Need recommendations for new family vehicle! Help!? :)

lifeiswhathappens · September 2013

Hello!

DH and I have a 4 year old DS and we are expecting baby girl in December! I have a 2008 Jeep Liberty (mini-SUV) right now, but things are starting to go awry with it, so we are discussing the possibility of getting a new car before baby arrives. I am pretty sure that DH and I will be done expanding our family after baby #2, but if we do decide to go for one more, we would like to have baby #3 within two years of this little one, if we were to be blessed with another.

I have NO idea what type or size vehicle to look into... If it is just DH and I and 2 kids, do we need the space of a full size SUV or mini-van or is it overkill?? Do we get what we need for now, like another mini-SUV, and worry about up-sizing later if needed? I usually purchase my cars and go a good 4 or 5 years before getting a new one (once it is paid off), so if we happened to have baby#3 within the next few years and needed to up-size, is it bad to end a lease early or trade-in a car that hasn't yet been paid off? And also I have been thinking about leasing a car instead of buying, but I have never leased before and wonder if it is better to lease or buy??

Help!

What type of vehicle do you recommend for a 'family car'? Mini SUV, SUV, minivan, etc.? Would your recommendation change for a family or 4 or a family of 5?
What make and model do you recommend and why?
Lease or buy? Silly question... but is it crazy to lease a car when you have little kids since you are supposed to return the vehicle at the end of the lease in super condition???
Any type of car or make/model you do NOT recommend? Why?

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

I don't even know where to begin...

gimmietimmies · September 2013

Colour me confused, but what's wrong with your Liberty? I have a Mini Cooper that fits two rf seats and a compact stroller in a pinch, and a minivan for when all seven of us are out. Even if you had three, the Liberty is a 7 seater, my SIL and I fit 5 kids, three harnessed car seats and a stroller with room to spare

If you had more than three I'd twll you to look at a Honda Pilot so you had full sized seats and more than three top tethers, but I can't see changing vehicles in your case.

Katie829 · September 2013

gimmietimmies said:

Colour me confused, but what's wrong with your Liberty? I have a Mini Cooper that fits two rf seats and a compact stroller in a pinch, and a minivan for when all seven of us are out. Even if you had three, the Liberty is a 7 seater, my SIL and I fit 5 kids, three harnessed car seats and a stroller with room to spare If you had more than three I'd twll you to look at a Honda Pilot so you had full sized seats and more than three top tethers, but I can't see changing vehicles in your case.

My friend has a liberty and it only has 5 seats. I wonder if there are different models?

lifeiswhathappens · September 2013

There is nothing wrong with the Liberty model itself- I actually LOVE my Liberty! It has seating for 5, which will be fine for us with 2 kiddos (I'd like more space if we end up having 3 kiddos though). The thing is that my Liberty is on the fritz-- having major issues left and right and rather than put money into it, we're thinking of getting a new car. If another Liberty is the best choice, than that would be fine, but this one won't be lasting us much longer...

alidubes · October 2013

I have a Toyota sienna and love it!!! I have captains chairs in the middle row so I can get in and around the kids. Tons of space in back with seats stowed for travel and automatic lift gate and side doors are essential when your hands are full. Also built in window shades and AWD are great features as well.

Chatterbug6917 · October 2013

I have an explorer and just had baby number 2 it is so convenient and a perfect size, plenty of cargo room for the double stroller and all our stuff it's good om gas and pretty

chatita_78 · October 2013

Get a seinna or an Odyssey. Your life will be forever changed!!

azzyberry · October 2013

I just bought a 2014 Honda Odyssey and it is awesome.

I had originally intended to buy a mid size SUV with a 3rd row. I did a ton of research and test drove a few and IMO none of the SUVs came close to the comfort, convenience, space, and features that the minivan has.

If you plan on having a 3rd in the next few years you should definitely consider a minivan.

I did look into leasing and I didn't think it was a good option when you have kids. Way too many restrictions.

LittleFish1 · October 2013

we only recently had our first child but have been eyeing the GMC Acadia for a few years. Appears to us that it has the comfort and ease of access of a mini van, however is an SUV. There is a Chevy version as well.

lifeiswhathappens · October 2013

thanks for the great recs!!

JKTTC1 · October 2013

I had a Nissan Rogue when LO was born and we had a Seth in the family where we had to travel when he was 6 days old. It was TIGHT with all the baby gear and quickly decided to trade. I got a 2012 Honda Pilot which I loved but when we found out about #2 on the way I knew I couldn't afford preschool and daycare for 2 plus $620 car payment so we recently traded for a used 07 Honda Odyssey which I LOVE all te features. I don't have my backup camera, Bluetooth, or power tailgate but having the sliding doors, tv, and space is worth is at half the price!

Hoping in the next two years to upgrade to a newer one.

ebp913 · October 2013

We are getting an Expedition EL (suburban sized). We are on the fence about #3 but we road trip a lot and we bring our dogs so we just need space for all the bags/kid stuff, the kids and the big dogs. I prefer the larger trunk space of the large SUV and like that it packs more horizontally whereas most minivans pack more vertically. I was really pushing for the Odyssey for awhile until I realized that it just isn't a good fit for our family. We also need true 4WD for driving in the winter in the mountains.

Caseyk1127 · October 2013

I have a honda odyssey with 2 kids and love it .... But it's for sale because I'm also in love with the ford flex. I'll probably miss the automatic doors though.

Lisadi · October 2013

LibbyLouHoo said:

I just bought a 2014 Odyssey and love it. I love having sliding doors. It really makes it easier to get the kids in and out.

I do not have a minivan, but imagine loving it just for this reason.

JENandJEH · October 2013

I have a 2011 Toyota Sienna and love it. The sliding doors are amazing with older kids - they can't ram their door into the car next to us! I love the space and having the captains chairs in the middle to separate the kids and allow easy access to the 3rd row.

We test drove an Acadia before the van and it was nice, but the space wasn't really all that great compared to the van. I felt it to be cramped and the 3rd row leg room was awful. With the 3rd row, the cargo space was definitely not enough for our family in the Acadia. And, it didn't have sliding doors. Plus, we were able to get the Sienna with all of the bells & whistles we wanted for about 10k less than the Acadia would have been for the same bells & whistles.

I definitely agree with whichever PP mentioned checking for top tether locations before purchasing if you plan to have more than 2 kids. If I could do it over again, I would go with the Odyssey because of the number of top tethers. Our salesman convinced DH that the Sienna had 5 top tethers and DH didn't realize he was looking at cargo hooks. We only have 3 top tethers which has made for some interesting installations when we've had friends with kids ride with us.

Irishsapphire · October 2013

I bought a 2011 white Jeep Patriot at the end of March, and I really love it. I knew that I was going to be driving a lot of miles so I bought the used car rather than leasing a new car. It is good to go to different dealerships and try out different cars. I also really like the Ford Escape. And the Honda CRV was another SUV that I looked at as well. I also like the Honda Pilot or the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

2ndGeneration · October 2013

OP, I have lots of experience with cars and carseats lol-I have five kiddos ages 20-10 and am pregnant now (cannot figure out the ticker at all!). For a time I had 4 in carseats/boosters, and I LOVED my minivan at the time! With the sliding door, I could load everyone in, climb in and shut the door and proceed to buckle everyone up, out of the rain/snow. With the SUV's you have to stand outside and do that. Plus the stroller fit easily in the back along with whatever else I was carrying and it was decent on gas.

Before I got pregnant, I bought a Jeep Patriot-which I do love, but is going to be a squeeze to fit 2 teens/tweens and a carseat back there! I could not imagine more than one carseat in the back of this SUV.

I rented a Chrysler Town and Country last year for a family trip and LOVED it!!! In fact, I would have got one if not for needing 4 wheel drive to get to work in winter. We had also rented a Suburban the year before for a trip and I preferred the minivan over the suv.

staticgirl77 · October 2013

Even though my sienna is 16 years old and is pushing 200,000 miles, I would buy another one tomorrow. This van has room for us and our dogs and friends. It has been a very good car to me, and I will drive it until the wheels come off. Then get another and start all over.

Mimaloo · October 2013

DH and I just leased the Lexus RX35. It is our first time leasing so we are a bit paranoid over the mileage issue, but we are in love with the car so we plan on buying it out at the end. The back windows come tinted which will be good for baby and the car itself is just amazing in every way. I think it will make a great family car!

Ms.MKBT · October 2013

We have had our Toyota Highlander for almost three years, and I love it! When we need to, we can use the third row to seat up to seven. I love having all the cargo space for stroller plus groceries, etc. My mom has a Sienna, which I like, too, but we do not need a third row all the time, and I just can't bring myself to have a minivan with only one kid right now.

lifeiswhathappens · October 2013

We checked out the Toyota Highlander this weekend and I think we love it!

And with the new model coming out in the spring, I am hoping to find a way to score a deal too!

tiki8286 · November 2013

We purchased a 2013 dodge grand caravan when we found out we were pregnant with baby #2. We previously had a scion xB.

The dodge is awesome - SO spacious, seats 7. We have dual power sliding doors so while I was carrying DS I could just hit a button on my key and have the door be open once I got to it.

That and having a DVD player in the car has saved our sanity on long drives - we keep a Mickey Mouse clubhouse DVD in at all times just in case :-)

Currently we have the 3rd row stowed down so the trunk space is huge and flat and fits SO much. If we have family that we are driving around, we just lightly pull up on a tab and the back seats flip up effortlessly.

I highly recommend it!

olga1311 · November 2013

We have Kia Sportage. It's an SUV and Sooo amaZing. They have incredible 100k bumper to bumper warranty. A lot of features come standard like back up camera and they don't cost all that much compared to other SUVs . I highly recommend.

Need recommendations for new family vehicle! Help!? :)

Re: Need recommendations for new family vehicle! Help!? :)

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