Having kids doesn’t mean you should always have to sacrifice your fun-to-drive hatchback for an expensive bulky people carrier. In some cases, you may be able to make a few family friendly adjustments to your existing vehicle. Here are just a few tweaks and modifications worth considering.
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Upgrade your back seats
Not all cars have suitable back seats for transporting children around. In some cases you may be able to replace these seats so that they’re more appropriate (seats with height adjustment may even eliminate the need for booster seats). A more affordable option could be to replace the belts so that they’re more secure.
Step up the safety
There are various safety mods that can be worth considering. A brakes upgrade may be in order if your car has done a lot of miles and the ABS is starting to slack (or the pads are starting to wear). You may want to consider adding airbags or fixing up suspension. You can check common safety issues and recall figures for your car model online.
Protect your interior
Kids or pets may be liable to damage interior, which may ultimately affect resale value. There are various protectors that you can buy for your interior to stop such damage from taking place. You can buy standard seat protectors to protect upholstery. Seat back protectors meanwhile can prevent scuff marks on the backs of the passenger and driver seats. Car mats meanwhile can collect crumbs and protect the floor from muddy footprints. Make sure that you’re regularly cleaning these protectors as well as giving the interior a hoover as cars can become breeding zones for germs.
Buy a roof box
Prams and buggies may result in less boot space for shopping and suitcases on long drives. Whilst buying a car with bigger boot space could be an option, a cheaper alternative could be to purchase a roof box. Some roof boxes may require roof bars in order to fit on, so check that your car has these bars before buying a box. Remember to take your roof box off when you’re not using it as it will cause you to use up extra fuel by having it.
Control your car with voice command
The ability to control your car with voice command could limit distractions such as having to select music or turn on heating or make a call, which could be useful when you’re already dealing with the distraction of kids on board. There are lots of voice activated systems out there, some of which come with specific makes of car. In other cases, you may be able to use a voice activated system on your phone such as Siri or Cortana to activate smart controlled options on your car.
