Families of seven: what sort of cars do you have?
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Anonymous
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I am unexpectedly expecting a fifth child. Kids will likely be ages 4-13 at the time of birth. Right now I have a sienna minivan with five seats (we got the 4 wheel drive kind so no middle seat in the second row)and it’s ok…we can take another child with us but it’s not comfortable for a long distance. We also have a rav4 that can’t fit the kids we have.
My question is do I need a “Supervan”, like this https://www.momof6.com/parenting-in-a-large-family/best-large-family-car Or should I simply get another regular minivan with a middle seat in the second row? Or something else? Having trouble imagining it. |
Anonymous
| We have the Mercedes GLS which seats 6, and a Lexus NX which seats 5. |
Anonymous
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I personally would avoid the Supervan (unless that’s normal in the circles you run in) and just get an Odyssey or a Suburban/Expedition if that’s not a financial hardship to you. That said - I don’t think any of that is comfortable for a long distance. How far do you drive routinely?
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Anonymous
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I think it depends on how much you travel and how many are in car seats. I prefer a minivan over suburbans with little kids personally. I think you can make five kids in a minivan work, we got the big bus with #6. However if you travel frequently for travel sports or something, my answer might change.
Congrats! |
Anonymous
| Also, since your oldest is 13, think about how long you would own this big van. Once my kids had their licenses junior and senior year of high school, we rarely were all in the same vehicle together. They were busy with their own stuff and drove themselves. That’s only 3 ish years for you. |
Anonymous
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Congratulations!
We have a 2014 Honda Odyssey, kids are 1, 3, 7, 9 and 11. We have one captains chair removed so older kids can jump in and out of third row. Carseats are in the middle so I do have to get out and do both sides for loading/unloading. |
Anonymous
| pS, for longer trips we split up into 2 cars. When we ride together I sit in third row so my oldest can have time with Dad up front. Otherwise it's like WWF in third row (older 3 are boys) |
Anonymous
Interesting. I have this same car (year too!) and I would think one of the bigger kids would prefer the second captains chair, and just slide it up to access the back. |
Anonymous
| We got a Chevy Suburban when we hit five. |
Anonymous
| We love our Honda Odyssey- kids are 3 across in the middle row, and 2 in the 3rd row. |