suv suggestions needed

VeryBlessedMom

a m Notlooking to actually purchase the new car until at least 26 weeks, but would like to have ideas in mind. We will have newborn triplets and a 17 month old.no minivans please. My husband is too tall to actually fit in them, I do remember having them, and a couple of my aunts and uncles still have them with their young kids, so I am familiar with them. Currently have a bmw x5, which I love, but of course it only fitS two car seats.sorry for the spelling Inaccuracy..on phone.thanks in advance for the suggestion!
oh, would also like to keep at 60,000 or less.

carrotcake06

We have an Acura MDX, but we only need to fit 3 across.

There is an SUV that allows for third row access while a car seat is installed, but I don't remember off the top of my head.

VeryBlessedMom

6'11"

PinkinProvence

Nissan Pathfinder has 3 row seating.  I think the Acura and Mazda trucks have 3 row seating too.  I have an X5 and while we don't have a 3rd row, I believe you can get one.

caden

If your DH is too tall for a minivan then I would suggest looking into a suburban, or yukon. Something that size b/c I can't imagine a midsize SUV being larger than a minivan.

And random side note: my DH is 6'5" and my first reaction to seeing that your DH is 6'11" is that he must get annoying comments all.the.time. Does he get asked daily if he plays basketball?!

caden

Wait does your DH fit in the x5? If so then how could he not fit into a minivan? The headroom on the x5 is 36.6". The headroom on a Chrysler T&C is 39.8" and it's 40.4" on a Buick Enclave, for example.

The legroom is 40" in the x5, 40.7" in a T&C and 41.3" in an Enclave.

(edited)

ksteeb611

the x5 is mine. he rarely drives it

caden

What does he drive?

ksteeb611

he doesn't drive so much...usu on the phone on the way to/from work.  his driver has a Cadillac xts, but he usu spreads out with all his things in the back seat.

Paradisemoon

ksteeb611 said:

he doesn't drive so much...usu on the phone on the way to/from work.  his driver has a Cadillac xts, but he usu spreads out with all his things in the back seat.

Umm what?? Is this MUD?

KimCousino

Paradisemoon said:

ksteeb611 said:

he doesn't drive so much...usu on the phone on the way to/from work.  his driver has a Cadillac xts, but he usu spreads out with all his things in the back seat.

Umm what?? Is this MUD?


I'm thinking the same thing. OP was veryblessedmom but Qs answered by ksteeb611. :-w

LottaLattes

I would suggest a limo, myself

24karat

KimCousino said:

Paradisemoon said:

ksteeb611 said:

he doesn't drive so much...usu on the phone on the way to/from work.  his driver has a Cadillac xts, but he usu spreads out with all his things in the back seat.

Umm what?? Is this MUD?

I'm thinking the same thing. OP was veryblessedmom but Qs answered by ksteeb611. :-w

I was actually thinking it was MUD when she 1st posted....with "60,000 or less" remark.  Because, you know, this board is full of those of us driving $60K vehicles....





That was my reaction too. I'd love a 60k budget for a car...or pretty much anything else for that matter.

Paradisemoon

MrsLee04 said:

KimCousino said:

Paradisemoon said:

ksteeb611 said:

he doesn't drive so much...usu on the phone on the way to/from work.  his driver has a Cadillac xts, but he usu spreads out with all his things in the back seat.

Umm what?? Is this MUD?

I'm thinking the same thing. OP was veryblessedmom but Qs answered by ksteeb611. :-w

I was actually thinking it was MUD when she 1st posted....with "60,000 or less" remark.  Because, you know, this board is full of those of us driving $60K vehicles....





The Toyota Land Cruiser and Bmw x5 fully loaded can be 80k. Not that I drive anything close to that but it isn't as far fetched as a personal DRIVER. Hahaha!
edit for name error.

VeryBlessedMom

no, it's not mud.  i was ksteeb611 when i was on the knot and it probably started that way.  switched to veryblessedmom when i couldn't update my information after Grace was born.  still cannot do the update, which is why my info is not up to date

LottaLattes

Well in the case of not a MUD, you will just have a total hard time with any SUV with 4 in seats as getting them all in is hard and you have to fold down seats and all that. If you don't mind wanting to tear your hair out every single time you load or unload, you might look at something like a Flex or something that has captain seats. It is also really hard to park a larger car that has side opening doors (versus a minivan sliding) and trying to keep track of three kids while you buckle someone in. If you want a car that will make your life easier, get a minivan. There isn't a magic other solution for someone with 4 in car seats. It isn't what we all would choose to drive but once you get to so many kids, you just have to give up some things. I gave up my Pilot since school drop off was nearly impossible and my stroller hardly fit in the back. Just a total fail.

Paradisemoon

I'm going to give you the benefit of the MUD doubt and agree with LottaLattes. SUVs are not car seat friendly especially when you are talking 4 rear facing car seats at once. And unless you opt for a suburban you will have ZERO cargo space.  Think of that huge stroller you're going to get!

rcnavywife

We also have triplets on the way and an older DS who is still in a full carseat. We had no luck in looking at SUV's (other than probably a suburban as pp's have mentioned, but I'm not willing to spend that much, and I can only imagine the mileage). Any SUV's we saw had zero trunk space and the third row was very difficult to access with car seats in the middle row. We need a minivan.

VeryBlessedMom

Ok...thanks...I have an uncle who is a head mechanic at an Oldsmobile/Chevy dealer and he suggested suburban too.
Thanks again

Dena526

My good friend has the Chevy Traverse - not sure it would be enough for you, but it has third row seating and she loves it. I have the Chevy Equinox which is smaller, but we are both very happy with the Chevy vehicles.

1+tripsmom

We have an older and triplets also. We had a ford Expadation el it worked and had storage but was a pain in the butt to flip seat to put kids in back row and no idea how would do it with rear facing your 4. And gas in that sucked bad I was spending close to $100 every time I got gas mind you only getting 10-12 mpg. Plus you have to lift anything in the back which for me being 5ft2in sucked and hurt my back. Parking also sucked and had trouble seeing kids when loading other kids and kids could not climb in or out on there own. We downgraded to Honda van and love it so much easier I can see the other kids when buckling one in. All the negatives to the SUV the van fixed. Like gas I now get 17-19 mpg and spend half to fill up. Sure there things I miss about it but much happier with van.

24karat

ksteeb611 said:

he doesn't drive so much...usu on the phone on the way to/from work.  his driver has a Cadillac xts, but he usu spreads out with all his things in the back seat.

I'm curious...is "no minivans" a preference or is it solely because of his height? If he's working and it's you driving the babies most times I think it would make more sense to go for convenience which a minivan definitely provides more than an SUV with that many car seats. My DH is over 6ft too and we've made a Caravan Sport work. We took out the captain's chair behind the driver's seat and put two car seats in the back, one in the other captain's chair. This way DH can put the seat all the way back and we can easily buckle in all the babies. As PP said the sliding doors make a huge difference. I think it'd be a logistics nightmare to try fitting 4 or more rear facing seats between two rows of an SUV, let alone buckling the babies all in.

LottaLattes

Without at least two kids old enough to climb in and buckle themselves, even a Suburban is going to be a big PITA, so good luck with that one.

mommaoftrips

My husband and I are both tall - 6 feet. We have a Yukon XL (same as suburban). I LOVE. I know you can get it with two captains seats in the second row which makes accessing the third row easier. We wanted the bench in the 2nd row and have never regretted our decision. Mini vans just have NO room for all the baby gear you have to bring (we only have trips no other kids).

Paradisemoon

MrsLee04 said:

mommaoftrips said:

Mini vans just have NO room for all the baby gear you have to bring (we only have trips no other kids).

So NOT true.  We had a Honda Civic for the 1st 5.5 years, which included significant traveling.  If we can do that with twins, then a minivan can certainly hold the gear a family with triplets need.  We have an Odyssey now and seriously don't know what to do with all of the space.

I second this. We have an Odyssey and have PLENTY of space for our kids gear. Which includes a double jogging stroller already.

jennybean80

We've been looking at SUVs vs minivans too. Probably going with the Honda Odyssey for our 2.5 year old and soon-to-be twins. Seemed like all the SUVs with a third row had zero storage space, while the vans would fit the twin stroller with room to spare.
Good luck finding what you need!

24karat

Paradisemoon said:

MrsLee04 said:

mommaoftrips said:

Mini vans just have NO room for all the baby gear you have to bring (we only have trips no other kids).

So NOT true.  We had a Honda Civic for the 1st 5.5 years, which included significant traveling.  If we can do that with twins, then a minivan can certainly hold the gear a family with triplets need.  We have an Odyssey now and seriously don't know what to do with all of the space.

I second this. We have an Odyssey and have PLENTY of space for our kids gear. Which includes a double jogging stroller already.

Heck I'll third it. Again, we made a Caravan work for us. And we also discovered the other day that we can (amazingly) make the tiny Geo Prism we have work if we absolutely need it to, stroller and all.

EDIT: While I'm thinking of it, I also fit two double strollers (full size tandem and a DSNG) in the trunk of my MIL's Town & Country yesterday...along with this month's Costco run loot.

katekat8721

I'd also recommend a Suburban. But gas mileage... ick. I had an older Chevy Tahoe and only got 9 mpg.

I must be a weirdo because I can't wait to get a minivan. They're comfortable, more efficient, can fit loads of things... and don't get me started on sliding doors. Can't. Wait!

tiffy81

We just traded in my Nissan armada for the Infiniti QX56 (now the 80) and I love it!! You can get a 2012 pretty loaded for around 60k otherwise brand new you're looking at 80k. I'm in love with my SUV and I loved my armada but fell in love with the Infiniti when it was redesigned. Happy shopping!!!! We are currently a family of 5 no kids in car seats and we are expecting twins. This vehicle suits us just fine. We are not into mini vans although they have some really impressive features!!!!

hgrosch

Search suv's with second row captains chairs and 3rd row seating...that gives you 5 accessible seats. I think the options are Yukon, Acadia, mdx, there are more but I can't remember all of them. Just remember captains chairs are usually an option.

caden

You will get more cargo space behind the 3rd row with a large SUV (eg Yukon) than you would with a minivan. But that doesn't mean there's insufficient space in a van. Plus cargo space probably isn't the most important consideration, since both will fit a big stroller. It's ease of access to each row. If you have 4 in car seats you NEED the most convenient vehicle for getting those babies in and out.

JuliaAndPete

I just got a Chevy Traverse and it's the best vehicle I have ever owned. Captains chairs ftw! Good luck.

amy1007

Infiniti QX60!!