2010 TDI too small to be a kids car?

aemulle

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Feb 13, 2010
Location
Los Angeles CA
TDI
none yet
So I realize that this post (question) may seem kinda silly since babies are smaller than adults and the car clearly fits 4 adults. Here is the situation: my wife and I have a 4 month old baby and I'm in the market for a new car. The 2010 golf TDI has cought my eye but I'm not sure it will work in my present situation. Yes babies are small but everything that you need to carry with them is not. Baby car seat, stroller and dipper bag. Does anyone use this car for transporting their baby and wife? Also can a Bugaboo (cameleon) stroller fit in the small trunk?

Thanks
 
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oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I have, until 2004, owned nothing but a Golf or Jetta as my 'family' car, never had a problem (2 kids).

However, you may want to give the Jetta wagon a closer look, as it offers the greater utility of the Golf's hatch, with a longer overall volume.

My sister went 10 years with her Jetta and 2 kids, and finally decided on a minivan when child #3 came along. She never had an issue either.

FWIW, the newer Jetta sedans do not have the trunk space of the older ones. My kids are disabled, and one has a wheelchair. My 1991 Jetta and my 1998 Jetta (A2 and A3, respectively) could inhale the wheelchair no problem (folded, of course).

The later A4 and A5 Jettas I cannot even fit the wheelchair through the opening, nor can my B5 Passat accomodate it.
 
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RedSoxFan

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Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Location
Northwest CT
TDI
2004 Duramax, 2009 Jetta TDI
Last night I rode shotgun in my wife's 09 Jetta TDI with the grand daughter in her baby carrier behind me (she's an infant and a real cutie!) with mom and dad sitting next to her in the back seat. Anyway, in order for the baby carrier to fit I had to put the seat up so far that my knees were pinned against the dash (I'm 6 FT). If your kids are infants then that back seat might be a tad to small. Then again maybe my grand daughter's baby carrier is to big. Just thought I'd mention it.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
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'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
If this is your first child then you have a lot of stuff. We found as we got to the second and third kid we had less to carry. We had some big-a$$ stroller from my daughter that nearly filled my Peugeot trunk (yes, Peugeot), but by the time we got to #3 we were using an umbrella stroller from K-Mart that would fit anywhere.

I think you're going to find the Golf too small. Jetta Sportwagen would be better if you are careful to not have to large a car seat or whatever. And the ability to reach over the back seat to get stuff out of the luggage area is priceless, IMO.

I drove my sons everywhere in my Jetta wagon (they were 15 and 13 when I got it). We went on many, many snowboarding trips, usually with a third kid. Thule box on the roof, all the stuff in the car. They would complain about legroom but I would remind them that if it weren't for the 40+ MPG we might not be going at all.

Wagons rule.
 

MayorDJQ

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Location
Williamstown, Mass
TDI
'10 Golf 2dr 6m, sold.
I fit 15 cases of beer and a Sousaphone in the back of my '01 Golf. You should have no problem with fitting all the stuff for one baby.
 

OsirisTDI

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May 30, 2007
Location
Middle TN
TDI
Tech Package DSG Golf, Executive Egg
We have the 2006 Jetta. Our youngest was out of the rear-facing stage when we bought the Jetta. We use the Britax Marathons for our two in the rear passenger seat in it. All aboard is a snug fit, not in a bad way, just life in a Jetta. Space in a car is all relative man.

My barber has the new Golf, it is really a comfortable car to ride around the town.

Drive the Jetta Sport Wagon, load it up with everybody and your stuff for a test drive, before you pull the trigger on the Golf.
 
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TornadoRed

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Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
Take the car seat with you when you go car shopping.
 

Silver02TDI

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Sep 2, 2006
Location
Toronto, Ottawa
TDI
2012 Golf Wagon TDI Highline
I was thinking about the exact same thing when I test drove a JSW (or Golf Wagon here in Canada) this past Saturday. My husband and I both have relatively long legs (he's 6'3", I'm 5'9"), and we both put the seats all the way back. I noticed the lack of legroom in the back, especially when you put the front seats back
 

CNGracing

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Feb 2, 2010
Location
Orange County, CA
TDI
2012 Passat TDI SE MT6
I have 2 kids one in a booster, the other a regular car seat. Golf was too small and i didnt want a wagon, so we ended up w/ the Jetta Sedan TDI. No problem with space. So if you plan for the future of another kid down the line you might look at the jetta. Its not the roomiest but where can you get a car that size and 40+mpg.;)
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
CNGracing said:
I have 2 kids one in a booster, the other a regular car seat. Golf was too small and i didnt want a wagon, so we ended up w/ the Jetta Sedan TDI. No problem with space. So if you plan for the future of another kid down the line you might look at the jetta. Its not the roomiest but where can you get a car that size and 40+mpg.;)
That makes no sense, unless you were comparing a different platform Golf/Jetta, because they are the same car, and the Golf actually has MORE rear headroom than the Jetta due to the slope of the roof.
 

TornadoRed

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Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
Oilhammer: he must be comparing the Mk4 Golf to the Mk5 Jetta. The Mk6 Golf should have the exact same interior dimensions as the Jetta.
 

lekolite

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2007
Location
Ohio
TDI
2003 Jetta GL
fwiw my rear facing carseats always gave me fits no matter what I was trying to put them in. Buick, Minivan, didn't matter. Doing it over I'd try and find the smallest carseat I could that was still safe.
 

740GLE

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NH
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MayorDJQ said:
I fit 15 cases of beer and a Sousaphone in the back of my '01 Golf. You should have no problem with fitting all the stuff for one baby.
you sir, are a party animal!!!
 

TDInownow

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2003
Location
West End, NC (27376)
TDI
None right now...
So, the Golf/JSW discussion is purely a cargo discussion since the cars are identical from the nose to the back of the back seats. In my opinion, your biggest problem will be from 6-12 months, and really more-so if you have a second child.

Cargo: A stroller and all of the rest of the gear will fit in a Golf for daily use, but you may sacrifice room for other stuff (like suitcases) if you take long trips. I rarely use the entire cargo room in the JSW for everyday stuff, and we have a reasonably large stroller. It'll be useful, though, on our yearly driving vacation, where we need a week+ worth of gear for all of us.

Regarding seating: We definitely have to move the passenger seat forward with the infant car seat in, but it's not too bad now, and it's because we have a full size car seat behind the driver's seat for my 4yo and I can't put the infant seat in the middle. I'm concerned when we have to put a non-carrier (convertible) seat in, but it'll work out until 12mo when she's forward facing.

We had a full-size convertible car seat in rear-facing mode in the old Jetta, which had a smaller back seat, but with the first one you can (and should) put it in the middle and it actually impacts the front seats less. I really do not think it would have worked if I'd had to put it behind the passenger seat, but it's enormous (Britax Marathon).
 
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mxs

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Jul 30, 2009
Location
Ontario
TDI
2010 Golf TDI
The only problem might be your stroller. But they fold nicely nowadays, so maybe buy a stroller based on the car you like, rather than the other way around ... :)
 
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