Which car is best?

first78

My partner and I are expecting twins early next year and as my partner only has a Ford KA we've decided she'll need a 5 door car to make getting around with 2 babies a bit easier.

We're looking to spend a max of about £4k and at the moment we're quite keen on a Skoda Fabia as we've heard that they handle well in snowy conditions and are reliable cars in general. We were also wondering how they'd compare with something like a VW Polo or Vauxhaull Meriva?

I've got no idea which car would be more economical with regards to tax, fuel consumption and insurance so would appreciate any advice or other recommendations. Thanks

Ultrasonic

first78 wrote: »

We're looking to spend a max of about £4k and at the moment we're quite keen on a Skoda Fabia as we've heard that they handle well in snowy conditions and are reliable cars in general.

Personally I'd be more inclined to consider a Skoda Octavia which is bigger, with in particular a massive boot that would be handy for carting about lots of baby related paraphernalia.

DUTR

I'd scratch off the Mervia, however I'm VW biased and it's not me buying it, 3 door cars have easy access to the rear nowadays.

Weird_Nev

We ran a Fabia 1.4TDi (2006 model) for 4 years/50k miles and would heartily recommend one. It was completely realiable, very efficient (60-65mpg) and good to drive.
However, I do think that space would be an issue with twins! The rear seat space isn't massive, so with 2 rear facing baby seats you might find that the front seat position is compromised. The boot is also pretty small. You'd struggle to get many normal single baby buggies in the back of it, so seeing as you'll need a double buggy of some sort, I think you'd be out of luck.

Having had just one child, I'd say go for an estate. You will never be annoyed that you have more space. By the time you have 2 travel cots, changing bag, buggy and accessories plus your own stuff i nthe car for a family visit or trip away, you can only need MORE room.

I'd look at Skoda Octavia Estates, VW Passat estates, Honda Accord 2.2 Diesel estates, cars of that size. You will really need the room.

FreddieFrugal

Ultrasonic wrote: »

Personally I'd be more inclined to consider a Skoda Octavia which is bigger, with in particular a massive boot that would be handy for carting about lots of baby related paraphernalia.

I'd second that.

Father specifically got one to accommodate a wheel chair and extensively tested cars for ease of loading/unloading.

So should work for buggy.

OddballJamie

The Fabia estate has a decent boot, but as everyone has said earlier go for a big boot with twins. Those buggys are massive and you'll need space for a weeks shopping or luggage when you go away.

Also check the width of the rear seats in case you ever need to fit a person in-between the two car seats.

agrinnall

You say this will be your partner's car, does that mean you already have a car that is big enough for things like holidays? Is she just looking for a car that she can run around in that is big enough for the children and a buggy? If so then something like an Octavia may be too big, and I would be looking for the smallest car that is just big enough to fit in the necessities. Whether that is a Fabia I don't know, although I seem to recall from when my sister had one that it did have a reasonable size boot. And if driving in snow is something that's likely to happen then I would strongly recommend keeping some of your budget to buy 4 winter tyres (I have mine on steel wheels and just swap them over in October) which will make any car far better than a car without them.

first78

Thanks for all the comments. My partner isn't really keen on driving an estate car and has always opted for small cars. I have a Honda Jazz which we use on holidays, day trips etc. So all she really needs a car for will be taking the babies from A to B...just small trips.

I have tried talking her into getting a bigger car but she doesn't want to unless it's a necessity. I think maybe we'll have to look at buggy's and measure them and then decide whether they'll fit in the boot of something like the Fabia.

oliverr

Fabia and Polo are generally speaking pretty reliable cars (of course some people will have issues I'm just generally speaking)

If its just a car for small trips like you said you probably wont need an estate like a Mondeo or Octavia have a look at a Focus or Golf sized car which is bigger than a Fabia but is still easy to get around in town, and as its just for short trips a petrol will be more sensible than a diesel.

OddballJamie

What about a Fusion? It's like a big Fiesta inside but more utilitarian.

They tend to be cheaper than Fiestas leaving you money left for a set of winter tyres if you have space to store them. If not then consider all season tyres for your next car.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

fusion wouldndt have the boot space.

OP, ive got twins, i made do in a little fiesta but most small trips was taxing, we had a double buggy, didnt fit in it unless i squshed it in and took the shelft out. the foot wells were filled with baby stuff and yes you do carry twice the baby stuff.

the biggest problem we faced was car seats, forward facing ones are horrible as you need a long seat belt to wrap around it and seat space inbetween if you cant get to the clips effectively then in an emergency seconds are valuable and fumbeling for seatbelt clips costs time.
does the OH intend to go shopping, because in a small car, will be next to impossible double buggy, changing bags, and where does the shopping end up! in the rear footwells, piled on another wich could hamper forward facing child seats if piled too high.

i often had to make 2 trips in the fiesta, if mum was having them over for the night because most of the stuff didnt fit in the fiesta.

and think long term as i can tell you when they get to walk and talk your car will be brimmed with extra clothes, coats, shoes, stroller buggy's x2, dummies, wetwipes, toys, endless mud stains and your car get soaked interios when it raining as the doors are open longer, you get soaked, OH gets soaked, its like the krypton factor every trip.