Car poll for those with 2 kids

[Anonymous]

We're in the early stages of TTC #2 and I'm thinking about cars. Currently we have an older Honda Civic (4 door), and a newer Mazda 3 (a 5 door hatchback; basically the equivalent of putting a hatchback on a mid-sized car. The back seats fold nearly flat so you get more flexibility but we would lose that flexibility if we had 2 car seats in the back). If you have 2 young kids still in car seats, what type of cars do you drive? Did you get a minivan or SUV with 3rd row seating, a smaller SUV without 3rd row seating (like a Honda CRV or Subaru Forester), or did you just stick with sedans? What are you driving and would you recommend it? Honestly we'll probably hold on to the Mazda and would replace the Civic as it is pretty old at this point. Just wondering if we should definitely plan to replace it with a larger SUV or minivan, or if people can easily do 2 kids in a full size sedan or a small SUV.

[Anonymous]

I still drive my sedan. It's 3 kids that pushes you into 3-row territory.

[Anonymous]

We have a VW Passat. When we try #3 we will consider the minivan/SUV route. I think the extra room would be nice for road trips but for everyday tasks it isn't necessary.

You can consider switching car seats to make more room which is cheaper than a new car. The Clek's are pretty narrow.

[Anonymous]

We got a forester because it was easier getting kids in and out of them (plus AWD and decent cargo space) but if you are happy with a sedan there's no reason not to stay with it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got a forester because it was easier getting kids in and out of them (plus AWD and decent cargo space) but if you are happy with a sedan there's no reason not to stay with it

OP here, my parents have a Forester and they really like it so it's definitely on our list. Is the cargo space still decent if you can't fold down the back seats because you have car seats back there?

[Anonymous]

Mazda 5. I used to love and recommend it, but recently it's been making some weird noises at the back, and it's only 7 years old, so... I need to get it seen to.
having said that, it's the perfect small family car. Not much longer than our ancient Toyota Corolla, but seats 6 at a pinch.

[Anonymous]

We bought a pair of minivans from kid 1 onward we wouldn't play the upgrade game as our family grew. Currently have 2 with plans for 2 more. Three across guides are your friend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got a forester because it was easier getting kids in and out of them (plus AWD and decent cargo space) but if you are happy with a sedan there's no reason not to stay with it

OP here, my parents have a Forester and they really like it so it's definitely on our list. Is the cargo space still decent if you can't fold down the back seats because you have car seats back there?

I think so-- we could get all our camping stuff or road trip packing in there. I think it scores high on volume partly because of the shape of the cargo space (say the area above the height of the seat which isn't that usable with kids sitting back there) bit it still worked fine for us. Of course you should look at your parents' (and ours would be out of date).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We bought a pair of minivans from kid 1 onward we wouldn't play the upgrade game as our family grew. Currently have 2 with plans for 2 more. Three across guides are your friend.

We definitely aren't planning on more than 1 more kid. Honestly the "across" car seat space isn't my biggest concern, it's more that DH and I are both tall (I'm 5'9" and he's 6'2") and the convertible car seats all take up sooooo much freaking space from back to front. We've already had to move the front passenger seat up in the Civic to a point that is borderline uncomfortable for longer trips to accommodate DS's rear facing car seat.

[Anonymous]

We have 3 kids and kept our 2 sedans. Instead of a minivan, we got a fun car for when we have no kids, running quick errands, etc. We even roadtrip 1000+miles in the summers and have no problems.

[Anonymous]

We have two little kids with a 2011 CRV and a standard two door Mini Cooper. We just took a little road trip in the crv. Packing it for a trip is a little bit of an art, but I fit everything I wanted. (Beach chairs, umbrella, four suitcases, pack and play, cooler, fun games and distractions, single stroller, etc.) Obviously, the mini is a much tighter fit, but it still works for weekend activities. I don't feel like I need bigger vehicles. My husband sometimes wishes for the four door mini. I'm amazed that we can still squeeze into that thing and I'm rather charmed that he made such an impractical car work for our family.

[Anonymous]

We have a toddler and a baby and a forester and a Hyundai Sonata. The sonata is way too small and we are looking at a mini van as our second vehicle. The forester is he minimum size to be comfortable with a double stroller in the back and groceries and a diaper bag.

[Anonymous]

We had a Toyota Carolla and a Honda Civic. We could fit three across in both if needed. But I never had more than one rear facing at a time, and it was pretty rare that we were all four in the car at the same time.

[Anonymous]

We have a Honda Civic and a Ford Explorer with three rows. That said, I've always had a car like that since I like big cars. Has anyone even put a car seat consistently in the third row?

[Anonymous]

One sedan and one Honda CR-V. I just got a new car and replaced the crv with another 5 seater. I played with getting a third row, but we haven't needed it so far, and the kids are 12 and 10.