Friday product spotlight: cars!

dmd2019 · June 2019

I'm still getting used to the rules so I hope I am doing this right.

We're starting to look at bigger cars this weekend. We have a 3 year old and need room for 2 and a double stroller. Who else is upgrading the family car? 🙋‍♀️

marebear15 · June 2019

We upgraded as soon as we started TTC a year ago. Driving around a Toyota RAV4! It's nice and you can definitely fit a rearfacing carseat behind the driver's seat with no problems. It's step one in our car buying 5-year plan. We are going to trade it in for a Sienna once we start trying for #3.

dmd2019 · June 2019

@marebear15 thats awesome! Its on our list for tomorrow. Good to know theres enough room! I love mini vans! Crazy how babies makes you really think so far ahead for cars

kbrown2385 · June 2019

Whatever you look at make sure you look for overlapping seatbelts, inflatable seatbelts, car seat configurations, seatbelt fit (some vans have horrible seatbelt fit in the back). Things you don’t think of but can cause issues with car seat installation and when the kids are older and move to boosters. I have a GMC Acadia and love it, but don’t like that there are only 3 tethers for car seats so configurations are limited. Also i think it’s important to make sure there is space in the 3rd row if you go that big. The 3rd row in the Acadia is very tight on the sides, not big enough for rear facing car seats. You can only really put a seat in the center but then the side seats are tight for anyone to sit comfortably.

Edit words

dmd2019 · June 2019

@kbrown2385 what is an inflatable seatbelt? You just opened my eyes to so many things. We're in a CRV and I love it, I just wanted a bigger trunk and you just gave me so many things to think about. Thank you!

bakerstreetboys · June 2019

**lurking

@marebear I'm on my second Sienna and I still love it!

kbrown2385 · June 2019

@dmd2019 The seatbelts inflate like an airbag when in an accident. A lot of car seats are not compatible with them and can’t be installed using those seatbelts. Even with using the LATCH system that all cars and car seats have now, at a certain weight they will need to be installed using the seatbelts, so having inflatable belts makes that difficult. I highly recommend looking into Car Seats For the Littles. They have a webpage and an fb page. It’s run by car seat safety technicians and they are full of info regarding car seats and vehicles, as well as safe and correct car seat usage.

marebear15 · June 2019

@bakerstreetboys - Toyota is the BOMB. I literally have a Corolla and a RAV right now, will upgrade to the Sienna some day. And when I'm older, I'll probably get the Camry.

MrsJessS · June 2019

We have a Ford Escape and I love it. My husband and I are tall and we can easily fit the car seat behind the driver/passenger seat.
When we were car shopping we wanted a mini van but we were on a time crunch and couldn’t find one that worked for us in the time frame. We both still wish sometimes that we had just gotten a mini van. With those I am torn between the Sienna and Odyssey

kbrown2385 · June 2019

@MrsJessS the odyssey’s are amazing. If I ever breakdown and get a van it will be one of those.

MrsJessS · June 2019

@kbrown2385 I always swore I’d never be a van mom. Then my mom rented one for our wedding and I fell in love

kbrown2385 · June 2019

@MrsJessS I’m still in that stage. Maybe when my kids are older and smashing doors into other vehicles I’ll change my mind haha.

dmd2019 · June 2019

I drove my dads Pacifica for a road trip and loved it! But with 2 being out max kids, I think we're sticking with a midsized SUV.. maybe.

@kbrown2385 thanks for that. Ill check it out. I seriously thought I knew all there was to know about car seat saftey and new car tech is throwing a wrench in my knowledge lol!

hanshotfirst77 · June 2019

I have a Subaru Forester I got when when my DS was about 6 months old. I love it. I think it will do nicely for the addition of #2. I think I'd probably go mini van if #3 ever happens.

spacemountaineer · June 2019

We bought a Honda Odyssey EX a few days before my BFP (Long story). After doing my research, I test drove the Sienna and Ascent along with the Odyssey. I choose the Odyssey because I felt it was the smoothest ride and it had a few additional features that DH and I liked that tipped us in that direction. The Subaru Ascent was really nice, but the leg room in the third row (in case we do have a 3rd kid) was tiny and the CVT transmission drove me nuts. I'm curious to see how it will improve in the next 5-10 years. Sienna had the best deals as Toyota was offering 0% financing or $3,000 rebate at the time (Honda doesn't seem to do that). It is also the only minivan currently with an AWD option. The Sienna and Odyssey had the best resale value out of the minivans. The Odyssey only has three car seat anchors for front facing car seats. I went with a minivan because of the roomier 3rd row and the power sliding doors for while the kids are young (I figured it would reduce my anxiety about them getting out by themselves). Definitely, not opposed to the idea of a SUV someday.

Edit: Sienna fact

dumbledoredies · June 2019

I have a Jeep Cherokee right now. It has worked great for having 1 kid. DS's carseat is in the middle seat in the back. I guess I should probably try and put it on one of the side seats to see how well it fits.

I've always sworn I would never be a mini van mom. I hate mini vans. But I also might want 4 kids so we will see how that goes 😆.

smount2011 · June 2019

I have a Jeep Patriot right now but before this baby gets here we will need a third row. We can't afford it right now but I'm hoping by November we can upgrade to a minivan.

stashattack · June 2019

I could never be a mini van mom. But in January I was in a pretty bad accident where our daily driver Mustang (my husband also owns a weekend driver mustang) was totaled. Which was a huge loss for us.. We know we probably aren't having more than two kids so when we were shopping for another car we were mainly looking at another larger sedan or a 4door truck. Wellll we ended up getting a 4wd challenger. Not as practical as a 4 door charger... but it's huge and i love it. It's not what people think of when you hear "mom car" or "family car" but it's def our sort of family car. And the freaking Ranger was just tooo dang expensive and I hated the Toyota Mid-Size truck.

Over the years I've just realized I'm a muscle car and truck chick. And not a mini van or SUV kinda gal.

persnickity · June 2019

@stashattack you're not alone in not being a minivan or SUV person. My "mom" car is a golf Sportwagon. It's the best of all worlds. Sedan interior, hatchback with folding rear seats means massive trunk space. I get 38 mpg for my daily commute and can tow a small trailer, like for a motorcycle. It literally covers everything.

stashattack · June 2019

Love it. I used to have a VW Tiguan. Until the clock spring broke after a recall fix and VW wouldn't cover it. And a brand new turbo because the first one blew (under warranty thank god). We just couldn't think about sinking nearly 1k into that car to get the part fixed so it could be drivable again when 2 things already went in the 6 months that we had it so we dumped it off real fast. LOL.

After the past 6 months of working in Philly, i've realized that it really doesn't matter what kinda car you drive, city driving just tanks your MPG with the traffic. It's awful. LOL. But that's awesome you get 38mpg!!

EmilyE13 · June 2019

I feel slightly less silly knowing that I’m not the only one of us who just isn’t into minivans. I adore fun cars and have been assured that my current sporty-but-4-door large sedan can easily accommodate 2 carseats. If they still produced the BMW station wagon in the US, that would be my dream mom car, though.

stashattack · June 2019

@EmilyE13 yasss!! haha. I even can say that i've had a mini van as a rental 2 times and just nope nope nope. They are just TOOO BIG. LOL. too big. I'm with you. I need something with a bit of zip to it to have fun in. And what I keep reminding myself is that my DH grew up in basically only coupes. And he survived this long. Soooo clearly it can work LOL.

valerie4786 · June 2019

We upgraded my vehicle a little over a year ago when we knew my KIA Optima wouldn't work for for more than one carseat & my work related transports. My husband is a KIA mechanic and tried forever to convince me to get a Sedona but I refuse to do minivans. I ended up getting a KIA Sorrento (SUV) with 3rd row seating that can pop up as needed or stay folded into the floor. I love it and I get free mechanic work & oil changes as needed! 😉

bosslady925 · June 2019

We got a Tahoe when I had DD in 2016, and are talking about probably getting a suburban later this year. Ugh, hoping we can keep the payment close to what we're doing now. It's large, but we need the space because we also have two 95lb labs, who take up the entire trunk space if we bring them along. The suburban, we could put the third row up, and have space for dogs and stuff. DH has talked about a van. I'm not a "van person", but am a practical person, so I would consider one if it was the right financial fit for our family, but they have very limited trunk space as well, right? I know there are tons of pros, like self-stowing seats and such. But, two large dogs won't fit in the back, right? Especially not with a double stroller. So, I'm thinking we'll be sticking with a suburban unless I find a minivan (I'll never drive a full size like cargo van) that meets the needs for a price that just can't be beat.

crf4 · June 2019

We love our Odyssey!! We started with a Sienna and it was fine, we were tboned and unfortunately it was totaled (everyone was ok!) we decided to go for the Honda afterward and I am so happy. I know people say minivans aren’t for everyone but the joy it brings me to have my hands full and press a button to open the doors/trunk is immeasurable lol. We build furniture and I always jokingly call it the indoor pickup, I can fit 8’ boards no problem. We will probably upgrade to a newer one eventually, I can’t imagine driving anything else!

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