What kind of car do you drive?

[olaitan]

This is r/workingmoms adjacent, but I’m in the market for a new car and would love y’alls input.

I have two kids now who are 2.5 and 4mo. We are planning for a third in the next two years. At that point, my kids will be roughly 5 and 2.5.

They attend daycare so they’re in and out of the car several times a day.

I currently drive a Lexus SUV with a third row, but it has bench second row. I feel like I want captains seats for the second row so my oldest will be able to get to third row easily. I’m sort of stuck on this point right now.

I’d love to know what kind of cars y’all drive and what kind of car seat configurations you have.

Do you recommend captains seats for more than two kids?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[bamhunter1]

@olaitan I don’t have personal advice because I only have one child and a 5 passenger SUV but I wanted to recommend @the_car_mom on Instagram and YouTube! She does car tours specifically for moms/families and talks all about car seat set ups, convenience, space, etc and she has been so helpful for me. She has 3 kids in car seats herself so she’s a wealth of knowledge!

 

[gcooldude]

@bamhunter1 Came here to also recommend the car mom!

 

[fowler623]

@gcooldude Yep + 1 for the car mom

 

[olaitan]

@bamhunter1 I’ll check her out thank you!

 

[kerseyorphanage]

@olaitan Agree with car mom! I think she'd recommend an atlas for you I bought my atlas after watching loads of her videos, def recommend

 

[blessedbabydolls]

@kerseyorphanage Not today after the recall

 

[congtywebbtccorp]

@kerseyorphanage That’s what my sister has as well and she has three children (4,2,1). It seems like a great car and one I plan on test driving when we buy a new car.

 

[mwright7]

@bamhunter1 Came here for the same reason!

 

[amy422]

@olaitan I love my minivan. It’s so nice that I don’t have to worry about my kids banging the cars next to them when they get in/out of my car. As your kids grow and become more independent this is a legitimate thing. They just aren’t always aware of their physical space or how when they are excited they tend to fling open doors and can cause serious damage to the cars next to them.

 

[ophelias11garden]

@amy422 I agree. I LOVE my minivan. I have a Honda Odyssey but I get the impression that most are pretty good. I also have a 5 and 2 year old, and #3 on the way in July. In addition to the sliding doors (which is huge) there are a few other benefits I’d bring up.

I’m not very familiar with all the three row SUVs, but it is extremely easy to reconfigure the seating in the van. When the third row is down the back is entirely flat. In my van there are two captain chairs, but also a 3rd seat that can be popped into the middle row if you want it. The 2nd row seats slide side to side so then the middle seat is out you can either have an aisle in the middle, or right on the side.

The sliding doors not only prevent dinging other cars, but are just a much bigger entry/exit point than typical doors. I really value this, especially with infant car seats.

This is subtle, but the seat height to window height is better for kids to actually be able to see out the window. I’ve only noticed this when we have rentals and they can’t see out, which sort of sucks.

The cargo space is huge. Kids have a lot of crap and I love that we never run out of space.

I personally don’t get the aversion some people have to vans. I hear some people say “I don’t want to look like a soccer mom” but it isn’t like being the 8 millionth mom in a Highlander is somehow going to make someone look so cool or something.

 

[amishaxel]

@ophelias11garden I told my husband I am considering a minivan when my lease is up and said, “I was cool for maybe 5 minutes in college and that ship has sailed. If a minivan is more practical for the family, I am down for it.”

 

[olaitan]

@amishaxel Lol I love this perspective!

 

[congtywebbtccorp]

@amishaxel At this point, it’s not my car anymore. It’s the family car (kid car) so why bother. I just need something functional

 

[hman]

@ophelias11garden Damn, all of that seat rearranging is pretty awesome. Minivans get a bad rap but I think people that don’t own them don’t understand all of these features (speaking as an under-educated SUV owner…)

 

[peppermint10]

@hman I don’t own one… simply because I can’t afford a 40k minivan.. and I can’t get into a dodge caravan. I just don’t want too lol

 

[wayne1980]

@ophelias11garden I could have written this post exactly. I have a 17, 14 and 5 yo. I got a minivan when I had my 5 yo and I just love it. I’ll probably keep it for a few more years and then maybe get an SUV.

 

[welshdragon]

@ophelias11garden Yes to all of this! I had an SUV, then a Hyundai Santa Fe with a tiny 3rd row. Soon after having baby#3 I caved and bought a Kia Carnival. I freaking love it and don't know why I waited so long! Same features as yours, I can pull out the middle seat of the 2nd row to have Captain's chairs and even pull out the Captain's chairs if I need to. 3rd row lays completely flat when we don't need it.

So much room!! So EASY for the kids to climb in and out of. 2nd row seats have the seat belt in the seat so you're not tugging on belts to climb back to the 3rd row.

ETA- it also has soooo many cupholders, USB charger ports in front, middle, AND 3rd rows, collapsible built in sunshades even in the 3rd row. Also any SUV with a 3rd row just isn't big enough as the kids get older. I have a big age gap with my 3 and my teen hated sitting in the 3rd row of my Santa Fe. I test drove a Subaru Ascent and Telluride as well before settling on the Carnival. You just don't have enough leg room as a teen/adult in the 3rd row of those, plus the trunk space was tiny with the 3rd row up.

I'm driving this family wagon til the wheels fall off

 

[ophelias11garden]

@welshdragon Ooo! I forgot about the cup holders and window shades. It is so nice.

 

[jamesmason10]

@ophelias11garden Well I'm not in the US so it's obviously different but I wouldn't drive one because of parking. My partner has one but we never use it for local journeys unless we really have to or are transporting something big. It's much harder to find a big enough space as we park on the street a lot.