CRV or Mini Van, that is the question

We currenlty have a 2007 CRV. We are expecting twins in July. Any advice on whether we should move to the mini van? I do not see us travelling too much in the first year. I already noticed our car seats require us to move all the way to the dashboard in the CRV. Any advice would help!

Thanks,
Future mom who plans too far ahead

 

I love my Toyota Sienna. We had a toddler when the boys were born and it was so convenient for all the kids and stuff we had to just go ahead and get a minivan. If you get one, get a DVD player. It will be a lifesaver at some point for you. GL with the rest of your pregnancy.

 

I have a Nissan Quest and love it. I wouldn't be caught dead driving a tiny SUV with infant seats. It's hard enough that you can't get in the back in my minivan because the seats stick out so far. I can't even imagine it in a little SUV. Right now we have to crawl under our Marathons to get to the back seat. Good thing our oldest is small and doesn't mind it.

 

We bought our van right after our twins were born. We had an Intrepid, which is a pretty good sized car, and it still was a nightmare with two carseats in the back. We ended up buying a van (Kia Sedona) about 5 months after the girls were born. It was the best decision ever. I swore I would never own a van and know I can't imagine being without it. It's so easy to get the girls in and out and the room for all of our stuff I couldn't do without! I've looked at a CRV just this year, but only as a vehicle to drive my son and I to and from school, not one to use as a primary vehicle for the whole family.

Good luck on your decision!!

 

The Honda Odyssey is an amazing van! You could never go wrong with it.

 

We just got a Nissan Quest....I was so anti mini van but it is so much easier. We had a Rodeo before and had no room for anything but our carriage in the back now I have 3 extra seats and storage if I need it. GL with the rest of your pregnancy.

 

We have a Rav 4 and only I can drive it. I'm 5'3 and DH is 6ft. He complains the entire time we drive somewhere that he doesn't fit. We just did a trip to NC (10 hrs) and luckily Ryan finally hit the 20lb mark so we could turn him around. It was better, but still not great. If you have the chance, go with the mini van. You'll want to someday!

 

We have a 2 yr old and the boys are 7 mo old. I was hauling them around in a trailblazer until the beginning of December. We bought a minivan. I feel the van is MUCH safer and it's easier too. And we had to use the DVD player for our Christmas travels - it was a lifesaver! We hauled so much stuff for Christmas and we never felt cramped like we would have with the SUV.

 

Its funny to read this, b/c a soon to be mom of twins on another site I go to asked the same question.. and I think Im pretty sure I saw a similar question here on TS sometime in the past week or so.. Anyway, I would say to go with the van, at least for now. I have a Dodge Caravan and its been the easiest thing for me to get the kids in and out of. I do plan on getting an SUV, but that will probably be when the two older children are out of carseats, so it will be easier for them to sit in the back seat and buckle themselves.

 

We have a Saturn Vue, so probably comparable in size to the CRV. We can fit them in fine with their convertible car seats (no one else could fit in the back with them, but we only have the two for now). The trunk space fits the rest of the gear we travel with fine. If we have more kids we will definitely be needing a mini van, but as far as getting one ASAP, it's probably not an absolute priority. If you're in the position where you were getting something new anyway, then I might splurge for the van, but otherwise I'm sure you can make do for awhile with what you have.

 

When I found out I was pregnant with twins, one of my husband's first thoughts were "We need a mini van now and we just paid off our CRV". I loved my CRV so much but it wouldn't fit three car seats! We also have a 4 year old so we needed to put her somewhere. We looked at several minivans and several Consumer Reports articles before deciding on the Honda Odyssey. I love it! The Sienna and Town and Country were nice as well. For us, it came down to the fact that we loved Honda. I have had a CRV and Civic and loved them. So find what you like and trust. My twins are not born yet but we got the van a few months ago and I love the convenience of it. Most vans have sliding doors which is key. I think most have the back door opener on the remote key ring. That will come in handy when u are carting around two infant seats. Someone also mentioned getting the DVD player-it is a lifesaver for my 4 year old. Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

With two and if you rarely have other passengers, I'd just hold onto what I had if it's paid for. Also, do you travel very far in your CRV? If you go on longer trips where you need more packing room, the minivan might be nicer. I think you have plenty of time to look around for a good deal on a quality vehicle. . . I'm fine with my minivan, but if I only had two kids, I might consider something other than a minivan. My DH's Honda Pilot gets just as good fuel mileage as our minivan, and currently our family of 7 still fits in it too. And it's more versatile than my van.