Newbie mummy driver What Car
Discussion
Pug 107 1.0 2-tronic seems to fit the bill. Small, presumably not high powered and auto box, also has 5 doors for loading/unloading our little man.
Any opinions? This is a non-PH car for a non-PH person. Did well on her test, just doesn't like driving especially with all the pseudo-bling essex a
holes round these parts.
Any opinions? This is a non-PH car for a non-PH person. Did well on her test, just doesn't like driving especially with all the pseudo-bling essex a
holes round these parts.
Wow...how refreshing!
Someone has had kids and ISN'T looking to buy the most mahoosive 4x4/people carrier they can, stopping only to ensure the driver can't see over the wheel!
Have a 4Q salute
Can't really help with the car though, Fiesta? Focus?
Someone has had kids and ISN'T looking to buy the most mahoosive 4x4/people carrier they can, stopping only to ensure the driver can't see over the wheel!
Have a 4Q salute
Can't really help with the car though, Fiesta? Focus?
Edited by 4Q on Wednesday 15th December 12:23
For 95% plus of the time, the max impact will be Range Rover Sports with orange skinned sunglasses wearing "second wife/shag your secretary and shack up" bimbo driving at 40mph (in a 30 of course), plus her 30mph speed.
Can't see her going far in any car tbh at the moment. Only to the surestart/health visitor/shops.
We have a very collapsible push chair thing which doesn't need much space so no worries there. We aren't from Essex originally you see, so didn't feel the need for a Land Rover sized £1000 push chair.
Any big journeys would be in my E38 740 so we have capacity for ventures already.
Can't see her going far in any car tbh at the moment. Only to the surestart/health visitor/shops.
We have a very collapsible push chair thing which doesn't need much space so no worries there. We aren't from Essex originally you see, so didn't feel the need for a Land Rover sized £1000 push chair.
Any big journeys would be in my E38 740 so we have capacity for ventures already.
Edited by joebongo on Wednesday 15th December 12:47
Anything you want....we have two bin-lids, one 4 and one 3 months, and we have a Saab 9-3 convertible and VW Beetle convertible - we manage completely normally, I don't see why kids stop people buying normal cars they want?!?!?!
But as this is the 'General Gassing' section, someone will be along shortly to suggest either an MX5 or BMW of some variety....
But as this is the 'General Gassing' section, someone will be along shortly to suggest either an MX5 or BMW of some variety....
joebongo said:
Pug 107 1.0 2-tronic seems to fit the bill. Small, presumably not high powered and auto box, also has 5 doors for loading/unloading our little man.
Any opinions? This is a non-PH car for a non-PH person. Did well on her test, just doesn't like driving especially with all the pseudo-bling essex aholes round these parts.
Not much room for a buggy et alAny opinions? This is a non-PH car for a non-PH person. Did well on her test, just doesn't like driving especially with all the pseudo-bling essex a
holes round these parts.How about a Toyota Yaris, VW Polo, Citroen C3. Just a little bigger for all the stuff you no doubt will need to carry around.
Micra.
It's small, comfy and you can stand inside it to attach car seats and the like.
Practical as f**k for people with a kid.
ETA or a Cube
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
It's small, comfy and you can stand inside it to attach car seats and the like.
Practical as f**k for people with a kid.
ETA or a Cube
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Edited by FraserLFA on Wednesday 15th December 13:04
My girlfriend has just learnt to drive, and one of the main defining factors for us choosing a car was the driving position. I needed to be able to drive it too, and I had huge trouble in the 107, Aygo etc. To reach the steering wheel in those cars I needed to sit so close to the wheel that my legs were splayed either side of the indicator stalks, making it uncomfortable to drive for my right ankle in particular (which was strained right back to get onto the throttle). The Micra was so extreme in this respect that neither my gf or I could get behind the wheel to drive it (shame, as I really liked the mk2), and the Fiat 500 has a cowling around the dash mounted gearstick meaning there's no space to splay your legs, so again I couldn't drive the car at all. We ended up with a 2007 Yaris, which has a steering wheel that adjusts for rake and reach so we can both get comfortable, and height adjustable seats too. It also has other neat features, such as rear seats that slide and pitch to allow you to vary the compromise between rear leg room and boot space (perfect for a baby or toddler that needs no leg room, but you need boot space for a pram and stuff). You also get loads of storage space inside, decent CD player with steering wheel controls etc and generally the spec was much higher than other cars that sold new for £11k. Oh, and of course four doors for getting your child in and out of the back. The Jazz does a similar thing to all that, but my gf didn't like the look of it so we didn't try one. We're both really happy with the Yaris. Oh, and the steering feel is remarkably good too for an E-PAS setup. The engine is VVT too, so a joy to use and not the sort of buzzy drone you get on a basic cammed Ford engine. The Yaris also returns 50-56mpg as an average (more mpg and bhp than the equivalent Ford, obviously). The damping's a little soft, and it's a little loud on the motorway, but I think all small cars are like that.
Edited by RobM77 on Wednesday 15th December 13:25
SystemParanoia said:
Supra TT
fk practicality! 
QFT.f
k practicality! When the missus tells me it's time for children (I assume I have no say in the matter) I'm keeping my Supra!
It's not until they'll be fully grown up that they can't squeeze in the back! And by then they're old enough to catch the bus on their own.
How about a Jazz? The CVT automatic is very neat, they're immensely practical (space, loadability), and very easy to drive (good high driving position with excellent visibility). My local garage gives them out as loan cars - not the kind of thing I'd chose to drive on a regular basis but an excellent mum-wagon.
OnTheRoof96 said:
How about a Jazz? The CVT automatic is very neat, they're immensely practical (space, loadability), and very easy to drive (good high driving position with excellent visibility). My local garage gives them out as loan cars - not the kind of thing I'd chose to drive on a regular basis but an excellent mum-wagon.
Another vote here - similar criteria to OP - wife is a new driver but we needed room for up to 2 kids (it's our only car at the moment). The Jazz offers small exterior dimensions with lots of room inside, especially if you only use one back seat an fold up the other back seat that gives you more space.I looked at all the small autos and ruled out the Toyota MMT cars (I believe the 107/C1 use Toyota gearbox and engine) - just Google Toyota MMT reliability and you will see the amount of problems they have.
Nearly ended up buying a brand new Hyundai accent (yes I know) but 7 year warranty and 'normal' tried and trusted auto box were interesting, especially at the price ( plus trade in bonus, free 5 year servicing and 0% finance).
The insanity passed and we settled on a lightly used Jazz for the same money instead as it was small but not so small to be useless for tripe like a C1 and the CVT box is just great and offers 'manual' shifts and paddles (just like F1 eh).
One word of caution though - get a post facelift model (that is around 2007 - you can tell if it has metal paddles instead of shifting buttons on the steering) as they improved the gearbox. There have been issues with this gearbox but if you change the gearbox annually with the correct Honda CVT gearbox oil it should be fine.
Buying used on these is easy as it is not often you come across one owned by a boy racer (I did see one with Lexus lights and lowered suspension though)and the residual are strong. They seem to sell pretty fast as most of teh ads I called were sold already - there is waiting list of ordering new(this is in Greece though, but I suspect the same for UK).
The other plus is that the Jazz does not make you feel like you are slumming it out - little touches like fuels tank under the driver/passenger to free up space under the rear seats, the 'magic' rear seats that fold up, latches on the top of the front seats that allow you to move the seat backwards and forward from the rear, short doors that open nice and wide and good bot with relatively low sill make it feel quite clever and practical.
Women tend to love them too so it scores on the all important image stakes.
joebongo said:
Pug 107 1.0 2-tronic seems to fit the bill. Small, presumably not high powered and auto box, also has 5 doors for loading/unloading our little man.
Any opinions? This is a non-PH car for a non-PH person. Did well on her test, just doesn't like driving especially with all the pseudo-bling essex aholes round these parts.
Picassa or something like that. Or even the Doblo MPV now (I like Fiats).Any opinions? This is a non-PH car for a non-PH person. Did well on her test, just doesn't like driving especially with all the pseudo-bling essex a
holes round these parts.1. Small cars and pushchairs do not fit easily. If they do, then don't think that'll you have much space for much else, like shopping.
2. You BMW still won't fit kid+plus parts+wife+luggage if you go away for a weekend. Although, the chances of you having a personal life once you have small child is next to zero anyway.
My sister and her husband made this mistake - they got a small Panda which barely fits Bucky. They have another Focus type size car which barely fits them all if they go away. They end up going camping with 2 cars to take all the stuff!
RobM77 said:
My girlfriend has just learnt to drive, and one of the main defining factors for us choosing a car was the driving position. I needed to be able to drive it too, and I had huge trouble in the 107, Aygo etc. To reach the steering wheel in those cars I needed to sit so close to the wheel that my legs were splayed either side of the indicator stalks, making it uncomfortable to drive for my right ankle in particular (which was strained right back to get onto the throttle). The Micra was so extreme in this respect that neither my gf or I could get behind the wheel to drive it (shame, as I really liked the mk2), and the Fiat 500 has a cowling around the dash mounted gearstick meaning there's no space to splay your legs, so again I couldn't drive the car at all. We ended up with a 2007 Yaris, which has a steering wheel that adjusts for rake and reach so we can both get comfortable, and height adjustable seats too. It also has other neat features, such as rear seats that slide and pitch to allow you to vary the compromise between rear leg room and boot space (perfect for a baby or toddler that needs no leg room, but you need boot space for a pram and stuff). You also get loads of storage space inside, decent CD player with steering wheel controls etc and generally the spec was much higher than other cars that sold new for £11k. Oh, and of course four doors for getting your child in and out of the back. The Jazz does a similar thing to all that, but my gf didn't like the look of it so we didn't try one. We're both really happy with the Yaris. Oh, and the steering feel is remarkably good too for an E-PAS setup. The engine is VVT too, so a joy to use and not the sort of buzzy drone you get on a basic cammed Ford engine. The Yaris also returns 50-56mpg as an average (more mpg and bhp than the equivalent Ford, obviously). The damping's a little soft, and it's a little loud on the motorway, but I think all small cars are like that.
arghhh... text... wall...Edited by RobM77 on Wednesday 15th December 13:25
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