Two kids! Double strollers

[summakor]

As of two weeks ago we now have two small kids (20 mo, 2 weeks) to lug around in either my Mk7 GTI or my wife's '18 Mazda3. For anyone wondering, it is possible to do that, it just doesn't leave much room for anything else. We've tried combinations of two strollers and now a double stroller.

We shopped for a double stroller with suitable folded dimensions and settled on the Mockingbird double ($500 but cheaper than a new car!). It requires some quick dis/reassembly to pack into the trunk but leaves almost half the trunk volume available.

Below are photos of the Mockingbird double stroller in either car, the Chicco Bravo and Chicco Keyfit Caddy (for the car seat) in either car and the caddy with a Summer 3D Tote umbrella stroller (barely fits, the Summer 3D Lite is shorter).

So yeah the double stroller helps save some trunk space for other cargo, groceries, etc.

As for the seats, that's another matter, but at 5'10 and 5'4 for us there a few borderline acceptable configurations. The rear-facing infant seat in it's base (KeyFit 30) can only go in the middle but belted in (no base) it can go in either side by raising the front seats pretty high. The front-facing seat (Graco SlimFit) can go anywhere but it kills shoulder room for adjacent passengers so it works better on either side (photo below). And of course the LATCH anchors can't be shared and there are only four so if one seat is latched the other (or it's base) must be belted in.

 

[Daks]

Dump the Mazda and get a Tiguan. We had a Mazda 3, that thing is a colossal piece of shit, top to bottom.

 

[Gray_Panther]

You just made my night! I sent your pic to my wife, we would like to have at least three kids, and we are able to do that without having to get rid of the GTI or 128i!

Awesome thread for all GTI owners!

 

[Corprin]

Dump the Mazda and get a Tiguan. We had a Mazda 3, that thing is a colossal piece of shit, top to bottom.

Ironically you suggest the Tiguan while calling a Mazda 3 a colossal piece of shit.

@summakor and @Gray_Panther:
Diono Radian RXT. You’re welcome.

 

[El_bigote_AJ]

Roof box for groceries, now! Lol

Since I have 3 kids back there and the airride in the hatch i fill mine with them often.

 

[summakor]

Also have a roof box for road trips, comes in handy for bulky items like baby gates/corrals, pack-n-play and mattress, etc.

The Diono Radian seat I've heard mentioned more than once. The cheaper Graco suited fine for one kid but... may've been poor planning. Expensive car seats and strollers are still cheaper than cars. Will take a look.

Not gonna lie, we are looking to replace the Mazda3 with something larger and taller, mainly because the teardrop shape with falling roofline makes getting under there to buckle a toddler in a real literal pain in the neck, head and back. These kids just get heavier and less cooperative!
Looking at this electric ID.4 actually. We'll see.

 

[vbrad26]

And that's why I also have an Atlas lol.
Still impressive though what the GTI can do if it has to!
3 yr old and a 5 month old here...
I have one seat in the back of the GTI for the 3 yr old but I usually take the Atlas for kid hauling duties, unless I'm just toting around the 3 yr old.

 

[Golfs everyday]

Oh wow.. that is commitment.

Roof box for groceries, now! Lol

Since I have 3 kids back there and the airride in the hatch i fill mine with them often.

 

[ElectricEye]

Ahhh, double strollers...
I remember those days.
My wife and I got rid of our 2000 3 series for a 2002 RAV 4 back in 2002 because we couldn't fir our twin sons and gear in the back of our BMW.
Those boys are 19 years old now.
They did however ride in my 2011 GTI with booster seats, and fit quite well.

 

[Parabola]

I’d get rid of one of those hatchbacks and get a wagon or crossover for family duties. Yeah it’s possible to fit strollers, but nothing else in the car.
I have two kids, they are out of strollers now, and way back we bought SportWagen for cargo space so we can fit all the kid stuff when we go somewhere. I kept the GTI for fun around town, but for us It didn’t work as a family vehicle.

 

[Charlotte.:R]

For the period in life where we needed a double stroller, it was far easier to transition to a SUV (Acura MDX in our case) and be able to fit the stroller, pack and play, cooler and luggage in all at once and not have to play tetris every time we wanted to go somewhere outside our immediate AO.

 

[HCMK7]

Before my first son was born, my wife had a 370Z and I had my current 2017 GTI. Obviously, she had to move to a bigger vehicle, so we bought a Mazda CX-5 (less than a year before it was offered with a turbo, sadly). The CX-5 has done its job well, but we've been surprised at how well the GTI has coped. It doesn't feel all that much smaller than the CX-5 inside. And when you look at the Total Passenger Volume metrics, it comes close to the CX-5 and even bests many sedans that people end up inexplicably trading in their GTIs for. The GTI doesn't have a long hood or back end, so it doesn't look as large from the exterior, but it swallows up a lot of stuff with relative ease. For long trips, we use a roof box. It's always been fine. We have two kids now, and both child seats fit well too. Even better when one goes forward-facing. Don't let anyone tell you these cars cannot be used once you have a kid or two. Unless you're over 6'2" you can likely make it work, if only for day-to-day local driving.

 

[WowSuchMiata]

Dump the Mazda and get a Tiguan. We had a Mazda 3, that thing is a colossal piece of shit, top to bottom.

What year?

We had a 2015 Mazda3 before our GTI. Had the 2.0 so it was a bit gutless, but it served us well. YMMV, I guess.

 

[CaptainRatty]

What year?

We had a 2015 Mazda3 before our GTI. Had the 2.0 so it was a bit gutless, but it served us well. YMMV, I guess.

Same. I liked the interior; that brand punches above its weight class for what it is.

 

[Daks]

What year?

We had a 2015 Mazda3 before our GTI. Had the 2.0 so it was a bit gutless, but it served us well. YMMV, I guess.

2013 with that Ford 2.5l, god I hated that car. Gutless, a pig on gas and I couldn't fit in it. But, the wife liked the color and some of the features at the time.