Older child + twins - what car do we need?

Hi everyone - I am visiting from the expecting twins board. We have a child who will be 4 when our twins arrive. Do you think we need to buy a mini-van? Is anyone not using a mini-van and happy? Any suggestions on types of cars to buy? Right now we have a cr-v and a sedan, and I'd love to stick with something fuel efficient, but in my heart I wonder whether I am just putting off the inevitable mini-van purchase. Thanks! Laura

 

I was actually just browsing the 1st year as well from the expecting board and I have the same questions. I have a CRV and am worried with just 2 babies that we have officially outgrown it but I am not ready to me a mini van mom yet. Maybe some more input from experienced moms will help us!

 

I love my minivan! I have a Toyota Sienna. Vans are so much easier getting the kids in and out of.

 

I suggest a minivan too. After dealing with trying to get my niece(4 years old) and my twins in and out of a car, it made me so happy to have a minivan. I have a Honda Odyssey and love it. Right now I am driving a rental Chrysler minivan and don't suggest it. The Honda is much easier to get a child out of the back seat and twins in and out of. My middle row has both baby seats in it and I put them together instead of putting one on each side so it is easier to access the rear row. Three can be done in a sedan/CRV, but it is much easier with the minivan. That's just my opinion, perhaps others will say otherwise.

 

We bought the Dodge Grand Caravan- Stow & Go seating. WE LOVE IT!! We also have a 2.5 yr old boy.

Good luck :unsure:

Carrie-Anne

 

When we had our 3rd child we bought a minivan. We have a Ford Windstar but are about to get a Toyota Sienna, which I like better. They have plenty of room & easy access for everyone!

 

I seriously resisted getting a minivan when our twins were born (we also have a 4 yr old). We had a Highlander...and there was just no way to get 3 car seats across the back. So we bought the Toyota Sienna....and I LOVE it. It drives REALLY well and is so so so so so convenient. Minivans make getting around so much easier and convenient. I'd say...go with the minivan.

-maria
DS1 4.5
DS2 DS3 11 months

 

We have a 4 year old DD and now the girls. We got a minivan a few months ago and I was pretty reluctant about it. I wasn't ready to be a "minivan mom". Now I can't imagine having anything else. It is so much easier with the sliding doors and the ability to get to the backseat for my DD. I originally wanted to get a midsize SUV - but I am glad we didn't - I would hate to have to climb over the middle seat to get to my daughter in the back to buckle her in. We got a Kia Sedona and have been extremely happy with it - I am a definite minivan convert.

 

I swore I would NEVER drive an Mini Van but before Tyler was born our lease was up and I thought for sure we were going into a mini van. Thankfully when we went to look at cars they had a Durango there. its seats 7 So we got that and LOVE it. We tavel 2 ways in this car. The boys in the back and Ty in the 2nd row. Or we can put all 3 in carseat across the second row and use the entire back for storage.


Having a family of 3 kids or more does not mean you have to drive a mini van..

I LOVE my durango!!!!!!

 

Congratulation on Twins pregnancy.
we are in the same situaltion. DS woudl be 4 next month and just have b/g twins.
we end up with Toyota Sienna 8 passangers seats minivan and so far I like it. ( and believe me I was the one who hate minivan in general)
To be ownest I like Audy Q7 but with stroller what we choose there is not enough space in the trank.

 

We just bought a minivan and I LOVE it!! We bought a Toyota Sienna with dual automatic sliding doors (heaven!!) and I drive that thing with pride!!

 

My DS was 4 when my g/g twins were born. Before they arrived, we tried to put all 3 carseats in the back of our SUV. They would 'fit', but it wasn't pretty, very hard to get my son in and you heard the plastic crunch when you shut the doors! Not to mention that our dog would never ever get to go anywhere with us again (she's a golden retriever) So, I had to eat my words of "I'll never drive a mini-van" and we bought a Toyota Sienna...and I LOVE it! It helps that it is my favorite color...red.

I'd say, get your carseats all out and try to install them all. See if your son can get in ok. If it works, then great. If not, you can look at bigger cars or smaller carseats...I believe there was a thread on here about narrower carseats awhile back. You'll find what works for your family

Good luck!!

 

We bought a used Ford Windstar right before our little guys were born and I love it! SUV's, in my opinion are just big cars... I definitely prefer the minivan. Good luck!

 

I'm with Nikki, I am so not a mini-van person. When we found out we were having twins we started big SUV shopping. We settled on a GMC Yukon XL. Now, we need the extra room in the back as we make a yearly trip 2000 miles to my parents place in canada, and we also do a lot of camping during the year. If we didn't need the storage then some like the regular yukon with 3 rows of seats would have been fine.

Ours also seats 7, we have the 2 big kids in the far back, and the twins in the middle captain's chairs. It works fine our 7 yr old can buckle our almost 3 yr old into her booster, then himself. And the babies are easily accessible from both doors.

Love my Yukon!! :wub:

 

Add me to the list of people who swore they'd never own a minivan! Then the twins came. I had a Ford Explorer (no third row). I was able to fit the two bases for the infant carriers and my toddlers Britax but they just barely fit. I was pretty sure we wouldn't be able to fit them all when we upgraded to convertible carseats for the twins. SO we bought a used Toyota Sienna two weeks ago and I love it!!! We have the dual power sliding doors and a power back/trunk door too. It makes it so much easier when you have your hands full of kids and groceries.

Congratulations on the twins and good luck car hunting!

 

Danielle! When I had an accident a few years ago the insurance company paid for me to have a rental car (the accident wasn't my fault). Anyway, they gave me a Yukon that seated 9! Holy cow, after a few days driving that I didn't want my van back! If I could afford the gas, I would be looking for a Yukon!

 

Surprisingly ours gets about 18 mpg, and since our Jimmy only got 19 mpg it wasn't a huge deal as far as gas consumption! Granted it would be nice to get something with better gas mileage, but for what we needed as far as space, and we needed something heavy duty because we put 4000+ miles on it each trip to my family, the Yukon was our best buy! I will never ever drive a regular car again, I know if we ever get into an accident that we'll be much safer in my big ole SUV! :lol:

 

I actually was excited to get a minivan. I have a Chrysler Town and Country and I couldn't imagine driving anything else. Love that I can open the doors while walking which cuts down time getting kids in and out, and loading up groceries, etc.

When the time comes to get another vehicle I'll probably get another van, or something that has captain chairs in the middle. That Yukon sounds nice.

 

We have a Yukon XL and we love, love, love it! Our 20 month old dd's big carseat and two peg perego infant seats fit across the middle seat easily and there is plenty of room in the back for our twin side by side stroller and our full sized single stroller.

 

As said by other moms, I too had always said that I would never own a minivan. Here I am though loving the choice we made to be Honda Odyssey owners. We have 4 kids, 10,7, and 9.5 month twins. The boys are in the back row, and the girls fit nicely in their Britax Marathons in the 2nd row captain seats. After having my minivan, I can't imagine trying to fit all the kids in something else. The convenience of my Odyssey is priceless.

 

Wow - thanks so much ladies! That is a resounding vote for mini-van! DH and I tried all three car seats in both of our cars on Saturday, read all of your responses, and resolved to get a mini-van before the babies come!

 

We got a mini van i wasn't excited at first but it has grown on me plenty of room .... it gets pretty good gas mileage as well