Suv recs

john5111

So I ve always driven a car and have just started to look at suvs..I was thinking I wanted a little bit smaller of one to start out with just needing some extra space.  With my car now (we are both tall) the car seat is right up to the seat and if my husband is with me he is smashed right up to the dash.  We went and started looking last week and test drove/looked at some.

We looked at the suv of my car--Mazda 9(it was decent) seemed a little big for me, havent heard much for reviews of this, the mazda 5 hated it..too small
Ford Edge-didnt like the shape of it at all
Santa Fe Sport-Loved it but wondering if it will be big of enough down the road, have one kid but plan to have another, Santa Fe- is the extra 10-15k worth it for an extra row of seats..how often would we use it?
My fav- Chevy equinox--thought I was set on this is what I want but after talking with several people theya re like nope youd want the traverse the equinox will not be big enough for 2 kiddos etc etc..

Any advice ladies?   I was aiming for a smaller SUV but dont want to be disappointed a couple years later and think oh I wish we would have gone bigger.  Its so overwhelming..so many options.

john5111

Thanks...no we do not want to lease it.

emmy236

We have an Equinox and its great for us for these reasons 1) good head room. My husband is 6'7 so he needs it. 2) second row slides forward and back. Makes life easier.
3)I feel is a good price for all that you get and its roomy. I had a 2 door coup before so anything felt bigger.

Cons for us: Now that we are expecting number 2 we don't have a place for the dogs. We will be buying an SUV with a third row at some point. We bring our dogs with us to visit family and despite the desperate plees from the 75lb springer, she can't sit on my lap the entire 5 hours.

Also look at the Kia SUV. We liked that too and it has a really big trunk and a possible 3rd row. When we were looking they didn't have a lot of the new model in stock and the sales guy was way too pushy wanting me to settle on something on the lot that wasn't what we wanted. I was 7 months pregnant and homicidal. DH took me to Krispy Kreme before things got out of hand. The Chevy people had snacks. Point of the story don't go when pregnant and hungry.

bumpuser3155624

I have a Toyota Rav 4 and don't care for it. Noisy and not a great ride. Later this year I will be looking at the GMC Acadia or Buick Enclave.

huzzahuzza

I have a Ford Escape too and LOVE it!!!

flyliceandcoffee

I actually have a CX9 and I LOVE my car. We opted to get the 3rd row because we have 2 dogs so they need a place to sit, and with the third row, we can still have 2 kids in the middle row and the dogs in the back. The nice thing too is that when the dogs aren't in the car, we can put the 3rd row down flat and have more than enough room to carry anything and everything we might need. Did you test drive the CX9? I went from an impreza to the CX9 and although it takes a little bit to get used to, it doesn't drive like a big truck or anything to me.

john5111

We test drove a 2014 used one while we were there..my husband just drove..maybe I should go back and drive it too.  Thanks!  The used one was def a no go bc it was all scratched up in the inside.

snowgirl427

You should definitely drive whatever you are going to buy. Blind spots etc can be different for everyone.

We have a Jeep Grand Cherokee, but honestly, I would probably trade it in if we had two kids. DH is 5'11 and the rear facing car seat can't go behind his seat (we have the Britax Pavilion).

I shudder to say this but I dream about a minivan. It just seems so nice not having to have space to open doors... Plus it just seems perfect for kids with all the features.

ecgal87

I have a '13 Ford Escape, but we are going to have to trade it now that I am expecting #2. DH is 5'11" and will not have enough leg room to drive once we put the Chicco Keyfit behind the driver's side. I loved it when we bought it with just DS, but we weren't planning on having a second child at the time. We are looking at Chevy Traverses and Buick Enclaves. I'd consider a minivan, but we need AWD and the Toyota Sienna is the only one that offers it. They are hard to find in the price range we want to stick with.

jesselayne8

snowgirl427 said:

You should definitely drive whatever you are going to buy. Blind spots etc can be different for everyone. We have a Jeep Grand Cherokee, but honestly, I would probably trade it in if we had two kids. DH is 5'11 and the rear facing car seat can't go behind his seat (we have the Britax Pavilion). I shudder to say this but I dream about a minivan. It just seems so nice not having to have space to open doors... Plus it just seems perfect for kids with all the features.

I just traded my SUV for a minivan. I too dreamed of sliding doors. I can't believe how wide the 2nd row is for 3 car seats. You could probably fit 3 of the widest convertibles seats on the market.

john5111

Just bought a cx 9 loved driving it! Hope I like it! Got it for a steal thx ladies!