Let's Talk Vehicles.....

[hmr11913]

What kind of vehicle do you have - or plan on getting - to accommodate your new one on the way? We wanted a safe family car, that also would get good gas mileage as I do a lot of driving.... we settled on a Chevy Cruze Diesel (hello 50 MPG!) however it's not near as spacious as we thought it would be. With the carseat in the back, there's not very much leg room in the front passenger side (which is fine most of the time, as I drive it alone usually) but there's pretty much no way we can fit a 2nd carseat in the back and have enough leg room in the front. 

I don't want to give up my amazing mileage, however, my squishes are going to turn me into a squish.... any suggestions? Fords are out, as DH would never buy one (he's a Chevy man) and we'd like something that's somewhat decent on gas.

AND GO! 

[WineNChocolate]

Umm the only thing that comes to mind is a Mini Van. I have a Ford man in my life (he works for them) so we have a Flex. We love it not the greatest gas mileage but the space is superb and its not a van, gas mileage range is about 20 mpg. About the same as the SUVs nowadays. So I would say a mini van, gas mileage and space and convenience. WAIT change that maybe a Crew cab truck, F-150 which I am sure the Chevy equivalent would give you better space in back compared to a regular car if you didn't want to go van.  I would really just take your car seats with you and test. 

 I drive an edge and it works with my DD bigger chair but the baby seat was a pain due to it pushing up the passenger side. I think you could keep your car now for commuting if your a WM and then have a mom car at home for baby trips. Not sure you drop off or pick up situation, if you have one.

[hmr11913]

DH has a Chevy Silverado Crew Cab, so we don't have any issues with taking his vehicle, but typically if we're going 30+ miles we take my car as it's so much better on gas.... good idea about taking the car seats along to test them out! I wish we would have done that before. Also, my back seats have a slant which is annoying with a car seat.

[Deleted]

I have a Honda CR-V and I love it. I have had it since '09 and have never had an issue with it. We are both tall and both seats are all the way back so we are already anticipating problems when it comes time to have a forward facing child seat. I would like to upgrade to the Honda Pilot when the time comes for that. CR-V has great storage capacity and I imagine the latest models have even better gas mileage then the one I have.

[Becca]

I currently have a Civic, which will in no way be large enough to accommodate twins. We will likely upgrade to either the Pilot or Odyssey- I think it will all come down to which vehicle we can find a better deal on.

[mrsp121308]

We are looking at the Kia Sedona mini van. To me space outweighs gas mileage, so that's the #1 priority. It's really a pretty awesome van.

I currently have a GMC Yukon, which is my baby. But I dream of the convenience of sliding doors and an automatic hatch, especially since I'll be carrying a car seat around soon.

[littlelion]

I'd love to get a Honda Pilot. Currently, I drive a Honda Civic. And it's a pain with just one car seat. DH has a Ford 250 and that is very roomy for just 1 but doubt that hold up for 2.  

No immediate plans to change anything. We're stuck being stuck. My car is paid off but DH just got his truck last year (I told him to buy a family car! ugh men).

[littlelion]

Lucy what minivan did you get? 

[sdgal]

If its a singleton, I think we'll be okay in our Prius for driving around just the 3 of us.
But my DH is 6'6" so there is no room behind his seat. So if there is more than one in there, we would have to trade it in for something bigger. I would probably stick with a Toyota, so we would test out the Rav4, the Venza, and the Highlander with carseats behind my DH.

[achromia]

I have a Mazda3 and DH drives a MINI Countryman that is his baby. Since we're (presumably) having just one, I think both cars will be fine for now.

We're sort of a rotating schedule for getting new cars, and I am "due" for a new one in a couple of years. Hopefully that will be right in time for achro-mini #2, and I can upgrade to something bigger! Right now I love the CX-5, but who knows what will be available by then.

[lastnamewithheld]

I have a Ford Focus and H has a Dodge Charger. I think two seats would fit in both of our cars. (If we need two seats...)

Or am I being delusional? Especially with my smaller car? (Lol)

[kaydee0402]

We have a 2014 Ford Focus and a 2013 Ford Escape. However, the engine in the Escape blew last week thanks to the engine over heating (damn recall). Since this is the second time it's happened, we're trading it in for a mini van. I like the Honda Odyssey. And one of my best friends has a Chrysler Town and Country that she loves and swears up and down by.

Just waiting for Ford to finish replacing my engine and car shopping we go!

[kaydee0402]

Apr 28, 2016 18:28:29 GMT -5 lastnamewithheld said:

I have a Ford Focus and H has a Dodge Charger. I think two seats would fit in both of our cars. (If we need two seats...)

Or am I being delusional? Especially with my smaller car? (Lol)

Two seats will fit in a Focus! That's what DH has and we're gettin a second car seat for his car

[Lucy]

Apr 28, 2016 16:18:47 GMT -5 littlelion said:

Lucy what minivan did you get? 

A Dodge Grand Caravan -- it's quite a space upgrade. The kids love it. My sons favorite part is the cup holders in the door. He can't get over how they all have their own cup holder. 

[lastnamewithheld]

Apr 28, 2016 18:31:23 GMT -5 kaydee0402 said:

Apr 28, 2016 18:28:29 GMT -5 lastnamewithheld said:

I have a Ford Focus and H has a Dodge Charger. I think two seats would fit in both of our cars. (If we need two seats...)

Or am I being delusional? Especially with my smaller car? (Lol)

Two seats will fit in a Focus! That's what DH has and we're gettin a second car seat for his car

(Sigh of relief) I am so not ready for another car payment!!! Haha!

[kaydee0402]

Apr 28, 2016 18:32:19 GMT -5 lastnamewithheld said:

Apr 28, 2016 18:31:23 GMT -5 kaydee0402 said:

Two seats will fit in a Focus! That's what DH has and we're gettin a second car seat for his car

(Sigh of relief) I am so not ready for another car payment!!! Haha!

Girl, I hear that.

[littlelion]

Apr 28, 2016 18:31:38 GMT -5 Lucy said:

Apr 28, 2016 16:18:47 GMT -5 littlelion said:

Lucy what minivan did you get? 

A Dodge Grand Caravan -- it's quite a space upgrade. The kids love it. My sons favorite part is the cup holders in the door. He can't get over how they all have their own cup holder. 

Lol that's so cute

[Lucy]

We fit 2 rear facing kids in Britax Marathons in the back of a Nissan Sentra. lastnamewithheld, you can definitely fit 2 in a Focus. The only thing that would be a pain is if you're trying to maneuver kids in an and out of a 2 door car.

[requiressnacks]

My car is 10 years old and ready to be replaced. I think we will wait until I get closer to 3rd tri to bank a few more months with no car payment. With two babies on the way I'm definitely going SUV route, but not sure if I need 3rd row for extra room. Anywho, here's my short list.

- Chevy Equinox
- GMC Acadia
- Nissan Murano
- Buick Enclave

[kaydee0402]

Apr 29, 2016 5:18:38 GMT -5 requiressnacks said:

My car is 10 years old and ready to be replaced. I think we will wait until I get closer to 3rd tri to bank a few more months with no car payment. With two babies on the way I'm definitely going SUV route, but not sure if I need 3rd row for extra room. Anywho, here's my short list.

- Chevy Equinox
- GMC Acadia
- Nissan Murano
- Buick Enclave

You want the third row.  Especially if you travel a lot.  We routinely road trip to my parents house in Orlando, and even with only one kid, one row is not enough.  Take the third row and run.  

If anything, you can lay down the third row and have more trunk space for that double stroller you're going to need!  

[kaydee0402]

Apr 29, 2016 8:17:35 GMT -5 crimpgirl said:

Apr 29, 2016 5:18:38 GMT -5 requiressnacks said:

My car is 10 years old and ready to be replaced. I think we will wait until I get closer to 3rd tri to bank a few more months with no car payment. With two babies on the way I'm definitely going SUV route, but not sure if I need 3rd row for extra room. Anywho, here's my short list.

- Chevy Equinox
- GMC Acadia
- Nissan Murano
- Buick Enclave

I 100% hear you on delaying car payments as long as you can!

I have a 9 year old, 2 door Toyota Yaris hatchback. I'm also tall, so needless to say I am going to require a new car.

I want an suv, but I need to go and buy a car seat before I can test drive, to make sure that I'll fit.

I once put a car seat in my current car and couldn't have the seat all the way back. #tallproblems

I had a Yaris before I totaled it while driving on black ice.  I loved that car!

[babycowbell]

We only have one car that we share, it's a Nissan Rogue. I take public transit to work but I'm thinking we'll need a second car with a baby to make commuting faster and for more flexibility on day care. We only have one parking spot though so I'm not sure how that will work for the budget to pay for day care, a new car payment and renting another parking spot. Oh well.

We're thinking of getting a Subaru, but probably should look a little closer at the whole car seat space issue.

[fikafairy67]

I have a 2011 Chevy Equinox and LOVE it. We don't travel super far to visit family (all within a 2 hour radius, or flying-only distance) so it hasn't been an issue needing more space. I can imagine it getting tight depending on the type of rear-facing carseats, but we have had no issues with DS's front-facing seat right now. I had a Nissan Maxima up until last year that I hated for reasons other than how the carseat fit in. DS sits behind the passenger side, and we will likely move him over to behind the driver in both cars (DH has a chevy trailblazer).

We are done after LO #2, so I'm not planning on upgrading at all. No vans for us!

[mrswillie]

We recently replaced our Subaru Tribeca (without a 3rd row) with a new Honda Pilot (with a 3rd row). It's awesome, spacious, comfy fitting us all in there, etc. We also have a Honda Accord with two car seats in it. I'm pretty sure I won't be putting a 3rd car seat in there and mostly using the Pilot for my every day ventures, unless I'm running out somewhere with one or two of the kiddies.

[trufflefries]

We have a Honda Odyssey and I loooove it! I got over "ew minivan" when we took it on our Christmas trip to see family. So much room and comfy!

[emilie]

Anyone here drive small cars and plan to continue to do so? I drive a 4-door compact sedan and H drives a small 2-door hatchback. We live in the city and need to parallel park on city streets constantly, and I cannot imagine driving a big boat of a car, forget a minivan or SUV. I grew up in a 4-person family where we had regular sedans and the 2 adults in the front seat, 2 kids in the back, and it never seemed like a big deal or like we didn't have enough space. I can see the need for it if you have dogs or more than 2 kids though.

that said, I really want a Volvo sedan because they are so safe! my car is 9 years old and I worry about that more than the size. but the cheapest one starts at like $35K. oy.

[babycowbell]

emilie I want a Volvo!! You can go pick it up from the factory in Sweden and get a little babymoon out of it too. We may lease one or get one that's a couple years old to make it more budget friendly...although there's no trip to Europe included in that.