Recommendations for a great vehicle if you have 3 kids?

cubbiesgal21

I might be in the market for a new vehicle soon, because my Chrysler Pacifica is having some issues! We currently have two kids, a three year old, and a newborn, but we would like to have one more within the next few years. So if we do purchase a new car I would like to get something that will work easily with three. I love my Pacifica, and think i would like something with Captain's chairs in the middle, but hoenstly I am just unsure of how the logistics of three carseats would work, and at what age do kids switch to a booster and how easy are they to get out if you had to put someone in a third row if you had one? I know a minivan would be best, but honestly I am not sure I would like it... so opinions on those too would be great!

Thanks!

momintn

I always said absolutely no vans...but I love my Honda Odyssey!

championmama

I'm going from one kids to two in 3 months and from a Maxima to a Quest the week between Christmas and New Year's.  If we do have #3, it will be in the next 3 years (I'm 32, DH is almost 36), so the Quest will be a perfect fit for the carseats and all.  After the carseats are gone, it'll be a larger SUV, like a Nissan Armada.  Let me just take this time to say that my dream car is the Lexus Lx series, but it's just not in the budget. 

DandelionMom

I love my Mazda 5. ?It has the two seats and then a 3rd row bench seat. ?My 7 y/o is in a booster in the back and she has no trouble getting in and out. ?It is a little small though so if I want to fit a big stroller in there I have to fold down half of the 3rd row. ?It drives like a medium sized car.?

Bellisimo

Well, I just got an '08 Toyota Sequoia....and we chose it because it has the option of having captain's chairs.  I LOVE it!  It's fun to drive, easy to park and it moves!  I wanted something with enough cargo and passenger room so that when both kids are in the car there's room for other passengers plus the double stroller.  We ordered ours with captain's chairs and NO center console between them so you can easily walk back to the third row...so that we never have to take a car seat out for someone to get back to the third row.  The third row is a perfect size and is fully automatic....I can fold down the whole third row or just part of the third row to expand the cargo space in the back....all with the click of a button too!  I like that the rear gate is also automatic...so when I'm walking up with a cart full of groceries and a child I just click the button on the key fob and it opens the back automatically.  Another selling point (for me) was that it has retractable sun screens on all the windows in the second and third row.  We got ours with navigation and rear camera so that I can see what's behind me when I'm backing up, LOL...I needed that!  We also got DVDs in the headrests rather than the flip down DVD so that it doesn't obstruct the view in my rear view mirror.  It's got all the bells and whistles that the Honda Odyssey has (I did test drive the Odyssey just to be fair) without being a minivan.  Having said that, don't count minivans out completely.  The Odyssey was pretty nice and spacious and makes sense for a family with multiple kids!