im 14 weeks pregnant and we have a renault clio, a vw golf and a weimaraner!! we need to start looking for a new car whcih has boot space for a dog crate and a pushchair! we have been looking at audi estates (not sure of the proper name!!) and renault scenics, but not for any particular reason!  any advice very welcome! when i say new i mean new for us! it will be used!

You will be able to get a reasonably priced secondhand Fiat Doblo MPV which has bags of room in the boot for a cage + Weimaraner, buggy and all the other bits that you need to bring for a baby.   Sliding rear doors to get easily to the back seats & baby car chairs with ease. Lots of headroom for mum & dad (In the back or front) and a handy shelf in the front to stick extra supplies of wipes, juice, dog leads, maps etc.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-review-summary.aspx?RT=359

Personally I would make the plastic trim a For as opposed to an Against with kids & dogs!  :D

I have an Audi A4 Avant (estate) and it fits my two Irish Setters in the back perfectly.  It is also quite stylish for an estate, which at my age (28) I wasnt quite ready for a boxy run of the mill estate and I dont think I will ever be ready for an MPV , (infact I didnt really want an estate at all, but needs must :rolleyes: ) so the Audi suits me down to the ground :) 

ooh the avant, thats the one! it does look very nice, and i cant see hubby in some of the mpv's! i dont think it would go down too well at football!! we are only in our 20's so looking for something with a bit of va va vroom still!!!

I'm only in my 30's so I'm not over the hill, thanks!  ;)

Wait 'til your hubby has baby sick down his T-shirt that'll ruin the image even more than an MPV!!! ;)  ;)  ;)

No, no - baby sick is a badge of fatherhood, worn with pride :D :D

Daisy

i didnt say anyone was over the hill!!!! and i said SOME of the MPV's, some are not very nice!!! i really appreciate all the help and comments and have looked at all the ones recommended!!! liking the scenic comments! i do like my renault at the moment!!

The Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Partner and the Renault Kangoo look a litle less like the Pope mobile and I see a lot of them at shows, great for babies and dogs because of the head room and sliding rear doors.  Pushchairs with all the covers often do not fit well into a normal car, and you hit your head getting baby in and out of the car seat in most vehicles, as wwell as nearly decapitating them too.

Have to second Christine on the Fiat Doblo MPV ;)

The rear seats are split 2/1 which means you can have even more storage space (in addition to the huge boot space) and still have baby seat in the rear.

Vey economical too :)

Julie,

Just give them time & they'll see the error of their ways and convert to a Fiat Doblo!  ;)

Only group 3 insurance too!

LOL :D If we don't manage to convert them, Christine, it won't be for lack of trying!! :D

And I only turned 30 last month, thanks very much! :) OH travels a lot with his work and drives a lot of hire cars and says the Doblo is a better drive than a lot of the popular family size cars ;)

I'd recommend the Ford galaxy,Seat alhambara, or another one is the sharan a VW I thnk. There will be room a plenty and although they look big in fact length and width about 1" more than a saloon car.
good luck
Karen

Hi,
We have the Renault scenic 2 and I think that its fantastic All the rear seats are seperate and fold down and are removable. The electronic hand brake takes a bit of getting used to at first but great after that. After having an MPV, I would never go back to a normal car - it's so practical and the height is brilliant for strapping baby in and out and makes driving visability excellent, the theres the 5* euro NCAP............I could rave on and on about the car all night.

Hayley

I've got one too - my second Scenic :) I wouldn't drive anything else :) The driving position is excellent, far better than a 'normal' car. Wish I'd had one when my children were little, but it's a good car for dogs :)

Daisy

My last car (prior to current) was an Espace - love the Renault design and the 5* ncap rating really pulled me to it - and being able to turn off the front airbag.  Got an estate now - and although it's great for the dogs I miss the higher driving position and would love to have an MPV again but needed more space for the doggies! !!!  I thought the Renault was such a nice car to drive too.  So much space in it for kids/dogs and luggage!

Am I over the hill at 36?? :-D

We might look at the Nissan Nirvana next - the pick up trucks - just not sure about the dogs being totally separate - or the Mercedes people vanny thing (don't know the name!!)

When I had my first baby I had a BMW compact and although it was lovely dogs and baby stuff did not fit - just about used to manage to get the pram in!

I asked about cars for big dogs recently and got lots of helpful replies - try this thread:

http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/cgi-bin/board/topic_show.pl?pid=697027;hl=cars;hlm=and#pid696808

We've got a toddler and we're hoping to get an Estrela Mountain Dog - our Fabia isn't going to cut it!  We had a big Volvo when my daughter was little which was great and felt very safe.  Audis are good too.  We have (nearly, almost) decided to get a Skoda Octavia Estate next.

Good luck!

ooh, I bought an Octavia estate in November and I love it. It's the 2L diesel with the DSG transmission. It's like driving the sofa :-D

I have a Peugeot 406 Estate (HDi - as this has the better BHP).  It fits in my Rhodesian Ridgeback, a puschair, 2 baby car seats and all the associated paraphanalia that goes with a baby and toddler easily - still leaving plenty of room for DH and I to sit in the front with the seats right back. 

We've only just bought the car (we had a RAV4 before) and did loads of research on the best estates to buy (mph, service, reliability etc) and came up with the Peugot 406, Skoda and VW as top of their class.

Ours came as: 1999, S reg, 80K miles, FSH, new tyres, 11 months MOT but no tax and we paid £3K.

HTH,
Helen

I got my Doblo off of eBay. 2001 Y reg, 47000 on the clock, MOT & tax, serviced, diesel 1.9 - £2,250.

when i have lots of dogs- (that day WILL come!) im getting a VW Touran van- huge and cool too- always wanted van- yes and im only 21!!!

transit or pickfords
carol

Ive just been lookin at the Honda Accord estate..is it big enough, well it fits my old dog cages that use to take up a vauxhall combo van, took one for a test drive, one of the most comfy cars ive ever tried. :-)

Nicci