How to Make Sure You Have the Right Car to Welcome Your Newborn?

The joys of parenthood are immense, the kind that can overwhelm your senses. From the moment you look at your doe-eyed bundle joy, you know what your number one priority would be for the rest of your life. And this responsibility takes precedence over everything else. You promise to do all that you can to offer them the best life. Whether it is their clothes, sleeping arrangement or even the first drive home from the hospital, their comfort and safety take precedence over everything else. And that is where the choosing a perfect car becomes important.

From weekend play-dates to hometown visits, driving with your little one will surely be a one-of-a-kind experience. So, if you are getting ready to add a new member to your family or have a little one, make sure you have the right car for the journey ahead. Ahead of this Parents Day, celebrated on July 26, we bring you tips to help you do so. Read on.

Makes Every Trip Safe

Once you have a baby, new types of travel become a part of your routine, like night time drives until they fall asleep or frequent visits to your parents’ place so that they can spend time with their grandchild. You may want to introduce your bundle of joy to your best friends or go on a little picnic with your new family member. As you travel more frequently, your infant’s safety should be the number one priority.

Ford understands this pivotal need to keep your loved ones safe, which is why Ford cars come with not two, but six airbags (front, side and curtain) that protect every passenger inside the vehicle. But there’s more to the safety features of Ford cars than just that.

To ensure you always have maximum control of your car, no matter the terrain, Ford cars include Anti-Lock Braking System and Electronic Brake Force Distribution features. These offer better grip while on the road, reduce jerking and sliding so that every journey with your baby is smooth, relaxing and pleasant.

In addition to these, Ford SUVs – Endeavour and EcoSport – also come with ISOFIX hooks that make it easy to fit in a baby or child seat safely and quickly. This feature is particularly useful for working or single parents who sometimes have to drive alone with their baby. With a baby seat, you can be sure that your little one is snug and secure.

Space For Everything

As a new parent, you will never want to miss a single moment of those first few crucial years. And that means you will want to take your baby wherever you go; whether its grocery shopping or visiting a local park.

But that also means you will have to need to carry plenty of additional items like a nappy bag, stroller, a few extra sets of clothes, snacks and even some favourite toys. Fitting all of this into your car might leave you wondering just where other family members will sit! So, your car needs to be spacious enough to accommodate all these baby essentials, one or two more adults and your toddler, who if old enough, will want to sit in their seat.

Ford cars are designed to meet the needs of every growing family by offering tons of space for everyone and everything. Besides an ample boot, all Ford cars at least 20 smart storage spaces so that you won’t have to leave anything behind.

The Ford EcoSport, for example, comes with 346 litres of boot space that can be expanded up to 705 litres; perfect for accommodating the many bags you’ll have to take along on trips. It also includes additional features like the central console with storage facility and a retractable rear armrest with cup-holders that make it easier to store and access water or milk bottles without having to fish for them in a bag

If you are taking your kids on a picnic, perhaps a Ford Endeavour, with its expanded boot capacity of a whopping 2,010 liters, will be your best choice. Check how Endeavour’s doubles up to give you more space for all journeys.

Technology That You Can Count On

Working or not, as a parent, there are always several errands to run almost daily. And if you don’t have anyone to look after your little one at home while you go out and attend to these chores, you might have to take them along. Of course, driving with your child means having to keep one eye on the road and the other on your baby. But it’s also essential to ensure your baby is safe, comfortable and content as you battle traffic and navigate narrow roads.

Ford offers a touchscreen-based infotainment system across all models, covering nearly 90% of its variant lineup. The system seamlessly connects to a smartphone to ensure drivers will never have to take their eyes off the road by letting them accept or reject calls, listen to text messages, and dial a number; all through voice commands. Moreover, embedded navigation offered with Ford Figo, Freestyle, Aspire and most variants of EcoSport offers audible directions that are excellent for those who have difficulty reading roadside signs.

Not just a smart infotainment system, Ford cars are also the only ones in India to offer 100% connectivity via first-of-its-kind FordPass, a mobile connectivity solution that allows owners to remotely start/stop as well as access their vehicle via a mobile app. So if your car is parked in the sun, you can switch it on through a mobile phone app to ensure that the cabin temperature is just right to welcome your baby and you.

Convenience to Keep You Comfortable

Once your baby comes into your life, almost every drive – whether a short intercity trip or a day-long shopping spree – will be some sort of mini-family trip. So, having a car that is packed with handy features can go a long way, especially with a baby on board.

Automatic Headlamps & Rain-Sensing Wipers ensure that your parents don’t have the struggle to look for the right switches for these essential features

• Keyless Entry: When your hands are full, Ford cars take care of some of your woes by ensuring you don’t have to fiddle with the car keys. Instead, with your key in the pocket, you can enter the vehicle at the touch of a button on the door handle.

• Push-Button Start: With your key in the pocket, a Ford lets you set off on a journey at the push of a button.
• With automatic climate control, you can set the temperature of the cabin as your kid likes and let the intelligent system regulate the air to adjust the temperature. Ford cars offer power air-conditioners that bring the cabin temperature from 50-degree Celsius to 25-degree Celsius in just 15-minutes

• If you need something more to soothe their senses or throw just a little light around the car cabin, the ambient lighting feature – which comes in purple, red, orange, blue, green – creates a warm and comforting ambience. It illuminates the footwells, cup holders, door release handles etc. so that the darkness doesn’t overwhelm or scare your baby.

For even greater convenience, you should consider buying an Automatic car. Automatics come with their advantages like lesser peddle effort in bumper to bumper traffic or cruising on highways. The fun of an automatic is enhanced if you choose the right technology.

You can opt for segment-best six-speed torque convertor automatic on the Ford Aspire, Figo & EcoSport. Ford has introduced a value-rich Titanium variant of the EcoSport Automatic soon that’ll offer the best technology at a price you would love.

Parenthood is all about learning from experience; you can never be entirely prepared to welcome a baby into your little circle. But you can ensure that the car you pick for your growing family has all the features to give you comfort, safety and convenience while on the road.