Raise your hand if you have 2 kids and drive a sedan

LinzDavid

Are you happy with the size or do you wish you had something larger?

Thinking of downsizing from my Sienna... 

ali-1411

I have two kids ages 9 and 2.  I have a Chevy Impala and I love it.  Lots of room inside and a huge trunk.

We're actually going to downsize on our next car, so far we like the Mazda 3.  We just don't need a huge car especially since DD will soon be out of the stroller.

JCS2007

I have a 19 mo old and 4 yr old, and drive a Camry. I am ok with it, but wish I had a minivan instead.  With friends at preschool, it would be so nice to be able to have more kids in the car to carpool, ect.  I have never had an issue with storage space for stuff, just room for extra kids.

passar3588

I drove a Toyota Camry before I had my third child. I had no problems driving a sedan with 2 kids.

AnnapolisLari

I drive a 2009 Corolla and it's plenty big enough. The trunk is big enough for a stroller and the usual junk. Even our double stroller fit in there with room to spare.

According to the tracker on the car, I average 31 MPG, which is pretty darned good. Highway mileage is closer to 38 MPG.

veloelle

I drive a Jetta with 250,000 miles. We are starting to look at used cars. I'm thinking a 528i is my first choice, followed by an Acura RL, TL, or TSX. I do want a little more room, the Jetta gets maxes easily on errand day. But we've survived just fine in my compact. I drive ALOT, so I can't buy a minivan (hell to the no!) or an SUV due to mpg.

MrsStubbs

The only problem I have with a sedan and two kids is when they are both old enough to take friends with them, where do you put the 4th kid?

josie402

I have an Accord and I really like it. There's plenty of room in the trunk for groceries and other shopping and the stroller and the gas mileage is great! Edit: My only complaint is that there's no way to get anyone into the middle seat in the back with two car seats, there's just not enough room. It's only been an issue a couple times and isn't that big of a deal now but I'm sure we'll get something bigger when they are older and have friends riding with us.

KoriBrett

How about 2 kids and a subcompact??  I drive a Chevy Aveo hatchback.  DH drives a Ford Taurus.  

We really only feel we need more room when we go to Lowe's or something and buy big stuff.  

Zenya

My sedan died and we got a minivan b/c we were thinking about a 3rd child but while I had it it was totally fine.  People are so weird about cars here.  

AnnapolisLari

KoriBrett:

How about 2 kids and a subcompact??  I drive a Chevy Aveo hatchback.  DH drives a Ford Taurus.  

When a friend of mine was living in England, she had two young kids and a Mini Cooper.

ali-1411

MrsStubbs:

The only problem I have with a sedan and two kids is when they are both old enough to take friends with them, where do you put the 4th kid?

We so rarely bring friends with us.  Or you take two cars.

Growing up, nobody had third row seats and only the families with 3 or 4 kids had a van.  We managed just fine.  I don't understand my generation's obsession with having a huge car.

fwiw - My Impala can seat 6.  A Trailblazer or your standard SUV only seats 5.

AnnapolisLari

mbenit4:

AnnapolisLari:

I drive a 2009 Corolla and it's plenty big enough. The trunk is big enough for a stroller and the usual junk. Even our double stroller fit in there with room to spare.

According to the tracker on the car, I average 31 MPG, which is pretty darned good. Highway mileage is closer to 38 MPG.

This is me too. I have a 2010 which is same size and everything as the 09. I have stroller in the trunk along with 2 adult folding chairs and one kid folding chair for soccer games and I can still fit groceries if need be.

The reason that I mentioned the year is that the 2008 and older Corollas were much smaller. I test drove both '08 and '09s and the body size of the '09 is more Camry-ish. I wasn't sure if she was looking to purchase used.

peekaboo716

Another Honda owner here. We love it, and it works just fine. The trunk is good sized and can fit all we need, even on errand day. We use DH's vehicle if we need to transport something large. I do wish I could fit another person in there on occasion, but it's nice, too, to be able to tell people that they have to drive themselves.

DH is convinced that we will need an SUV (no way will he drive a minivan) when the kids are older. I'm not so sure.

hikerbeth

We have a Nissan Sentra and a Subaru Outback.  2 kids + 2 medium-large dogs.  Thule box on the Subaru for gear.

We don't need any more space than that.

eta:  we also have a trailer hitch and a trailer for the Subaru in case we need to haul stuff.  When the Nissan dies, we are looking at a Mazda5 so we will have the option of a couple of extra seats which could prove useful for carpools in elementary/middle school.

penguingrrl

I have two kids and drive a 2 door hatchback! And one is 21 months and still RF. I wish we had slightly more room, but I'm thinking like newer Honda Civic, maybe as big as an accord since we want a third kid and currently only have 4 seatbelts. We borrowed MILs '07 civic for a 10 day road trip last summer and had all 4 of  us and 10 days worth of stuff, including our double stroller, with plenty of room to spare. MIL even sat in the back between the two kids with lots of room. I think people underestimate how well designed the insides of many small cars actually are.