As a father of three, I would strongly recommend that you avoid three door cars. Your back will be aching before you have finished strapping young B on the back seat.
However, if you can cope with it, go for something with reasonable access to the rear.
Strangely, the car that offers the least excitment of those mentioned, is probably the most practical - Seicento Sporting! The Mini (production stopped at least 10 years ago) is too low and bouncy and the others are great cars, but the Fiat Coupe is too low and I suspect access to the rear of Puma is awkward.
I know its possibly boring, but try a Forester Turbo... Fast, handles well, well built, four doors and a little higher, so belting the child in is easy peasy. I know, I have one!
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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It has to be --------- Alfa 156
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Mais pourquoi? Explain RF.
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Explain?
Of course Mon Ami....
You have child, You need rear doors, and a boot, space on rear seats for car seat.
You want character, style, performance, enjoyment.
Unless you have mega money, Ergo only the 156 fits the bill.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I suppose after the Barchetta, an Alfa will be the paragon of reliability ;-)
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I´d fault the Barchie on fuel economy round town, but not on reliability. 18 months - the only problem being a flat battery (my fault).
Maybe I just got lucky...
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Forester Turbo!!! Blimey, hadn´t thought of that.
I should mention that we have the dull, practical but cheap Astra estate tucked away for family trips etc.
This would be an occasional 3-upper car.
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Barchettaman, I don't want to spoil the fun or anything, but with new baby in car, I think your first priority should be safety and then any fun factor after that would be a bonus.
A Seicento or original mini just would not give you any protection, I believe. Yes I know we will all say but you can't spend your life being cautious etc, but I think at this stage you do need to.
I would also echo the comments of not getting a 3 door for ease of access with babyseat etc. Its got to be a 5 door to protect your back.
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I hear where you´re coming from BobbyG.
But, as I say, it´ll be a very occasional family car. The Astra is there for the long trips.
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It has to be said, the people who have no-noed a 3 door car have a very good point, for a baby.
At the point when the child is better off facing forward (2 years old?) 3-doors suddenly has a surprising advantage. With a forward facing baby/child seat in a 3 door car, you're putting the child in from ahead, which is very easy, rather than from the side (as in a 5 door) from which angle the sides of the child seat can get in the way.
Besides that fact, were you to have the baby seat behind the driver seat, I reckon you could sit in the back yourself with the baby, and then put the baby in while sitting, from the side, avoiding back problems.
Anyway, ignoring the 3/5 door debate, and concentrating on the cars that you've mentioned:
I would actually say that the Coupe is the most spacious of the three cars you've mentioned. The Coupe can fit 2 normal sized adults in the back quite comfortably. A friend has a Puma, and the room in the back is non-existant. The Coupe also (I'm pretty sure) has the necessary ISOFIX anchors in the back. Dunno about the Puma, but I bet the Mini doesn't. Coupe also has the bigger boot, although being a true Coupe rather than a hatchback like the Puma the boot opening is probably smaller.
Coupe is by far the most georgeous of them.
Regardless of what 90% of people on here will tell you, the Coupe is also, in my experience, a reliable, well built car. I would certainly put the effort into getting what you feel to be a good example though, they don't seem to react well to poor maintenance. That might be a sticking point I suppose, they're relatively rare (you certainly see a lot less of them than of Minis or Pumas, a good point?) and adding that to being picky about which ones you'd be willing to buy, it might take you a while to find the right car.
That's all I can think to say at the moment, unless you have any specific questions?
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Cheers BazzaB.
If a coupe were the choice, I suppose I´d be looking for one of the last 20V 5 cylinder ones. I don´t think I can really justify the expense of the turbo, nice as it would be.
Having looked long and hard for the Barchetta, and found a really good one, I´d be confident of finding a good Coupé.
On the m-way the B is really tiring as it´s so low geared, so the 6 speed Coupe appeals (or was that ´box only available with the turbos..?)
Many thanks for the replies so far - very much appreciated. Keep ´em coming.
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On the m-way the B is really tiring as it´s so low geared, so the 6 speed Coupe appeals (or was that ´box only available with the turbos..?)
That's a very good question, and I don't know the answer for sure. I would hazard a guess that it is only the late Turbo that got it though, as it was part of the PLUS pack which the late models pilfered, including bigger brakes with Brembo callipers, starter button, and Recaro seats.
If I'm wrong, and you can get that pack on late model non-turbos, I would certainly recommend going for it, the recaro sets are excellent, very supportive both laterally and for the back (far better than the normal leather seats, although the normal fabric are meant to be OK).
On the other hand, if you can't, the 5-speed might not be so different, I have heard that on the 5-speed 5th is geared very similarly to 6th on the 6-speed.
My 6-speed sits at less than 3000 revs at 80mph if I remember rightly, very comfortable.
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Thanks Bazza. As I say, I need to look further into the Coupe option.
TVM´s idea of a 156 appeals, as the V6 ones go for buttons over here. Plus Mrs B would be delighted, as she´s always wanted an Alfa.
Reckon I could get a ´99 alfa 156, with full leather, for about 4k. Or would I be getting a barrowload full of trouble...
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I'd say there are similar rules for buying an Alfa 156, go in with your eyes open and make sure you get a good, well looked after example. They're a lovely car, and you've got the 5-doors advantage. The V6 is a very strong engine, and doesn't suffer from the same cambelt 'issues' as the 4-pot.
Hope I'm not breaking the forum rules by suggesting a trip to www.alfaowner.com if you do decide to consider that option.
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Right. Things are getting interesting.
Black 2.5 V6 156, late ´98, 60k miles, 4630 quid (?6975)
All red leather interior.
Mrs B practically started salivating when she saw it on the website.
Obviously I´ll have to check cambelt etc. but it´s got to be worth a look. Plus I know the salesman :-)) my mate Lars.
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