Moms of 3+ New car?

OliveOyl2014

Hello all! This will be baby #3 for us and both my older kids will still be in car seats. I have a Toyota Corolla that definitely will not fit 3 seats across. Any suggestions or favorites that are not too high in the budget for a new car? We are not looking at minivans at this time, just SUVs with 3rd row seats. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

2babes3angels

We're gonna have 3 in carseats. We're looking at 4Runners

purplestarz

I don't know if they've changed, but I don't recommend the highlander. I have a 2012 highlander (which I love) but car seats can't go in the third row. I love my moms Honda pilot and I believe car seats can go in their third row

tyannej

I don't have any kids yet (this is my first one) but I have a 4Runner with 3rd row and I love it, I also have a friend that has a Highlander and she has 2 kids and she says it's perfect for them even if they wanted to expand even more. I believe the Highlanders are cheaper than the 4Runner now a days 

mrs_fogue

I have a Ford Explorer that I'm in love with.  It has 3 rows but I'm not sure how difficult it would be to buckle a kid up in the 3rd row, I've never really tried.

cactusblossum

I'll be a ftm so no experience on how it'll actually work, but I just got a 16 ford expedition and I love it. 

GodIsFaithful93

We'll have three in car seats as well. I'll be driving a Yukon xl 

lovehorse77

Nissan path finder! Love love love mine!

canonmom413

We have a 2016 ford Explorer. Lerrrve it! 

ctnurse-2

We just bought a 2016 Toyota Highlander Limited. You can put carseats in the 3rd row- Not sure if you can do 3- I know the middle has LATCH-- here is a video blog a mom posted- I have the same set up. Captains chairs in the middle row---I love my  Highlander-
   https://familyfriendlydaddyblog.com/2016/07/11/2016-toyota-highlander-limited-3rd-row-seat-space-and-child-car-seat-placement/

sqfibemom

Just buy the minivan haha! I have converted so many people to them. The sliding auto doors, auto trunk, DVD player, stow and go, I could go on and on. It's just so much more convenient. Take one for a test drive with both kids and you'll see haha!

sqfibemom

Oh and Toyota vans are beautiful but expensive. I've found that Dodge Grand Caravan gives you the most bang for your buck but it really is about trying them all out.

OliveOyl2014

Thank you all for the advice! So many options to consider. Thank goodness we have until October-ish. 

magnolia305

I have an Ford Expedition EL--so there is TONS of room and I love it.  If you are looking at the mid-size SUV's, make sure there is trunk room for strollers.  My SIL has an Explorer--and when we take the kids to the zoo (car seats and strollers)--it is a TIGHT squeeze.  I have heard several moms who have the mid-size say they wish they would have just gotten the bigger vehicle for the space. Side note, vans have SO much space and are more affordable! 

Mommyamp

I'm going to be the dissenter and say that I despised my minivan! I had a grand caravan. No issues with the car mechanically but they are not as spacious as touted. Maybe it's because I went from an suv to a minivan or maybe because I had 4 kids in it (2 were in car seats). Either way, we are now back in an suv and I will never in a million years drive another minivan. 

ctnurse-2

Not sure where you are living but here is something to consider when looking at minivans vs suv w/3rd row. The ONLY minivan with AWD to handle snow and crappy weather is Toyota Sienna   So if you need AWD you have 1 choice for a minivan...but TONS of options in SUVs. I recommend climbing in the 3rd row....and bringing a full size stroller to see how it fits in the back

Lyzza350

I have he Acadia and I love it!

apethehairstar

@lovehorse77 we also have a 2017 Nissan Pathfinder....but I have 4 kids ages (12, 9, 7, and 16 months old) and expecting in Oct. so I will have all the seats occupied....and the toddler in a RF car seat......I'm wondering what convertible seat would fit in the midddle or if I should switch the Chico infant seat to the middle....bc we obviously need the one passenger side to be able to slide forward for the older kids to get in back!!!    What seats and how many do you have in yours and also what yr if that makes any difference? Lol
I was googling the "slimmer" car seats but confused and don't want to buy the most expensive ones either 

dogperson11

Just throwing this out there - make sure whatever you get has top tether points in convenient spots for you. Most 3rd rows only have 1 top tether point, if they have one at all. All forward facing car seats NEED to be top tethered.

OliveOyl2014

apethehairstar said:

@lovehorse77 we also have a 2017 Nissan Pathfinder....but I have 4 kids ages (12, 9, 7, and 16 months old) and expecting in Oct. so I will have all the seats occupied....and the toddler in a RF car seat......I'm wondering what convertible seat would fit in the midddle or if I should switch the Chico infant seat to the middle....bc we obviously need the one passenger side to be able to slide forward for the older kids to get in back!!!    What seats and how many do you have in yours and also what yr if that makes any difference? Lol
I was googling the "slimmer" car seats but confused and don't want to buy the most expensive ones either 

We have a VW Tiguan which is a smaller SUV. We have an appointment tomorrow with a car seat technician to see if we can install 3 across. She recommended Diono Radians for convertible seats, and a Chicco Keyfit for the infant carrier. Hoping it works because we don't want to buy a new car. 

dogperson11

OliveOyl2014 said:

apethehairstar said:

@lovehorse77 we also have a 2017 Nissan Pathfinder....but I have 4 kids ages (12, 9, 7, and 16 months old) and expecting in Oct. so I will have all the seats occupied....and the toddler in a RF car seat......I'm wondering what convertible seat would fit in the midddle or if I should switch the Chico infant seat to the middle....bc we obviously need the one passenger side to be able to slide forward for the older kids to get in back!!!    What seats and how many do you have in yours and also what yr if that makes any difference? Lol
I was googling the "slimmer" car seats but confused and don't want to buy the most expensive ones either 

We have a VW Tiguan which is a smaller SUV. We have an appointment tomorrow with a car seat technician to see if we can install 3 across. She recommended Diono Radians for convertible seats, and a Chicco Keyfit for the infant carrier. Hoping it works because we don't want to buy a new car. 

We had a Diono Radian and loved it. After the car was totaled I replaced it with a Graco SlimFit.

TallMomma29

Another vote for a minivan even though you said you don't want one.     We were always "no, absolutely no" with respect to minivans and now that we actually have one I regret not swallowing my pride and getting one sooner.  They are sooooo amazingly convenient with kids, and sooo much space.  And auto sliding doors are God's gift to mothers.  

OliveOyl2014

@TallMomma29 at first we said no minivan but in researching the SUV's with 3rd row seats, they are super tiny in the back. So we decided on a minivan. But a big house expense came up and we are trying to avoid buying a new car for now. I'm so upset because all minivan research got me so excited! I don't care how "soccer mom mobile" they look, I want one! Hopefully in the future. What minivan do you have? 

sjohns908

We have a minivan and I will not part with it until I'm down to 2 kids left at home. It's spacious in between the front and middle buckets, so it leaves room for my older two to squeeze past the car seat in the middle bucket to get out.

We just bought an Explorer with a bench seat in the middle and 3rd row for DH to drive and while it's nice to have that third row, I absolutely wouldn't choose it over middle buckets given the option. It's going to be a pita once baby gets here and next to impossible to get the kids out. With two car seats in the middle bench, we won't be able to flip down a seat for the two to get out from the back. And with two boosters in the 3rd row, we wont be able to flip those down to get them out through the tailgate. Thankfully, this will not be our normal daily driver as a family. 

As far as space goes in the Explorer, there is less room between seats, but the same amount of cargo room behind the 3rd row as my minivan. 

OliveOyl2014

@sjohns908 the positioning of the car seats was my biggest issue with the 3rd rows. It's not convenient when you have to flip one down just to get someone out of the back. 

kmornelas29

I've been shopping around! I'm either getting a Tahoe/suburban or the Denali yukon xl. Look into them! They are nice for families. Also considering Cadillac Escalade since I'm already in the caddy family, and it has great room plus the physical style is nice too! 

TallMomma29

@OliveOyl2014 we have the Honda Odyssey!  We picked it over our other top option (the toyota sienna) because you can put 3 car seats across in the middle row, and we wanted that option for when the kids were really small (back when we were planning to have our third and final kid soon... but now it's 3 and 4 so that doesn't matter. 2 kids will for sure have to go in the back row.   ) And it also has a tad more leg room than the sienna and we're tall! 

You are so right about 3rd row SUVs having very little space when the third row is up.  Our minivan has a deep well where the third row seats usually go, so we have a lot storage space even with the third row up!  We also bought on a net on amazon that attaches in the back so we are able to stack things high when needed without worrying about it all falling out when we open the back the next time.   It's great!!

OliveOyl2014

@TallMomma29 we were looking at the odyssey as well. But we couldn't find the model we wanted in the milage/price range we liked. So we kept putting it on hold and now its really on hold

carries2018

Those standing strong on no Minivan the pilot has 3 across latch/tether in the 2nd row. I really wanted 3 across since they will all be in car seats. I ain't trying to haul ass back to 3rd row. 

Toyota owners. Just note a lot of the models particularly the 4Runner I believe you cannot have 3 across in the 2nd row bc their seat belt paths cross. I had to cross it off my list pretty early bc of it. So just look into that bc you can't safely install all 3 across so you will have to move 1 kid to the back. 

This link shows you where the latch/tethers are in popular car models 
https://thecarseatlady.com/latch3rowvehicle/

Pay attention to the "overlap" section 
https://thecarseatlady.com/2015familyvehiclebuyingguide/

2babes3angels

2babes3angels said:

We're gonna have 3 in carseats. We're looking at 4Runners

Since this thread is picking up steam again, thought I'd update and say we wound up getting a Honda Pilot & we are so happy with it! 4Runners were much smaller, 3rd row option literally took up the entire trunk, and were a LOT more expensive. 

tyannej

I have a Tahoe, and I absolutely love it. There is tons of space and a full grown adult can fit in the 3rd row. I traded my 4Runner in on it and it was the best car decision I've made.

sarahjean247

Just be careful. Caravans are not recommended for many car seats because they do not have latch or anchors on all seats. They are very difficult to work with for multiple car seats. thearseatlady.com has a lot of articles on this topic

natleilynn

Another one for the Highlander! We won't have 3 car seats but we HAVE had 3 car seats in there and it was relatively easy. We had my nephew (oldest, 3 at the time, forward facing) in the middle of the back seat, my niece (1 at the time, rear facing) in the second row behind the passenger seat and DD (2 at the time, forward facing) in the second row behind the driver's seat. We still had plenty of room in the back to store everything we needed to take them around to some of the local farms for pumpkin patch fun.

Random side note, it was the first time we had kept all 3 kids at once. My nephew and DD are only 3 months apart so we've had him over plenty of times to play with DD, but my brother and SIL really needed someone to take my niece that day, too. I was expecting a super stressful day, but it was actually pretty easy. Not that I want 3 kids now or anything...but it opened my eyes that 3 probably wouldn't break us. 

So long story short, the Highlander was pretty easy for 3 car seats plus storage plus comfort for mom & dad at the front (we didn't have to have to have our seats scrunched up into the dash to get all the seats fit in there).

OliveOyl2014

So I had an appointment with a carseat tech yesterday and she was able to get all three car seats to fit across! So no new car for now. It's a tight fit back there, but I think we can manage until the older 2 are in boosters in the next few years! 

purplestarz

@natleilynn what year is your highlander? I tried to figure out last fall how to get a forward facing car seat in the third row when we had our nephew over (to avoid having an adult sitting in the tiny third row lol) but I failed...but I didn't try very hard either lol I think my issue was I couldn't figure out where the top tether was. 

natleilynn

@purplestarz it's a 2015. I have no idea what model, I'm horrible with all of that stuff. DH handles car seats, so I have no idea *how* he did it, but it happened and it definitely felt secure (I was usually the one climbing in the back to strap him in haha)

apethehairstar

We did have a 2013 Honda Odyssey and it seated 8 people and was spacious....even the trunk area was spacious.....so kinda regretting going with the 17 Nissan Pathfinder even tho I lovve it...just it's smaller and we gotta lotta ppls....the odyssey had the remote doors and the seats were easy to move forward and back to access the back row......the Pathfinder not so easy to move the seat to get into 3rd row

Britt&Max2010

We are doing three across in my Honda CR-V and it is a tight fit, but it works.  My husband is 'up next' for a new car and we are looking at the Acadia for him.  It would be nice to have a car that we could fit someone other than just our family in!