recommend your vehicle

dukestar5 · January 2013

Hi All! DH and I are expecting baby #2 in and we're thinking about buying a new vehicle this summer. We're probably going to purchase an SUV...ideally with three rows of seats (with a back row that folds down to store luggage/strollers). We want it to be fairly roomy (for two babies in carseats) and we hope that they car will grow with our family when we add another baby or two in the future.

Please recommend your vehicle! What do you love about it? Anything you would change? TIA!

Kebert618 · January 2013

I have a 2012 Explorer and I love it! 3 rows and the 3rd folds down easily. We also looked at the Acadia which is also 3 rows and it's much easier for someone to get into the 3rd row.

kateisgreat · January 2013

Not an SUV, but I have a toyota sienna, and I LOVE it. My sister has a lexus SUV and my vehicle seems to have more head room and leg room, and it's easier to get into the back seats. I can seat 8, and have on occasion, with 3 of the passengers in car seats. The biggest perk- the side doors slide open with the push of a button so I don't have to juggle my child and whatever else I'm holding to grab the handle. Lazy- yes, but convenient

On a side note- I wanted a station wagon, but we needed extra seating for our two dogs when we go out of town. I did NOT want a mini van, but now I love it. It's so much more comfy for road trips.

kwhite27 · January 2013

I have a 2008 Mitsubishi Outander (SUV). It was rated 3rd best for safety ratings. Perfect for a growing family and phenomenal on gas! 3rd row that folds down too.

anvloveskme · January 2013

I bought a 2010 Acura MDX - certified preowned, warranty up to 100,000 miles. It's great. Third row fold down seats. It drives really nice and has decent gas mileage for a v6 SUV. I had the smaller version - an RDX right before and it was just too small. I love that it only comes in two trim levels - with navigation and without bc it means no haggling. It comes with all the bells and whistles and looks nice too. I only owned cars prior to this but I'm a convert. Love my MDX - also all Acura owners I know feel the same!

cortneyloo · January 2013

I have a Toyota Rav4 and I absolutely love it. Plenty of room and you can get the optional third row seat that folds down completely when not in use so you're not stuck with a lack of storage space. We have dogs so we often need the back to haul them to vet appts and the park and such and it works out perfectly.

atoz625 · January 2013

A friend of mine has the MDX as well and loves it.

We will be buying a new car in February/March and I am currently looking into the Volvo XC90. I don't have experience with it yet, but that's where we're leaning.

My mom has a 2013 highlander and seems to like it enough- she switched from a Lexus to that though, and it definitely wasn't as luxurious.

ARS0805 · January 2013

I have a 2011 GMC Acadia. I love it! In fact, I had a 2010 Acadia that was totalled by a drunk driver (Ford F250 hit my parked vehicle going about 50mph and pushed both vehicles into a building...). My vehicle was totalled, but the cabin was intact. If I would have been inside, I would have had minor bumps and bruises.

When we replaced it, I drove the new Explorer, but loved the Acadia more. I feel like the Acadia has more room.

GL vehicle hunting!

anvloveskme · January 2013

atoz625:
A friend of mine has the MDX as well and loves it.
We will be buying a new car in February/March and I am currently looking into the Volvo XC90. I don't have experience with it yet, but that's where we're leaning.
My mom has a 2013 highlander and seems to like it enough- she switched from a Lexus to that though, and it definitely wasn't as luxurious.

I love the look of the xc 90 and test drove it but felt like the MDX was roomier and got better reviews on consumer reports - FYI

BlueJewelM · January 2013

kateisgreat:
Not an SUV, but I have a toyota sienna, and I LOVE it. My sister has a lexus SUV and my vehicle seems to have more head room and leg room, and it's easier to get into the back seats. I can seat 8, and have on occasion, with 3 of the passengers in car seats.nbsp;The biggest perk the side doors slide open with the push of a button so I don't have to juggle my child and whatever else I'm holding to grab the handle. Lazy yes, but convenient :nbsp;On a side note I wanted a station wagon, but we needed extra seating for our two dogs when we go out of town. I did NOT want a mini van, but now I love it. It's so much more comfy for road trips.nbsp;

This is what we are saving up for. Our family lives OOT and we need a vehicle that can have 2 carseats in the 2nd row and people can still get to the 3rd row easily. I never thought I'd want a mini....but I do. SO BAD.

m1ssl1ss · January 2013

we'll also be looking for a new family car. DS's rear-facing maxi cosi fits great in FIL's MDX so we are most likely looking at one of those since we'll need a rear-facing seat behind BOTH front seats now. whew!

atoz625 · January 2013

anvloveskme:
atoz625:
A friend of mine has the MDX as well and loves it.
We will be buying a new car in February/March and I am currently looking into the Volvo XC90. I don't have experience with it yet, but that's where we're leaning.
My mom has a 2013 highlander and seems to like it enough- she switched from a Lexus to that though, and it definitely wasn't as luxurious.
I love the look of the xc 90 and test drove it but felt like the MDX was roomier and got better reviews on consumer reports - FYI

Good to know! THX!

manders018 · January 2013

One of the things to be careful about when buying an SUV with the third row of seats is not all those 3rd rows are meant to be used as everyday seating. When we were looking for our current car multiple dealers told us those seats were designed for occasional use only or emergency seating. Not something I was comfortable having my child who is still in a car seat sitting in.

We went with a preloved Dodge Grand Caravan and I LOVE IT! I don't think I will ever drive another car. Good Luck on your quest for a new vehicle.

dukestar5 · January 2013

ARS0805:
In fact, I had a 2010 Acadia that was totalled by a drunk driver (Ford F250 hit my parked vehicle going about 50mph and pushed both vehicles into a building...). My vehicle was totalled, but the cabin was intact. If I would have been inside, I would have had minor bumps and bruises.

Wow! How scary. Glad you were ok. Thanks for the recommendation.

natleilynn · January 2013

It doesn't have 3rd row seating but I have a 2009 4Runner. We knew when I bought it that it was going to be a car that we kept for the kids. There's plenty of room in the backseat for carseats, plenty of leg room, incredibly reliable and really good 4 wheel drive capabilities. Plus there's tons of room in the trunk for anything we may need (or the two dogs if they're coming along!). A girl I work with has a Mazda (either CX5 or CX9) and she struggles getting anything in her backseat along with the car seat. She says she wished she would have taken a car seat along with her when she was looking at cars - so that's something to consider as well!

WildRumpus · January 2013

I really like the look of the Buick Enclave. They have a third row. Honda Pilots do too.

I drive a Mini...can't wait to see how a carseat and the rest of the baby gear fits or doesn't. We had to replace my transmission recently, so baby may be driving by the time the car is paid off.

Soleil3 · January 2013

Are you planning on having more than 2? You don't need a SUV for 2 kids. I have a Kia Soul that I love, it's low enough that the kids now can climb in and out on their own at 3 and 4, it wouldn't have been the same if I still had my Jeep Liberty.

davisislands · January 2013

We have a 2013 Dodge Durango. We love it! It has 3rd row seating and we paid a little extra to have captains chairs in the 2nd row, as opposesd to a bench, so that there would be easier access to the back and it's MUCH roomier that way. I highly recommend it!

emme+3 · January 2013

We also have a Sienna and LOVE it. We were anti minivan until we test drove it. We had gone there looking to buy a Highlander, but after testing both we only wanted the Sienna. It's so convinient with kids! And the newer models have an AWD option. Whenever I ride with friends with SUVs now, I get so annoyed at how much more difficult everything is compared to my Sienna.

Laurakat81 · January 2013

Kebert618:
I have a 2012 Explorer and I love it! 3 rows and the 3rd folds down easily. We also looked at the Acadia which is also 3 rows and it's much easier for someone to get into the 3rd row.

I second the Explorer though ours is a 2011. LOVE it!

cajunrunner · January 2013

I have an Acadia as well and I love it! I recommend it to everyone I know.

EJPint · January 2013

I have a Honda Pilot and love it. It has a third row, but both the second and third row fold completely flat, giving you a ton of cargo space if needed. We bought it with the intention of it being a family vehicle for kids and dogs.

I also tested the Acura MDX, it was a close 2nd - it's definitely a sportier drive and more luxurious, but the Honda is a bit more spacious, and we were able to get more package for our money. We added the entertainment and nav packages, and I love my car!

coastalchristina · January 2013

I have a 2012 Chevy Traverse and would highly recommend it.

Sarah-Elizabeth-16 · January 2013

Honda pilot or oddesey are awesome!

cg0112358 · January 2013

I have the Kia Sorento and love it! I will admit that it's not quite as big as some of the other SUVs with 3 rows but it drives like a car instead of a huge vehicle so I prefer it. We got it fully loaded and it has the backup camera with rear assist (beeps when you get too close to something), heated/cooled seats, heated steering wheel, memory programming for seats/side mirrors and a few other things I can't quite remember right now. oh, and it has top ratings for safety. When DH went to get our car seat inspected at the state troopers office by a car seat tech he actually complimented DH on choice of car and car seat due to their high safety ratings

rissa06 · January 2013

I have a 2013 BMW 3X and I love it. its a smaller SUV, but it drives so well and I just the entire car, plus maintenance and everything is covered in it. LOL! I also drove the X5, which has a third row, but I liked my car. We just tried it with three car seats across and it fit.

I used to have a MDX and I loved it and it is what I almost bought instead of the BMW, but I ended up getting a better deal on the BMW. I can't say enough things about the MDX and echo the above above pps.

DH and I are thinking about getting the 2013 Honda pilot, for our three kids. I love the car and I think it would be a great addition. Drives nicely, lots of room, and I think it will fit the kids well.

for the volvo, I had an XC 70 and I have a friend that had the XC 90 . . I just say that I think the car has huge blind spots, but I would be careful with that one and make sure you test drive it. I hated the XC 70 for that reason.

Finally, a lot of SUV's that have third row seats are in crumple zones, so, depending on the model, if you get into an accident the rear just crumples.

azcobride · January 2013

I have a 2008 Saturn Outlook. It is the exact same as the Acadia, just less expensive. It is big, but I really like it because we can easily fit 2-3 kids in carseats/boosters along with all of our luggage and our dog for roadtrips. The 3rd row is difficult to get into, however. But, even with the 3rd row in use, there is still very large trunk space.

suv75 · January 2013

Another vote for Acura MDX. It has latch on all three second row seats. Very roomy and drives like a car. Love it!

hqinmd · January 2013

No third row seating but we have a Jeep Grand Cherokee and love it. Only bought it in 2011 and DH is already planning to get another when it dies, lol.

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