AutoExpert TV Not to mention the entirety of the automotive facts you uttered. The fact about evolution and us as a gene carrying vehicle is so dam true # Veritas. Best regards.
I'm astonished by the mental gymnastics that some people go through to justify their 'need' for an SUV. In reality nobody who lives in any kind of urban area needs them in the slightest.
Is our Forester an SUV? My wife and I find it a damn sight easier to get in and out of than most "small" cars. That slightly higher seat really does help. Oh, we only had A Hillman Hunter back in the 70s/80s when we brought our kids up and it was seriously less roomy than any modern car of similar external dimensions..
p38arover Rover yeah you're right. For some reason, many sporty-car-people request sitting really low to the floor and you cannot see out well that way plus they're a lot harder to get out of if you have age on you. I don't but my dad does. Also the seats feel better with the more upright position. As for the Forester, it depends on the year, as they grew a bit, but I consider them wagons with 2-3 inches more ground clearance. Those cars preceded the current batch of crossovers and utes..
Truer words never spoken. I'm a tradie and fit all my gear and large size Waeco into a Honda jazz. Cheap on fuel and servicing. I do about 60000km a year.
Interesting you say that. I work in trade and many have the latest Ranger, etc. A carpeneter I know has an i30 and loves it for both cost and fuel. economy.
Richard De Cent Similarly I drive the Jazz's cousin Civic with same displacement 1.5 motor, only with boost. I got it so I could put lumber and furniture in it still, and take anywhere. Decent economy and reliability so far
@@jonpav6224 : Many "self Employed" (cough) tradies don't realise that great tax deductions for one very cash poor entity. But where's the incentive not to take on more debt when debt (or lease fees) is so cheap and retirement is so far away?
I don't understand the obsession with SUVs. When compared to sedans or wagons they're more expensive to buy, use more fuel, harder to wash and keep clean and don't handle as well.
Much cheaper to add a roof rack-$300-$500 for a good aftermarket set. It's amazing how much additional carrying capacity a rack provides. My ex and I used to take a pair of 3×3 metre folding gazebos when we went camping, and we owned a Polo. I've carried 8′×4′ sheets of ply and MDF on top of the current XV. Both of these are significantly smaller than your correspondent's Golf. If that still isn't enough carrying capacity, a good aftermarket light duty tow bar and 6′×4′ light duty (750kg GTM) box trailer will run to about $2500.
agreed. We have a 2 year old and our honda hatchback gives us no issues in having the baby in the car seat, and any groceries and bags as well as her stroller. Strollers are actually very compact nowadays and just as comfortable as anything from yesteryear. Even more comfortable.
Baby vomit, leaking nappies, food rubbed into all surfaces, even the surfaces they can't reach. All reasons to keep your old car until they grow out of it.
Yeah that's why I drive a 10 year old subaru with leather seats. Easy to clean, fairly reliable and I'm not worried about it getting ruined as much as a nicer option.
@@liberty0758 : Who cares, it is (going to be) an old car.... Hang some smelly things in it, maybe shampoo it every decade or so, then flog it off the some teenager when the kids are old enough to drive themselves. Better still give them the car, they messed tit up, they can live with it... Of course we don't want to hear that in most cases the most ECONOMICAL decision is to keep the old car, or buy another slightly less old (and keep it until it too is very old). Everyone in the 1st world loves new toys (well those people with credit can actually get them - toys). So don't expect validation because you bought a new toy - toys aren't supposed to be ECONOMICAL decisions.... Bought with the heart not the brain. lol... (John Loves ellipses)
I had a Corolla ascent with cream interior before I had kids, it has scared me to life. I never even noticed the interior colour of cars carpet before I had kids
In my country families live happily with a Corolla or a VW Golf. They also go camping with those. Hell some families even have a Yaris, Fit/Jazz, or a Polo as their only car and they still manage!
Wife & i married. I said new lease car has to go. I gave her a 2000 dollar bomb which i drive today. She later up graded to a second hand 2002 323 astina which she now drives. Advised her dont waste income on expensive clothes/accessories. Paid house loan off in half the time. Keep it simple, no spare cash, cannot afford it. We have no debts, no financial stress & 2 bob in the bank. Wife more of a tight arse than me now, 😅🤣😂. Keep up the excellent reporting John. 👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻.
@M Bacon wife & i put some savings aside for our only son. For either university orT.A.F.E. trade school or home deposit. Depends the direction he goes.
I'm still cruising about in 2002 Mazda astina hatch. Great car. Might sell it and grab my parents 2014 sp25 next year - before something major fails due to age. Hope your wife's has plenty left in it yet!
@@simonanderson1433 mate their a great little cars. She's careful, easy go driver. Probably why its lasted to 220 thousand on the clock now. We'll run it into the ground. Wouldn't buy a new vehicle, too much technology. Cannot work on them, need scan.tools, major component replacement = big $$ repair costs, & they wont last. Probably go back to walking/public transport, 😅.
Well time for some perspective, 2 baby seats + 2 prams + groceries was not a problem in the first generation Honda Jazz, it was actually easier than in the 1990 Mazda 626 that the Jazz replaced. The lesson here is that just 'cause the vehicle is bigger on the outside doesn't mean more space inside. most "large" family vehicles like my old 626, the Camry's Commodores, Falcons, most SUV's, etc waste an incredible amount of their length in bonnet, which means they look bigger (just like the bottles John mentioned) but can actually be smaller in the cabin and cargo area's where it counts.
Now that SUVs are what everybody seems to drive or all that's on the road, to me they've developed the same negative image that minivans have, sedans are alot cooler than any suv imo, they look way better, and to me they handle way better and feel more stable, I can take a fast turn in a sedan and not have to worry about flipping the damn car
You can't see past them in parking lots in a small car (hence my wife getting the bumper cover of her Corolla dinged backing out into some young bloke. His was (still is) a pleasant uni student and nice enough chap, but slowing down a bit in car parks for f..k sake may add to his education. Unfortunately I am old and not as bendy as I once was when I raced around car parks, and like the height of an SUV. The money I pay extra offsets the need to pay gym fees. The bottle thing got me thinking - are SUV's really cost $10,000+ more to make??
Thank you for stating the one thing ive been saying for the last few years, cause what the hell would I know. Im a 20yr old here in South shitsville and I cannot for the life of me understand the appeal of SUVs and 4x4s to everyday consumers. As a long time viewer I appreciate your level of intellect and objectivity and understand that i dont need to explain the: economical (purchase price and fuel), environmental and safety issues surrounding the suv market. I love when people say performance SUV, its almost an oxymoron to me. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on a Casey Putsch video looking at SUVs and potential safety issues. While this video gets a bit ranty and is from an American perspective, I ponder the relevance for here in shitsville. Both as a human being and a marketing student at University the whole suv market continues preplex me. Maybe you can explain it and we'll both know, lol. Another entertaining and insightful piece, always informative and insightful. Keep up the good work.
You forgot to mention in Arse-trailer, sunroofs are about as practical as a play-do g-string !! I hate them. (Sunroofs too; only good for leaking, rattling and giving the interior more sun damage)
Excellent... I follow you from Europe, every time, because you add valuable information ... belive me - you are great!!! Don't stop, we need your voice!
AutoExpert TV Golf, Passat, Fabia, Octavia, Superb, A4, C, E, XF, Focus, Mondeo, Commodore, 3er, 5er, Mazda6, 308, 508, Clubman, Outback, Levorg, V60, V90CC, Panamera There are plenty of wagons left, just have to open your eyes
Some years ago I had to do a road trip in a 97 Jeep Grand Checkokee. I was stunned at how small it was inside. It was smaller than my Mums 90 Laser Wagon!
Almost went out and bought a suv/minivan on the birth of our second child. Test drove several different SUVs and minivans. We decided to hold off and keep our 2007 Honda jazz. Very happy with the decision so far. It does everything we need it to
Went new car shopping last year to replace our ageing CH lancer last year and the salesperson at the dealership was dumbfounded that we were not interested at all in an SUV upon hearing that we had a 1 year old child. Replaced the Lancer with a Cerato sedan and it fits our needs and family perfectly.
As a parent (“breeder”), what John says is 100%. A) You won’t realise how income is diminished, until you get there. B) You won’t know what you need to carry, until you get there. C) In our experience, we stuck with what we had, learnt to live with it, and after 12 months, then decided to upgrade - to something we didn’t even consider would be what we needed. Here’s the thing. We had a Hyundai i30 (equivalent-ish size to Golf). It served us well for 12 months, but... with the pram, shopping really squeezes tight, and loading size is packed tight. When we started looking at a SUV, we looked at boot space first, and realised boot size of most SUV’s were not any bigger. Height size maybe a touch higher, but you don’t want to stack your shopping bags on top of each other, what would be the point of paying for an SUV with roughly the same boot load space as our i30?? We ended up buying a family sized sedan, with double the boot space than that of a hatchback or SUV, because believe me, wait until you have two babies. Fuck the SUV. Now that our boys are bigger, and we’ve started doing road trip holidays, we’re actually considering 7/8 seater Minivan status... Because, booster seats until they’re ten - doesn’t allow you to easily put seats forward to access a third row of seats - to fit other family members when we go visit them on the other side of the country - or cousins or friends or sports gear, etc. And why aren’t we looking at 7 seater SUV? Diminished boot size, and ease of access to 3rd row seats when you still have 2 booster seats.
I fully concur and have tried to talk young families out of upgrading to Prados, Landcruisers, etc for years. Many women will struggle to get the baby in and out of a car capsule if it is in the centre back seat. Plus getting the toddlers onto boaster seats, etc. Oh, and don't think that little bit of extra width will stop them from fighting over important things like 'he's breathing my air', etc. The other unforeseen problem is that the young family will want to drag granny around with those gorgeous little replicas of themselves. Granny may require as much help to get into the car as the baby!!
My parents shuttled me and my sister around in a Datsun. When we would go on road trips my dad would remove the front passenger seat to fit the Esky and make my mum sit in the back with the kids... Best years of my life.
5:05 and John Cadogan says: - So I’m really not seeing an objective reason to upgrade, beyond just a personal preference to join the ‘I spat out a baby and bought an SUV’ club. Answer: Agreed. Not without laughing much here before. ha ha ha
Yep, just another case of I want another toy, I'm bored with this one. Hope his little lady doesn't get to feeling he's a bit lacking in dimension in the future, otherwise he might be getting traded in on a more suitably dimensioned model.
Hey John C., you make a lot of sense with this. And I am sure you covered the safety comparison of SUV vs car from the same perspective - young/growing/old family, I will search for that video in your videos list, hoping to find it and if you have it I think it would be good to add it to the description or a pinned comment, to have it at the top. Cheers!
Last year my granddaughter was in a wheelchair due to an injury. We fitted a wheelchair and other stuff in the back of my wife's Golf and my daughter in law's Cerato. When my kids were small, we had a 180B!
Maybe the Golf is a 3 door? When car shopping last time, I took the car seat and pram to each dealer to compare. The interesting outcome... -1 dealer wouldn't let us fit the car seat as it may damage the leather, - the bolstering on the outer edge of another vehicle meant the baby seat prevented the middle seat from being used (back seat becomes a 2 seat instead of a 3 seat configuration), and - we ended up with a Mazda 6 MPS as it ticked all the performance & practical parenting requirements. Pity Mazda have changed direction away from the MPS models. So much for 'Zoom Zoom' We have kept the MPS for over 12 years as it still ticks all the boxes and is cheaper to keep running than the repayments alone on an equivalent replacement. Keep up the good work John.
Fully agree, I got a hatchback couple of months before I met my wife. Only sold it 10 years (230,000jm) later when the little one was 4 - bought a slightly newer hatchback, it just works. People are SUV obsessed.
I read an article some time ago which proposed that the growth in SUV sales was largely driven by mothers with small children, i.e. when strapping a toddler into a car seat its much easier to do that at waist height than at knee height. Having done my share of strapping toddlers into a late 70s Corona wagon many years ago in the pre-SUV era I can see there could be some truth in that.
Good advice John. Perceptions don't always equal reality. And when money is tight, sensible thinking people make do with what they have until such time as reality necessitates change. Managing a financial budget works much better when decisions are based on needs, not wants.
I drove our subi Impreza hatchback untill baby number two was older. We got older Ford Flex, and after couple of dozen warranty repairs, it is running well.
Good advice. My trouble and strife keeps a baby seat and large stroller/ pram thing in her Corolla for the grand child. Still plenty of room for the weekly shop. I just wish she could learn to carry it inside by herself. After all she gets it from the super market to the car on her own!
I just got a VW Tiguan. have a 4 month old baby, wife, fathers in law, and almost surely will have a dog. I do go visit my parents in another city 2.5 hrs drive, so YES I do need to carry luggage, stroller, portable crib, and in 3 years, a kids bike and toys. I like to travel safe and comfy with lots of stuff.
An excellent article John, and congratulations. I don't think you dropped an F bomb in the whole video. It is the small victories that matter the most. Another quiet little gem of advice to possibly offer this couple... GET AS MUCH SLEEP AS YOU CAN NOW!
My missus brought up our 3 daughters while I worked away and survived with a second hand manual diesel Hilux crewcab with canopy for well over 10 years as she found it the ideal vehicle for her purpose. We still have the ute, recently ground up rebuilt for the second time and my grand daughter now has it Hobart. 👍👍🇭🇲
I remember working in car dealerships in the early and mid 90's, when SUV's were really catching on. At the time, I looked at them and thought... Big bloody deal! I still do. A normal car works just fine for me.
Yeah agree, a normal car works. If one does "really" need extra space a people mover like a Carnival is a much better solution over an SUV. Its cost around the same as an SUV and more flexible. People can easily fit in the back row and you can have baby seats there too with easy access especially when you pull the second row middle seat out.
Totally correct! I did some measurements in 2015, to convince my sister that a Kia Cerato sedan was vastly superior to an EH Holden. Remember, the EH was a bit like an arsehole - everybody had one! It was the archetypal "family" car of the mid 60's. It was THE family car! The 2015 Cerato 2.0 litre is now a "small" car. At 1301 kg, the Cerato exceeds the EH 1154 kg by 147 kg. Length of 4560mm EXCEEDS the EH length of 4511mm, by 49mm Wheelbase of Kia is 2700mm, whereas EH is 2667mm. Turning circle for Kia is 10.6 metres, EH was 11.1 metres. Power: Kia 112kW @ 6200 - EH: 75 kW @ 4400 . Torque: Kia 192Nm @ 4000, as opposed to the EH 197Nm @ 2000. Fuel consumption is dramatically less, Kia Urban 10 l/100 (EH 14 l/100). Kia Extra Urban fuel consumption 5.6 l/10, as opposed to EH 10/100 on country runs. No comparison, and my sister says it's the best car she has ever had in her life.
Couldn’t agree more. We have a 2018 Kia Cerato Hatch and it swallows all the shopping, two squids (6&8yo) and lots more. Cabin room is great and has all the tech. Picked it up in run out for $18k!
Next thing you'll be saying that an XV is the same size as an Impreza. Seriously though, vehicles with fold-down seats do provide serious safety issues when it comes to securing loads. A stroller in the back of the noggin' takes the joy out of stopping quickly, and anything at all placed unsecured on the folded down half of the seat would test the limits of the baby capsule in the event of a few G's (or even less than 1) of sideways force applied on the Mummy Truck. Why is no one concerned about the lack of proper tied downs in vehicles designed to carry stuff with seats folded down?
I'm surprised she didn't use the, "I need a taller car to see around all the other SUVs on the road". I suppose her preference to being on top probably contributed to her getting into this situation in the first place. I've heard this vision excuse several times now and all that springs to my mind is the arms race. When will it end?
Breeder with 2 kids, we moved from a Mazda 3 (old version) to a Forester couple of years ago. Mazda 3 was fine, kinda miss it, be careful with SUVs some of them are (when we were looking) smaller in the boot than my old Mazda. TBH the forester doesn’t fit that much more, it’s in the volumes guys, the load area is more practical though. The main advantage of the forester, apart from the new tech, is the ride height; we don’t scrape the nose in the driveway any more.
Hello John, Great video. I joined the club 7 months ago and have a 2013 Corolla. It is a tight squeeze. With a britax Graphene (very compact), the front seat needs to be in nearly the forwardmost position. Add the missus to the rear seat, and a ginormous Stokke stroller in the boot, there is only tiny room in the front seat for shopping and anything else. I'm only 5'5 however can barely fit in the front seat with a compact seat in the back. The only point I believe you may not have taken into consideration is there needs to be about 2 cm between the rear facing baby seat and the front seat. The rear seat can't be contact with the front. The baby seat is designed to swing forwards and downwards in the event of a crash. As such it is car tetris every time the missus, bub and I go out the door. I'm getting a compact stroller soon (baby jogger city tour 2), one designed to fit in carry on luggage in aircraft so there is more bootspace. I bought a 2019 Impreza hatch after bub arrived which is more usable. I was aiming for a mazda 6 wagon, however I had to wait 3 months for them to ship one to Aus as there wasn't any stock of the base model Mazda 6 at any dealership in NSW. There were plenty of CX5s around. Democratic society's propaganda/brainwashing as far as I'm concerned.
Back in 1986 11yo me, my big sis and brother in law plus newborn niece had a Golf II as a family hauler. Then a Chrysler Voyager because grandpa, uncle and grandma wanted to be hauled as well on some trips then switched to a Volvo 850 station wagon. Then got a dog....he loved it...he also loved my late Golf III.....
If you're about to have a baby and each of you only owns a Mazda MX5 then yes, one of them will need to go, but if you already have a Golf, what more do you freaking need? The Golf is the quintessential family hatchback after all.
God, I've lived a life that John supports! Our daughter is now 4 and a half and we had a golf we already own. Anyway, now we both on our way back to working on the farm as opposed to lone worker so waving bye bye to the vw and the ute is now in the drive.
We have a golf hatch with a 15 month old. Don't really need to upgrade but there is one downside, the front passenger seat is not really useable since we started using the larger rear facing convertible car seat. Boot space is good, even for a road trip vacation. We might upgrade at our 2nd child but only because of the impact to front occupants with car seats in the back. Sorento and Santa Fe or larger work well (I've brought our car seat to the dealers to check!)
Wife and I made do just fine with my Mk7 Golf R with our first child. However, when baby #2 came along, I begrudgingly traded it for a new Tiguan. After a road trip from Canada to Disneyland this past summer, it confirmed no way could we have fit all the crap in the Golf, even with a roof bin. So I suppose in our case, it made sense. But with one kid, a hatchback is perfectly suited.
my wife wanted a SUV when we were expecting our first child.. but i thought the Falcon and Commodores have been the go too family car for 30 years, so got a XR6 Turbo sedan instead
We looked at SUVs when baby was imminent and realised they were the same size as our Ford Focus. So we kept that instead and had no issues. Have now upgraded to a skoda octavia wagon when second kid arrived and never looked back. A Mid sized SUV is nice for the ride height but that’s about it. They still have small boots and are cramped in the back for adults.
Like all good sage advice this will be blown off as insignificant by far too many who fail by sleeping. If you can not learn from someone else's experience, then you deserve your perilous future.
I think big boot door is important. A hatch has better cargo space use then a sedan. My Mum has the Honda Jazz. We bought a corner entertainment unit. The staff were sure it would not fit. It did fit though because the door was wide enough. A sedan would not fit furniture like this in it.
5 years ago we went through the whole thing of measuring all the SUV's and found they were all smaller inside than our old station wagon. So we got a Mondeo wagon. Now all our friends with big SUV's get upset when they see what we can fit in the back of my car. P.S. love the vids John. Keep 'em comming.
When we had our son in 2004 we kept our 1997 VW Polo. It was fine. Apart from being the three door version and getting our baby in and out of the back.... Initially baby was in a rear facing seat in the front, and the one of us not driving went in the back. Then he went in the back. You can always manage if you have to. The Polo was solid and safe.
My friends that are just having their first child now have bought or are looking into mid sized SUVs, Forester, xtrail, Rav4. My old man had a mitsubishi colt work shitter, family car was a VC commodore, then an R31 skyline. I don't think there was ever a time where my parents had trouble fitting the shopping and pram, fishing rods and weekend gear in the boot.
That's why I'm looking at the Cerato S as you know JC. A little shorter then the Jeep, 4cl economy compared to the 6cl dirty (no-more rolling coal) about $400 less. Fraction of the bells and whistles I know like climate air, its so hard to fiddle with one knob isn't it. No leather for the dog paws to dig in to and no heated seat, damn just when the temp is as low as 30C.
Don't forget that it is also a lot harder for many women to lift and maneuver a baby capsule into its base when the seat is now above waist level as compared to a hatch/sedan/station wagon.
If you really need extra bot space the option I would choose is the base model Kia Sorento which gives you more space and if you keep having kids a third row. This would be about $5k over your limit new and if you look at a two year old one with low ks you could take a step or two up the range, though probably no sunroof.
We had 2 kids and drove 2 Peugeot's 106GTI. Not too easy, but 2 prams in the trunk (of one car...) was possible. Nowadays, when the first kid is on its way, mom needs an X5, Volvo XC90 or the like. Problem here is: they can't drive big cars. Kids are 6'3" now, as am I, and we go on vacation with a Mazda 3. No problem.
Depends how old the golf is. They may require some new safety tech with a little one on board and the ride height does help with getting little ones in and out of car seats. I was breaking my back before we upgraded to a new Tuscon.
Very true comment... as a single earner with a baby I went for a toyota tarago second hand. Toyota for reliability and no cvt, second hand to avoid depreciation and "bath tub" car failure rate, and front wheel drive only because less things will fail, down there!!!!! Yessssssssss
First bub is 3 wks old so we went thru all this & bought new back in July. Old car was an 86 so we had to upgrade & before the wife had trouble getting in & out of the 86. She wanted an SUV but finally saw reason that you get a worse car for the same or more $$. Virtually had to put a gun to her head to test drive some hatches though. We ended up with the Civic RS, not my first choice but I'm happy with it. Couple points though, baby seats are huge when rear facing, we went with a smaller seat & the rear sloping roof isn't ideal to get the bub in & out, an SUV would be better in this respect.
So true! It only when the child is bigger and need one of those gargantuan-sized rearward facing child seats for children 1-4 yo, that you need a bigger car. And for that purpose, SUVs are worthless. As pointed out in this video, making a car higher will not make it any longer. The child seat my son had, would not fit into any SUV I ever tried, and I really searched high and low for a car with a little more space.
Did the same thing this year with wife. we did wait till our daughter was 4 and having a child seat and a height of 116cm it was great timing We got a refund on the dodgy ford fiesta 2011 (transmission) which paid out the loan and got a discount staying with the company. We bought a demo 2018 escape trend AWD 2.0t 8k on the clock Brand new I think 40k at the time walked away 26k. As john said try to stick with it for as long as you can. It will save you alot money in the First few years of your child's life e.g. 20k repayments 4 years Insurance- 3200 4 years
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Stop telling the truth. It's upsetting people again. You do this all the time, pushing facts like they are important ;)
Yeah - sorry about that.
AutoExpert TV
Not to mention the entirety of the automotive facts you uttered. The fact about evolution and us as a gene carrying vehicle is so dam true # Veritas. Best regards.
#factshaming - verb. when you bring someone out of their happy denial with facts
I'm astonished by the mental gymnastics that some people go through to justify their 'need' for an SUV. In reality nobody who lives in any kind of urban area needs them in the slightest.
Agreed. It's just 'new toy' syndrome.
Is our Forester an SUV? My wife and I find it a damn sight easier to get in and out of than most "small" cars. That slightly higher seat really does help. Oh, we only had A Hillman Hunter back in the 70s/80s when we brought our kids up and it was seriously less roomy than any modern car of similar external dimensions..
@@p38arover22 For space and ease of access an MPV beats an SUV hands down, but styling is probably what leads people to buy SUVs instead.
p38arover Rover yeah you're right. For some reason, many sporty-car-people request sitting really low to the floor and you cannot see out well that way plus they're a lot harder to get out of if you have age on you. I don't but my dad does. Also the seats feel better with the more upright position. As for the Forester, it depends on the year, as they grew a bit, but I consider them wagons with 2-3 inches more ground clearance. Those cars preceded the current batch of crossovers and utes..
@M Bacon ...that's right! That $60,000 has gotta be justified somehow.
Truer words never spoken. I'm a tradie and fit all my gear and large size Waeco into a Honda jazz. Cheap on fuel and servicing. I do about 60000km a year.
Interesting you say that. I work in trade and many have the latest Ranger, etc. A carpeneter I know has an i30 and loves it for both cost and fuel. economy.
The Jazz has more cargo space then many of it's competition and on par with some larger cars.
Richard De Cent Similarly I drive the Jazz's cousin Civic with same displacement 1.5 motor, only with boost. I got it so I could put lumber and furniture in it still, and take anywhere. Decent economy and reliability so far
@@jonpav6224 : Many "self Employed" (cough) tradies don't realise that great tax deductions for one very cash poor entity. But where's the incentive not to take on more debt when debt (or lease fees) is so cheap and retirement is so far away?
I don't understand the obsession with SUVs. When compared to sedans or wagons they're more expensive to buy, use more fuel, harder to wash and keep clean and don't handle as well.
But aside from that...
Overcompensation. Bigger looks like I it's better, and mine is bigger than yours.
They need an SUV for the outback adventures they never do, but dream about on the way home from the supermarket
Like so many things nowdays, it's about image!
it seems to give average drivers a sense of invincibility..
Much cheaper to add a roof rack-$300-$500 for a good aftermarket set.
It's amazing how much additional carrying capacity a rack provides. My ex and I used to take a pair of 3×3 metre folding gazebos when we went camping, and we owned a Polo. I've carried 8′×4′ sheets of ply and MDF on top of the current XV. Both of these are significantly smaller than your correspondent's Golf.
If that still isn't enough carrying capacity, a good aftermarket light duty tow bar and 6′×4′ light duty (750kg GTM) box trailer will run to about $2500.
Said it before, I'll say it again... JOHN MAKES THE MOST HONEST VIDEOS ON RUclips!
agreed. We have a 2 year old and our honda hatchback gives us no issues in having the baby in the car seat, and any groceries and bags as well as her stroller. Strollers are actually very compact nowadays and just as comfortable as anything from yesteryear. Even more comfortable.
Best damn advise I've heard an the subject.
Thank you Bruce.
@@AutoExpertJC : ? No "Grammar-Nazi" sarcasm?
Baby vomit, leaking nappies, food rubbed into all surfaces, even the surfaces they can't reach. All reasons to keep your old car until they grow out of it.
⬆️ Truth ⬆️
If your old car doesn't have leather seats, good luck cleaning it.
Yeah that's why I drive a 10 year old subaru with leather seats. Easy to clean, fairly reliable and I'm not worried about it getting ruined as much as a nicer option.
@@liberty0758 : Who cares, it is (going to be) an old car.... Hang some smelly things in it, maybe shampoo it every decade or so, then flog it off the some teenager when the kids are old enough to drive themselves. Better still give them the car, they messed tit up, they can live with it...
Of course we don't want to hear that in most cases the most ECONOMICAL decision is to keep the old car, or buy another slightly less old (and keep it until it too is very old).
Everyone in the 1st world loves new toys (well those people with credit can actually get them - toys). So don't expect validation because you bought a new toy - toys aren't supposed to be ECONOMICAL decisions.... Bought with the heart not the brain. lol... (John Loves ellipses)
I had a Corolla ascent with cream interior before I had kids, it has scared me to life. I never even noticed the interior colour of cars carpet before I had kids
In my country families live happily with a Corolla or a VW Golf.
They also go camping with those.
Hell some families even have a Yaris, Fit/Jazz, or a Polo as their only car and they still manage!
Yeah, my Mum + two teenage kids in the mid-2000s packed very happily first into a Golf, and then into a Jazz.
My family had a daewoo Matiz when I was little, it's a tiny car.
John, this is the most practical and intelligent advice I’ve heard from any car reviewer. Thanks for looking out for those young breeders.
Wife & i married. I said new lease car has to go. I gave her a 2000 dollar bomb which i drive today. She later up graded to a second hand 2002 323 astina which she now drives. Advised her dont waste income on expensive clothes/accessories. Paid house loan off in half the time. Keep it simple, no spare cash, cannot afford it. We have no debts, no financial stress & 2 bob in the bank. Wife more of a tight arse than me now, 😅🤣😂. Keep up the excellent reporting John. 👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻.
@M Bacon wife & i put some savings aside for our only son. For either university orT.A.F.E. trade school or home deposit. Depends the direction he goes.
I'm still cruising about in 2002 Mazda astina hatch. Great car. Might sell it and grab my parents 2014 sp25 next year - before something major fails due to age. Hope your wife's has plenty left in it yet!
@@simonanderson1433 mate their a great little cars. She's careful, easy go driver. Probably why its lasted to 220 thousand on the clock now. We'll run it into the ground. Wouldn't buy a new vehicle, too much technology. Cannot work on them, need scan.tools, major component replacement = big $$ repair costs, & they wont last. Probably go back to walking/public transport, 😅.
Well time for some perspective, 2 baby seats + 2 prams + groceries was not a problem in the first generation Honda Jazz, it was actually easier than in the 1990 Mazda 626 that the Jazz replaced. The lesson here is that just 'cause the vehicle is bigger on the outside doesn't mean more space inside. most "large" family vehicles like my old 626, the Camry's Commodores, Falcons, most SUV's, etc waste an incredible amount of their length in bonnet, which means they look bigger (just like the bottles John mentioned) but can actually be smaller in the cabin and cargo area's where it counts.
Lately ive had to start picking up my nephews from school and its just a sea of SUV's every arvo. Here's me in my little Mazda 323.
Totally.
Now that SUVs are what everybody seems to drive or all that's on the road, to me they've developed the same negative image that minivans have, sedans are alot cooler than any suv imo, they look way better, and to me they handle way better and feel more stable, I can take a fast turn in a sedan and not have to worry about flipping the damn car
ahhh the Mazda 323!!! Lovely
You can't see past them in parking lots in a small car (hence my wife getting the bumper cover of her Corolla dinged backing out into some young bloke. His was (still is) a pleasant uni student and nice enough chap, but slowing down a bit in car parks for f..k sake may add to his education.
Unfortunately I am old and not as bendy as I once was when I raced around car parks, and like the height of an SUV. The money I pay extra offsets the need to pay gym fees.
The bottle thing got me thinking - are SUV's really cost $10,000+ more to make??
@@jeffp6324 The GTI remote key has a long range. Just beep your car and find it by sound, I've done this more times than I care to admit.
Great report, John. Not to mention the benefits to the environment by keeping existing car.
Totally
Thank you for stating the one thing ive been saying for the last few years, cause what the hell would I know.
Im a 20yr old here in South shitsville and I cannot for the life of me understand the appeal of SUVs and 4x4s to everyday consumers.
As a long time viewer I appreciate your level of intellect and objectivity and understand that i dont need to explain the: economical (purchase price and fuel), environmental and safety issues surrounding the suv market.
I love when people say performance SUV, its almost an oxymoron to me.
I would be interested to hear your thoughts on a Casey Putsch video looking at SUVs and potential safety issues. While this video gets a bit ranty and is from an American perspective, I ponder the relevance for here in shitsville.
Both as a human being and a marketing student at University the whole suv market continues preplex me.
Maybe you can explain it and we'll both know, lol.
Another entertaining and insightful piece, always informative and insightful. Keep up the good work.
You forgot to mention in Arse-trailer, sunroofs are about as practical as a play-do g-string !! I hate them. (Sunroofs too; only good for leaking, rattling and giving the interior more sun damage)
Not to mention the lovely skin cancers it will give the people in the car.
Please do a segment called "Do you really need a large family? If not, you can afford more cars."
I like it.
A G, hahaha you made my day with that comment
Told my wife this, instead of a new Fortuner we purchased an 80,000km Calais Wagon.
Honestly wagons and people movers are where it's at for maximising space.
Dodged a bullet methinks and it will still be going when the Fortuner is at the wreckers. My Commo is up to 260 K and still going strong
Smart man wonderful car
This has to be my favorite post, John. Couldn't agree more!
Excellent... I follow you from Europe, every time, because you add valuable information ... belive me - you are great!!! Don't stop, we need your voice!
Get a station wagon. They are cheaper and more practical.
Very few available - and keep the car you already own, if it does the job
@@AutoExpertJC We kept our former pre-kids-mobile as the work run about and the second hand wagon is the family traveler.
@@AutoExpertJC how about the Commodore XD
Agree, if its space u r after a station wagon has lot more
AutoExpert TV Golf, Passat, Fabia, Octavia, Superb, A4, C, E, XF, Focus, Mondeo, Commodore, 3er, 5er, Mazda6, 308, 508, Clubman, Outback, Levorg, V60, V90CC, Panamera
There are plenty of wagons left, just have to open your eyes
Some years ago I had to do a road trip in a 97 Jeep Grand Checkokee. I was stunned at how small it was inside. It was smaller than my Mums 90 Laser Wagon!
Almost went out and bought a suv/minivan on the birth of our second child. Test drove several different SUVs and minivans. We decided to hold off and keep our 2007 Honda jazz. Very happy with the decision so far. It does everything we need it to
Went new car shopping last year to replace our ageing CH lancer last year and the salesperson at the dealership was dumbfounded that we were not interested at all in an SUV upon hearing that we had a 1 year old child.
Replaced the Lancer with a Cerato sedan and it fits our needs and family perfectly.
Grew up in a Ford Cortina. I remember as a kid, being small and all as you do being a kid, that car was absolutely huge.
Only one flaw in this argument. Everyone keeps talking about “need”.
This Is Straya, a 1st world economic powerhouse. The word here is “want”.
and ya gotta have a bull bar on ya suv as well in the urban areas with all that cattle roaming around
Love the reality check advice John...you’ve still got it!
I laugh every time I see a line of the same SUV lined up at the school drop off.
it seems to give average drivers a sense of invincibility..
And no one worthwhile really cares about what car you turn up in
As a parent (“breeder”), what John says is 100%. A) You won’t realise how income is diminished, until you get there. B) You won’t know what you need to carry, until you get there. C) In our experience, we stuck with what we had, learnt to live with it, and after 12 months, then decided to upgrade - to something we didn’t even consider would be what we needed. Here’s the thing. We had a Hyundai i30 (equivalent-ish size to Golf). It served us well for 12 months, but... with the pram, shopping really squeezes tight, and loading size is packed tight. When we started looking at a SUV, we looked at boot space first, and realised boot size of most SUV’s were not any bigger. Height size maybe a touch higher, but you don’t want to stack your shopping bags on top of each other, what would be the point of paying for an SUV with roughly the same boot load space as our i30?? We ended up buying a family sized sedan, with double the boot space than that of a hatchback or SUV, because believe me, wait until you have two babies. Fuck the SUV. Now that our boys are bigger, and we’ve started doing road trip holidays, we’re actually considering 7/8 seater Minivan status... Because, booster seats until they’re ten - doesn’t allow you to easily put seats forward to access a third row of seats - to fit other family members when we go visit them on the other side of the country - or cousins or friends or sports gear, etc. And why aren’t we looking at 7 seater SUV? Diminished boot size, and ease of access to 3rd row seats when you still have 2 booster seats.
I fully concur and have tried to talk young families out of upgrading to Prados, Landcruisers, etc for years. Many women will struggle to get the baby in and out of a car capsule if it is in the centre back seat. Plus getting the toddlers onto boaster seats, etc. Oh, and don't think that little bit of extra width will stop them from fighting over important things like 'he's breathing my air', etc. The other unforeseen problem is that the young family will want to drag granny around with those gorgeous little replicas of themselves. Granny may require as much help to get into the car as the baby!!
My parents shuttled me and my sister around in a Datsun. When we would go on road trips my dad would remove the front passenger seat to fit the Esky and make my mum sit in the back with the kids... Best years of my life.
You need to do a video on the wisdom of new Dads retaining their single cab utes
And building their first Fat Cave
You mean suits in utes?
John do one about guys flexing in these tosser mall crawling utes...
Speaking about dimensions, it was 6 inches that got him into this situation.
....down there.
@@acchaladka And he cannot un-screw that dim bulb.
Size matters. And I'm talking about the wallet.
...and John's trying to hold him back that 3-4 inches to save him future problems
If this deters even just one potential suv owner who 100% does not need it. You'll have done God's work.
Thank you, although God doesn't exist, so that's unfortunate in the context of doing something on behalf of an all-powerful entity.
@@AutoExpertJC IF god existed, you'd have his job.
@@tonybruce I wouldn't want it... Listening to all that rubbish in mentally retarded prayers.
@@tonybruce . Pretty shit job to have in my opinion
Can't win with you lot.
“How unlike a women.. “ lol John you rebel!
So many facts, and entertainment too. Well presented sir.
John, another great video, can't wait to see you hit the 1mil sub mark. All the best! Stay healthy!
Thanks Hua Hua
5:05 and John Cadogan says: - So I’m really not seeing an objective reason to upgrade, beyond just a personal preference to join the ‘I spat out a baby and bought an SUV’ club.
Answer: Agreed. Not without laughing much here before. ha ha ha
Enjoyed that opening line 😂 and yup that's me. Adding to the population and looking to upgrade my Y-Lux (Yaris) to an SUV.. niiiiice.
I'd love to see the look on her face when she watches this video :D
Yep, just another case of I want another toy, I'm bored with this one. Hope his little lady doesn't get to feeling he's a bit lacking in dimension in the future, otherwise he might be getting traded in on a more suitably dimensioned model.
Hey John C., you make a lot of sense with this. And I am sure you covered the safety comparison of SUV vs car from the same perspective - young/growing/old family, I will search for that video in your videos list, hoping to find it and if you have it I think it would be good to add it to the description or a pinned comment, to have it at the top. Cheers!
Last year my granddaughter was in a wheelchair due to an injury. We fitted a wheelchair and other stuff in the back of my wife's Golf and my daughter in law's Cerato. When my kids were small, we had a 180B!
Maybe the Golf is a 3 door?
When car shopping last time, I took the car seat and pram to each dealer to compare. The interesting outcome...
-1 dealer wouldn't let us fit the car seat as it may damage the leather, - the bolstering on the outer edge of another vehicle meant the baby seat prevented the middle seat from being used (back seat becomes a 2 seat instead of a 3 seat configuration), and
- we ended up with a Mazda 6 MPS as it ticked all the performance & practical parenting requirements. Pity Mazda have changed direction away from the MPS models. So much for 'Zoom Zoom'
We have kept the MPS for over 12 years as it still ticks all the boxes and is cheaper to keep running than the repayments alone on an equivalent replacement.
Keep up the good work John.
Fully agree, I got a hatchback couple of months before I met my wife. Only sold it 10 years (230,000jm) later when the little one was 4 - bought a slightly newer hatchback, it just works.
People are SUV obsessed.
I read an article some time ago which proposed that the growth in SUV sales was largely driven by mothers with small children, i.e. when strapping a toddler into a car seat its much easier to do that at waist height than at knee height. Having done my share of strapping toddlers into a late 70s Corona wagon many years ago in the pre-SUV era I can see there could be some truth in that.
Good advice John. Perceptions don't always equal reality. And when money is tight, sensible thinking people make do with what they have until such time as reality necessitates change. Managing a financial budget works much better when decisions are based on needs, not wants.
I drove our subi Impreza hatchback untill baby number two was older. We got older Ford Flex, and after couple of dozen warranty repairs, it is running well.
Good advice. My trouble and strife keeps a baby seat and large stroller/ pram thing in her Corolla for the grand child. Still plenty of room for the weekly shop. I just wish she could learn to carry it inside by herself. After all she gets it from the super market to the car on her own!
What you need vs what you want by JC yessssssss thanks for another awesome video
I just got a VW Tiguan. have a 4 month old baby, wife, fathers in law, and almost surely will have a dog. I do go visit my parents in another city 2.5 hrs drive, so YES I do need to carry luggage, stroller, portable crib, and in 3 years, a kids bike and toys. I like to travel safe and comfy with lots of stuff.
Telling it like it is, good one mate...👍
Thank you Steve
Extremely well thought, good advice.
An excellent article John, and congratulations. I don't think you dropped an F bomb in the whole video. It is the small victories that matter the most.
Another quiet little gem of advice to possibly offer this couple... GET AS MUCH SLEEP AS YOU CAN NOW!
I don't think you can pay sleep forward...
Fuck bomb?
Who fucking cares about cussing?
You could never store enough sleep - my 12 YEAR OLD still causes me sleep deprivation :(
My missus brought up our 3 daughters while I worked away and survived with a second hand manual diesel Hilux crewcab with canopy for well over 10 years as she found it the ideal vehicle for her purpose. We still have the ute, recently ground up rebuilt for the second time and my grand daughter now has it Hobart. 👍👍🇭🇲
I remember working in car dealerships in the early and mid 90's, when SUV's were really catching on. At the time, I looked at them and thought... Big bloody deal! I still do. A normal car works just fine for me.
They have become a ting - that's the understatement of the century
Yeah agree, a normal car works. If one does "really" need extra space a people mover like a Carnival is a much better solution over an SUV. Its cost around the same as an SUV and more flexible. People can easily fit in the back row and you can have baby seats there too with easy access especially when you pull the second row middle seat out.
Totally correct! I did some measurements in 2015, to convince my sister that a Kia Cerato sedan was vastly superior to an EH Holden.
Remember, the EH was a bit like an arsehole - everybody had one! It was the archetypal "family" car of the mid 60's.
It was THE family car!
The 2015 Cerato 2.0 litre is now a "small" car.
At 1301 kg, the Cerato exceeds the EH 1154 kg by 147 kg.
Length of 4560mm EXCEEDS the EH length of 4511mm, by 49mm
Wheelbase of Kia is 2700mm, whereas EH is 2667mm.
Turning circle for Kia is 10.6 metres, EH was 11.1 metres.
Power: Kia 112kW @ 6200 - EH: 75 kW @ 4400 .
Torque: Kia 192Nm @ 4000, as opposed to the EH 197Nm @ 2000.
Fuel consumption is dramatically less, Kia Urban 10 l/100 (EH 14 l/100).
Kia Extra Urban fuel consumption 5.6 l/10, as opposed to EH 10/100 on country runs.
No comparison, and my sister says it's the best car she has ever had in her life.
Couldn’t agree more. We have a 2018 Kia Cerato Hatch and it swallows all the shopping, two squids (6&8yo) and lots more. Cabin room is great and has all the tech. Picked it up in run out for $18k!
Thanks John, people are self fooling idiots, and I'm glad your pointing it out. As I'm despised for it.
Next thing you'll be saying that an XV is the same size as an Impreza. Seriously though, vehicles with fold-down seats do provide serious safety issues when it comes to securing loads. A stroller in the back of the noggin' takes the joy out of stopping quickly, and anything at all placed unsecured on the folded down half of the seat would test the limits of the baby capsule in the event of a few G's (or even less than 1) of sideways force applied on the Mummy Truck. Why is no one concerned about the lack of proper tied downs in vehicles designed to carry stuff with seats folded down?
It makes me wonder how we used to do long interstate road trips with six adults in an EH, which is smaller and lighter than a corolla.
I'm surprised she didn't use the, "I need a taller car to see around all the other SUVs on the road". I suppose her preference to being on top probably contributed to her getting into this situation in the first place. I've heard this vision excuse several times now and all that springs to my mind is the arms race. When will it end?
Breeder with 2 kids, we moved from a Mazda 3 (old version) to a Forester couple of years ago. Mazda 3 was fine, kinda miss it, be careful with SUVs some of them are (when we were looking) smaller in the boot than my old Mazda. TBH the forester doesn’t fit that much more, it’s in the volumes guys, the load area is more practical though.
The main advantage of the forester, apart from the new tech, is the ride height; we don’t scrape the nose in the driveway any more.
Best car advice I have ever seen
Hello John,
Great video. I joined the club 7 months ago and have a 2013 Corolla. It is a tight squeeze. With a britax Graphene (very compact), the front seat needs to be in nearly the forwardmost position. Add the missus to the rear seat, and a ginormous Stokke stroller in the boot, there is only tiny room in the front seat for shopping and anything else. I'm only 5'5 however can barely fit in the front seat with a compact seat in the back. The only point I believe you may not have taken into consideration is there needs to be about 2 cm between the rear facing baby seat and the front seat. The rear seat can't be contact with the front. The baby seat is designed to swing forwards and downwards in the event of a crash. As such it is car tetris every time the missus, bub and I go out the door.
I'm getting a compact stroller soon (baby jogger city tour 2), one designed to fit in carry on luggage in aircraft so there is more bootspace.
I bought a 2019 Impreza hatch after bub arrived which is more usable. I was aiming for a mazda 6 wagon, however I had to wait 3 months for them to ship one to Aus as there wasn't any stock of the base model Mazda 6 at any dealership in NSW. There were plenty of CX5s around. Democratic society's propaganda/brainwashing as far as I'm concerned.
Back in 1986 11yo me, my big sis and brother in law plus newborn niece had a Golf II as a family hauler. Then a Chrysler Voyager because grandpa, uncle and grandma wanted to be hauled as well on some trips then switched to a Volvo 850 station wagon. Then got a dog....he loved it...he also loved my late Golf III.....
If you're about to have a baby and each of you only owns a Mazda MX5 then yes, one of them will need to go, but if you already have a Golf, what more do you freaking need? The Golf is the quintessential family hatchback after all.
God, I've lived a life that John supports! Our daughter is now 4 and a half and we had a golf we already own. Anyway, now we both on our way back to working on the farm as opposed to lone worker so waving bye bye to the vw and the ute is now in the drive.
Well said Fred.
We have a golf hatch with a 15 month old. Don't really need to upgrade but there is one downside, the front passenger seat is not really useable since we started using the larger rear facing convertible car seat. Boot space is good, even for a road trip vacation. We might upgrade at our 2nd child but only because of the impact to front occupants with car seats in the back. Sorento and Santa Fe or larger work well (I've brought our car seat to the dealers to check!)
Wife and I made do just fine with my Mk7 Golf R with our first child. However, when baby #2 came along, I begrudgingly traded it for a new Tiguan. After a road trip from Canada to Disneyland this past summer, it confirmed no way could we have fit all the crap in the Golf, even with a roof bin. So I suppose in our case, it made sense. But with one kid, a hatchback is perfectly suited.
my wife wanted a SUV when we were expecting our first child.. but i thought the Falcon and Commodores have been the go too family car for 30 years, so got a XR6 Turbo sedan instead
Sage advice. Where were you 40 years ago when I needed it.
Sedans will always be the best option for me
But they have small boot openings. Liftbacks are much better.
All depends on what you want to carry in the back of your car.
And hatchbacks for me because we cant seem to get decent Kei cars anymore :(
@@daveamies5031 Hatchbacks are the best.
We looked at SUVs when baby was imminent and realised they were the same size as our Ford Focus. So we kept that instead and had no issues. Have now upgraded to a skoda octavia wagon when second kid arrived and never looked back. A Mid sized SUV is nice for the ride height but that’s about it. They still have small boots and are cramped in the back for adults.
Outstanding advice. My Golf 2d hatch TDI was cavernous, if a lying polluting shitbox that I sold back ASAP. Keeping the sedan is a great idea.
Like all good sage advice this will be blown off as insignificant by far too many who fail by sleeping. If you can not learn from someone else's experience, then you deserve your perilous future.
I think big boot door is important. A hatch has better cargo space use then a sedan. My Mum has the Honda Jazz. We bought a corner entertainment unit. The staff were sure it would not fit. It did fit though because the door was wide enough. A sedan would not fit furniture like this in it.
5 years ago we went through the whole thing of measuring all the SUV's and found they were all smaller inside than our old station wagon. So we got a Mondeo wagon. Now all our friends with big SUV's get upset when they see what we can fit in the back of my car.
P.S. love the vids John. Keep 'em comming.
When we had our son in 2004 we kept our 1997 VW Polo. It was fine. Apart from being the three door version and getting our baby in and out of the back.... Initially baby was in a rear facing seat in the front, and the one of us not driving went in the back. Then he went in the back. You can always manage if you have to. The Polo was solid and safe.
Making do - a hard concept for some people...
@@AutoExpertJC If you haven't got it, you can't spend it. Unless you're not very bright...
My friends that are just having their first child now have bought or are looking into mid sized SUVs, Forester, xtrail, Rav4. My old man had a mitsubishi colt work shitter, family car was a VC commodore, then an R31 skyline. I don't think there was ever a time where my parents had trouble fitting the shopping and pram, fishing rods and weekend gear in the boot.
Love the absolute honesty even if they dont want to hear it. ;)
That's why I'm looking at the Cerato S as you know JC. A little shorter then the Jeep, 4cl economy compared to the 6cl dirty (no-more rolling coal) about $400 less. Fraction of the bells and whistles I know like climate air, its so hard to fiddle with one knob isn't it. No leather for the dog paws to dig in to and no heated seat, damn just when the temp is as low as 30C.
Don't forget that it is also a lot harder for many women to lift and maneuver a baby capsule into its base when the seat is now above waist level as compared to a hatch/sedan/station wagon.
Mate I love ya vids. Always on point with facts,
Thanks Brett
If you really need extra bot space the option I would choose is the base model Kia Sorento which gives you more space and if you keep having kids a third row. This would be about $5k over your limit new and if you look at a two year old one with low ks you could take a step or two up the range, though probably no sunroof.
Mother had a Daewoo 1.5i 2 door with three of us children with one being a newborn through to teenager. 'Small' cars work.
Spot on here the amount of people buying suvs thinking that they are bigger when their actually not much bigger than the hatch back der based on.
best advice
Yes. I need to make sure that my sprog needs to run over the other vehicle in a crash.
We had 2 kids and drove 2 Peugeot's 106GTI. Not too easy, but 2 prams in the trunk (of one car...) was possible.
Nowadays, when the first kid is on its way, mom needs an X5, Volvo XC90 or the like. Problem here is: they can't drive big cars.
Kids are 6'3" now, as am I, and we go on vacation with a Mazda 3. No problem.
Depends how old the golf is. They may require some new safety tech with a little one on board and the ride height does help with getting little ones in and out of car seats. I was breaking my back before we upgraded to a new Tuscon.
Good advice.
Very true comment... as a single earner with a baby I went for a toyota tarago second hand. Toyota for reliability and no cvt, second hand to avoid depreciation and "bath tub" car failure rate, and front wheel drive only because less things will fail, down there!!!!! Yessssssssss
Decent choice and excellent reasoning. Kia Carnival: also excellent for big families.
First bub is 3 wks old so we went thru all this & bought new back in July. Old car was an 86 so we had to upgrade & before the wife had trouble getting in & out of the 86. She wanted an SUV but finally saw reason that you get a worse car for the same or more $$. Virtually had to put a gun to her head to test drive some hatches though. We ended up with the Civic RS, not my first choice but I'm happy with it. Couple points though, baby seats are huge when rear facing, we went with a smaller seat & the rear sloping roof isn't ideal to get the bub in & out, an SUV would be better in this respect.
So true!
It only when the child is bigger and need one of those gargantuan-sized rearward facing child seats for children 1-4 yo, that you need a bigger car. And for that purpose, SUVs are worthless. As pointed out in this video, making a car higher will not make it any longer.
The child seat my son had, would not fit into any SUV I ever tried, and I really searched high and low for a car with a little more space.
Sage advice.
Chuck a turbo on the vk and I’m sure there would be at least 20 more horsepower
Did the same thing this year with wife. we did wait till our daughter was 4 and having a child seat and a height of 116cm it was great timing
We got a refund on the dodgy ford fiesta 2011 (transmission) which paid out the loan and got a discount staying with the company. We bought a demo 2018 escape trend AWD 2.0t 8k on the clock
Brand new I think 40k at the time walked away 26k.
As john said try to stick with it for as long as you can. It will save you alot money in the First few years of your child's life
e.g. 20k repayments 4 years
Insurance- 3200 4 years