Car vs SUV

tvass1981

Both my husband and I have compact cars--I have a Corolla and he has a Civic.  When we thought we were having just one baby, we were thinking about trading in the Civic for an SUV.  But now that we know we are having twins and the cost of pretty much everything just doubled, I don't think there is any way that we can afford to get a bigger car, especially with gas prices being so insane.  So.. could someone please reassure me that having a compact car with twins is do-able?

google123

Have you guys thought about a minivan, they are so much more easier with kids than an SUV and way cheaper on gas.  I find SUV's gas eaters.

 

But I'm sure it's doable with a corolla, you just need to fit in 2 carseats, which it will.  It may be more of a tight fit with a double stroller in the trunk, but again, I think with a little imagination, anything is possible.

MrsLnt

H has my old 626 and it's a little bigger than a Corolla or a Civic, but, we've used it for the babies a few times and it's do-able.  We were able to install the infant seats in center and driver position, leaving one seat for a passenger in back.  The BJCS fit into our trunk with plenty of room.

Could you compromise between your compact and an SUV and get something like an Accord?   The real advantage as to having an SUV as I see it is third row. We can take more than one passenger with us and the babies if we want, although it severely limits our cargo space (we've got a Pilot). 

nikinikinine

I drove a Volvo S40 until a few weeks ago. It was completely doable as long as I didn't need trunk space. The kids' stroller took up all the room in the trunk. So for the first few weeks things like grocery store runs were done solo. Which (as it turns out) is actually easier than mobilizing the kids anyway!

caden

Have you tried to put a car seat behind the driver's and passenger's seats? I could live w/o all the trunk space, although it's convenient. But my DH and I do not fit in compacts with 2 car seats installed. The front seats have to be too far forward. My DH has a Chevy Malibu, which is bigger than a Civic and the only way our car seats fit is w/o the base which would be a giant PITA if we ever had to use it regularly. But we're really tall. If you're not then maybe it is doable. Definitely check this out early on so you're not stuck at the last minute trying to figure out how you can come home from the hospital. : )

There are sedans with great gas mileage, and some crossovers even get decent gas mileage too.

dulcinea03

Our "kid car" is an Accord, and we've managed fine. DH is tall (6'4") and he is comfortable in the Accord with RF carseats, but we would have had issues had the car been any smaller. We did quite a bit of research to figure out what double stroller would fit best in our trunk and still allow us to fit groceries and stuff in there. We ended up with a Maclaren SBS and are very happy with it.

RobynK

We have an Expedition and a Mazda.

The Expedition is MUCH better for longer trips (anything over 3 hours)...we always had a ton of gear to haul when the kids were smaller.  It's getting less and less but it's still much more comfortable.

When the kids were in their infant seats the Mazda was like a frickin' clown car -- not safe to drive because DH was so far crammed up into the steering wheel.  Now that we're forward facing it's better, but it's still tight. 

Obviously we're upgrading the Mazda now (3 seats won't fit) but if I were in your shoes I'd get something larger if you could.  A used smaller SUV or minivan shouldn't be horribly expensive.  If you stick to the basics of what you ACTUALLY need for babies it's not actually that bad.  Your cost doesn't double because you don't actually need two of everything.  Yes, costs are more but not double

leebi07

I have a corrolla and husband has a camry and it's been fine.