Having a child is one of the most exciting times in the lives of a couple. While there are a thousand and one things to be done regarding childproofing the home and preparing the nursery, it is also the time to consider changing to a new car that is better suited to cart around the family. However, selecting a new family car calls for more than just a visit to the nearest car dealer and driving out in a spanking new car. When it is the matter of your young one and your beloved wife, you need to get it just right in a number of ways; interior design, safety, baggage carrying capacity being some of the more important. Take a detailed look at each:
Safety
Safety is undoubtedly the most important factor to be taken into account in the selection of a family car by new parents. Since it is the parent’s responsibility to ensure the safety of the child, getting a safe vehicle for him to ride is vital. Visit www.safercar.gov to see how cars have been rated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) or refer to the crash test information of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) on www.iihs.org. The standards of IIHS are more rigorous that that of NHTSA; the cars that score the highest in injury prevention from impacts on the front, rear and sides and also a roof crush test are awarded a rating of Top Safety Pick. The cars that are able to protect occupants when it crashes against a pole, a tree or an advancing vehicle on the left-hand corner of the vehicle being tested are rated Top Safety Pick+.
As a new parent, you should ideally use the information from both the sources to prepare a shortlist. Do take into account that the test results for frontal impact are comparable only for cars of the same weight class. This means that a 4-star crash-test rated car in the 4,000lb class is likely to be safer than a car that has been rated 5-star but in the 2,500lb class. Apart from a high crash rating, you should also factor in additional safety features such as antilock braking, electronic stability control, tough metal construction, etc. Ability to automatically dial 911 in the case of deployment of the airbags can also be a lifesaver.
Interior Design
The cabin space available and the layout of the interior are crucial to the safety and comfort of the child. You should be able to install a child safety seat that is reverse-facing with the specified LATCH restraints. Since more clearance is required to install a reverse-facing child safety seat at the front, ideally you should buy the seat and test it in a car that you have shortlisted. The best place to install the child seat is in the rear center but you need to find out if a passenger can comfortably sit when such a seat is installed, otherwise, you would end up by wasting the entire space at the rear. It can be a good idea to install a parabolic mirror so that you can check on the child while you are driving. Also, make sure that the child is protected from harsh sunlight by rear and side window shades or tinted glass.
It is a good policy to select a car that has lots of legroom at the rear, not only because your family and kids will love the extra room but also because it will come in very handy when the infant becomes a toddler and requires a front-facing child safety seat to be installed. The extra space will prevent him from kicking on the back of the front seat and creating a nuisance. Those with large families could be tempted to consider cars with a third row of seats but installing child safety seats in the middle row will almost always hamper access to the third row. Installing the child seat on the third row is not recommended as the position is considered more hazardous being nearer to the vehicle’s rear.
Trunk Capacity
With the starting of a family, the trunk of the car will be used extensively to lug around an assortment of things like a stroller, giant diaper boxes, and even cycles. It is important to get the biggest trunk space possible. For SUVs, you need to remember not to stack goods right up to the roof as that presents a hazard of them toppling over the child sitting in the rear seat when brakes are applied. If you need to carry a lot of stuff in an SUV, make it a point to install a divider.
Author bio: Mike Hudson handles the finance desk of a large auto dealership. A passionate blogger, he has written a number of incisive articles on model selection and financing on leasequit.com, a website dedicated to matching lease termination requests to potential customers.
