Car recommendation for 3 kids

andinatep · January 2013

Hi everyone! I am expecting baby #3 in April, and my husband and I have to upgrade to a bigger car. We will have 3 kids in car seats, so we need something with 3 rows. I am trying to decide between a minivan and a 3 row SUV. I want something safe and economical that will fit our family comfortably. I want to make sure there is space for a double stroller, suitcase, etc. I also hate driving in bad weather, so I'd really prefer four wheel drive. I'd love to hear suggestions from moms who have larger families. :-)

jesselayne8 · January 2013

Personally I would go with a minivan with all wheel drive. I don't have one but that is my next vehicle. I think sliding doors are so much easier.

mrsseguin · January 2013

We don't like minivans...we would get something north american like a flex, acadia, traverse or an explorer. I'd go test drive both and see what you think. I do think that the majority of people on these boards are minivan owners. I think they are more practical, but we just don't like them.

Daisy22 · January 2013

We have a Honda Pilot. I can do all three on the middle or two n the middle with ds1 in the 40% split 3rd row. We have already driven to Disney twice with all three. There is plenty of room for everyone and everything.

kagl08 · January 2013

I do not have 3, but my GMC Acadia has fit 4 car seats (3 were RFing and 1 FFing) comfortably with 2 adults, a double stroller and luggage. I have also fit 4 adults, 2 RFing car seats and strollers with luggage on the roof comfortably. My DD's was in a Costco Scerena RFing in the 3rd row and there was plenty of room for me to sit next to her. I have never run into an issue of not having enough room, and if we ever had a 3rd we would never get a new car.

I have no complaints and I love my car!!

JaysonandKristin · January 2013

Nobody makes AWD like Subaru. Unfortunately, there's no room in the Tribeca for cargo when fully loaded with kids (utilizing the 3rd row seating).

Crossovers are a joke. There's no speaking to their long-term reliability because they're a new phenomenon.

The Flex is too new to speak to its reliability either.

The Town & Country is the only other 4WD/AWD minivan (other than the Sienna), and I'd NEVER recommend a Chrysler.

That leaves tried and true Toyota and Honda, IMO. The Odyssey doesn't come in AWD/4WD, but there is the Pilot. We had a 2012, and it left MUCH to be desired in terms of cargo space with the 3rd row in use.

The AWD Sienna is the next on our list. We are looking at a fully-loaded used Sienna with AWD for less than $15,000. I am looking forward to it.

We've done a TON of research as we have the following criteria:

- seats 2 adults and 4 kids

- AWD/4WD

- decent gas mileage

- reliable well into the hundreds of thousands of miles

- cheap maintenance (ie- parts are easy to come by)

These have led us to the Sienna AWD after purchasing and then quickly selling a new 4WD Pilot.

ebp913 · January 2013

We plan on 3 kids and also need a 3rd option and REAL truck space so we are getting a Ford Expedition EL (the Suburban version of the Expedition). With 2 large dogs and 3 kids there's just simply no way we are going to be able to go places without a big SUV.

I considered a minivan but because we drive in mountains and snow we need a true 4WD vehicle. I'd make a list of what you absolutely must have in your car and go from there.

shortstuff15 · January 2013

This is the first time I haven't seen a bunch of minivan recs on here. We are not minivan lovers. And we needed a vehicle that would eventually hold 8 people so we were looking big SUV. Initially we wanted either an Expedition or a Tahoe (Ford & Chevy respectively) because my husband is a Ford guy and I'm a Chev girl. We test drove a lot of vehicles and came across a Toyota Sequoia and LOVED it. We aren't really import people because the cost of repair is so high, but because they can go for SO much longer then domestic vehicles (who usually mile out at 200,000 kms) we went for it. It's been awesome.

We've had 3 carseats across in the middle (2 buckets and a convertible) for when we had friends with us (who sat in the back row and had lots of room) and we've gone on plenty of road trips already with more then enough room for everything we need.

Once we put the 3rd row up there is obviously less cargo room, but in the summer we'll have our trailer so that won't matter and in the winter we don't need strollers so that takes care of all our big items.

KrazyKat35 · January 2013

I have a 03 dodge durango with thrid row seating. It works wonders with three kids. I have taken my oldest, my nephew,and my youngest in it in the same row and have put the older boys in the second row. It is has AWD, 4 High, and 4 Low. It handles great and I completely love it. I am also expecting my 3rd LO I am due in August

luvmyducks · January 2013

I drive a Cadillac Escalade ESV. It's huge and can fit 4 to 5 carseats, and tons of cargo space. It's AWD. I'm pretty sure a suburban is the similar nonluxury version of the car so much more economical. Though the gas mileage is not. But I love love my car.

andinatep · January 2013

Thanks for the recommendations everyone! My hubby really wants a Dodge Durango, but I'm worried about the gas mileage. I'm going to do some more research. This little one might be arriving early, so we need to make a decision soon!

mer4 · January 2013

Hi
I will be having my fifth. I had an explorer and was not a fan I currently have the lr3 it comfortably will fit 3 car seats across the first row. There is an added row in back that can be split to fit carriage etc. My older two are far past car seats thank goodness! I would recommend test driving but I love my lr3.

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha · January 2013

Also expecting my 3rd in April. My oldest will only be 3.5 by then, and I know she just won't be ready to be sitting all the way in the 3rd row (we often make the 2.5 hour drive to my parents and I need to be able to tend to her from the front seat), so we looked into sedans that could accommodate 3 car seats while providing ample room for us in the front seat and allowing us to fit our double stroller, pack and play, and random crap in the trunk. Fuel consumption was also a big thing for us, and we wanted a car with an MSRP of 25K or less

We actually took all 3 car seats to the auto show last week to try them out in a bunch of different cars. Our top 3 picks (in no particular order): Kia Optima, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry (my favourite). The Honda Accord was a close 4th.

norbert5 · February 2013

We have a Volvo wagon. We can fit three carseats in the backseat.
This leaves the hatch area for luggage, stroller, etc. We also have Yakima box for the roof when we need more space.

MammaBear81 · February 2013

JaysonandKristin:
Nobody makes AWD like Subaru. Unfortunately, there's no room in the Tribeca for cargo when fully loaded with kids (utilizing the 3rd row seating).
Crossovers are a joke. There's no speaking to their long-term reliability because they're a new phenomenon.
The Flex is too new to speak to its reliability either.
The Town & Country is the only other 4WD/AWD minivan (other than the Sienna), and I'd NEVER recommend a Chrysler.
That leaves tried and true Toyota and Honda, IMO. The Odyssey doesn't come in AWD/4WD, but there is the Pilot. We had a 2012, and it left MUCH to be desired in terms of cargo space with the 3rd row in use.
The AWD Sienna is the next on our list. We are looking at a fully-loaded used Sienna with AWD for less than $15,000. I am looking forward to it.
We've done a TON of research as we have the following criteria:
- seats 2 adults and 4 kids
- AWD/4WD
- decent gas mileage
- reliable well into the hundreds of thousands of miles
- cheap maintenance (ie- parts are easy to come by)
These have led us to the Sienna AWD after purchasing and then quickly selling a new 4WD Pilot.

All of this, but we went with the Honda Odyssey (we live in NY, but I don't really care about AWD).

ETA: I'm not a "minivan" person either, but I can't afford to spend 35K+ on an SUV and then get 12-15 miles per gallon when driving. It's just not practical...

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