Tell me about your ride!

[gratefulgirl]

1) Honda Odyssey - the perfect family car. It has 5 latch points. It has storage room so we can fit all the baby and toddler junk for an entire week long trip. It has leather seats so that spills wipe up. It has those amazing sliding doors for getting kids in and out. It has a back-up camera so I don't hit things in parking lots.

2) Honda Civic - I loved it as a single woman. I like compact because I'm tiny. DH hates it because he's tall. The likelihood it will fit all 3 of our kids in car seats is low, so it's probably leaving us in favor of something with just two rows that has the widest possible back seat, leather seats, and a back-up cam (because I tend to hit things in parking lots).

[weeklyplanner]

What size car are you thinking? I love my Chevy Equinox and the bigger Chevy Traverse is nice. My friends have the Buick 7 seater SUV and it has ZERO trunk space. I've gotten pickier in how my cars drive as I've gotten older. When my car was in the body shop, they gave me a Hyundai SUV loaner. That think drove like crap compared to my Equinox. DH noticed the difference as well. Much more bumpy and just not as smooth.

Due to our location, I prefer to have a car with AWD.

Sadly, I think if we go bigger, it will be a minivan. It's just so practical and more affordable than any other 7 seater on the market. I really don't want to be a minivan driver .

Good luck. Car shopping is the worst!

[aaemommy]

We have a Hyundai Santa Fe and really like it. It only has 2 rows though so that wouldn't work if you were looking for something with 7 seats. But we love all the storage room in the back and the space is fairly decent.

We also have a Nissian Altima and love it. For a car, it has a lot of room and there was never a big issue with room with the rear facing seats. The trunk is fairly large and big enough to lug around all the necessities for a quick weekend trip- pack & play, big stroller, suitcase, etc.

[ice61313]

2013 dodge journey- meh, it's okay. I love the extra space it has underneath the front passenger seat, under the feet in the back seats, and a spot in the back. DH is 6'3" and he always hits the car seat with his seat when he drives. Idk if it's because we bought it used or if we just don't care for it, but we'll be trading it off once we're able to financially.

2012 Ford F-150- seriously spacious back seat but that also means I can't reach anything back there.

[mimsy]

My parents have a 2015 GMC Terrain and it is wonderful. Very spacious backseat and great cargo room. Drives nicely too.

[hoosiermama76]

I have a Toyota RAV4 and love it. I had a Honda CR-V for fourteen years before that. Love them both. DH has a Toyota Camry and loves it.

[minervamae]

We have three in car seats and live in the boonies, so we needed AWD. That limited us to the Toyota Sienna.

Pros: It has AWD. It's supposed to have good value in the long run. Tons of cup holders.

Cons: Interface is confusing. (I just learned how to dim the interior lights 2 years later.) It's REALLY wide, so parking is hard. I wish it had stow and go seats in the second row. You have to lift those out if you don't want to use them. With AWD you can can't get a bench seat in the middle row. Only has 3 seats with latch (the two captain chairs in the second row and the middle position in the third row).

[caybeh]

We have a Chrysler Town and Country. Love love love it. The only thing I wish it had was AWD.

It has stow and go which means the seats just fold down into the floor if you don't want them up. Or if you do, they you have storage compartments. It drives nice, has back up camera, electronic sliding doors, two DVD players. We love it!

[swim]

We have a Chevrolet Cruze.
I like it, it's a smooth ride, but the back seat is small. It fits the carseats in fine, but once my kids get older and have longer legs, it's going to be a problem. The trunk is big, but not big enough to fit my Graco stroller without folding down the seat.

It works for us, for now, but we'll probably need a bigger car later on.

[greysonsmom]

DH drives a Toyota 4 runner, it's a large suv in my opinion. I don't love driving it because it seems to large for me. But it is very spacious and has great trunk space.

[jules1614]

I third(?) the Toyota RAV4. It's perfect size for me- not too big to drive but tons of room! I have a V6 so it can tow too and it has 4wd. I'm a huge fan of Toyota- they last for ever! My last car was a 99 Toyota Camry with 220,000 ran great- only upgraded because H wanted a truck- which we got another Toyota.

My only complaint is I have a 2012 RAV4 so the back door swings out instead of up- the newer models lift up.

[annapunkalunka]

I have a 2014 Toyota Highlander and I love it. It drives well in snow/ice. It's super comfy (front and back). The only con I might say is that the 3rd row seat isn't great. It folds away... That's an amazing feature. But it's very uncomfortable. I wouldn't want to put a car seat back there, so if we have 3 I'm going to have to either go 3 across or buy something different. That's the only con I have. I seriously love it.

[bobloblaw]

I have a 2011 Highlander. I love it. It rides so smooth and I have had no issues with it in 5 years.I don't live where it snows but there is a snow button so I guess it drives alright in those conditions.I love the way carseats fit in it well even with my 6'5" husband in the front seat.

I don't think the 3rd row in mine is too bad but the body style changed between the 2011 and 2014 so maybe the layout did too.

[silvermelody]

2013 Subaru Forester. Overall I love it. It's small enough to fit into a compact parking space but big enough for us & all our gear to road trip somewhere. Very high safety ratings & Subaru was #1 brand from Consumer Reports this year.

I dislike how tight the fit is for a car seat behind the driver's seat. But I'm on the tall side (5'8") and on the fat side lol. Passenger side is much better.

They are pricey new but hold their resale value.

[Deleted]

I drove a 2015 Grand Cherokee. I LOVE it. Favorite car I have ever had. Fits two car seats no problem. Cargo area is spacious. It would get a little tight if we were doing a long road trip. My H has a 2015 Chevy Tahoe. That is usually what we all go places together in. Again, great w car seats. We don't use the third row at all. We leave it folded down for tons of cargo space.
The Tahoe is really too big for me, but it does drive nice.

[acorn99]

I have a 2010 Nissan Rogue. It is AWD, has plenty of storage and car seat space, without being a big huge SUV. I would highly recommend one.

[Deleted]

Feb 29, 2016 7:54:26 GMT -5 acorn99 said:

I have a 2010 Nissan Rogue. It is AWD, has plenty of storage and car seat space, without being a big huge SUV. I would highly recommend one.

acorn99 are you going to do two carseats in the Rogue? I have a Versa - I love it but I think if we have two kids I'm going to need something bigger.  I like the Rogue but I'm wondering how much more space I'm really getting. Also considering a Murano.

[acorn99]

Feb 29, 2016 9:41:33 GMT -5 @bazi45 said:

Feb 29, 2016 7:54:26 GMT -5 acorn99 said:

I have a 2010 Nissan Rogue. It is AWD, has plenty of storage and car seat space, without being a big huge SUV. I would highly recommend one.

acorn99 are you going to do two carseats in the Rogue? I have a Versa - I love it but I think if we have two kids I'm going to need something bigger.  I like the Rogue but I'm wondering how much more space I'm really getting. Also considering a Murano.

We have a Versa and a Rogue!! We are planning to have two carseats in the Rogue, and I dont foresee any issue with space. Right now J is in a Graco Size4me or something, and it leaves plenty of room to put the infant seat or another convertible in there. 

I am a little concerned about cramming two in the Versa, though It will be cozy back there, but doable. 

[redhorizon343]

I have a 2013 jetta sportwagen diesel that is off the market because emissions scandal.

We have a 2007 honda civic as our beater commuter car, but honestly, it's served me really, really well.

We don't like anything too big and really value our trunk space, so we'll probably look at a subaru outback when it comes time to get rid of one of the cars (though which one we'll have to ditch first is really anyone's guess.)

[vk]

I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee and H has a Ford f150.

We both love our vehicles. My jeep is 4X4 and it does really well in bad weather. Jeeps have a great 'shelf life'. Mine is an 06 and it is still going strong. It will probably get a little snug in the back with 2 car seats and a dog, but we are going to try and make it work as long as we can. After that I will upgrade to an Acadia or something similar for more room.

[Courtniko]

I have a 2002 Chevy Blazer, and DH has a 2003 Hyundai (not the Elantra, the smaller one). Love my Blazer, but it is nearing the end.
We are going to bite the bullet and go with a mini van next I am very sad about this.
From following car seats for the little we had it narrowed down to a Toyota Sienna or a Honda Odyssey because of top safety for kid's ratings. From there we have decided we will go with the Honda.
The automatic sliding doors are just so convenient in a mini van, still a little part of me will die.

[inaya]

We have a Sante Fe, too! It's nothing amazing but drives well enough, plenty of space for us, felt like a good value... Hope yours treats you well!