Have an addition due to the family later this year which means the 3 door A3 will need to go. I’m a bit stuck as to what to replace it with. A small SUV (Q3, Tiguan, XC40 etc.) would no doubt hurt less getting the child in and out, but would hurt more from the driving seat due to the poor handling. I quite fancy an A4 saloon, but am not sure if it would be impractical and a heart over head decision. Anyone run an A4 (or similar) with a baby? Do I just need to accept it’s time to join the boring but practical car club (even just for a few years) and get an SUV?
Anyone running a saloon with a baby?
- Thread starter driver_tim
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First of all congrats on the baby!
Second of all - I'm running A4 B9 saloon with a baby, now 2 y old. Finding no problems doing that.
I have had the car from the moment our baby turned 1 y old. Before that I had B7 saloon, and even that was manageable, and with that I mean that with baby seat which has a base on isofix it was really easy to lift the baby seat in and out. The one downside was, if you had a tall passenger who wanted to sit in front of the baby, it was tight, my wife had a ton of space, but not her dad - he's around 190 cm - well he could drive for an hour, but it wouldn't be comfortable after that. But in B9 we have a big baby seat from 9-36 kg Recaro Young sport hero and it's no problem to lift it in or out of the car if needs be. And also no problem lifting the baby in/out of it.
Also the luggage space is also good. We had baby stroller Stokke Xplory V5 and it fits very good inside their, leaves more than half of the space empty, as You but the two halves of the stroller on top of each other and still have a space for large bag.
We have no regrets or complaints about space in B9 saloon, we had a road trip in it, and previously in B7 we had to have a lot of stuff inside the cabin, because luggage space was cramped, but in B9 everything fitted inside trunk.
So no worries. I didn't have a preference for avant or saloon when looking for used B9 fresh out of first lease, besides the eng choice and price and was mainly concerned about getting the right options.
Audi A4 B9 3.0 TDi quattro 200 kw
Second of all - I'm running A4 B9 saloon with a baby, now 2 y old. Finding no problems doing that.
I have had the car from the moment our baby turned 1 y old. Before that I had B7 saloon, and even that was manageable, and with that I mean that with baby seat which has a base on isofix it was really easy to lift the baby seat in and out. The one downside was, if you had a tall passenger who wanted to sit in front of the baby, it was tight, my wife had a ton of space, but not her dad - he's around 190 cm - well he could drive for an hour, but it wouldn't be comfortable after that. But in B9 we have a big baby seat from 9-36 kg Recaro Young sport hero and it's no problem to lift it in or out of the car if needs be. And also no problem lifting the baby in/out of it.
Also the luggage space is also good. We had baby stroller Stokke Xplory V5 and it fits very good inside their, leaves more than half of the space empty, as You but the two halves of the stroller on top of each other and still have a space for large bag.
We have no regrets or complaints about space in B9 saloon, we had a road trip in it, and previously in B7 we had to have a lot of stuff inside the cabin, because luggage space was cramped, but in B9 everything fitted inside trunk.
So no worries. I didn't have a preference for avant or saloon when looking for used B9 fresh out of first lease, besides the eng choice and price and was mainly concerned about getting the right options.
Audi A4 B9 3.0 TDi quattro 200 kw
I've got a B9 Avant, got a 3 year old who uses the front seat ISOFix (main reason for getting the A4 to be honest) and a now 6 month old in the back, there's plenty of room even though I'm 6ft 5. Storage is good and I've got a roofbox for the odd times we do need some more, but that's really just when going away for a week (doesn't happen at the moment!)
If you've got the choice then I'd suggest you get the extra storage pack (sorry can't remember the official name) as @Sibmets has got, I don't have it, which means I don't have the netting on the back of the seats and a few other storage options missing that I'd like.
@Sibmets what is on the back of your head rests? Either storage or the entertainment stuff?
If you've got the choice then I'd suggest you get the extra storage pack (sorry can't remember the official name) as @Sibmets has got, I don't have it, which means I don't have the netting on the back of the seats and a few other storage options missing that I'd like.
@Sibmets what is on the back of your head rests? Either storage or the entertainment stuff?
That's just a headrest phone holder from eBay. Doesn't look cheap in this car, functions good, but the baby can't reach it and select next video/song so not used that often.
I forgot about the netting - I agree that it's very useful, we stash there her car toys in there.
Audi A4 B9 3.0 TDi quattro 200 kw
Yes, that's part of that, they adjust fwd and back.
Audi A4 B9 3.0 TDi quattro 200 kw
OP, I think you'd be much better served by the Avant and if wagons aren't your thing then the A5 Sportback with a decent hatch would probably be a better bet than the A4 sedan. With the Avant, you've got the space for those occasional trips away where you want to take a suitcase, port-a-cot, port-a-potty, portable highchair, pushchair, nappies, toys etc. Still a challenge getting everything in the Avant sometimes but I'd have had no chance with a sedan.
Thanks, some really useful comments here. I was concerned lifting the child in/out of the baby seat and fastening/unfastening the straps might be awkward, but it seems not. Hadn’t considered an A5 sportback but agree the bigger boot opening might be useful so will add this to the list.
