Next car: C Class coupe with young family?

[GazB]

Ok so even though I have 12 months to go before I change my c250 saloon I’m starting to think about my next car.

I really want a c coupe? But in 12 months time my kids will be 4 & 7.

It isn’t the most practical decision, but I’d be keen to hear from anyone has lived with a coupe and young kids and how they found the whole 3 door concept to live with. Kids getting in and out of car and me trying to reach in to clip their seatbelts is my concern. Also, I’m 6ft 1 so is the leg room still going to be decent enough in the back for the kids and also with an adult occasionally sat behind me.

I guess I am looking for a bit of persuasion to move from saloon to coupe and that the pro’s of having one outweigh the impracticalities.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Do you have a 2nd car in in the family? I’m guessing the boot on the coupe is smaller than the saloon? Ok for daily uses but not great for outings. Also as the children get older it becomes a pain when picking them up/dropping them off having to get out of the car.

Estate is a good looking car and may be more practical.

However, I understand you wanting a coupe as they look fab.

 

[mat8n]

When my kids were about that age we went from a sensible family Volvo 740 estate(because we were caring parents!) to a Porsche 944(because I was still under 30 And didn't want to be old before my time).......no problems what so ever and I'm 6'2".
Don't waste your life away, the kids will be cosy in the back,it's what it's designed for.

 

[grober]

Estate would be a good choice. Its got a very aerodynamic look to it and is a better looking vehicle than the saloon imho.

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[GazB]

I definitely don’t think I’m ready to go the estate route. My Mrs drives a Captur which is actually more practical than my current saloon so we do have a back up option if I went down the Coupe route.

I just don’t want to regret it as my next company car has to be on a 4 year contract and it worries me that the coupe novelty will have worn off well before then.

Hmm

 

[grober]

In 4 years time your kids will be 8 and 11 They wont like sitting in the rear of the coupe by that time principally I suspect because they won't be able to see out???
C Class Coupe review 2018 | What Car?

 

[John N]

Slight Post High jack, but the company I work for specify that all company cars must have 4 doors as although the car is specifically leased the employee, the car may be used in order to ferry other employees to meetings etc. This may also affect your car choice!

 

[GeeJayW]

Edit - double post.

 

[GeeJayW]

Mercedes C250d AMG Line by Glenn Wilson, on Flickr

Our previous car was a C220d Coupe (C204) and liked it a lot. Good looking, comfortable well-bolstered seats, decent handling and performance, reasonable practicality for occasional rear seat passengers, could get my golf bats or guitar amp in the boot. So pretty good until we had periods of grandparent duty of more than the odd trip, then getting kids in and out of the back became annoying.

Now we have the C250d estate shown above, and that ticks pretty much the same boxes as the coupe, but has better practicality. With a young family, I'd choose the estate every time.

 

[GazB]

Mercedes C250d AMG Line by Glenn Wilson, on Flickr

Our previous car was a C220d Coupe (C204) and liked it a lot. Good looking, comfortable well-bolstered seats, decent handling and performance, reasonable practicality for occasional rear seat passengers, could get my golf bats or guitar amp in the boot. So pretty good until we had periods of grandparent duty of more than the odd trip, then getting kids in and out of the back became annoying.

Now we have the C250d estate shown above, and that ticks pretty much the same boxes as the coupe, but has better practicality. With a young family, I'd choose the estate every time.

That’s a nice looking motor. I keep swaying towards that colour but the Mrs doesn’t like it.

I’d have that with the night pack to be honest! If the coupe doesn’t happen!

 

[Chrishazle]

+1 for the estate. We had them for years with young children, thought that once they'd finished Uni we could go to an ordinary car (although we always had the toy just for us). However, we find the estate so useful and practical we still have one! Makes the supermarket run easy, and now it's grandparent duties, transporting large items or loads of smaller stuff for daughter and SIL (120 miles from us!), plus the S204 is so comfortable as well as practical, we've had the 204 6 years now and I can't see us changing it for many more years. Ours is Carneol Red, which is a metallic burgundy, not as bright a red as the photos above, much nicer than silver or black!!

 

[GeeJayW]

That’s a nice looking motor. I keep swaying towards that colour but the Mrs doesn’t like it.

I’d have that with the night pack to be honest! If the coupe doesn’t happen!

Thanks.

It was my Mrs that want red! I was aiming for Selonite Grey until my daughter beat us to it (her's has night pack too). Then I thought we go for Brilliant Blue. But then when we got into it, the dealer had the car we have on the lot as an approved used car. Couldn't say no!

 

[Tiim533]

There's always the E Coupe, and the new one has more space in the rear.

 

[mat8n]

Saying what I said earlier, that aside, I'd rather have an estate than a saloon of practically any car, I think they have better proportions, I'm not a fan of coupé as I'd always go cabrio.
Over in Europe you'll find there are more estates with towbars than anything else!

 

[grober]

Some Mercedes of course were never meant to be estates
Coachbuilt Estate: 1981 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL

 

[geraldrobins]

I don't think the boot opening is as big on a coupe as a saloon although the boot may be as big. Something to consider depending on what you may have to carry.

 

[Delayed Steve]

I've got a coupe and have to say I love it, the wife on the other hand thinks it a expensive, impractical pain in the backside. She moans about the size of the boot opening, how low it is and the difficulty getting in and out of the back. She refuses to drive it because she can't see any of the corners and has to watch where she parks it because if someone parks next to you can't get in due to the size of the doors.
If I had to keep getting in the back to strap children in or needed to carry things on the boot I would have a estate.
But I don't and I'm selfish so like I said I love it..

 

[GeeJayW]

There's always the E Coupe, and the new one has more space in the rear.

The space in the back of our coupe was not bad at all, and the rear seats were quite comfortable. Did a few journeys when out with friends and the other half driving and it was fine. The odd trip where we were four-up was Ok too.

Where it got a bit too much was when every trip was with someone in the back.

Made the getting in and out all a bit of a circus as either, adults having to contort themselves sometimes in an unflattering way whilst bumping their heads on the roof, or the kids trampling on the sills and clambering over the seats and centre tunnel. That's not to mention the joy of fitting child seats in back having first solved the puzzle on how to get them past the front seats.

Might be different in the E-class I guess, but I'll be stickin with what we have for now.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Just remember your kids get bigger and bigger they will soon be off the booster/child seats and a 2 door car (any car) will be a complete pain in the butt when you have to let them in and out/drop them off etc. I does of course depend on how long you intend to keep the car for and how clean and tidy you want it to be.

Get a second car , our Vauxhall Zafira is probably as boring as anything on 4 wheels can get but I rate it as probably the best family vehicle available in the UK £ for pound. Dirt cheap second hand we have had ours from almost new from when we realised what having 2 small kids entailed. 12 years later its still chugging along (1.8 petrol) and has not missed a beat. The other half is forever forgetting to lock it while parked on the road outside our house and (surprise surprise) its still there in the morning

Owning it means nothing dirty or smelly ever has to go in my C55 AMG (and that includes my 2 teenage kids !) IMHO 2 door coupe is not the way forward for your only car in your circumstances . Good luck

 

[RSTurbo50]

Iv got an E Class coupe C209 and to be honest it's not huge on the inside so I'd imagine the C Class to be a bit snug...

My boys are 5 and 10 and it can be a bit of a pain in the **** getting them in and out of the back plus their isn't a great deal of space in the back.....however they are only in it maybe once a week so it's not a massive problem for me.

I'd personally go down the saloon route...