New Grandchild-friendly car needed.

I am surprised at so many people recommending the Jazz. My dad (83) has had larger cars for years as my mum had a wheelchair/mobility scooter. Sadly she died 2 months ago and the first thing my dad said was he needed to get a smaller car. He opted for a Jazz as he has a couple of friends with them and my FIL has one. He picked it up 6 days after my mum died and has complained about it ever since. He says it is jerky - even though I have tried telling him he needs to get used to driving a smaller engined car- and I have had the boot open and it seems tiny, definitely wouldn't get my granddaughters pram in. My sister is visiting at the moment and has a medium sized suitcase with her and that fills the boot.

I loved my Honda CRV, now have a Mitsubishi Outlander, both are high enough to make getting children in and out a little easier.

Mazda C5 fantastic
Or if too big for you Mazda C3
We have the former
Daughter has the latter
Happy motoring

I have a Ford Focus and love it, chose it for the space and the massive boot. Loads of room for buggy and shopping. Dh has a Qashqai which is brilliant and more likely to be used with the dgc. Love the height and again massive boot area.
My Focus is 7 years old but only has 29,000 miles done as we use dh car mainly.

Nissan Juke. Got mine when daughter had 2nd child (I mind them both at least 2 days a week). Nice and high so good visibility, buggy sized boot and can get 2 child seats easily in the back - 3 at a squash. Nice and chunky so it feels safe as well

I have Toyota Yaris as well. Good sizes all round and cheap to run. This one is 2 years old now as I treated myself to a brand new one with an inheritance, but I had the previous one 14 years and never any problems. I swear by them. Good luck

We're another couple with a Ford B-max. Same basic size as a Fiesta but with higher seating position and convenient sliding rear doors. Easy for us to get in and out of and great for fastening children into their seats. Flexible boot configuration too.

When 1st grandson arrived I had to sell my yellow MX5 ( my most favourite car) and yes, I bought a Honda Jazz, which fitted the purpose, but I still miss Poppy ☹️

We have a Nissan Qashqai and a Nissan Note. They are both really economical, spares are not outrageous and are spacious inside. The Note is Jazz - sized but cheaper and has a really clever boot arrangement, which means you can segregate things or support stuff that needs to stay upright. Neighbours have one too and easily fit three teenagers in the back.
Since Nissan have manufacturing plants in the UK, I feel we are doing our bit for them!

We just love our Ford B Max because the sliding rear doors and higher wheelbase makes it so easy to strap the grandchildren into their seats, even when parked between other cars. Plus it is so much easier to get in and out of ourselves with our creaky knees!

We bought a Recaro Zero 1 rotating car seat to transport our grandchild. It has a red/green display panel to show that the seat is fitted correctly and the rotation makes it so easy to lift him in and out of the car. Not cheap but worth every penny.

Oops, that should be 3 or 5 door. I forgot the hatch.

I have a Mazda 2 at present. You can get either two or four door versions. Taking my GS, then aged 3, home from nursery one day he announced: 'I love your car, Grandma. When I'm grown up I shall have one'. Bless him, but I can't see him, aged 19 and a dude about town, wanting a car like Grandma's.... It did make me

I've had three Honda Jazz's over 13 years, long before I was a granny. I love them and even more so now I can fit the pushchair and associated paraphanailia in. Plus I've now discovered what Isofix hooks are for. So now I am legitimately and proudly driving a granny car!

I have a Renault Scenic, which has a flat boot, so no lifting pushchairs over the lip of the boot. It's the third one we've had.
The seats are high even at the back, which means that anyone sitting in the middle of the back seat gets a good view.
Excellent for grandkids who get car sick.

Just checked my ten year old grandaughter's height for boster seats, etc.
She's 150 cm., so that's okay.

Another vote here for the Ford S Max. With the "occasional" seats down, it carries seven people. The back seat is wide enough to have two child seats either side and an adult in the middle, between them. As has been said, it is high off the ground which makes it easier to insert small people into their seats and the all round vision is great. Despite the fact that my car (MX-5) is about as different as you can get, I still love driving the S-Max!

Just another plug for the Honda Jazz. They are made in Swindon.
Mine is an automatic (CVT) which is marvellous. I would never go back to a manual. The gear change is seamless with no jerks and you will never find yourself in the wrong gear at a roundabout or stall it!

I have a Ford Fiesta, I only have DGS1 in car occasionally & for short journeys so it suits me. DD has a Vauxhall Zaphira, the other week when her's was in the garage so she borrowed mine to collect DGS1 from school, she took DGS2 (age 4 weeks) with her, pram goes in my boot & ample room for 2 children.

I love my car, been a Ford fan for years & love the comfort & way it handles, great for the Devon lanes

I've got a Honda CRV, my 3Rd. I love it and it's also British made. The boot is large enough to take DS1'S wheelchair which is our main criteria but that also means it carries lots of shopping and dgc stuff!

I had a Qashqai (sp??) and needed a Plus 2 to have enough boot space. I don't think they make them any more. It also had a glass roof which was, apparently, strong enough to bear the weight of a bear - that eased my mind a lot!

I had an S Max for years Nandalot . Loved it . It was one if the very few cars where you can get 3 proper child seats side by side in the back . Heaps of boot space and the 2 extra fold down seats were a huge bonus . How I miss that car .

Another Roomster fan here! Admittedly I have never attempted more than 2 car seats across the back, but as it takes 3 adults I expect I could manage especially now the older 2 (7 and 5) have booster seats.
Love the slightly higher seats, headroom and boot space.

Much as I loved my Ford Focus estate, I found it just wasn't big enough for 3 high backed booster seats which I need for 3 DGC. The seats fit but the seats belts clip in underneath the seats and are awkward and dangerous in the event of an accident . I opted for a Vauxhall Zafira ( not new) because I can fold the rear seats and get my large dog crate when required. I liked the Ford Galaxy but the rear seats need removing and storing to achieve the space for the dogs. I quite like the C Max and S Max. Maybe next time. Or maybe a motorcycle

Might be too big for your purposes but I have a SEAT Alhambra and its my favourite car ever !!

Sliding doors mean no worries about the wind slamming it shut on little fingers. The ability to get in the vehicles and walk across ( hard to explain but means you can load from one side if necessary as little ones can walk to the seat. Lots of options for seat configurations ( its a 7 seater).

Very economical too.

For the sake of your back, strapping children in / checking restraints get a higher off the ground one. Also check space across the back seat in case you have more DGC. 5 door is better most have childproof locks now.

Was in same situation this time last year. Looked on Which for high customer satisfaction, and bought a Hyundai i10 via Carwow, which found me a really good deal (about 15% off list price) on a car which was already inexpensive and good on petrol.