advice about cars

So our twins are 18 months and 18 pounds so still rear-facing in Britax Decathalons. These seats take up almost my entire backseat of my XTerra. We are trying for #3 and so must get a new car sometime soon. I would love a Tahoe or Yukon but feel guilty about my carbon "footprint" (I am still considering these as at least I am not a middle aged male with kids who have left home and just want the car to look cool or whatever ... I have an honest need for the space). Anyway, no offense to anyone but I still have the "I REALLY don't want a mini-van" feeling that you have when you are young, carefree, and kidless. Any suggestions out there for cars that have 3 rows of seats but aren't mini-vans or station wagons?

Again, I hope I don't offend mini-van drivers and I may end up going that route ... but I am hanging on to my hope for finding something else. TIA!

 

I would think by the time you actually have baby #3 arrive, your little ones will definitely be over the 20 lbs. forward facing and you can find car seats that are more streamlined to fit 3 in a row. I feel the same way about a minivan and protested one when we were looking for a new car. I have a Toyota Highlander and really like it. There is a 3rd row- but I normally keep it tucked away to have more room for groceries or whatever. It'd be difficult to put kids in car seats back there. My daughter sits between the boys in the 2nd row, but she is 9 and doesn't need a booster. The new Highlanders are even wider and they do have a hybrid version. All the crossovers are a nice compromise between a small car and a minivan. My hubby does have the big Suburban and I do gotta say it is fabulous for long trips- but does guzzle the gas and I find it too big for me to run errands.
Just my 2 cents...
Lanie

 

We haven't yet had our twins but we have a mercury sable its a boat but it works .. we have a 31/2 yr old he rides in a booster thank god that doesn't take up all the room... I totally get not wanting a mini van my dh and i wouldnt even think of getting one !! good luck on your search

 

QUOTE
There is a 3rd row- but I normally keep it tucked away to have more room for groceries or whatever. It'd be difficult to put kids in car seats back there.

I think access to the 3rd row is key if you plan to actually use it. If the vehicle has a bench in the 2nd row, the 3rd row is virtually useless when you have little babies. How would you get into that 3rd row to strap in a child?

I approached car buying from strictly an ease of use and comfortable point of view. We ended up with a minivan. I like that I can jump into the van during rain or snow and buckle them in. I like that the 3rd row is a breeze to access. I like that the 3rd row will fit adults or larger kids. I say this because the 3rd row in many of the crossover SUVs cannot fit a child in a carseat or an adult - not enough leg room.

Why not go to a dealership with kids and carseats and try out different options?

 

Honestly, I really hate that I drive a minivan, but not because it's uncool (I'm just beyond caring at this point) -- just because it's so freakin' large, LOL. It's a pain in the butt to park.

But, I can't imagine owning anything else with three children. A good friend of mine has an older child and twins, and she has a Toyota Sequoia. Everyone fits, but she is also in the chiropractor's office every week with back pain.

Picture yourself very pregnant, and lifting and buckling two babies into the back of a tall SUV...and then when #3 arrives, imagine lifting one child into the *middle* of said SUV, and crouching over one of the side seats to buckle that child in.

I have to admit, when I go out without the kids, I drive my DH's BMW X5, and I feel much cooler. :lol:

 

If I were you, I would just go ahead and get the minivan. I have a small-ish SUV (Saturn Vue), and I am dying to get one! The automatic doors are reason enough! My parents have an Acura MDX and while it's nice and all, the third row is very hard to access. I couldn't see either getting back there to buckle the older child(ren), or putting a baby in a carrier back there with much ease. Right now, I have all three across the one row in the back, and it's doable, but getting to be a PITA.

 

I had this dilemma not too long ago. We purchased a Ford Taurus X and I love it. It has 2 bucket seats in the second row(this was option...the bench seat made it hard to get to the third row) and a third row. It's a crossover type vehicle. The twins ride in the third row, forward facing. I keep the seat behind the driver's seat up so I can get in and out and buckle them in. Did it all through my pregnancy without any real discomfort (I mean by the end when I was huge, it wasn't fun to get in and buckle them but that wasn't a terribly long period of time). Baby rides in the seat behind the passenger. I have plenty of room and can easily fit our double stroller in the cargo along with some other things. Granted the cargo area is not huge but it's not too shabby. It's not a huge SUV or minivan but it has a very similar feel to a minivan on the inside. Anyway...that's my two cents.

 

I have a Toyota Sienna and absolutely LOVE it. The remote power sliding doors are awesome. :good: We are able to make beach trips (even when we had the double stroller and 2 PNPs) and NOT need a roof carrier, everything fit in the back. :Clap: I can't imagine having something other than a mini-van with 3 kids.

 

We have a Crysler Pacifica and just love it! The 3rd row seats are a bit tough to get to, and you may actually have to put both twins in the way back and leave the infant seat in one of the 2nd row seats--that way you could always flip one seat forward in the 2nd row to have easier access to row 3. The vehicle is spacious though and we really love it!

 

I have a 2000 Xterra and I know what you mean about the back seat being taken over by carseats. That car seemed so big when I bought it, but I guess having twins changes a lot of things. My double stroller also takes up the entire back area and I end up piling groceries and other items on top of it. Annoying.
We just got a new Toyota Sequioa and love it. We weren't planning on going that big, we were going to look at the Highlander and the Honda Pilot, but the others didn't seem any bigger than the Xterra. Driving the Sequioa is like flying first class, it's so comfty. And there is room for an entire person to sit in the second row even with both carseats buckled in. I put the carseats right next to each other and it is easy to push the side seat forward to access the third row. I will say that a pp had a good point though, the car is up high and it takes a little extra lifting to get the girls into their seats. It's not that hard for me though and I even have a bad upper back. I was concerned about the gas guzzling but we rarely leave town so we don't spend that much on gas anyway. We have no regrets.

ETA: We also briefly looked at the Tahoe but it didn't seem nearly as nice inside, it just kind of seemed more "plastic" if that makes any sense.

 

We did not want a mini-van either when we had our twins so we purchased a Tahoe - our other child was 2 1/2. All 3 carseats fit in the backseat even when the twins were facing backwards. We do occasionally move the oldest to the 3rd row - the twins' carseats are on the double seat section so we just have to flip up the single seat section to put her in the 3rd row. We also have an Avalanche truck which they all fit in, but I think both vehicles are built on the same frame. Not all carseats will fit though so you might need to try a few out. These are the 3 combinations that have worked for us -

3 Graco Nautilus carseats
1 Graco Nautilus and 2 Evenflo Titans (We tried the Evenflo Triumphs, but they were too big)
1 Graco Comfortsport and 2 Graco Nautilus

My parents drive us around a lot in their mini-van and it is nice that we all fit in it together, but I still don't want one!

 

I drive a Suburban, which has a second row bench seat and then the third row. The babies are 13 months, and my DS is almost 3, and it is a PAIN getting them all in the car since all three carseats are lined up in the second seat. I have to kind of throw my daughter in her seat since she is in the middle. The third row is basically not useable unless someone wants to crawl over the back of it since the seat that moves forward to let you get into the third row has a carseat on it. I will say that the amount of space in the back for strollers and groceries is wonderful, but we are now looking at minivans and suburbans with captains chairs for the second row because getting the kids in their seats is to hard for me. Thats just my two cents though, good luck finding something!