I hate driving large cars, so compromised and bought a Mazda 5 instead. Three rows, but small car.

I am having my second and final kid and am excited to get a minivan. Or at least I was until now. I work full time and have no plans to carpool, but I want the minivan because I have a bad back and do extended rear facing. I think it would be easier to load kids into a minivan. Plus we drive 8 hours away a few times a year and once you pack two suitcases and a stroller into our mid sized SUV, nothing else fits

I'm not a fan of mini vans so I'd probably never get one even if I had more kids. I have an SUV with a third row of seats that folds done (press of a button they can be stowed). So I have the extra seats if needed or extra room if needed works well for us. Definitely won't get a mini van any time in the future.

Don't want to drive the living room around

Anonymous wrote:We have two kids (7 & 10) with a sedan and a mid-size SUV w/a 3rd row. The sedan covers 95% of our driving. We also have Radians and can fit three across. That covers almost all of our playdate/sports/activities. There have a couple of times where having the third row (to fit 5 kids) helped but it certainly wasn't necessary.

I definitely do not regret having a minivan!

A mid size suv is essentially a mini van just with out sliding doors. Don't fool your self

Nissan rogue is small but has third to option. Good compromise so you can carry a friend for each child to movie or such

We have a Mazda 5 which is a nice compromise, but I hear they aren't importing them anymore. It's perfect for us because it's not too big but when we need to we can fit 2 or 3 extra kids in the car. So if there are any small van/truck options with a 3rd row, I'd suggest that.

Yes, we regret not getting a mini-van.

Our RAV4 has dinged door edges (from hitting the garage walls or other cars), kids get their fingers hurt in the hinges/door when climbing in/out, can't fit in the grandparents or friends when they visit.

So those issues wouldn't be there, and we would have had the added benefits of auto-opening doors/trunk, the sliding doors, easy low step-in for children, strong engine and more trunk room.

I'm at 2 and 4 as well! But I think we're going to upgrade to a minivan for the next car purchase (probably in another year or so). We don't *need* it on a regular basis yet, but there are definitely issues and I can foresee more. We have a dog too. Our wagon (prius v) is seriously overpacked for a weekend roadtrip with a dog and a big cooler. The dog has been getting left behind in boarding lately just because we can't fit her and her stuff in the car! And we can't fit a friend in the car (adult or child) until we're out of carseats.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: what age do kids typically start sitting in the front passenger seat?

It's recommended not to do so until at least 13.

http://www.thecarcrashdetective.com/2017/05/safe-legal-elementary-front-seat.html/

Unfortunately, most kids are in the front seat long before then. I saw a 5 year old front-seated today while I was buckling in my 3.5 yo RF.

I have three kids and two dogs so for us the minivan is a no brainer. That being said, we routinely add an extra two kids for our sports carpools. Carpools make your life easier (less driving overall), so if your kids are sports/dance/orchestra driven and need to go a lot of places, definitely consider how many extra you might want to fit. The sliding doors are a huge plus for me too.

Age 13 minimum for front seat, ideally 4 foot 9 inches tall (for use of adult seat belt).

SUVs are fine. ONly upside of minivan is the sliding door if you're in cramped parking lots.

Mazda 5 was the perfect solution for us. We had a Passat Wagon for years which was ok except when it was not quite enough. Those times were not enough for us to get a full size van though. I don't think they are making them anymore though..shame.

I have an elementary school child and a toddler in a volvo xc90. Can't wait to get a minivan.

We have two kids (7 & 10) with a sedan and a mid-size SUV w/a 3rd row. The sedan covers 95% of our driving. We also have Radians and can fit three across. That covers almost all of our playdate/sports/activities. There have a couple of times where having the third row (to fit 5 kids) helped but it certainly wasn't necessary.

I definitely do not regret having a minivan!