You’ve probably noticed the trend; buy an SUV when you have a baby, but what if you have three or four babies? What car should you buy then? Swapping the nice sporty car you drove as a couple for a large SUV, or people mover, is a big step, so let’s run through the pros and cons.
The good news is most people don’t jump straight into a people mover. It’s normally a transition from a medium sized SUV as the family grows. Once you’ve spent some time with baby seats and prams it’s not a big leap.
Large SUV
Large SUVs with seven seats are designed to carry five people in comfort, with the occasional extra guests.
If you have three kids at different ages you need to consider how you will use the car. Do you want them all in the same row to leave room in the boot? Or, will you need to separate them to stop bickering, by using the third row?
With most large SUVs, once you use the third row of seats the boot disappears. There’s enough room for the groceries and school bags, but that’s about it. If this works for you then you could consider a six seater rather than a seven seater.
The SUVs available with six seats leave a passage through the middle row, which provides great access to the third row. Your kids will love it, and so will you, as it makes it easier to get into the car and buckle everyone up.
Driving a large SUV is similar to a medium sized SUV or large passenger car. They are extremely comfortable with great performance, andmost come with a Sport mode in case you’re ever alone on a twisty section of road.
People Movers
So what’s different about a people mover? They are designed to carry seven or eight people all the time, with plenty of boot space.
There are two main designs; the first one is based on a van (Hyundai Staria, VW Transporter, Toyota Granvia) and the second is more like an SUV (Kia Carnival, Honda Odyssey). Only the driver will notice the difference in the seating position, and performance on the road.
Sliding doors are the key difference between a large SUV and a people mover. Kids don’t always look when they open car doors, so a sliding door avoids the embarrassing notes explaining how your kids accidently dented the door on a stranger’s BMW.
Overall size is another difference. You could compare it to the following decision when packing for a holiday. Should you take a bigger bag in case you buy lots of things,or take the smaller bag because it’s easier to carry?
The size of a people mover does take some adjustment, and not everyone will be comfortable driving a big car. Technology makes parking easier with cameras and sensors to stop you from hitting anything in a shopping centre car park (and you need less room because of the sliding doors).
Why Choose?
People say life is short. It may be true however, that you’ll be driving your kids around for many years to come. Novated leasing provides the flexibility to change the car as your family grows.
You can start with a large SUV and then swap to a people mover when the lease ends, and the kids get bigger, and who knows, maybe after a few family cars, you can go back to a sporty luxury car for two.