Anonymous wrote:You cannot put 3-4 teenage boys the size of adults in a sedan or Rav4.

Yes you can. Teens can sit in front. Plus teens can drive.

We have a mini van that I use and 90% of the time the kids are being driven places by me. My husband's car is a Mazda, so the three kids can sit in the back, but it's tight and uncomfortable. Completely fine for the rare occasions he needs to drive all three kids, but if my husband drove them more we would have considered something bigger.

I insisted that the 2nd car be able to have all 5 of us in it... because there are times we really needed it. (when my van had a flat tire, I was running late from an appointment and kids needed to get somewhere, etc...) But we didn't feel the 2nd car needed to be big or with a 3rd row since usually it's just my husband driving to work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You cannot put 3-4 teenage boys the size of adults in a sedan or Rav4.

You can certainly fit three. Two in the back. One in the passenger seat.

It really makes no sense. You choose to have a large family. OP has three small kids, 3 should be in car seats, minimum two and none in the front.

We have 2 vans. Bought at same time. Exact same model just different colors. It works for our family.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You cannot put 3-4 teenage boys the size of adults in a sedan or Rav4.

You can certainly fit three. Two in the back. One in the passenger seat.

Exactly. And by that age, one can drive the minivan if needed and go separately.

Anonymous wrote:You cannot put 3-4 teenage boys the size of adults in a sedan or Rav4.

You can certainly fit three. Two in the back. One in the passenger seat.

You cannot put 3-4 teenage boys the size of adults in a sedan or Rav4.

Camry

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We keep cars forever. I'm wondering will a small car and a minivan be sufficient when the kids are bigger? We have 3 boys. I prefer driving smaller cars, and it seems wasteful to me to get 2 big cars when one car that can carry everyone seems sufficient. But, will I regret that in about 5 years when the kids are bigger and wish I had 3 rows in both cars?

Go with the small car. By the time the kids are big enough that they won't fit three across in the back, the oldest will be big enough to sit in the front. And if both parents are there, then we'll take the minivan.

+1
Also, in 5 years, there will be less need to bring everyone along. If you need to pick up middle from soccer, oldest and youngest can stay home by themselves.

+1
Our sedan was 13 years old when we faced this decision 2 years ago. Purchased a new Sedan as the every day commute car. Our kids are were 12, 10 and 7 as we were making the decision.

2 years later - no regrets

Anonymous wrote:We have a minivan and a small SUV. My husbands SUV is small with no third row but we can get all of our three in their if needed. FWIW a minivan is so much better than a large SUV.

Same and agree 100%.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We keep cars forever. I'm wondering will a small car and a minivan be sufficient when the kids are bigger? We have 3 boys. I prefer driving smaller cars, and it seems wasteful to me to get 2 big cars when one car that can carry everyone seems sufficient. But, will I regret that in about 5 years when the kids are bigger and wish I had 3 rows in both cars?

Get a small SUV like RAV4, which you can put a roof rack or hitch on to carry stuff but still parks well

I wouldn’t go through the pretense of having a small car to not be wasteful; having a 3rd kid is like blowtorching a rainforest so that ship has sailed (we have 3 kids, so no judgement, just own your decisions). We have an accord and it is way longer than a Rav4, so a pain to park though trunk is nice. An SUV to carry you and 3 kids or you and carpool and their stuff is key.

We have a minivan and a small SUV. My husbands SUV is small with no third row but we can get all of our three in their if needed. FWIW a minivan is so much better than a large SUV.

Honda Accord. Had a Honda Civic before that. No need for 2 vans/bigger cars.

Anonymous wrote:Depends on how often the whole family needs to be one second car. We have a Prius as the second car, but had to order narrower boosters and car seats.
That car is mostly used for commuting except for a couple of pickups a week, so it's crowded but fine.

This is what we have as well. It's fine. I wouldn't want to drive a long distance in the Prius, but it would be doable if something was wrong with the van.

I have 3 across in one row in our second car.