The largest Civic Type R club forum

[Gozza]

My wife is expecting in November but I was already considering getting rid of the Civic anyway. My brother-in-law has been harping on about how we have to get a bigger car as a 5 door hatchback is not big enough and I should get an estate or a monstrosity such as an X3 (his suggestion and I can't stand the things).

Now to all you parents, do I really need something bigger than a hatchback for just one kid? My wife already has a 5 door A3 as 'her' car (she did choose it). I told him bollocks, but then my wife did make the following point.

If we go to stay with the grandparents to be, then we would need to take pram, collapsable cot and then the luggage for us and child. Is it too much to pile into a hatchback? :scratch: It's only one baby after all, we're not having twins and it's our first.

With this in mind I looked at Subaru Legacy estate's (3.0 spec B of course ) on autotrader, to get an idea of price, but have yet to test drive one. I'm open to peoples suggestions on cars, but this is geared slightly more to the 'do I really need a bigger car' side of things. I have also been looking at Golf R32's and planning to view a second one on Saturday.

[CraigC1984]

I bought my civic about 3 days before we found out we were expecting. My daughter is nearly 2 now and to be honest the civic is fine still. Just have to watch her head when gettin her out of the back lol. I moved to crewe from Essex about 7 years ago and every other month we go back to see my parents for anythin from a few days to a week. If I'm honest, the boot is more than big enough for all our luggage plus the essentials we need to take (ie buggy). All I would really say is the extra doors on a saloon are useful for gettin them our without caving their head in, and of course the doors are smaller so less chance of the mrs banging them against other cars and not noticing lol.

Personally I've been toying with the idea of a lexus IS200 but only because it would make a better motoway miler. Hope some of this is useful rather than me just rabbiting on

Craig

[Sp1]

You can always get a roof box which provides more than enough space. That said car shopping is quite fun

[Ali]

We had a '98 5 door Civic when our first came along and had to sell it and buy a CRV. The kids are small, the crud you have to cart around for them is silly. The Legacy is a good shout. We had the 2.0 version and it was a superb kiddie carrier without being too dull. Like the other thread, I'd also look at the early Mazda CX7s, the 2.3 petrol turbo. Essentially a 6 MPS with a higher driving position and every possible toy. BMW immediately negate themselves from the equation buy having the shittest possible ride for kids on those awful run flats. You'll cringe every time you hit a bump if they've just nodded off to sleep (and those are the moments you look forward to for some peace and quiet)!

[Mart]

Depends on what hatchback you're talking about. I mean the hatchback has been designed as a jack of all trades car.
We went on holiday for a week to Centre Parc's for the Great British holiday, (It was sh-t, it rained most of the time, and cost more than it would've to go anywhere in Europe) and we managed to fit everything we needed into a 5dr Yaris as there was no way we were taking my car at the time. Me, my wife and 1yr old.
So to answer your question no I don't think you do need a estate for one child.

[Gozza]

Cheers for the responses, it's been very helpful.

Depends on what hatchback you're talking about. I mean the hatchback has been designed as a jack of all trades car.
We went on holiday for a week to Centre Parc's for the Great British holiday, (It was sh-t, it rained most of the time, and cost more than it would've to go anywhere in Europe) and we managed to fit everything we needed into a 5dr Yaris as there was no way we were taking my car at the time. Me, my wife and 1yr old.
So to answer your question no I don't think you do need a estate for one child.

With hatchback I was referring about my wife's A3 or even the golf I am planning to look at (same car really but golf with 4wd will probably have a higher boot floor). My feeling is that the boot is plenty big enough and you're post makes it clear that you managed with a Yaris.

I do also get your point, Ali, about having silly amounts of stuff you need to pack, but we're quite good at packing light/sensibly when staying away. I can imagine our first trip will see us packing way too much though. Maybe a roof box is a way to go if we regularly find it a struggle. I will check out the CX7, as I'm open minded about any suggestions.

Again, cheers all :thumbup:

[Just Dirk]

I sold my 06 prem when we found out we were expecting, regretted it ever since.. Chopped it in for a diesel golf 5 door. If we have another I will not be getting rid if my EP3 again.. the boot on the golf was pretty much the same as the civic, I wasn't getting much more economy as I drove it harder than the Honda to make up for my lack of revs the only bonus was the five doors, it was easier than the struggle to reach in the back and the bigger doors on the civic mean you want bigger parking spaces. The isofix fittings in the back of the golf were helpful, and I couldn't recommend getting a seat base that stays in the car enough, so you literally unclip the seat from the buggy and clip it in the car, no swapping the baby from buggy to car seat..

[Stevo M81]

When i had my 1st child i thought about getting a bigger car and ended up selling my EP3, and decided on a Audi A4 but it was a big mistake as not only was it boring it gave me a few issues that ended up costing me a few quid. So i decided to go back to a Type R and bought a FN2 as it suited my needs better having a bigger boot and lots of room in the cabin as its like the Tardis in there. Defo alot more room in it over the EP3 I will say that, as now we can get are double buggy in flat in the boot. There would have been no chance of that in my EP3. O and i forgot to mention by this stage me and the wife now had a second child

Now nearly a 8 months on with the FN2 i find it is more than big enough to meet are needs for are 2 girls, and this time i will be hanging on to the car for longer.

What CTR do you have anyway (FN2 or EP3)

[Sp1]

If you do stay with a hatch and don't want to shell out for a roof box (they're quite expensive with roof bars etc) you can always loose the parcel shelf but do get a dog guard. I'm getting a bit of a safety head on here but I do cringe when I see cars jam packed with littleuns in.

[zs_phil]

Mps .

I had a mk5 fiesta when my 2nd child was born i got rid and bought a blobeye wrx ;thought 5 doors would be sensible but then a year or so later got my focus rs only 3 doors but great went on holidays etc in it and only same size as the civic ,my ep3 probably has. Bigger boot to be fair ,hardest thing is the car seat but once you get the hang of it its easy,now thinking of a mk2 audi tt 2.0 tfsi they tiny in back but still big enough

[Ali]

Also, make sure you get leather seats. You'll fine out why soon enough.....

I was also amazed at how practical the RX8 was for the kids. The fully opening doors and no B pillar made getting them in and out a piece of piss, and the boot could swallow most of the pram and travel bags.

[Mart]

The biggest arse with a hot hatch IMO is that they're generally 3dr.
I've had 3drs for most of my lads life, but for a year of it while I had a 5dr it was bliss in comparison. It's less of an issue once they can walk properly as he just climbs in now, but I still have to crouch in to fasten his seat.

[danwel]

Had a 106 when my boy was first born and it was fine for the most part.

[Ali]

It depends how far you intend to drive. With a larger car, we were happy to take the little guy on long weekend breaks up to teh Highlands or down south to visit friends. Wouldn't have considered that in a normal hatch.

[foley]

I had a premier when my 2nd child was born and had 4yrd as well, Never had any problems with having a hatch and children! Sold the civic and got another hatch,

[Gozza]

It depends how far you intend to drive. With a larger car, we were happy to take the little guy on long weekend breaks up to teh Highlands or down south to visit friends. Wouldn't have considered that in a normal hatch.

So far the longest we drive is to my parents, which is just over a 200 mile round trip. We are used to taking holidays abroad, due to having no kids, but I'm sure we'll now end up having more holidays in the UK for a short while. A good point.

The biggest arse with a hot hatch IMO is that they're generally 3dr.
I've had 3drs for most of my lads life, but for a year of it while I had a 5dr it was bliss in comparison. It's less of an issue once they can walk properly as he just climbs in now, but I still have to crouch in to fasten his seat.

I think this is probably going to be one of the other reasons of getting rid of the civic. Having two 5 door cars will mean I won't have any excuses for picking the little 'un up after work, when it gets to nursery age .

I find it good to see that there are quite a few of you who are managing with a hatchback. I may stick with a hatchback until child number 2 arrives.....and that will happen.

Once again, thanks for the replies.

[flash]

Get a towbar and trailer!

I went to a five door focus ST from an ep3. Plenty of space for the 5 of us (as long as I'm driving )

[15repyt]

R32 has a well small boot due to the 4wd height wise remember.

[FFCFN2]

If it doesn't have ISOfix, or the stuff you'll be using isn't compatible, make sure the rear seat belts are long enough and accessible enough to allow you to thread them through the various loops and catches on the backs of the infant seats and tighten them properly - especially important for the initial rear-facing carrier that you'll need initially. I also found that putting sections cut from a foam camping roll under the infant seats stopped them from marking and damaging the back seats.

One other point - check carefully for leg-room for the wee one in the back. It's not legroom in the normal sense, it's the space between the bottom cushion on the infant seat and the back of the seat in front. Crucial that there's enough room, especially when you recline the wee one's seat if he/she is having a nap. I had a VW Passat, and there was less leg-room for my kids in that than there was in my wife's Corsa....

Good luck, and all the best..!!

[Gozza]

A little update, as I couldn't respond recently as I've been away on hols for the last 2 weeks, the Type-R has gone and was replaced with a Golf R32. I went to see one with what I was looking for, but I went very open minded in the sense that if it wasn't at the right price I would walk away and look at other types of cars. In other words I wasn't just after an R32, it was one on the list as I had been test driving last year.

It turned out that the price I was given in exchange for my Civic was fair and the resulting price fell perfectly in what I had in mind and I did the deal there and then.

R32 has a well small boot due to the 4wd height wise remember.

I was aware of this [smilie=karls_thumb.gif] but the pram/pushchair we have chosen fits. I can't see us using this car for longer journeys, the wife's car will be used, which has a bigger boot.

If it doesn't have ISOfix, or the stuff you'll be using isn't compatible, make sure the rear seat belts are long enough and accessible enough to allow you to thread them through the various loops and catches on the backs of the infant seats and tighten them properly - especially important for the initial rear-facing carrier that you'll need initially. I also found that putting sections cut from a foam camping roll under the infant seats stopped them from marking and damaging the back seats.

One other point - check carefully for leg-room for the wee one in the back. It's not legroom in the normal sense, it's the space between the bottom cushion on the infant seat and the back of the seat in front. Crucial that there's enough room, especially when you recline the wee one's seat if he/she is having a nap. I had a VW Passat, and there was less leg-room for my kids in that than there was in my wife's Corsa....

Good luck, and all the best..!!

Cheers for the advice [smilie=karls_thumb.gif] we have bought a car seat with ISO fix base and will be given a second car seat that doesn't, so I'll follow your tip on protecting the seats. I hadn't thought about the leg room though....I guess I'll found out soon enough.

Just over 2 months left to go....damn! Where did the time go?