DH and I have decided that neither of our cars are really suitable as a small family car. When really need a 4WD but that will have to wait as we want to be able to buy one of these new and just cannot afford one.
We can afford to get another small car though. Mine is a coupe and have had some really useful feedback about putting a baby seat in my vehicle from a car seat fitter person, its doable but the seat will have to go on the passenger back side so not ideal and I will have to load and unload through the back from driver side. DH car is a 4 door but a hatch and there is next to no room in the boot there is no way my pram could fit in there.
I am a bit smitten with the Holden Cruzes. We have had a look at one when the car yard was closed and I was happy to see that they have 3 anchor points for child restraints.
We do not really need something with oomph so engine size doesn't matter so much.
We will be buying our car seat and taking that and the pram to the car yard to see how well these things fit especially with the seat in the recline position.
After all that useless info ( ) my question is has anyone else got one of these? if so how do you find them for child seats in the recline position??
Does anyone have any feedback on this car at all?? good bad or indifferent??
My IL'S have one - not the sedan thats being advertised, its closer to an all wheel drive in appearance. Obviously they're not putting car seats in or anything, but when they hafta replace the tyres, they cost $400 EACH!!
havent got any advice about that car but my parents have always had holdens and they're really reliable generally. if you do need replacement parts they are pretty fair priced
hth
Last edited by CrazyLady; September 15th, 2009 at 11:39 AM.
: typo
Can you buy a second hand 4x4?
We got a 2003 toyota land cruiser for 20K, they're the best things ever. It tooks us about 5 months to find just the right one (it's in excellent condition) but it was worth it! We have a holden SS as well and I pick the cruiser to drive over that anyday!
Nae - we used to have a Holden Vectra, which looks very similar to the Cruz from what i can tell (very similar sporty look and appears similar in size - the Cruz may be smaller). it was a good little bomb, but it wasn't really that friendly for rearward facing child seats in our circs (both DH and I are rather tall so seats had to be all the way back. we ended up trading it in to get a hyunda Santa Fe (smallish 4wd) and it is much more suitable. i can sit comfortably in the back, leg room wise, with the front seats right back.
if the Cruz is like the vectra. it will have ok amount of boot space, will fit pram ok - but not a lot of excess space for shopping and things. i used to take SIL and her kidlet (plus pram) shopping, and yeah, it was a fine art form to fit groceries around the pram lol
ooh yeah - the tires are rather exxy to replace - i'll agree with that one!
i'll have my Santa Fe at your place this weekend if you want to scope it out - it's a relatively inexpensive 4wd...
ohh I will have to watch this thread, I have been wondering what they are like too.
I have a coupe as well, and although it is do-able.. it is a pain the butt!! We have the capsule in the middle, and luckily we are both shorties so we can get in and out to put the capsule in. But it is very awkward and doesnt leave much room in the back seat for passengers. Our pram fits in our boot.. just... just means nothing else can go in the boot when the pram is in the car!
Thanks everyone who has replied so far. I will be sure to mention the cost of tyres to DH as he has decided that he wants the alloys I reckon they'd have to be a lot more exxy to replace but then I am not a car person iykwim.
Teagz - we have looked at second hand 4WD and DH has two issues. The first is = if we buy a Toorak Tractor (one thats just been around the city) then chances are the clutch has been ridden by some silly city driver (DH words not mine ) The second is = if we buy a country one then chances are it has done hard yards (towing, off road etc etc) which DH is not keen on either Personally I don't care coz sooner or later I will be using it to tow with a float and a horse or two. DH is pretty set in his thinking on the 4wd so providing I have a vehicle that I can use easily then I couldn't care
BG - I know I will be seeing you on Sunday - but how tall is tall? I am about 5'6 and DH is about 5'7 ish I never really saw the Vectra but the Cruz seems rather roomy on the interior (compared to both our cars)
Dh wants to test drive one these school hols, I have put my foot down and said not until I have the car seat so we can see how it fits
PLease please keep opinions etc coming on this car
I have a cruze and I love it!!! We have the older 4WD style not the new one being advertised.
There are limits though when using it as a family car. We had the car first so bought our baby things to fit.
It definitely limits your choice of prams as there isn't a lot of room in the boot, we have a maclaren which is like an umbrella stroller but suitable from birth. That fits perfectly but if you have a big pram you will find it tricky once the strap from the car seat is in.
The other issue is that the passenger seat has to be pushed all the way forward while the car seat is rear facing. Not such a hassle for me because I'm a shorty but DH can hardly get in, so he drives.
In saying that, while it's just Ollie and I, the car is perfect. I'm up high in the traffic so feel a lot safer, but still have a little car that's easy to park, and cheap to run.
If you have any questions (or need pics of the boot etc) feel free to ask!
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Holden Cruze ??
) my question is has anyone else got one of these? if so how do you find them for child seats in the recline position??
) The second is = if we buy a country one then chances are it has done hard yards (towing, off road etc etc) which DH is not keen on either
Personally I don't care coz sooner or later I will be using it to tow with a float and a horse or two. DH is pretty set in his thinking on the 4wd so providing I have a vehicle that I can use easily then I couldn't care
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