Best car for city driving w/ 2 kids

[Anonymous]

I love my Santa Fe. It's zippy, parks easily (good turning radius), and gets decent gas mileage. We have the AWD version, and I've never driven a car that is better in the snow, including 4WD vehicles. Not a huge consideration in DC, but I was definitely glad for it this winter.

[Anonymous]

We have a 4-door Civic and two car seats. Carpooling would be nice one day, but maybe wait to buy a car for carpooling when there's actually a carpool.

[Anonymous]

Subaru Legacy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I guess I should clarify that we'd like a new car. Our corolla is much smaller than an accord. I believe an accord is similar in size to a camry. Two car seats (or hopefully three) just isn't possible in the corolla.

I would love suggestions!

FWIW, you can definitely do three across with the Corolla, even though it is small. *Wanting* to do that is another issue all together, but they will fit.

I think the big thing you need to decide is whether you want to be able to fit an adult in the car with the two car seats. To do that comfortably, you do need a bigger car (it's possible with two carseats, but not comfortable). Then figure out if you want more than one adult (in which case you need three rows--Mazda 5 is probably the smallest option for that). As far as how big is big enough, I think that's really personal. We're looking at replacing our Toyota Echo (a little smaller than a Corolla) with a Nissan Leaf or Toyota Prius, both of which are cars that others would probably call "small cars." But they give us enough more space over the Echo, and we also live in the city and have to parallel park/fit in small spaces/etc. a lot, so we wanted the smallest car that would meet our needs (be able to do three across, and more importantly be able to put an adult in the back with the two seats).

You cannot do three across (or an adult with two car seats) in the RAV4 because it has overlapping seat belts, so only two of the three seat belts can be used for a car seat at any given time. So it's out if you need a three across option.

[Anonymous]

To the PPs who have achieved three across, can you say which carseats you used? Also, which ones were on the edges and which one was in the middle?

[Anonymous]

Combi Coccoro, Britax Marathon, and Cybex Aton worked for us in a car a little smaller than the Corolla. (Just the seats we happened to have for other reasons--not bought for a three-across.) I think it was the Marathon FFing in the middle and other two RFing on the edges but can't remember--I just tested it to see if it would work or not.

I know two Radians (FFing) and a Coccoro (RFing) work in our friends' Honda Fit, so would likely work for other small cars. Radians in general are supposed to be great for three-across. You need the angle adjuster if you want to RF it in a small car, though. Chicco Keyfit is supposed to be a good narrow infant seat for three-across too.

Main trick with three-across, at least for our car, is that you have to install with the seatbelt. If you use LATCH, you lose a couple of critical inches. That might vary for other cars, but definitely be sure to try with the seatbelt too before deciding it doesn't work, if you've only tried with LATCH. (Seat belt installs are not super tricky if you haven't done one before; once you try it a few times it will be almost as quick, and it's equally safe.)

I know nothing about boosters, though, so no help there...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most cars can fit 3 car seats, given the right combination of seats. We can fit 3 in a Ford Fiesta. Before that we had 3 in an older Ford Taurus.

Are you looking for an SUV? Many smaller SUVs backseats are about the same size as the backseats in sedans, they just are higher up.

We were thinking about a small SUV just because it is easier to get in and out of. But size is a big issue.

You could look at the CRV, Rav4, Subaru Forester, and Ford Escape. Those are all small SUVs - but the backseats may not be any better then your Corolla for fitting carseats.

[Anonymous]

Mazda 5 - we love it. Drives like a car but has easy to access third row. I have sat in the third row with no problems and I am tall. It's about the length of a Camry

[Anonymous]

Small cars are not safe , get at least a mid size suv

[Anonymous]

I have Prius v and I have a recaro booster and combo Corocco in the back there is no way to fit an infant seat I there no way

[Anonymous]

We have a lexus rx350 for us it's the for perfect size SUV. It's not too big and I feel like I'm driving a sedan since it isn't too wide/long. It's also roomy enough for adults to sit comfortably in the front passenger and back seats. Also, we can easily fit our stroller, shopping cart, groceries, etc. in the trunk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CRV

I love my CRV. It's been perfect for 2 children and city driving.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for the Mazda 5. Perfect for me with 2 kids. There's a 3rd row for 2 additional passengers if you need them. I love that it is smaller and zippier than a traditional minivan. I've never been comfortable driving anything bigger than a sedan, but the Mazda 5 is only a tiny bit bigger than my husband's Camry.

[Anonymous]

Prius. Great mileage in city traffic. I don't know anyone who carpools to preschool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Small cars are not safe , get at least a mid size suv

I'm guessing that parking is not an issue for you.

OP, it is possible to put 3 car seats in the back of a Corolla. Google "three car seats Corolla", and lots will pop up.