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Freaking out about cars
I have a toyota corolla currently, and am seriously doubting we'll be able to fit two car seats in it. That means we have to find something else. I LOVE my car, its gas mileage, everything about it. But we'll trade it in if we get a new one because DH's car is paid off and we don't want two payments. I don't want to pay more money for a huge car that needs more gas! Thankfully we don't do much driving in CA so it won't be a huge deal, but still!
Does anyone have any recs for a nice crossover or van that seats two convertible seats at once? Mady will definitely be in hers for a while and I'm debating starting out the new LO in one too.
Thanks for any help!
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Re: Freaking out about cars
I love Toyotas. I don't have any helpful advice - we're worried about our convertible seat fitting in our little Hyundai Elantra. (DS is still in his infant Safe Seat, which goes to 30 lbs) Good luck - I'll be looking at the answers.
My mom has a Honda CRV and it is compact yet roomy. I'd also check out Subaru's if I were you. These are both in the high middle range price wise though, not sure if that matters to you or not.
I have a Hyundai Santa Fe that I really love. No it isn't the most EF option, but I live on a mountain and need the 4WD. At any rate, I've often fit two convertable car seats in it when my sis and I go out together. It's on the lower end of the price range for an SUV as well.
We have a Toyota Corolla and I love it too - but I agree that it's cramped and would especially be tight with two convertible seats.
So we recently got as our second car a minivan - 2005 Nissan Quest. Love it! SO spacious and electric doors are super duper convenient.
ETA: the main reason we got it is because I have two large dogs who won't fit in an SUV together. And to be honest, I think our car was cheaper than most SUVs. And it's definitely roomier. One of those things that you don't realize how roomy and comfortable it is until we three (me, DH, baby) all get into the Corolla and we're like, whoa.
Well...don't freak out. I think your car will actually work. I just bought a Honda Civic hybrid to replace my 15 year old Subaru Legacy with 300,000 miles on it. I can fit the convertible (rear-facing), an infant seat and my 16 year old daughter in the back, and nobody complains. I'm absolutely certain that when the new baby gets into a convertible, I'll be able to fit them both in just fine.
To tell you the truth, you're not going to find much that is wider. And that is what you actually need. Width. Most of the crossovers and vans just have more head room or actual numbers of seats. My husband and I have been test driving cars for about a year now, and we've found that you don't actually get any more width in an SUV than you do in a small, fuel-efficient sedan. I sort of feel like an expert on this issue at this point! hahaha! Our other vehicle is a Toyota 4-Runner. We love it, but its not very much wider. The only benefit (as far as size goes) is that we've got the cargo area in the back for the dog, and a roof rack for our gear.
Just my two cents. Borrow another convertible car seat from someone and test drive a few vehicles. You're not going to see much more in the way of width.
I have a friend who has a prius, and she fits two seats in the back with no problems. Of course, as pp said, no one else can sit back there, but if that doesn't worry you, then you can make that work. Or what about a hybrid blazer or something like that?
My SIL drives a CRV. She does not have any more in the way of width than I have with my Civic. We've compared. (Its a nice option, though, because of the cargo space in back and its higher, so you get more head room. Though babies in car seats don't care about head room)
Also, we test-drove a brand new Subaru Legacy Wagon. Also nothing in the way of width. You just don't get anything extra by buying a larger car, in terms of width.
Yep, this. I love my Chevy Equinox and would recommend it to anyone (gets around 25-27MPG) but it's not much wider than a standard sedan. Since the rear seat moves forward and back you can gain either foot room or cargo room, which is great, but the width is the same (obviously).
I was thinking that having the seats so far forward would be a disadvantage since DH wouldn't be able to drive. For me it wouldn't be a problem, but it'd suck to have to do ALL the driving, you know?
ETA: Width definitely isn't a concern. I'm not worried about fitting anyone else in the back.
I am not sure why you couldn't fit 2 carseats in a Corolla. You can actually fit 3 across the back seat if you get Radians.
We have a Corolla and a Civic and we are having baby #2. We aren't getting new cars.
Good point. I plan to keep her RF as long as possible, but if it was a long trip and we had to I could FF her. She's not yet at 20 lbs, but will (hopefully) be by the time the new LO gets here, lol!
I'll also look up those other seats, they sound interesting. I wonder why I never heard of them before?
I have a Subaru Outback and love it! The gas mileage is ok 22-30 mpg, and there is a ton of room in the trunk area. I bought a 2002 w/ 69,000 miles on it for $8,500.
Plus, I'm not sure where you live but it's AWD which means it is great for snow.
Both my husband and I have small, 2-door cars. I do not want to have another baby without 4 doors, but I don't really want to buy a big van either. So I found the Mazda5 and we are going to look into it. It's a mini-minivan. It has 3 rows of seats, the middle section being bucket seats like in a minivan. It also has sliding doors so you don't have to worry about hitting the car next to you. And it likely has very similar gas mileage as your corolla. I love Hondas and Toyotas, but I have heard good things about the Mazda5, so we are going to look into it along with other models as well. I also heard that Kia makes something similar that's supposed to be okay.
I love Subarus, too. But, you won't gain any width from a Corolla to a Subaru. And remember that all Subarus are built on the same body, so they are the same from Legacy to Forester to Outback. All the same frame.
The Tribeca has a third row seat, but if you have two car seats in the middle row, the third row is inaccessible. Plus, the Tribeca is a serious chunk of change and gets CRAPPY mileage.
You're only 6 weeks pregnant and your baby is over a year old. She'll be almost two by the time you have the next one. You will probably either have your DD ff, or will be very close to having her ff. We have our DS rear-facing in the middle of our Civic, and my husband who is over 6 feet, can drive just fine.
I know I keep weighing in on this, but like I said, we've driven a TON of cars over the past year trying to figure out the best option for us. And we have a teenager on top of it. So, we've taken carseats and the teenager to dealerships and to private parties and tried out bunches of options. Honestly, the Civic has been our absolute favorite. It gets FAB mileage and the backs of the front seats are contoured, so passengers still have leg room.
We have a jetta wagon and we can't put two carseats in it or the driver is pushed so far forward its too hard to drive for more than about ten minutes at a go. As it is to get DS FF we have to push the passenger seat so far forward that DH is squashed in there (I drive, he doesn't have a license - he's foreign and we just moved here but will be getting one soon).
I would not recommend a jetta wagon!
you can do it in your car. i nannied for a family with 3--2 rf (britax roundabout) and a boy with a booster in the middle. this was in a honda civic 2 door. not fun but still, it worked.?
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with that said i LOVE my honda CRV. ?