Three cars and a baby (Aygo/C1/107)

A question about : Three cars and a baby (Aygo/C1/107)

Me and my wife are expecting our first child in April and so it's time for me to change to a 5-door car. I am currently looking at an Aygo/C1/107 (all the same car for those who don't know) for their low Road Tax and high MPG. I am just wondering about practical, real world experiences people may have had with these cars and a baby.

I know that the cars are small but size isn't an issue for me and my wife as we are both pretty small and my car of choice is a classic Mini, so anything else is pretty much a size upgrade for us.

The only potential issue I can see is boot size but I have done some research on the issue and found quite a few buggies that will fit. I assume that the rest of the stuff you need for a baby can just go on the spare seat next to the baby.

Most of my driving is to/from work (40 minutes or so of A roads and city) and sometimes to my parents who live 30 minutes away (her parents live within walking distance) and I rarely ever use motorways.

Also while I'm here, does anybody else have any other suggestions for cheap to run 5-door cars I should look at? I'm not looking to buy new and ideally don't want to spend more than Ј4,000 unless the run costs are cheap enough to make it more economical in the long run.

Best answers:

• I had a 107 as a hire car this weekend. Never again, it is ok on the flat and seems quite nippy but show it a hill (I live in Sheffield and was travelling to COrnwall) and it just dies. I swear it went from 80mph to 25mph in a matter of seconds. I had to go up the hill near my parents at 25mph, so embarrassing, I could have read a book in the time it took to get to the top!
• Don't know much about cars, but OH and I have a Fiat Panda and are expecting a baby. There is loads of room in the back and the boot is a decent size. It is so cheap to run too. They don't look that pretty - but they are practical so we aren't going to bother changing cars. I think we'll manage fine with the Panda. I've had my sisters kids in there with their car seats (they are 6 and 9) and there was plenty room for them so a baby should be no bother.
  Good luck with the search!
• We used to have an Aygo and it was great. We lived in East Lancs - so plenty of hills to get up and down, no problems. We did a lot of motorway driving and it was fine, so no worries if you ever do have venture onto one. Great for nipping out and about. Cheap enough to run too. No experience of a baby in one but we had grown people in the back and they were fine!
• Hubby had the 107 in September (lease hire from work) our family car is a people carrier (4 children).
  Anyway we'd never buy one - it's frankly awful, never mind fitting a baby in or not.... (it will fit the baby, not sure you'll have much choice of buggy - the boot is tiny).
• Aygo will hold it's value slightly longer than the 107/C1 as well.
  What about a Kia Picanto, 7 year warranty brand new, 5 door & now they've given it a face lift it doesn't look like a shoebox on wheels, should be the same tax & around the same fuel efficiency.
• C1 ones are horrible cars to drive, and I could barely fit my work bag in the boot... let alone a buggy or any other bits kids need with them.
  I'd have the same concern with the Aygo as well though I've never driven one.
  ETA: i drive a yaris and love it... a small car but still big enough for what you need. My friends drive a fiesta, not the new version, the one before and that is perfect for them with a 9month old, and occassionally a 15yr old even driving across the country visiting family.
• I personally wouldn't scrimp on boot space if it is the only family car!
  Some thoughts to consider - when your baby is not yet walking but quite heavy to be carried in a sling, how will you cope with the following:
  a large supermarket shop (you'll need to fit in all the bags, plus buggy)
  Christmas shopping
  visiting family and friends for a short stay (you'll need room for the buggy, a travel cot, and overnight bags for the 3 of you)
  holidays (you'll want the buggy and suitcases in the car, and maybe the travel cot too)
  other issues will be if you have a second child, how will you get a double buggy, or even a single buggy if you have one child in a sling, plus any baby paraphernalia in the car if the back seat is full of car seats. You may not want to have to plan for the expense of replacing your car again before you can choose to complete the family.
• You do know those three cars are the exact same car, all built in the same factory with different badging, don't you?
• Don't assume a 5 door car is better. I found it much easier to get into the car with baby and put her in her seat front on IYSWIM.
• The 107 comes in 3 or 5 door, be careful as to which you get. Yellow pugs only seem to have 3 doors.
  I have a 107, it's nippy but so slow uphill. I imagine it would be ok for a small family. It is cheap to run though and is low emission and fuel efficient too
• When we were looking and test driving we were thinking along the same lines as you. But we found the aygo really bare inside, so worried about the protection in a crash. In the end we bought a 5dr yaris. Love it
• Thanks for all the replies, I'll think about them when I start looking properly.
  I'm not going to buy for another couple of months, my current car which is a 17 year old Polo and only cost Ј550 (so you can see how little I care about cars) still has a few more months of life left in it.
  Quote:
• Definitely look at Pandas, they're bigger inside than they look. If you get an active eco, they're Ј30 tax, and if you get in the right gear they are fine for hills/overtaking. I recently got buggy, travel cot, car seat, sleeping bag and a week of clothes and nappies for two of us and baby in mine. It cost me Ј6000 new a couple of years ago, so you ought to be able to find a reasonable secondhand one.
  *Edited to add* only the baby needs nappies, just read that back!
• I used to have a C1 and it was a great little car - however, I don't think it's too suitable as a family car. The boot is big enough to fit in something like a Quinny Zapp but you won't get much shopping in ontop of that. Also, the more compact buggies are rarely suitable for a newborn because they don't lie flat. You could get a frame buggy that would allow the car seat to be clipped ontop but it's not such a good idea to keep a newborn squeezed into a car seat for the whole day either.
  If you're concerned about economy then I'd suggest getting a mid-sized diesel car, which can easily do 50-60mpg these days.