they're electric sliding doors that can be controlled from the front or the key fob (with a safety stop thing so they won't shut if there are fingers in the way). I had a lot of fun with that.

As I said, as a class of car I never thought I'd be interested at all. Will be back to the drawing board looking at other manufacturers if that's what we're doing but they still scare the life out of me.

LandyAndy

pinkteapot wrote: »

Into the Mazda area and despite drooling over the Mazda6 I decided it was just too big for me to drive. So, we had a good look at the Mazda3 and the Mazda5.

The Mazda3 is nice and the boot is better than the Astra. But I just look at it and worry we'll outgrow it when we have kids. And I know that people manage with kids in much smaller cars but we're really bad at travelling light even before the kids come along!

I actually liked the Mazda5 which surprised me as I never, ever thought I'd be a people carrier person. And that's the thing - I can see so many upsides to the practicality of it. But it's a people carrier which surely screams "I'm a mum ferrying their kids and all their mates about and my own life is over." I'm also scared I'll never get confident driving/parking something that large. And the running costs will be higher than our current car.

After about 90 minutes in the dealership with a lot of discussion with the exceptionally helpful sales guy, he summed it up - we want something the size of the Mazda3, with the practicality and interior space of the Mazda5 but that looks like a Mazda6. Poor guy, he did his best to help us. I'm now scared to go to any more dealerships until we have decided on what class of car we're looking at or we're just wasting their time. Do we want what WhatCar would classify as "small family car", "MPV/people carrier" or "family car"?

More confused now than ever.

Even more confused by the fact that a Mazda5 is only 10cm (3 inches) longer than the Mazda3 (which in itself is a foot longer than our Mk4 Astra). Finding that hard to believe.

Mazda5 is based on the same floorpan as Mazda3, I believe, hence the similarity in dimensions.

I have a Mazda6 estate and it is very good and not huge. I think it would be a much better choice for carrying small children and their paraphernalia. I hate people carriers, though.

Idiophreak

Not being a parent myself, I may be missing something horribly obvious here, but I don't see why my Honda Jazz wouldn't make the perfect car for a young family:
Spacious (fits 4x6'2" blokes, no issues)
Great visibility
Comfortable (done a fair few 2 hours + journeys)
Good boot space (on multiple levels)
Magic seats - very versatile
Wide opening doors - very easy accessibility
Good turning circle
Small (very easy to park)
Cheap tax
Good safety ratings
Loads of cupholders (for Barneysmom)
Only downside I can think of is that it doesn't let you deactivate the passenger airbag...

I know the Jazz has an old folks' rep in this country, but I just don't get it - it seems like a great car for young professionals going on young families...(I'm 28 and love mine to bits)

MrsE_2

I got a Suzuki Grand Vitaria (not suggesting that), but my DD just bought a Suzuki SX4 for her pending arrival (had a Ka), its lovely, its like a car version of mine. Its not as tall or wide, but its a smidge longer & with more normal tyres.

Alias_Omega

Any of the Mitsubish Evo rage is good for a family car. Something like this is pretty good, will keep you young...

brazilianwax

Alias_Omega wrote: »

Any of the Mitsubish Evo rage is good for a family car. Something like this is pretty good, will keep you young...

I agree!!! :T:T:T

I have one (and a 7 month old daughter who loves it too!) When I was expecting her I could almost feel her hold on when I went around roundabouts :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I do have a mummybus as well . Mind you, when we were looking for it, the dealers kept eyeing the evo up for part ex (we were buying new) - why would I do that??!!