Currently I drive a Mazda CX-5 and we have Nuna rava car seats for our twins. Unfortunately there is not enough space for my 6’4” husband. We’ve been trying to make it work, but he ends up in pain from his knees being pressed into the dash and eventually pushes his seat back, which is unsafe for the babies. So it looks like I’m back in the car market! I don’t have anything in mind at the moment, I’ll happily try anything from Ford to Mercedes as long as it works for us.
I’m looking for:
Not a minivan. Just can’t do it.
Obviously something bigger than what I have, but not enormous like a Tahoe.
Good gas mileage as I have a long commute.
Two or three rows works. I like smaller vehicles, but I can see the usefulness of a third row to transport family or little friends as my babies grow up.
A/c in the second row. It’s already over 100* here, I’m not trying to bake my babies.
@barnabas17 I have no idea why people hate minivans so much. The gas mileage, seating room (I'm 5'10" and dh is 6'4" plus 3 tall kids), and cargo space are all better than most SUVs. And sliding doors. SLIDING DOORS! No kids banging them into parked cars, makes school pickup/dropoff easier. There's seriously a milllion cupholders, which seems unnecessary until you have kids over 4...then, holy cow, my car is basically a beverage cart with seats now. They are vehicles made for people with kids. And I am a people with kids! ETA: I have a Sienna. They have AWD options and I think the new ones are all hybrid. Also, they have their own climate control in the back.
Also, I hate to break it to everyone who won't consider it because they aren't cool: You aren't cool anymore. You're a parent. All of your cool fell out with the placenta. It's over. Embrace it. Get some New Balances, a visor, and a minivan, friend.
@katrina2017 Love my 2022 sienna. So much more room. My husband wasn’t convinced or thrilled with the idea of a minivan, but now he talks about how awesome it is to everyone he knows. I do wish there were more storage options in it. Middle console isn’t huge, and the space underneath always just looks messy. BUT… the space is great, the sliding doors don’t bang in the garage or in a lot, and the hybrid?? 38mpg as of right now. I fill up every 3-4 weeks!
@katrina2017 I also am befuddled by the minivan hate. I only learned a few years ago that this is a thing. Something about image and ego. It still doesn’t make sense to me.
@katrina2017 we take road trips with our twins and I can STILL put my bike inside the van with the wheels still on. The dual sliding doors, remote start, etc... Great vehicle with multiple car seats always installed.
@katrina2017 I have a Mazda 5, which is like a mini-minivan, but I will be switching to a full-ass minivan when my kids are older and start having sports and friends. I can NEVER go back to non-sliding doors. My sister had a baby when my twins were 3 and despite my advice to get sliding doors, she got a Subaru SUV. Whenever I help her get her daughter in and out of the car in a tight space, I silently scream at her for getting regular doors.
@barnabas17 Lol I know I’m being stubborn. My mom had one when I was little and I had the privilege of driving an old minivan with a cracked windshield as a teen so I always promised myself I’d never drive one again! My sister has one now and assured me it’s very practical and nice.
@tdear25 The minivan will get better gas mileage than an SUV, significantly more practical and has sliding doors. All the other vehicles are compromises.
@tdear25 We have a Yukon, and while it's comfortable for me to drive, I really wish my wife would have been open to the minivan. So much more room and storage and it can be a pain in the ass to get back into the storage areas. My sister has 5 kids to my 3, and when she shows up for visits, it blows my mind that all of them just hop out of her minivan with all their bags and happy kids after a 3 hour drive....I get jealous.
@subashsingh My husband was hinting about a minivan so I said he could get one and I’d drive his truck. After an immediate “hell no” he dropped the minivan topic.
@tdear25 Just echoing the choir but I was so against a minivan. I test drove a Honda Odyssey and we bought it instantly. I LOVE my minivan. They are seriously luxurious now and it is SO practical. Just saying, you might be pleasantly surprised.
@tdear25 Look into the kia carnival. It's a minivan with suv styling. Has some really nice features. I was in the suv camp until I realized it's just not practical anymore with 3 kids in carseats and 2 dogs.
@tdear25 This was the same situation my wife was in. She wanted the SUV, but size for size the minivans kept beating out every other option. The final straw was getting kids in and out of the car, she’s 5’2” and most current SUVs of comparable size required lifting the seats/kids too high.
@tdear25 Look at the MSRP and gas mileage on the minivans vs the giant-er SUVs that you'd have to compare it to in order to get the same features, and even still, at the increased expense of purchase and fuel, you're not going to get all the positives that come with a minivan, like your careless kid door dinging the car next to you.
We had both an Astro and the full size Dodge Ram van with the carpeted walls growing up, so I get your van trauma, but the minivans of generations past are nothing like the ones now.
