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Corolla/Civic - too small for "Mom car"?

Faith1318Faith1318 member
in Babies: 9 - 12 Months

We are in the market for a new car and I am considering a small sedan. I like the price, mileage, and reliability of these cars, but I'm concerned about feeling like I have "enough" room when/if I'm a mom of two in another couple of years. (If we have a third, this car will become DH's commuting car and we will get a minivan.)

?How does your car seat fit in the back and are you and your DC comfortable? Would you buy the same car again tomorrow or opt for something larger?

DD (8), DS (5), DD (3)
baby #4 due March '17!
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Re: Corolla/Civic - too small for "Mom car"?

  • mamamoosmamamoos

    DH drives a civic and i drive a focus.  we are expecting number 2 in september and i have nightmares about the lack of space.  as it is, we have DS triumph on the passenger side in DH's and on the driver side in mine and there is only room for one other person in each of our backseats.  after DD arrives, we will basically no longer have a backseat in either of our cars...

    i would definitely opt for something a little larger, bc even with just 2 kids, the small sedans are packed.... 

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  • cchrislercchrisler
    I agree, go larger. I was just thinking that my SUV (toyota highlander) will be jam-packed if we have another baby. Right now, we have a DD and a small dog crate. If we have tons of groceries, there isnt much room left. I would never get another sedan.
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  • Heather RHeather R
    I drove a Civic (childless) for several years and would say it's too small.  Also, my mother drives a Corolla and I also think it's small.  Camry or Accord might offer a bit more room.  A friend of mine drives an Impala with 2 children and has always thought it was perfect.
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  • Mrs.ProvostMrs.Provost

    I drive an '05 Focus ST right now with two kids and we have plenty of room.

    When we first had Evan, we had a '91 Civic sedan and we were fine for room in that car too with just the one carseat - and had plenty of trunk space as well. 

    I won't get a new car til my Focus dies, basically. I love my car, and even with a sub in the trunk we still have more than enough room for luggage and kids' stuff to go on vacation (we go see the ILs like 3-4 times a year, a 7 hr drive). 

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  • wendyjwendyj member
    I have a Civic, and it is really difficult now to do everything I need. The carseat takes up a lot of room now, so space in the back will be almost nonexistant if I needed to add another car seat. My stroller takes up most of my trunk, so if I do a heavyduty grocery shopping trip with ds, I need to take the stroller out before going. If I were to have 2 kids, I think it's fine for going to work, quick trips around town, but anything more than that would be a struggle space-wise.
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  • lbaby08lbaby08
    We drove a Civic and an Accord borrowed from family members while we were in the US over Christmas.  With one (at the time very tiny) baby the Civic was packed - I couldn't imagine it with 2 kids/carseats.  The Accord had a lot more room and I think 2 would be manageable but tight.  Resale value on Hondas is fabulous and they literally last forever - even if I was going for a small SUV I would go Honda.   
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  • Faith1318Faith1318 member
    Thanks everyone - my mom also just reminded me that in a few years, I may have a second child AND be driving one of my DD's friends around from time to time. Time to look into vehicles with a third row of seats now, I think - or at LEAST a larger sedan ?:) I really appreciate the feedback!
    DD (8), DS (5), DD (3)
    baby #4 due March '17!
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  • mlf625mlf625

    imagecchrisler:
    I agree, go larger. I was just thinking that my SUV (toyota highlander) will be jam-packed if we have another baby. Right now, we have a DD and a small dog crate. If we have tons of groceries, there isnt much room left. I would never get another sedan.

    Ditto this exactly. ?My Highlander is jam packed with just DS, DH, our small dog, and me. ?When we have #2, we'll be getting something a little roomier. ?Not a mini van though. ?OMG. ?I gag at the thought.

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  • Luckystar2Luckystar2 member

    We have a civic and corolla and I think they are perfectly fine with having 1 baby.  I guess we are just minimalists!

    We have a Evenflo triumph in both our cars in the middle of the  backseat.  It doesn't affect the front seats.  I sit in the back with DD a lot and I fit fine but  I am on the small side.  We have plenty of trunk space for what we need.

    Now, when we have 2 I think i t would depend on what carseats we decide with.  I think it would be manageable.  But we dont go on long cartrips and dont take bunches of stuff with us. 

    For me, the gas mileage of the corolla and civic make it worth it to drive them as long as we really can.  I think it depends on how much stuff you take with you and how much space you need.   Do you usually drive with more people?  Do you take long trips?  For us, we live so close to everything we don't drive far, and its usually only DH and me and the baby.  So we dont need much extra space.

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  • emiliemadisonemiliemadison member
    Not too small at all, as long as it has 4 doors :). We're trading in our suv for a nissan versa (or something similar) which is a small 4 door. Right now we have both kids in our nissan sentra, which is smaller than a corolla and about the same as a civic and we feel like there's plenty of room.
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  • Mrs.ProvostMrs.Provost

    Holy, I guess we're minimalists too - reading through the responses, I am so surprised that people find a Highlander not enough room. We don't take much "kid stuff" with us anywhere though. Evan walks, so no stroller for him and Abby mainly uses a sling but we have a compact stroller we keep in the car for the rare time she needs to be in one. It folds in half then folds again, so it takes up all of maybe 5 inches in width. WTH are people taking with them that a small SUV is cramped with only one kiddo?

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  • emiliemadisonemiliemadison member
    imageMrs.Provost:

    Holy, I guess we're minimalists too - reading through the responses, I am so surprised that people find a Highlander not enough room. We don't take much "kid stuff" with us anywhere though. Evan walks, so no stroller for him and Abby mainly uses a sling but we have a compact stroller we keep in the car for the rare time she needs to be in one. It folds in half then folds again, so it takes up all of maybe 5 inches in width. WTH are people taking with them that a small SUV is cramped with only one kiddo?

    I just read through as well and am kind of confused, too. How is it possible to barely have enough room in as suv with ONE kid?? I've got a small car with two kids and a stroller in my trunk and still have room for groceries and more.
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  • lanie26lanie26 member

    I am cracking up at a Toyota highlander not having enough space.?

    Either you are incredibly unorganized or you just have an absurd amount of stuff. An SUV is MORE than enough space for 2 infants. There was life before SUV's people. My mom managed to get 3 of us all into a buick sedan, with a dog and get to the cottage and back without having to toss anyone out.

    I have a 4 door toyota echo hatchback. its tiny, and perfect. More than enough room for 1. I could (and will) have 2 carseats in it when the time comes. no prob. ?

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  • Faith1318Faith1318 member
    We were trying to decide between a midsize sedan (Camry) and a Mazda 5 (a mini minivan, if you will, with a small third row that you would only ever use for small children)... a Corolla is tempting for a lot of reasons, but I guess we'll try to stick with our original choices...?
    DD (8), DS (5), DD (3)
    baby #4 due March '17!
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  • susie1079susie1079
    I have a Saturn Vue SUV which is a decent size car and DS's new Evenflo Triumph car seat nearly takes up half of the back seat. There is no way 2 other people will fit back there now. At least 1.5 people that's about it. I can't imagine a little car. I guess you have to be careful what type of convertible carseat you get.
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  • cchrislercchrisler
    Explaining my highlander comment..first of all mine isn't new (and doesnt have 3rd row seating like some so) and I'm pretty sure the older ones are a little smaller. My DH is 6 foot 3 so one front seat is always WAY back, and we have a 30 lb dog, so his crate is a good size. Lastly, we are 2 hours away from any family at all...so when we travel we tend to spend the night and it does take up alot of space to pack everything. I have to disagree that it makes me "unorganized." My OPINION is that a corrolla/camry is too cramped for us.
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  • Sunflower22Sunflower22

    My work car (which is mine to use as I please, just company owned) is a VW Beetle. I can fit my Britax Marathon in the back for DD just fine. The passenger seat has to be up a little ways, but it is only uncomfortable if someone over 6' is sitting in it.

    I would advise against a 2 door car though, because getting DD in and out is a major PITA.

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  • Sunflower22Sunflower22
    Oh, and our other car is a 2008 Scion xB and 2 people can easily fit in the back seat on either side of the car seat, so I don't really buy that in the back seat of a Vue you can't fit 2 people in besides a car seat, since the Scion is a bit smaller. We've had 4 people + DD in her car seat in that car more than once just fine.
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