Cars

ThursdayMorning · January 2016

Ok. Random question for those of you who have kids and have done the baby car seat/ stroller thing. We are car shopping as my current car is on its last legs. I really want another compact car or at least a sedan. Is it super naive to think that a sedan would be just fine? Most parents I know have a larger SUV or wagon. Is a car seat that difficult to maneuver that a sedan will be obnoxious? I know it's a silly question as I'm sure plenty of moms make it work in a smaller car but I'm trying to gauge just how difficult it might be and weigh advantages v disadvantages. It's difficult to do without any previous experience with those things.

Thank you!!

cal031686 · January 2016

I have a sedan and it fits out family just fine. Infant seat worked fine but when we switched to convertible we had to try a couple out to see what would fit. We will have a Ff and an infant seat come August and we will be fine. Stroller fits in our massive trunk and I still have room for groceries, luggage, etc.

Jenniferk08 · January 2016

If you are car shopping then think about if/when you want to have more kids.

We were fine with my Jetta and a carseat. Now I'm pregnant with #2 and have a crv. I think my Jetta would've been tight with 2 car seats.

ramoseecology · January 2016

I've seen a lot of resources around best cars for families and fit of car seats in particular cars. I thought about it before we bought our Prius and read some of the online reviews I found on models we were interested in (CRV, Subaru, Prius). In test driving our car, it felt very roomy in the interior and I love how much we can fit in a hatchback.

This is site has ratings for different cars: https://www.cars.com/news/Car-Seat-Check/

It may also help to google best family cars, and also see if there are chat rooms about the cars you are interested in (Prius has some, so that was super helpful for not only hearing about fit for families but also hearing what others had paid in my area to help negotiate the best price--many thousands less than MSRP).

One tip I have for car shopping is to email the different dealerships in your area about the model you are interested in. I emailed all the dealerships for Toyota within a 3 hour radius (including another larger metropolitan area). Ask for their best out the door price (taxes, etc.--total price). Then you can continue to see if they will match the lowest price you find or better it (free floor mats, etc). Then you can go in knowing the price you will pay---be willing to walk out if they try to have you pay more and make sure the price they show you per month adds up to the total amount you agreed upon over email. They tried both when we went in (the higher monthly was a "mistake", that they figured out when they talked to a manager--have your phone calculator handy) but we stayed firm so we were able to get it for our agreed upon price.

Sekerambo · January 2016

I have the same car I had in college, a little Ford Focus, and have used a rf convertible car seat from day one without an issue. I have both a britax advocate and a britax marathon click-tight and both fit easily and are easy to maneuver. The trunk of my focus is also large enough to fit my large double stroller. My husband's car just broke down so we are car hunting now. I am only looking at sedans because I refuse to give up the good gas mileage. I just put both my britax car seats rfing in my focus for reference and although tight it does work. We are looking at a Prius, accord, or something similar. Also, thecarseatlady just wrote an article about how car seats fit in specific cars. It's a great reference tool.

Stephanie7693 · January 2016

I love my suv, but I live in the Midwest and hate driving in the winter without a large awd vehicle. I also don't drive far, so mileage isn't an issue. We have to buy a bigger one now though since my backseat is just two bucket seats and we're going on kids number 3. But the space and size is important for us with strollers, sports equipment, camping and pulling our camper. Sedans can work just fine with kids, but keep in mind your hobbies and possible future children.

texasmama2014 · January 2016

We have a Ford Focus and it's fine. Gonna be interesting with a second car seat because of how tall we are, but I have had no problems fitting the car seat and stroller. And everything else we need!

ZedPM3 · January 2016

Thanks for the link @ramoseecology ! We have two VW Golfs so I was wondering how carseats would fit in them. Looks like they get a good score! Luckily by the time we need more than 2 carseats in there we'll be getting an SUV.

Bookhousegirl · January 2016

My car is slightly bigger than a sedan but has a hatchback (BMW X1). It was fine with the infant seat but when we switched to a regular car seat and were still doing rear facing it was a tight squeeze (the passenger front seat had to be pushed up pretty far). We're going to be trading in DH's car for a bigger one this summer and he'll take my car and I'll take the bigger one. We take a lot of weekend trips and with 2 kids and all their stuff it just won't work with our current cars. I think if you have one bigger car, having a smaller one is fine for day to day use.

Caileybug · January 2016

I had a Honda Civic and we recently traded it in for an Odyssey (van). We have a lab and an 8 month old already. I wasn't pregnant when we made the decision to upgrade in September. We knew we wanted more kids, and a Sedan wouldn't work for us because of the dog. She needs space and it would be impossible to go anywhere with two car seats and her. Plus I want 3 kids

My trunk fit JUST my stroller. Now we have tons of space! The three back seats stow away and Mila has room to lay down on her doggie bed in the back, there's still space for a stroller and anything else as well!

Think about how many children you are planning and if pets are involved

Good luck in your search! New cars are so fun!

SkiChic626 · January 2016

I had an Accord when my daughter was born and it was fine and did it's job. However, I'm tall, so bending over to buckle her in was tough - I couldn't imagine doing it while very pregnant. One thing about the sedan, though, is that it didn't compromise leg room in the front seat. We had to search high and low to find SUVs where the passenger was left with enough leg room with the car seat behind it - I was surprised how hard it was since you'd think everything about an SUV is bigger - not so much! When DD was born DH had a Jeep Liberty, and I couldn't sit in the front, my legs were so smushed! We quickly traded it in for a Pilot. My Accord lease was up, so I got a Santa Fe (wanted a bigger vehicle with a lower payment), and it's actually really great!! This time we made sure that the driver's seat wasn't compromised by having the car seat behind it since we'll need to have two in there soon. Both of our vehicles are currently leases, we're not ready to commit to something yet, and we don't know if we're going to have more kids after this, so we're waiting to see before purchasing a vehicle. I really want a Tahoe for my next ride - but we'll see

Also, as some have mentioned, consider where you live and if you NEED an SUV. I'm in NJ and in the winter I wouldn't want to drive anything but AWD or 4WD. We also take a trip upstate every summer, and basically have to bring everything with us, so we also needed a vehicle that could accommodate all of our stuff as well as two kids (we take the Pilot on these ventures).

1faceinacrowd · January 2016

My daughter's dad has a 2-door Chevy Cobalt and he somehow managed to get the carseat in and out of that thing...lol. I've always had a 4-door sedan and had no problem at all. I now have a crossover (smaller than an SUV, bigger than a car), but I will also have 2 boosters AND a carseat in my back seat once the baby arrives, so I need some extra room. ;-)

Kjohnson1426 · January 2016

We've had an SUV since my first baby in 2013. Living in MI during the winter I wouldn't feel safe driving something that wasn't AWD. Plus, we knew once we started having kids we wanted more than 2. I am pregnant with our third and we will have plenty of room with 3 car seats.

ThursdayMorning · January 2016

Thank you for all the great input! I think I'll keep looking at sedans but great to know what things to look for. It's our first and I tend to rotate cars every couple of years anyway so thinking I should be good for at least a couple years!

stephtess · January 2016

We just bought a new car for my husband a few months ago. He had a Hyundai Tiburon coupe that was not carseat friendly. We ended up going with the Mazda CX-5. It's a crossover and it gets great gas mileage. We were trying to think ahead for when we have baby #2. I have a Ford Focus sedan and I think I may need to move up to a bigger car when baby #2 comes. I think if you're just having one, a sedan would be fine, but if you're planning a larger family, I would get something that will accommodate that. Good luck with your search!

Diimari15 · January 2016

I tend to be a big car person, but in staying small the best car-in staying safe-that I've ever had was my Subaru outback but their smaller cars are still quite roomy, they have an Crosstrek which is a pretty sporty looking cross over which would also be pretty awesome in my personal opinion. I am from upstate NY (as in the Adirondacks) and we get pretty crazy weather, lots of hills, bumps, rocks, animals and tourists and I never feel as safe as I did in my Subaru.

babaylo · January 2016

We have a sedan (Mazda 6) and a SUV (GMC Acadia). When our first was still in the infant seat and I was taking it in and out if the car, I liked the sedan better because it was lower and easier to lift in and out. But, the front seat had to be scooted way up to make room in the back for the seat. Now that we're using a convertible seat, I like the SUV sooooooo much better. It's easier to get DS in and out of, and there's is just so much more room overall. If I had to pick one, I'd pick the SUV

. Good luck with your hunt! Exciting!

cm716 · January 2016

We have a Kia Sorento which is a small suv. It drives more like a car and gets good gas mileage. It has also been super reliable. Only one major repair in four years. It fits two carseats very comfortably.
Now that we are on our third we have one in a high back booster, another in a toddler five point and we can squeeze the rear facing baby seat in with relative ease. We will continue with it until it dies or we have a fourth baby. I have major major van envy but ours is paid off.

I think if you plan on having 2+ kids, vans are the best option.

cait5413 · January 2016

DH drives a VW GTI which he never wants to get rid of; we're thinking of trading in my Chevy Cobalt (death trap) this year. I was going to get another sedan, but we want 2 kids and we have a dog...I don't think all of that would fit in DH's hatchback or a sedan. So maybe a crossover? I'm torn.

ginger819 · January 2016

When my husband's car hit 180k miles about 3 years ago we looked at cars and ended up with a small SUV (a Chevy Captiva) expecting we would get married and have a baby or two before we were done with the car. However, when we had DD we discovered even though it's an SUV we had to push the front seat all the way up to fit a car seat. My knees literally hit the dashboard and crossing my legs was impossible. So this year we traded it in for the Chevy Traverse. We knew we'd have another baby soon and I will be starting to babysit another little girl and wanted a car that I would be able to take on more kids if I wanted to. I love how much room is in there.

Our advise now to anybody looking for a car with plans of a baby is to borrow a car seat and do a car seat check to see how much room there really is with one in there. We would have saved a lot to just have bought the Traverse originally, but we learned our lesson.

charmedlifex3 · January 2016

I used to have a Hyundai Elantra, when my bestie had just had her first. For a sedan - it fit her (huge) travel system really well. Her stroller was ridiculously big and it fit in the trunk no problem, and she could sit in the front with the car seat in the back easily. It worked so well, she bought the same EXACT model and year - since she knew it fit.

ginger819 · January 2016

Allisun85 said:
I used to have a Hyundai Elantra, when my bestie had just had her first. For a sedan - it fit her (huge) travel system really well. Her stroller was ridiculously big and it fit in the trunk no problem, and she could sit in the front with the car seat in the back easily. It worked so well, she bought the same EXACT model and year - since she knew it fit.

Our second car is the Hyundai Elantra as well and we have no problem fitting DDs carseat in there with lots of space in the front. We only use it occasionally for trips with her though and haven't tried to fit the stroller in the back but I'm sure it would fit.

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