Appreciate the responses, but the car is a 2018, we're not selling the car
, I need a solution for the current vehicle... which we might have stumbled upon. The infant seat is new and one of the narrowest on the market, we found 2 boosters that save ~2" per side and it seems like its just enough to fit AND leave room for your hand to actually access the seat belt receptacles. I'll report back in a few weeks with how its going!
Seven passenger disco w/turbo diesel solves all of these problems and 25-30mpg
I have a D3 (that will be for sale soon) and just purchased a 110, we're good on longer trips, this is 99% for around town.
Bite the bullet and buy a minivan. Those kids will only get bigger. We picked one up years ago and it makes life so easy with kids. Not sure I could do it if it was the only car in the family though..
The only person that doesn't want that more than me is my GTI-driving wife. Not going to happen. I don't like easy
A GTI.. last vestige if your (almost) pre kid, fun days.....
Time to grow the car. Nothing family style will drive like the gti. If you insist on VW try a Passat. Otherwise, face up to it, and buy something like a Honda Passport/ Pilot.
As said above, have a D3->110, its not an issue for any time we actually need space. But there will be times when all 3 kids will end up in the GTI.
I'm no help at all....but I do enjoy my GTi
Back in the 80's...when I had small kids...I really didn't want a minivan and ended up with an AWD GMC Safari. It wasn't horrible.
That's not in the cards for me, I'd go Atlas or even an A6 Wagon if I (really my wife, she needs a driver's car, ideally with 3 pedals, to be happy) wanted something bigger.
I have 1 kid and don't know how i would even handle his cargo in a car that size. Murica I guess. Anyway, if into the VW world, the atlas is pretty nice, lots of options and seem reasonable. My buddy got one and really likes it.
Interesting thread though, (full disclosure) as i'm not any help mainly because I don't believe cars should exist in the northeast unless it's for fun. Good luck, are you in the city or in the burbs?
I'm in the Philly 'burbs, on the edge of the city line. When our last GTI died we went to the dealer intending to give the Tourareg (they had a recalled TDI one) and Atlas a chance. They were both... fine. My wife drove the 2018 GTI for about 2 gear changes before her Cheshire grin said, 'yes, we'll have this'. I see no reason (other than ridiculous "
BUT THE CHILDREN") U.S. requirements and laws for massive car seats that only cater towards giant SUVs (he says knowing how big a D3 and 110 are...). True story, the
identical Chicco Keyfit 30 infant seat that we had for our now 7 year old is expired and not legal to use, but somehow an identical new one (that we bought) is good to go. I get the intention of these requirements, but the execution caters towards people who would otherwise make bad decisions I guess? A 4-door golf is a family car in Germany, it should be one here too.
Sell the gti and buy a dieselgate awd Jetta alltrack , get a tune and it'll make way more power than the GTI! And have space for activities
Not selling the GTI, but I'm not sure that config was ever offered here anyway?
My two kids are in high school now, so we don't need more seats, we need more cars. But when they were younger, the 7-seat DII would have barely been enough for three kids. It would have worked fine for daily, but even with only two kids, when we packed it up for a trip, we really packed it full. The more modern 7-seat vehicles do have more space, and if you have a roof rack or a small trailer, you'll be fine. I'm thinking specifically of long trips.
If I were looking for a family hauler these days, the Mercedes GL320 diesel we have is great. I'd be holding out for a new Defender. I'd be looking at the VW SUVs, and I'd have to take a look at the Lexus stuff. Do the diesel Range Rovers come with 7-seats?
I don't hate those vehicles, but we'll already have a full-sized SUV, my wife loves her smaller VW.
Just re-read that you have an infant. I suggest the britax seat, I think b-safe. It has the infant seat base with latch. The infant seat is not narrow, but the base is and the height it puts allows you to put it in the middle of the car Rear facing and you still have room on both sides for the other seats. I did this in a Jeep Grand Cherokee no problem. It didn’t work in our gx470 because of the latch locations being offset, though.
Infant seat is brand new and one of the narrowest on the market, same one we used with my older daughter, was very happy with it.
