Downsizing your family car

When everyone else seems to be going for bigger…

We decided to downsize our car.
Before children we owned a Mitsubishi 360 Sedan and it was beautiful to drive. I really enjoyed that car but it had a tiny boot. With 2 children under 3 and the need for the space for a pram and shopping in the back of the car it was time to upsize.

So reluctantly we decided to trade the 360 in on something roomier, but not too big, with space but without a HUGE petrol cost. So we bought a second hand 2008 Honda Odyssey. The first time I sat in the car I wasn’t so sure. It was just so big, the dash board seemed a little space aged for me and it was just so big. But then I drove it!

The Honda Odyssey turned out to be a fabulous choice for us. It was easy to put the pram and a fortnights worth or shopping in the boot. When friends came to visit we had the extra row of seats in the back of the car that we could pop up so that everyone could go anywhere in the one car. We easily fit 3 children’s seats across the standard back seat and it had enough room to have the two children’s seats and an adult seated on the back seat if needed. It was easy to put the dogs into the back and take them with us when we went out. The interior was also big enough to make sure that Master M and Master S weren’t sitting to close to each other. While friends were complaining about their kids fighting with each other in the back of their cars I was enjoying the tardis like qualities of the Odyssey. They were far enough away from each other that they couldn’t reach and sitting in my seat was often like sitting in the cone of silence.

The Honda was surprisingly easy to park. We didn’t have reversing cameras or anything fancy on our car but the visibility was excellent making reverse parking a breeze. It was also just lovely to drive. I like a car that feels nice and has a good connection with the road.

All this reminiscing makes me feel a little ‘home sick’ for my old Odyssey…

Hubby and I sat down one day trying to find areas where we could be more energy efficient while also saving money. We knew that transportation is one of the best ways to reduce our carbon footprint. We were going through all of our expenses and being totally realistic and honest about all of our weekly and day-to-day family running costs. We have 2 cars so our conversation eventually came around to whether we needed 2 cars or not.
Our second car is also a big car. It’s a dual cab ute and it is really handy for doing ‘stuff’. Being a 4wd ute it is great for camping or just getting away as well as bringing stuff home from Ikea or Bunnings. It’s a diesel, is surprisingly fuel efficient and is just really handy. We also got that second hand but for a fantastic price. We decided to keep it, then our attention turned to the Odyssey.

It was the car that was doing all the running around town. Did we need all that space still? Sadly the answer was no. Both children are now at school, we don’t use a pram and my weekly grocery shop was always placed on the front seat. I hadn’t opened the boot in months and the rear seat had stayed folded down unused for the past 3 years. It was very safe to say that we no longer needed this big car for running around town in. It was decided – it was time to downsize the family car.

Although I was a little sad about this I was also a little excited. I love looking at cars. We decided to buy second hand again and after a little research through a couple of car websites I was able to compile a list of things I did want and things I didn’t want in a car.

It had to be fuel efficient, big enough for the kids to fit in the back, had to have cruise control and Bluetooth, preferred automatic and I had my preferred make of car in mind too. I took my list and started talking to car dealers. Some of them told me my expectations were totally unrealistic, others told me that my list was achievable but that they currently had nothing while others tried to get me to test drive cars that clearly weren’t suitable to try and convince me to sway from my list. I am very proud to say that I didn’t budge! Walking into the dealers with a clear idea on what I wanted in a car really helped me to stay on track and on budget. It is very easy to be distracted by all the pretty cars and the fabulous colours, lovely interiors and variable driving experiences. I did test drive one car that wasn’t all that interested in and all that did was cement my decision not to look at any more of them.

In the end I found a 2012 VW Golf Hatch and I LOVE it! It is zippy, has enough room in the back for both kids (one is still in a booster) even with my tall husband in the front. It is really, really fuel efficient and it is just lovely to drive. The car is a little older than I would have liked and I would have loved a different colour BUT it ticked most of my boxes and that is ultimately what counts. With my boys at the age that they are, our general weekly travel requirements downsizing to a hatch just made sense and has already made an impact on our weekly budget.

By downsizing to a hatch we suddenly have so much more room in our garage, insurance cost less, we are saving money each fortnight on petrol and our registration cost less too. The kids love it and are constantly asking to go driving in it which I am still happy to oblige. It even passed the Costco Shop test – it is amazing what you can fit in a hatchback!!!
Written by RachieRach