Family cars?

[basil]

What type of cars and what size of car would you consider to be the ideal "family car"? What kind of car did you/do you drive with young kids?

DH and I are thinking of adding a human kid to family of three (me, him, and puppy) in the next few years. But we need a new car sooner since mine is 12 years old and DH got a new job where he has to drive >90 miles a day...and he wants to get a 4-wheel drive before the winter. I would be the primary driver and he would just take that car in bad weather, since his current car is a pretty new Honda Civic which gets great gas mileage.

We're looking at small AWD SUVs like Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester, Toyota Rav-4...but my parents suggested I'd want something bigger if we have kids. What do you think?

 

[fieryred33143]

Well, you don't really need that much stuff when it comes to a baby. You only really need the car seat, diaper bag and stroller. We have a really compact stroller that fits in any car and I only carry around a small diaper tote so that takes up very little space. Even with a newborn you don't need much room.

However, if you are planning on using the car to travel then I agree that the CRV and/or RAV4 may be too small, especially since there is also a pet involved. When we travel by car we usually have her stroller, two suitcases, some toys, and her PNP. It fits in my corolla but it's tight and uncomfortable. FI has a crossover SUV (Ford Edge) that is a little bigger than CRV/R4 that works really well but even then it can get tight.

 

[lknvrb4]

I drive a yukon and I love it. It's big and I feel safe with my kids and we have a third row of seating as well. We are a family of 5 and I also do daycare so I can fit 6 car seats in the back to rows. It's the perfect car for our family, it's just not great on gas.

 

[Steel]

Just to give you a different answer...

We are TTC and I sold my S60 which was a great sized family car. Lots of room esp. in the boot. But it cost small fortune to tax, insure, service and fuel was 28-32mpg.

I put a deposit down yesterday on a 1.25l Ford Fiesta . I had a loaner and calculated the MPG on my driving to be a min of 40mpg, it is €156 a year to tax and has plenty of boot room for a stroller. The passenger doors and A frame is very easy to reach in and out of to attend to LO's and it is s.u.p.e.r. easy to park. Any sliver of a space and it is mine. Beep beep.

I can't imagine that we will keep this model of car for very long after #2 but we will have to see how #1 goes before I worry about that.

So my vote is: the small and nippy Ford Fiesta; cheap to fuel insure, tax and a sinch to park.

I thought it might be interesting to hear from a gal selling the family car to buy a nippy cheap one. Plus I could spend all my saved euros on onesies and sippy cups .

But different strokes and all.
.

 

[MustangGal]

I drive a Hyundai Santa Fe. It's a tad bigger than the CR-V and Rav 4, but I believe the cost is about the same. We do the 4 hour drive to the grandparents every few months, and fit well with 2 adults, the baby and an 80 pound dog in the back (plus all the "stuff"). It would also be able to fit 2 car seats easily in the future. Mine gets about 24 mpg, but it's a 2WD. The AWD might get a little less. We've also used it to tow our tent trailer, and we have the third row of seats that has come in handy a few times when family was visiting.

 

[KimberlyH]

my sister drives a subaru (not forester, the bigger car model, gah the name escapes me and the last time i talked cars here i couldn't recall that i drive an edge, which i love!) , if you need awd it's a fantastic vehicle. she has a 4 yr old and it's a good size for travel and extra ppl. it was my second choice for a car.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I drive a subaru impreza 5 speed, 4 door and LOVE it! It was on the top of my list because it's the only small car to be given the top safety ratings. A friend of ours had friends that were in an impreza and rolled it off the side of a hill/cliff. They were told that it was because of the Subaru's frame that they were still alive. I would go with a larger Subaru with a dog and a child - maybe the outback or the legacy sport.

eta: my family (parents and just me plus one cat) had an outback wagon when I was young. We traveled everywhere in that since my dad was in the Navy and it always had enough space for our things.

 

[KimberlyH]

just came back to report my sister drives an outback. i see someone else mentioned them. awesome car.

 

[Mara]

ditto fiery..you really don't *need* a big car if you have one or two kids in general, kids don't have that much stuff. but if you travel with them a lot then you might need something bigger. we have a small hatchback and i love it, i don't like big cars, i don't like extra stuff...so the small car keeps me from overloading it with junk. i have had 4 adults, the baby and the dog in the car before, stroller in the trunk and it's been fine. but we don't plan to 'travel' with the car--my family is all nearby and my hub's family is in the east coast, so if we ever needed to travel aka overnight or on a wkd trip we'd just rent an SUV.

 

[Sabine]

We have a Honda CRV and LOVE it! I tote around my 11 month old ds and my pup just fine in it. I think we'd be ok with 2 kids as well, at least until they're the age where they have friends that we'll be toting around as well.

We actually just moved, and we had to drive and spend 4 nights in a hotel, and although we had the CRV and a Nissan Sentra, we were able to fit everything we needed for that time, plus all the stuff we'd need at our house before our stuff arrived, plus all the cleaning supplies/chemical stuff the movers won't take. Just barely, but it fit.

 

[steph72276]

I am currently driving an Acura MDX and LOVE it. I feel like it's the best of both worlds in that it is pretty small for an SUV but it has lots of trunk space and plenty of room for my 2 small kids. It's a nice, comfy ride and handles really well.

 

[Blenheim]

We have a Rav4 that's been fine for both around town and traveling with two adults, a toddler, and two dogs (25 lbs and 45 lbs). I think it would probably be okay on trips with another kid, but tight as far as room to put stuff is concerned. I think that even three kids would be doable if we used a car top carrier to hold all of the luggage; we did trips with two adults, three teenagers and three dogs in a similarly sized car when I was younger.

We are very light packers, for what's it's worth. Kids will force you to bring much more than you normally would, but we don't even own a pack-and-play and only travel with our stroller about half the time. I think that we're an anomaly though, so your mileage will definitely vary. If you don't travel too often, it may make the most sense to just buy whatever you'd like to use for around town, and then rent a minivan or something if you're going to be going on a trip.

Oh, and I really do like having a small SUV with the dogs. We have one of those metal grate things that separates the cargo area from the passenger area, preventing them from jumping on the kiddo. If you're going to be traveling with dogs and kid, I'd definitely go hatchback/SUV/minivan and/or belt the dogs.

 

[Burk]

I had an Acura MDX up until a couple months ago. LOVED it. My DH is crazy, though, and thinks we need to play "musical vehicles" like every year so I just got a Mazda CX9 and I love it as well.

 

[Burk]

I had an Acura MDX up until a couple months ago. LOVED it. My DH is crazy, though, and thinks we need to play "musical vehicles" like every year so I just got a Mazda CX9 and I love it as well.

 

[swingirl]

I love my Subaru Forester. It's gets decent gas mileage and is fun to drive. It took us to the mountains in the snow (I love my seat warmers!). The thing I like about it is that it is all-wheel drive but still small enough to park and easy to maneuver. The space in the back seat isn't huge but my family of 4 fit in just fine with camping gear. I really dislike the huge enormous SUVs that no one can see around and the drivers usually aren't able to handle the hugeness of their vehicle. I see people driving those that have no idea what's around them, no idea how much space they take, no idea how to park without taking up everyone else's space.

The new Foresters (2010) are actually a little bigger than mine and they've added some leg space to the back seat. Mine's got 120,000 miles and going strong although I'd love a new one!

 

[Clio]

Everyone I've know who has a Subaru has loved them. I was considering one for our most recent car purchase, but my husband has this irrational hatred of Subarus. I've heard that they are great cars, though.

I drive a minivan, but we have 3 kids and often have my sister along with us as well. For 1-2 kids, you really don't need a big car/van. A regular sedan or small SUV should be fine. I'm a "pack light" kind of person in general (never carried a diaper bag, for example), but honestly as long as you can fit a couple of carseats in the back and a stroller in the trunk you should be good to go. (and I know from experience that it's even possible to fit 3 carseats in the back of a Honda Accord).

 

[waxing lyrical]

I drive a Chevy Uplander and DH drives a Chevy HHR. Our kids are 5.5, 3.5 and 6 months.

 

[ZestfullyBling]

I like the Scion XB and the Honda Element. Roomy, dependable, great rides.

 

[dcgator]

We have a Honda CRV and LOVE it! I tote around my 11 month old ds and my pup just fine in it. I think we'd be ok with 2 kids as well, at least until they're the age where they have friends that we'll be toting around as well.

We actually just moved, and we had to drive and spend 4 nights in a hotel, and although we had the CRV and a Nissan Sentra, we were able to fit everything we needed for that time, plus all the stuff we'd need at our house before our stuff arrived, plus all the cleaning supplies/chemical stuff the movers won't take. Just barely, but it fit.

Another vote for the CRV. We live in the city and while it is big enough to fit 4 full size adults, it is also nimble enough to get into small parking spots. I don't have any LO's yet, but we bought this car with the full intention of fitting little babies into it. I imagine that if we can get 4 grown ups, a cooler, 3 huge pieces of luggage and countless other little bags and knick knacks for a week at the beach, that a baby, mom, dad and dog would fit just fine. I also like that while it's not a huge SUV, its high enough off the ground that you won't have to be leaning down to put a baby in. Plus, an added bonus, there is this cute little mirror thing that pops down from the overhead area in the front that gives you a view of what's going on in the back without having to turnaround to look backwards.

 

[Puppmom]

Blen, where do you put your stuff if the dog is in the cargo area? DH and I both drive Corollas and with kiddo number 2 on the way, we're trying to figure out how we'll fit two kids and the dog (he's 85lbs) in the car. I feel like I need an 8 passenger or something! I thought about putting the pup in the cargo area but then where would I keep all the kid crap? Can you divide the area somehow?

 

[Rockdiamond]

I don't know if this has already been suggested but we just got a Honda Oddessy.
I cant' recommend it highly enough.
Putting baby in car seat is no longer a gymnastic feat- the sliding side doors make that part easy.
Plus, you can open the side and back doors from the key fob- HUGE plus.
Also- you can walk to the back seat from inside the car.
This comes in really handy when you have to threaten ( don't make me come back there young man!!)

Yes, people might feel that minivan =dull- but it's not true- we love it alot.
It's even fun to drive.

 

[MustangGal]

Blen, where do you put your stuff if the dog is in the cargo area? DH and I both drive Corollas and with kiddo number 2 on the way, we're trying to figure out how we'll fit two kids and the dog (he's 85lbs) in the car. I feel like I need an 8 passenger or something! I thought about putting the pup in the cargo area but then where would I keep all the kid crap? Can you divide the area somehow?

Not Blen, but we cart our 80+ pound dog in the cargo area so I though I'd answer. We stick his dog bed on one side of the cargo area of my Santa Fe, and put the well packed and balanced luggage on the other (DH has made packing the vehicle an art). The dog sleeps the minute he gets in the car, so he doesn't need a ton of space to run around back there. With kids in car seats you also have the entire floorboard of the backseat available for shoving in the extra crap you forgot until the last minute too .

 

[Puppmom]

Thanks, MustangGal! Maybe we don't need an 8 passenger for a 4 person (+dog) family after all!

 

[Blenheim]

Puppmom - sorry, I just saw your question! Basically what MustangGal said. On our last car trip with the dogs, DH drove, we put the stroller and booster high chair thing in the passenger seat, G and I sat in the back (easier to keep glasses on that way), dogs had half the cargo area, and we had well-packed stuff on the other half of the cargo area. We've also put them in a crate in the back, with luggage to the side of the crate. I'm not sure if this would completely work if we were trying to fit another body plus double stroller in the car (but if I'm recalling correctly, your oldest child is on the older side, right?). But our philosophy is that with the amount of driving out of town we do, it makes the most sense for us to go with something that gets decent mileage and fits our in-town needs, and either use a car top carrier or rent something bigger if the Rav4's not big enough for a trip.

Our Rav4 is about the same size as a CRV, and it has a killer turning radius. Despite being our bigger car, it's also our going-downtown-and-needing-to-parallel-park-in-a-tight-space car. We love it.