STM+ What Do You Drive?

TessyMessy · August 2014

I mentioned in the Random Thread DH and I are looking for a new vehicle. We have 2 boys and my niece right now. We decided to leave the door open for #3. So we need to be able to fit 3 (or 4) kids comfortably. What do you recommend and why?

azzyberry · August 2014

Honda Odyssey. Tons of space, very comfortable, great features, and lots of cargo space. Best car ever.

MamaAllison · August 2014

The new Highlander has mid-row buckets and bench back seat as an option. I also really love my Equinox, but it wouldn't do 5/6. So maybe the Traverse?

TessyMessy · August 2014

ChiaWombat said:
Ford Explorer. It's three rows of fun!

@ChiaWombat‌ how much cargo space do you have with the third row seating?

iwubrory · August 2014

JoyBaby5 said:
Something that has middle row bucket seats, and a third row. I love my Traverse!

I also love my Traverse and insisted on having middle row bucket seats because I loved having them as a kid. Unfortunately, we have no idea what we're going to do when we have three kids in car seats/harnessed boosters.

Soap1 · August 2014

We have a Tahoe. It is exactly what we need for 3 kids plus luggage, or sports crap, or whatever. I don't really like it (I would rather drive a pickup, or something teeny and sporty!) but it's a great large family vehicle.

Sidenote: Everyone I know who has a minivan loves having one.

Tally06 · August 2014

iwubrory said:

JoyBaby5 said:
Something that has middle row bucket seats, and a third row. I love my Traverse!
I also love my Traverse and insisted on having middle row bucket seats because I loved having them as a kid. Unfortunately, we have no idea what we're going to do when we have three kids in car seats/harnessed boosters.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but why can't you put car seats in the middle row captains chairs? DS1 is still rear facing so I don't know much about forward facing tethering. I want to purchase a Ford Expedition with middle row captains chairs and we want one more kid. Is this a bad idea?

TessyMessy · August 2014

I have a few friends with minivans and they LOVE them... I'm just not ready to take the plunge yet. But I know it makes the most sense for us especially if we are blessed with another LO. I guess we have to go out and do some test drives. UGH I hate car shopping!

iwubrory · August 2014

JoyBaby5 said:

iwubrory said:

JoyBaby5 said:
Something that has middle row bucket seats, and a third row. I love my Traverse!
I also love my Traverse and insisted on having middle row bucket seats because I loved having them as a kid. Unfortunately, we have no idea what we're going to do when we have three kids in car seats/harnessed boosters.

Can the oldest be in a booster in the back? I *think* this is what my BIL's family does with their 4 year old and two one year old twins.

@JoyBaby5 if we have our next baby at our ideal time then ds will be 3 yrs, 8ish months. I don't think he'd be able to buckle himself in then and we can't get to the back row to buckle him with car seats in the way. Does your BIL have a Traverse?

Tally06 said:

iwubrory said:

JoyBaby5 said:
Something that has middle row bucket seats, and a third row. I love my Traverse!
I also love my Traverse and insisted on having middle row bucket seats because I loved having them as a kid. Unfortunately, we have no idea what we're going to do when we have three kids in car seats/harnessed boosters.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but why can't you put car seats in the middle row captains chairs? DS1 is still rear facing so I don't know much about forward facing tethering. I want to purchase a Ford Expedition with middle row captains chairs and we want one more kid. Is this a bad idea?

@Tally06‌ You can put car seats in the captain's chairs. DS is still rearfacing in his convertible and DD is in her bucket seat in our captain's chairs. See above for my dilemma.

karich · August 2014

I refuse to drive a minivan. I know they are practical and blah blah....but I can't do it.

I drive a Honda Pilot and I love it. I have 3 car seats (well, an infant seat, a Britax convertible, and a high back booster) in the second row. Tons of trunk space when 3rd row is down, and I'm still able to fit a double stroller even if it's up.

The only thing is that it's a gas whore. But, that's life when you drive a large SUV.

dunvilles · August 2014

Honda Pilot - love it. It has the optional 3rd row. There isn't much storage room when the 3rd row is in use but you have the option to put only 1 or 2 seats up in the 3rd row which leaves more room for strollers etc.

Soap1 · August 2014

@iwubrory DS1 sits in the 3rd row (we have two captain chairs where the younger two are). He learned to buckle himself in his car seat when he was a few months shy of four. I had to reach back and help sometimes, which was a pain, but he learned fast. Now he's in a booster and it's a breeze. He does it all himself super easily.

iwubrory · August 2014

Thanks @Soap1 I just realized that we can put two kids in the third row leaving one captain's chair empty so that we can access the third row to buckle them in. That's if DS can't buckle himself in by then.

Tally06 · August 2014

iwubrory said:

JoyBaby5 said:

iwubrory said:

JoyBaby5 said:
Something that has middle row bucket seats, and a third row. I love my Traverse!
I also love my Traverse and insisted on having middle row bucket seats because I loved having them as a kid. Unfortunately, we have no idea what we're going to do when we have three kids in car seats/harnessed boosters.

Can the oldest be in a booster in the back? I *think* this is what my BIL's family does with their 4 year old and two one year old twins.
@JoyBaby5 if we have our next baby at our ideal time then ds will be 3 yrs, 8ish months. I don't think he'd be able to buckle himself in then and we can't get to the back row to buckle him with car seats in the way. Does your BIL have a Traverse?
Tally06 said:

iwubrory said:

JoyBaby5 said:
Something that has middle row bucket seats, and a third row. I love my Traverse!
I also love my Traverse and insisted on having middle row bucket seats because I loved having them as a kid. Unfortunately, we have no idea what we're going to do when we have three kids in car seats/harnessed boosters.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but why can't you put car seats in the middle row captains chairs? DS1 is still rear facing so I don't know much about forward facing tethering. I want to purchase a Ford Expedition with middle row captains chairs and we want one more kid. Is this a bad idea?
@Tally06‌ You can put car seats in the captain's chairs. DS is still rearfacing in his convertible and DD is in her bucket seat in our captain's chairs. See above for my dilemma.

Thanks!

sdlaura · August 2014

My next car will be a 7-seater, but like some PPs I just can't do a minivan. DH wants the Acura MDX but it seems like a lot of money to me, even though we'd buy it used. I also want to test drive the Nissan Pathfinder.

azzyberry · August 2014

I felt the need to come back and address the anti-minivan people because I used to be one of them.

We bought a 2014 Honda Odyssey last August. Before we bought it I was very against getting a minivan and was planning on buying an SUV with a 3rd row.

After 6 months of extensive research, I narrowed it down to 3 cars, Chevy Traverse, Honda Pilot, and Nissan Pathfinder. I went to the dealerships to test drive them and I didn't love any of them for various reasons and all of them had very cramped 3rd rows with virtually zero cargo space when 3rd row is up which is definitely a necessity with 3 kids.

While at Honda test driving the Pilot, on a whim I decided to look at the odyssey and I loved it immediately. I didn't want to love it or even like it. In fact I told the salesman that I really wanted to hate this car but I didn't.

Anyway, long story longer, I bought the odyssey and it was the best decision I made.IMO, none of the other cars even came close to the space, features, comfort, and convenience of the odyssey.

I would encourage anyone in the market for a new car, to just at least go look at them before making such a big purchase. I would have been so mad at myself if I would have settled for a car that didn't meet all my needs because I had some stupid hang up about minivans.

versed · August 2014

@iwubrory‌ - I have friends who have captain's chairs in the middle who just plain took one out. That way they have very easy access to the back bench with two car seats. So, that's always an option.

TessyMessy · August 2014

azzyberry said:
I felt the need to come back and address the anti-minivan people because I used to be one of them.

We bought a 2014 Honda Odyssey last August. Before we bought it I was very against getting a minivan and was planning on buying an SUV with a 3rd row.

After 6 months of extensive research, I narrowed it down to 3 cars, Chevy Traverse, Honda Pilot, and Nissan Pathfinder. I went to the dealerships to test drive them and I didn't love any of them for various reasons and all of them had very cramped 3rd rows with virtually zero cargo space when 3rd row is up which is definitely a necessity with 3 kids.

While at Honda test driving the Pilot, on a whim I decided to look at the odyssey and I loved it immediately. I didn't want to love it or even like it. In fact I told the salesman that I really wanted to hate this car but I didn't.

Anyway, long story longer, I bought the odyssey and it was the best decision I made.IMO, none of the other cars even came close to the space, features, comfort, and convenience of the odyssey.

I would encourage anyone in the market for a new car, to just at least go look at them before making such a big purchase. I would have been so mad at myself if I would have settled for a car that didn't meet all my needs because I had some stupid hang up about minivans.

Thank you for this. I know my anti minivan stance is totally irrational and I will likely be driving one in the future. I guess I am torn between tearing off the band aid now or getting a interim vehicle first.

AKAP2010 · August 2014

Mini van all the way! We have a dodge grand caravan and love it! The stow and go seating is awesome!

azzyberry · August 2014

TessyMessy said:

azzyberry said:
I felt the need to come back and address the anti-minivan people because I used to be one of them.

We bought a 2014 Honda Odyssey last August. Before we bought it I was very against getting a minivan and was planning on buying an SUV with a 3rd row.

After 6 months of extensive research, I narrowed it down to 3 cars, Chevy Traverse, Honda Pilot, and Nissan Pathfinder. I went to the dealerships to test drive them and I didn't love any of them for various reasons and all of them had very cramped 3rd rows with virtually zero cargo space when 3rd row is up which is definitely a necessity with 3 kids.

While at Honda test driving the Pilot, on a whim I decided to look at the odyssey and I loved it immediately. I didn't want to love it or even like it. In fact I told the salesman that I really wanted to hate this car but I didn't.

Anyway, long story longer, I bought the odyssey and it was the best decision I made.IMO, none of the other cars even came close to the space, features, comfort, and convenience of the odyssey.

I would encourage anyone in the market for a new car, to just at least go look at them before making such a big purchase. I would have been so mad at myself if I would have settled for a car that didn't meet all my needs because I had some stupid hang up about minivans.
Thank you for this. I know my anti minivan stance is totally irrational and I will likely be driving one in the future. I guess I am torn between tearing off the band aid now or getting a interim vehicle first.

Your welcome

. Like I said, I would recommend going to look at them. That way when you buy your car, whether you end up with a minivan or not, you know that you explored all your options and you can buy the right car for you with 100% certainty.

Also, just to give you an idea of space, we recently took a vacation with some friends. The DH flew down in the evening because he had to work that day but his wife and 11-month old made the 7-hour drive with us.

7 total people in the car, 4 of which were kids in carseats, 3 large suitcases, 1small suitcase, 2 pack n plays, a double stroller, 2 diaperbags, 2 portable high chairs, 2 travel toddler beds, and 4 large totes of stuff. This would not have been possible in any of those other cars.

Good luck with your decision!

Flyingtoast · August 2014

I have been following this. Not to t/J. I love my wagon, but with 2 car seats and a giant stroller, there isn't much room for anything else. My truck doesn't work well with 2 car seats, unless both driver and front passenger are leg less. I'm not against mini vans, but I also have to consider I NEED ground clearance and awd/4x4 most of the year. I have looked at a few options, but it didn't connect with me. Any recommendations?

karich · August 2014

In defense of my anti-minivan stance, a big part of why I can't have one is I really need a car that's a beast in the snow.
I'm considered emergency personnel, and it doesn't matter how much snow falls....I need to be at work.
My Pilot has saved my ass in more than a few snow storms.
@Flyingtoast‌, I've sung the praises of my Honda Pilot earlier in the thread, but I can attest that the capability of the 4WD in the Pilot is great. I've never felt like there was weather my truck couldn't handle.

Flyingtoast · August 2014

I have never driven a pilot, but I have towed one out of a ditch with my 15 yr old Subaru wagon

I just really need to move past that, it could have been driver error, not the suv's fault.

I find most SUVs are actually on car chassis, so the utility part of SUVs aren't really that utility. It can't accommodate more weight, with added cargo space. I hear(read haven't looked at this in 5 yrs) that makers are correcting this issue. H has fixed too many S'U'Vs from being overloaded or towing beyond it's limit because people treat like like trucks, not cars with extra large cabins.

@Mevaroo‌ Have jeeps improved on there readability? They used to brake down all the time and have crazy expensive repairs because it required pulling them apart to fix a belt ect.

If you can't tell, I have looked past my comfort makes. Hopefully this will be the nudge I need to expand my search criteria. I know I'm very picky with cars/trucks because I don't just look at the appearance, but how easy it is to repair and maintain.

karich · August 2014

Yeah, I don't tow anything with mine. So I can't really speak to that.

It's really good in the snow....I guess that's what I was trying to say

Flyingtoast · August 2014

@karich I'm will defiantly look at the pilot. Good in the snow is very important. I just haven't looked into their specs at all to know anything beyond my one experience with them.

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