Smallish SUV that will seat 5

Does anyone have or know of a smallish SUV that seats 5? We need a vehicle that will fit me, DH, the twins carseats and my mom when she visits.

We have been toying with a mini-van, but wonder if any other vehicles would fill the bill? We don't want to buy a Suburban or Expedition etc. They are way too big for us.

Thanks!

 

We had a Honda Pilot - which has the 3rd row seats. We didn't have an extra person all the time and the 3rd row is small and you have to climb in the back hatch to get to it with the car seats in the middle row but it worked in a pinch. We did not have an extra person all the time so it was OK for the few times we needed to haul around more than 4 people.

If you are going to have your Mom in the car all the time - I would suggest a Minivan. I think the cost is about the same - but you get alot more kid friendly features. We now have a Honda Odessey Minivan (and the Pilot) and it works well for us with 3 carseats and room to spare...

 

We have a Durango and I love it - I have 3 car seats in the 2nd row and we do have a 3rd row where I actually took 3 addtional kids so we had 8 total in my car. Alittle tight but doable.

 

We have the CRV which is a small SUV. There isn't much room between the kids seat, but depending on the size of the adult they might fit. In hindsight I would have gotten a mini-van.

 

My cousin has one of the new Ford Fusions. It fits both of her kids and her parents comfortably. She had an Expedition and traded it in for this because of fuel cost. She loves her Fusion.

 

I have a Chrysler town and country minivan and whenever we have my parents in the car they sit in the third row behind the girls. The girls carseats are in the 2nd row captians seats. I think you can also get it as a bench seat and then someone could sit between the kids.

I rented a Toyota Seinna and my dad sat between the girls car seats in the 2nd row and had plenty of room.

ETA: DH has a Toyota Highlander and loves it. I have had the girls car seats in there too when my van goes in for service and I am pretty sure that there would not be a problem for someone to sit between the carseats in there either.

 

My dh wouldn't let me get a minvan. He has somthing against them. We just got the Jeep Commander "Overland" it has the 3rd row and a HEMI! I love it.

 

You're going to have a tough time fitting that many people + 2 carseats in anything "small". In our old Forester there was barely room for my mom between the seats, and she's under 100lbs!

Smallest car I can think of is maybe a Mazda5. Good luck!

--> Andy

 

My husband works as a GSM for Hyundai and he drives a Veracruz. It is a great SUV that even has a third row. I have had all three of my boys in it.

 

Someone mentioned in a previous thread that the new Saturn Outlook I believe is like a cross between an SUV and a minivan. Not sure if you have looked into this.

 

We looked for that option too but gave up in the end and bought the minivan. One thing to think about though is that if you are in an accident, the person sitting between the 2 car seats is in a very vunerable position. A side impact and they are being crushed between 2 very solid objects without any give room.

 

We bought a Toyota Highlander when DD1 was a baby - I think it would have been perfect for a family of four. With five, it just didn't work so now we have a Honda Odessey. I agree w/pp - the minivan really is your best option - I never saw myself driving one either - but now I love it!

 

We had a Buick Rendezvous and it fit a convertable car seat & 2 infant seats.... and then a booster seat and 2 Britax Marathons.

We had a 3rd row seating but never used it becuase it would have been too hard. So all 3 kids were along the back row.

It worked for us, but truthfully I'm so thankful to have my minivan now bc there's just more room. But in the Rendezvouz we could do it.

 

I have a Mazda tribute. It's a tight squeeze, but I've gotten a friend, my niece and my sister all back there between the seats. My dog however is able to sit comfortably between them. LOL. My SIL has a Pilot w/ a 3rd row, but it eats up a lot of gas.

 

I just got rid of my Jeep Grand CHerokee for a Chevy Tahoe because I didn't want a minivan and there was no way I was getting another carseat in between the girls, expecially not another person.

 

we have an aztec (ie: kinda ugly looks like a box that's caved in) but we love it. We take my mom alot of places with us too and she always climbs in between the boys seats and sit sin the middle. Once peyton is here, that wont be happening but his seat will fit between the boys as well so...... other than that, my friend has a highlander and we have fit her toddler seat and the boys in the back with pleanty of room to spare...check them out b/c she's not had a problme with hers.....

 

I only have a minute - you all know how it is, lol, but wanted to quickly thank you all for your awesome suggestions! You have given me a lot of great options to check out, and I really appreciate it. My mom visits us about 6 times a year, so we definitely want her to be comfortable when she's here.

We can't afford a new vehicle, so we need to buy used - some of the SUVs mentioned are pretty much brand new on the market, so I know we can't afford those. At least I can cross them off my list (though I do appreciate knowing about them for the future if we need to buy again).

Now the tough part is going to be how to go car shopping with two kids and two convertible carseats. Ugh. Maybe DH will need to go and take the seats with him and just stick them in each car we are contemplating.

Thanks again!

 

We have a Saturn Vue & it's a good small SUV, but I would not recommend it for you. The backseat can barely squeeze a small person between the 2 carseats. Not very comfortable for that person!

 

I have a used Suzuki XL-7, which is one of the smallest 3rd row SUVs available. It is FAR smaller than the Expedition or Navigator and drives like a regular car. We put the two car seats in the middle row and Jackson either sits between them or back in the 3rd row. What I like is there is plenty of room for hauling stuff when the third row is not in use.

There's not a ton of leg room in the 3rd row, but with carpooling and in-law visits, I often transport 5-7 people, and we all fit fine.

Not to mention it's really cute! :winking0009:

 

We have a Honda Pilot with 2 convertible seats (Britax Marathon) in the middle section. I agree with the PP's reply about this car, but we are able to fit a 3rd adult in between the 2 carseats. It depends the size of the adult, but it can work. You probably already considered this, but when you go to try out cars bring your carseats so that you can actually try it out.

 

QUOTE(littletwinstars @ Oct 18 2007, 10:27 AM) [snapback]456207[/snapback]
We have a Honda Pilot with 2 convertible seats (Britax Marathon) in the middle section. I agree with the PP's reply about this car, but we are able to fit a 3rd adult in between the 2 carseats. It depends the size of the adult, but it can work. You probably already considered this, but when you go to try out cars bring your carseats so that you can actually try it out.

We just brought our 2007 Hyundai "Entourage" Limited with everything fully loaded. We previously had a Ford Escape SUV truck to trade in. I wanted to get something functional as much as I am with everyone dreading to get us a "Mini-Van". Believe me after a few weeks you will say "Thank God" for mini-van because it really help to make room for the twins and someone can ride with you. There is plenty of cargo space and etc. The recently consumer report has rank this as #3 for the best mini-van. If you look closely front and back exterior model look just like Honda Odssy. I know Honda Oddsy and Toyota Sienna are the top list but you don't get everything for the price we gotten for 2007 model. What's so great is that it look really sporty van like a crossover car.

We got sunroof, DVD player, Infiniti speaker, 6 change CDs, front and passenger power seats, all leather, wood trim dash board, come with 2 wireless head phones, tons of storage (all over) and cups holder, #1 and #2 mode driver seat if you are short/tall, heat seat, all around air bag, and etc. The MSRP sticker price was at $31,000 but we got ours down to $29,000 with a $4,000 dollars trade-in. If you noticed the Hyundai SUVs are very popular right now in the market.

Think about the long run as the twins get older as they want to get their friends to join to go places. The warranty is very good too as we decided to get the 10-year and if we ever need to sell it will have a resale value to the next customer.

Keep your mind OPEN with mini-van because they are trying to make it the best as possibly for kid friendly for you and your family. Stop at any Hyundai dealership and you'll see the "Wow" factor.

I don't think I wanted the smallest SUV. It would have drive me crazy!

 

Mazda 5 or a VW jetta or passat wagon. Both ride nicely and car-like.

 

Unless you want your mom squished btw two carseats or having to CLIMB into the 3rd row, a minivan is really your only choice. I have a honda ody and love it! When my parents visit I move one boy from the middle row to back row with dd. So my parents get the front pass and middle bucket. I could not make my 65+ yr old parents climb into the 3rd row :blush:

 

Well, after reading all your helpful replies and talking it over with DH, I think we will go with a mini-van, most likely an older model Odyssey, and we are going to look at a Mazda 5 just to see if it really could seat all of us comfortably. I really like the Hyundai Entourage, but it's new this year, so there's no way we can afford it.

Hopefully we can find something decent in our price range. And yes, we will be sure to take our carseats with us to try them out.

Thanks again!!

 

QUOTE(Lisala @ Oct 26 2007, 04:38 PM) [snapback]468706[/snapback]
Well, after reading all your helpful replies and talking it over with DH, I think we will go with a mini-van, most likely an older model Odyssey, and we are going to look at a Mazda 5 just to see if it really could seat all of us comfortably. I really like the Hyundai Entourage, but it's new this year, so there's no way we can afford it.

Hopefully we can find something decent in our price range. And yes, we will be sure to take our carseats with us to try them out.

Thanks again!!

Try buying a 2007 Hyundai Entourage for everything you want for under $29,000 compare to the older mini-van with Honda Oddy and T&C. You'll be surprise to get a good deal. We got our new Van (Hyundai Entourage 2007 Limited MSRP $31,000 but we trade in and brought down the price to $28,500). It is a sore eye to see tons of T&C and Honda Odyssey. I have not seen any of the Van that we have out there but their SUV are very popular. We have a Mazda 6 that will be trade in in a few years. We would like to try the crossover car but that depends what situation would be like in 5 years from now.

Again, I wish you the best of luck!

 

QUOTE(Sullyirishtwins @ Oct 26 2007, 10:06 PM) [snapback]468822[/snapback]
Try buying a 2007 Hyundai Entourage for everything you want for under $29,000 compare to the older mini-van with Honda Oddy and T&C. You'll be surprise to get a good deal. We got our new Van (Hyundai Entourage 2007 Limited MSRP $31,000 but we trade in and brought down the price to $28,500). It is a sore eye to see tons of T&C and Honda Odyssey. I have not seen any of the Van that we have out there but their SUV are very popular. We have a Mazda 6 that will be trade in in a few years. We would like to try the crossover car but that depends what situation would be like in 5 years from now.

Again, I wish you the best of luck!


Well, our budget is about 11K short of that... lol, so we just can't swing it. When I say we are buying used, I mean used... Maybe a few years down the road when I go back to work.