A Mazda 5, small but seats 6, so very useful. A little disappointed in the maintenance, though.

Honda CR-V. But I miss the sedan we had when we had 1 kid. The CRV is such a mom car.

Honda Pilot.

I have two kids and a minivan. We are on our second one. We decided originally because my father was with us a lot. He was a bigger man and three adults and two kids in a sedan was tight. We went right to the minivan because we ended up needing the extra space for DN (in a carseat at the time) and my father, and we ended up needing to take MIL as well. Having a larger car was just easier. Plus, we ended up needing the space to haul items on a regular basis. When the time comes to ditch the minivan I want to go for an SUV with a third row. We also carpool for activities, so the extra space has been nice.

Subaru now has a 3rd row SUV. Debating getting that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course you don’t have to...my mom drove three of us in a Ford Pinto!

That said I just went from a two row small SUV to a three row larger one. Two kids, 14 and 11. There was the carpooling aspect, but we needed bigger for traveling. We couldn’t fit everything in the back of the smaller SUV. My DS is also growing by leaps and bounds and outgrowing the backseat (yes he still sits in the backseat. By choice!)

I loved my zippy little SUV and while I like my new one, it’s a great smooth drive, I do miss easily parking my little one.

PP what did you get? We have a Forrester which I love, but thinking of getting one with a 3rd row.

I had a Ford Escape and now a Ford Explorer.

I know American vehicles aren’t popular on DCUM, but I had great luck with my Escape - 245,000 Miles. So I wanted to stick with Ford and hope lightning strikes twice.

Subaru Legacy.good rear seat leg room.

Anonymous wrote:Of course you don’t have to...my mom drove three of us in a Ford Pinto!

That said I just went from a two row small SUV to a three row larger one. Two kids, 14 and 11. There was the carpooling aspect, but we needed bigger for traveling. We couldn’t fit everything in the back of the smaller SUV. My DS is also growing by leaps and bounds and outgrowing the backseat (yes he still sits in the backseat. By choice!)

I loved my zippy little SUV and while I like my new one, it’s a great smooth drive, I do miss easily parking my little one.

PP what did you get? We have a Forrester which I love, but thinking of getting one with a 3rd row.

Of course you don’t have to...my mom drove three of us in a Ford Pinto!

That said I just went from a two row small SUV to a three row larger one. Two kids, 14 and 11. There was the carpooling aspect, but we needed bigger for traveling. We couldn’t fit everything in the back of the smaller SUV. My DS is also growing by leaps and bounds and outgrowing the backseat (yes he still sits in the backseat. By choice!)

I loved my zippy little SUV and while I like my new one, it’s a great smooth drive, I do miss easily parking my little one.

OP here - Good point about the kids driving on their own in not too many years! I hadn't even thought about that. We can't hand our current car down (it's already too old) but would be nice to save a little now and put it away for a future car for them.

A Toyota Corolla. We live within our means and I’m not the neighborhood Uber.

My Civic fits 4 kids, plus me when I drive DD’s friends or teams.

mom of 15 and 13 y.o. here. I vote no because your 12 y.o. is going to start driving at 15.5, and instead of going up now, you might want to consider waiting until this stage and then you can give your kid your car and buy what you want for yourself.

I have a Honda Fit for me and my two kids, and I love it. At their current ages (10 and 11), we can also carry two extra kids for carpooling. I imagine that will reduce down to 1 extra kid as they get older and bigger.

I have always preferred to drive a small car. I hate the feeling of driving a tank! (Which I understand is hyperbole, but it just feels that way to me.)

I have an 11 and 12 year old and have a small (2-row) SUV. DH wants to get a bigger SUV but I'm not so sure. Besides car pooling, I don't know why we need to spend all the extra money for a larger car.

Do you think a larger car is needed as the kids get older? Or if you have a smaller car, are you happy with it?

Thanks!