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Lets face it, when you have children suddenly a few things might change in relation to motoring. One of those your driving style, the boy (or girl) racer may have to be left behind, the modified cars now a distant memory. Or if you have more than one child, then you may need to upsize what you already drive.
In our case, upgraded to a Ford Galaxy, kindly sourced by our close friend Stephen over at S and K Car Sales.
This is a long way from the stuff I used to drive and will be a long way from what I would like to be driving, but the truth of the matter is that I need something now that is practical. We will need the 7 seats, we will need the space, so there is no getting around it. Having the ability to fold all the seats flat also allows me van-like space if I ever need to shift our stuff, or go Christmas shopping, it makes it all that easier.
But if its your first child, you can get away with a hatch back like a VW golf or Seat Leon that balances both, practicality and fuel economy without looking too much like a family vehicle, heck if you have two children you could still get them in the back, but then with 2 prams, the bags, the shopping, the coats and toys, boot space could be limited.
Should that happen you may look at saloon and estate cars such as the Audi A4 that again, give plenty of room in the back seats for the kids, and lots of boot space, but on the German saloon models, the parcel shelf is fixed into the shell of the car and cant be removed so that limits the space greatly, where the likes of the Ford Mondeo or Vauxhall Insignia doesn’t have that problem!
Do you have 3 kids? Want to upsize but without going to full family car? Check out the likes of the Ford C-Max, based on the Ford Focus, but with more headroom and a bigger boot, it has 3 rear separate seats that allow for 3 child seats to be fitted correctly across without much buckle crunching or squashing, and you still have room in the boot for a double and single pram and all the bags on top! You will also find the VW Touran a very similar car with a very trusty engine as well!
In a situation like me with 3 kids close in age and a 4th coming? Then you need to look at something like the Ford Galaxy or SMax as they have the ability to hold 7 comfortably, with a punch engine and well equipped. Seats all fold flat to allow a lot more space for carting stuff around. But these are no boy racer cars, although if you have that tendency like me, there are Facebook groups than cater to this. The only downside to these larger family cars is that they are much higher in the tax bracket, im paying about £220 a year for Road Tax. But to be fair, we are averaging about 41mpg so I can't really complain.
Look at your options out there, see whats available, and don’t be afraid to buy a high miler if it comes with a good history, that will allow you a good car at a bargain price, and I speak from experience.
There are finance deals out there too if you need that option.
If you are looking for a car then give Stephen a call and tell him I sent you!
www.sandkcarsales.co.uk
https://en-gb.facebook.com/sandkcarsales1/
