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A NEW BABY on the way can mean lots of changes in your life, and your car is one of them.
There are several aspects to consider when choosing a new car, but interior space and boot capacity are among the most important. Will there be enough room for a large buggy and some carrier bags?
You also want to ensure that it’s as safe as possible for transporting your precious cargo. That means weighing up the protection levels it offers for passengers in the event of an accident.
And of course it needs to be practical, especially if you’re getting small children in and out each day. Taller SUVs can be more convenient when getting those little ones strapped in, saving you from bending over but so too can larger MPVs with sliding rear doors.
So let’s look at some models on the new and premium used market that are worthy of your consideration. For each one, we’ve also listed three key stats for families: Boot space, ISOFIX points for child seats, and Euro NCAP safety score for adult and child occupants.
Previously known as the C4 Picasso, this Citroen is one of the most family-friendly cars out there and comes in five and seven-seat forms. The latter is badged as the Grand C4 and this is now the only version sold new. It’s a comfortable car to drive, with excellent outward visibility and plenty of storage dotted throughout the cabin, including a cavernous centre console.
View Citroen C4 SpaceTourers on the market now>
The rear seats are individual items with each offering ISOFIX mounting points. The backs of the front seats contain pop-down tables and built-in lights too.
Only available as a diesel, it can be frugal on long journeys and has ample performance. The automatic commands a premium, but is worth having over the manual.
Why this car stands out: Three individual rear seats offer improved versatility.
The SEAT Alhambra is on the larger side and this MPV has been a stalwart of the Spanish brand for many years. Aside from being a seven-seater, it also has the benefit of sliding rear doors. Being able to fully open these in tight car parks can be a great help – allowing the kids to jump in and out, or giving you space to strap in a child seat.
View SEAT Alhambras on the market now>
Only available with a 2.0-litre TDI diesel engine, the Alhambra is well-suited to hauling heavier loads and should prove to be economical over longer distances, great for those weekends away.
It’s also worth noting that the Volkswagen Sharan is effectively the same car, save for badges, and usually costs more than the SEAT.
Why this car stands out: A hugely versatile and practical family car, great for longer journeys too.
Let’s say you want to go for an electric car. The Kia e-Niro is one of the best-equipped and most spacious in its segment, boasting a 64kWh battery capable of up to 455 kilometres per charge. However, 300 kilometres is more realistic with more motorway driving.
View Kia e-Niros on the market now>
It falls into the mid-size crossover class, and with 451 litres of boot space, it’s useful at swallowing up items and larger than its nearest rivals.
If you can charge at home, you can reap all the rewards of EV ownership, including having the car pre-heated inside in the morning before you get in. It’s also much smoother and quieter to drive, great if the little one is having a snooze in the back.
Why this car stands out: One of the best EVs for range, comes with good standard specification and a lengthy warranty.
There are few other cars in this segment that offers as much interior space as the Skoda Octavia. It comfortably trumps the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf in that regard. A generous cabin design adds to a spacious feeling, with a decent room between the front seats if you need to reach into the back.
View Skoda Octavias on the market now>
Both of the outer rear seats feature ISOFIX points, and the boot space is excellent – it measures up to 600 litres in the latest model. For even more space, you could consider the estate version known as a Combi.
You get a wide choice of engines with the current Octavia, including a plug-in hybrid. With the previous model that was on sale up until 2020, diesel was the most popular engine, but buyers shouldn’t overlook the smaller 1.0-litre petrol if you’re mostly sticking to shorter urban driving.
Why this car stands out: One of the most spacious cars in its segment.
The Captur has been one of the most popular crossovers in Ireland since it went on sale. Its combination of different colour combinations, style, raised crossover height and affordability made it a hit with car buyers. A revamped model debuted in 2020 brought more of an SUV look to the car and a vastly improved interior, with better quality materials throughout.
View Renault Capturs on the market now>
Its 455-litre boot (536 litres in the more recent version) is more than you’ll find in a typical hatchback and the taller body has benefits for access and interior space. The Renault drives nicely, and the 1.2-litre engine is peppy, though the 0.9-litre petrol (yes, you read that right) delivers decent performance and isn’t that costly to tax. These cars represent good value for money, and there are plenty to choose from in the used market.
Why this car stands out: Generous levels of interior space despite a compact footprint.
That’s our round-up of five different cars that could suit your needs with a baby on the way. There is lots of choice out there, from SUVs and crossovers to estates and hatchbacks. Along with the safety and budgetary aspects, it’s also worth considering how you’ll be using this car in the future and factor that into your purchase decision so that you might not have to change again in a couple of years.
Which of these great family cars would you choose?
DoneDeal hosts the widest selection of cars for sale in Ireland, with 72,000 on sale today. The vast majority of those, 51,000, are from over 1,000 trusted local car dealerships that offer certainty in your purchase through warranties and history checks. To check out DoneDeal’s range of cars from all of Ireland’s trusted car dealerships, see here.
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Interest rates have reached a level that makes borrowing to grow employment giving investment impossible.
@thomas molloy: Interest rates have been much higher in the past. At one point in the 90s, rates were in the mid-teens.
The low interest rates we have experienced over the past decade or so are an anomaly, in historical terms.
They will claim that they have achieved their objective in that inflation has reduced. They cannot see that their hiking of rates contributed to the inflation rate rise.
@Pato: ehhhhhhhh no.
@Pato: Explain.because everyone else will disagree with you.
@Pato: Please do explain
@Donal McCarthy: I think Pato is largely correct.
Inflation can be caused by two things:
1) A shortage of some goods, or service
2) A surfeit of money in an economy
As I understand it, the inflation we experienced – and are still experiencing – was due to (a contrived) shortage. A shortage in energy, driving up fuel and electricity prices, which then fed into everything else. This was preceded by another shortage caused by the Corona virus pandemic shutting down lots of manufacturing, particularly in China – the so-called supply chain shortages.
The way to address inflation caused by too much money in the economy is to remove some of that money. Increasing interest rates is one way to do that.
However, increasing interest rates will not bring down the cost of electricity.
Or petrol.
When the (major) cause of our inflation is the profiteering of energy companies, increasing interest rates just puts more cost onto all of us, including businesses. Which can only recoup those additional costs by increasing their prices.
Which adds to inflation.
The best way to address such profiteering by the oil (and gas, and associated energy) companies would have been a windfall tax.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: pato stated that the interest rate rises caused the inflation which was incorrect. yes energy prices and supply chain issues were minor contributory factors, but the primary factor was 10 years of free money, which was then acclerated into turbo over drive during covid when physical money supply in the US and EU increased by near 50%. There were 50% more dollars/euros in peoples back accounts after covid then before covid. I do not believe we will see near zero interest rates for some time. I believe it will remain between 2-3% for the very reason that this new money had to be extracted out of the economy and it needs to stay there otherwise it will result in another cycle of inflation.
@Niall English: No, Pato did not say that.
Pato said that raising interest rates “contributed to the inflation rate rise.”
Which is correct, in my view.
Bitcoin fixes Central Bank Ponzi Schemes
@Snacktoshi Nachomoto: how?
@Snacktoshi Nachomoto: anyone who buys crypto currency is a fool and typically didn’t study business subjects in school. The government and central banks decide what Currency we use whether that may involve digital euro. Profiting from digital euro is foolish.
@Snacktoshi Nachomoto: I’m afraid you are not as well informed as you may think. Bitcoin is the real ponzi scheme.
@Snacktoshi Nachomoto: bitcoin is the currency of crooks
@Liam Clifden: but maybe the worst performing in 2022, so what’s your point??
@Liam Clifden: Actually that’s a lie, xrp has preformed better than bitcoin and that’s with a court case hanging over it head, xrp is up over 50 percent from its bottom this year, bitcoin isn’t up over 50 percent from its bottom this year,
@Liam Clifden: bitcoin has zero intrinsic value. people like yourself are pursuant to the greater f00l theory. in order to profit, you need to find a bigger f00l to buy it at a higher price.
Control the money control the people
Great news. And well done central bankers. A solid victory over the ever populist economists.
@Itwaslikethatwhenigothere:
I don’t think you’re correct in relation to a windfall tax. Windfall taxes do nothing to protect against profiteering, they simply allow the state to increase their tax take.
Consider this. Company A usually makes profits of €100m and pays 12.5% tax on this. So they net 87.5m
Now they increase their prices and their income doubles to €200m – the government introduce a windfall tax of 20% on profits in excess of 100m so they now net 87.5m on the first 100m and 80m on the second 100m – net profits have increased to 167.5m – why would that entice them to reduce prices?
Even if the windfall tax was 50% – there is still no incentive to reduce as 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing. The only winner here is the exchequer.
If you want to limit profiteering then a price cap is the only way it could work. Windfall taxes are ineffectual.
@Liam Clifden: Bernie Madoffs Ponzi scheme was running for 17 years…
Happy Christmas from the European Central Bank
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