Baby in a Fiat 500 Post Reply

[GardenRosie]

Hello

I have a little Fiat 500 which I (and my four year old) love. Its very economical to run, nippy and looks great.

We are having another baby in June - has anyone any experience of getting a rear facing baby seat (never mind a pushchair) into a Fiat 500? I am loathe to change cars as I love it but am wondering if its physically possible to reach baby in the back seat, or safe to put baby in the front seat with the air bag turned off.

Any advice much appreciated!

x

[juliantenniscoach]

To get the best advice why don't contact the nearest Fiat dealer? I've an Austin A35 which we have had baby seats in but aside of that being similar in size I don't think it's much help, sorry.

[GardenRosie]

Hello, I have asked Fiat and naturally they said yes it will fit - they recommend back seats

Technically I am sure it will, just wondered in practice if its a pain in the neck (and back) leaning into the back with a maxi cosi and an increasingly heavy sleeping baby...

Rosie x

[juliantenniscoach]

Ah, good point. I think any 2-door would pose the same issue. Shame to bin the Fiat 500, lovely car.

[GardenRosie]

It is - if I have to bin it am thinking of getting an ex London cab, if anyone has owned/driven/parked one let me know what they are like!

[juliantenniscoach]

Genius idea!

[Caferacer]

It is - if I have to bin it am thinking of getting an ex London cab, if anyone has owned/driven/parked one let me know what they are like!

Looks like a good idea but not that practical in reality.

Remember that there is a division between the driver and the passenger department... in any emergency you have to stop , get out and into the back.

... not to mention it is not the easiest to drive!

Oh and Julian ... is the A35 the new Aston Martin?

[daisydaisy]

I managed- just about!- with a baby in a Fiat 500.It isn't easy but I persevered- he is now a toddler and can climb in himself so I am glad that I did not change my car. What I did find difficult was taking the baby-seat out as I had to wriggle it around so much that the chance of transporting a sleeping baby out of the car in the seat is near impossible. You also need a very small pram to fit in the boot- I recommend the Bugaboo Bee.

[FrenchMummyInLondon]

Hi,

I don't have a Fiat 500 (I would love too! ) but a 2 door Yaris.
I did try to put the baby seat at the back when my daughter was born, but found it completely impractical (I had to tilt the baby seat so much to get it out that my daughter was facing the ground!)
In the end, as I could not afford to change car, I did put her on the front seat without the airbag on.
Yes - I was told it is not as safe but it was the only reasonable solution.

The plus points - you don't need to bend and twist yourself to reach the crying baby that has lost its dummy, and my daughter was able to see me so she was therefore much more easy to travel with.
I saw really benefits of having her at the front - but I drove extra carefully during that time.
And soon as she was the minimum size required, she moved in a forward facing seat at the back.

Hope it help

[actuallyadad]

When we had a sports car I never understood why people drove about London in massive 4x4s designed to cruise up mountains.

Two children later, with two huge isofix maxi cosis taking up the whole back seat, and each iteration of children loading involving yoga -like upper body contortions, and as every journey now invariably involves bringing a Phil n Teds, two scooters, maybe a bike, certainly a lot of pairs of spare trousers, a potty, mountains of raisins, Peppa, George, Thomas, probably a digger (toy, not actual obvs),- I actually don't understand how anybody with two + kids DOESN'T have a massive 4x4 designed to drive up mountains!

[FrenchMummyInLondon]

Sorry - and I don't want to start an argument - but I still really don't understand WHY you would need a 4x4 car that is highly polluting/taking all the space/not practical in the London narrow streets/dangerous for pedestrians?

Why not buy a large family car like an estate or an MPV instead? And if space is really a requirement maybe a mini van ?

I strongly feel that 4x4 are not relevant for London - but it is my point of view and I appreciate that we may not all have the same opinion.

[actuallyadad]

it's a fair question. I'm obviously being a bit tongue in cheek but you know what I mean - you need a big car when you have kids in my experience.

On the 4x4 point - the fact - and it is a fact- is that modern SUVs (like mine) are actually not particularly bad. Mine isn't the highest tax band. Old ones - 10 years ago, probably were bad. But modern ones with efficient diesel engines are ok. Ok it's not the most efficient car, but I need the space.

Modern SUVs have the same size engines as estate cars and people carriers and so are not in fact more polluting. In fact my 4x4 is a lot more fuel efficient that my sports car was! And nobody ever had environmental concerns over the sports car. There's just a perceptions that SUVs pollute, but really they don't particularly.

It takes up no more space (apart from vertically!) than an estate car or a people carrier. It looks bigger - but it's actually not longer or wider.

It's also much safer - the extra height and big windows and mirrors mean you can see cyclists further away. I think it's the safest thing for London traffic.

Why have one? It's practical and comfortable and great to drive. Take one for a test drive and you'll be sold on it!

[juliantenniscoach]

Noooooooooo. Please stick to the OP. There have been enought 4x4 firestorms on here. I love the Fiat 500.

[hellokittyerw]

Can people stop hijacking every car post with the eternal 4x4 debate?!! It's really not relevant to the OP.

GardenRosie - we had a small 2 door car with baby no 1 (ford fiesta). We found it too difficult to put a rear-facing car seat in the back and the pram and carry cot in the boot. We've used the rear-facing in the front seat (around London mainly, not long trips), i think that's ok.
However with 2 kids - i am not sure you will have enough boot space!!

[actuallyadad]

oh sorry. Didn't realise 4x4s were such a hot topic!