joltdudeuc

iTrader: (6)

Before Riya was born we got a 2005 92X (Impreza Wagon). The backseat turned out to be a huge hassle with rear facing seats or the front facing Recaro ProRide.

We then got a 2004 Toyota Highlander V6, and it was MUCH easier to take her and stuff around. My wife also prefered it's leather over the SAAB, and other appointments.

Now Riya is almost 4years old, and though I had a year with a 2003 forrester, and it was similar to the highlander, she's big enough to sit in a booster.

Our issue now is the twins. They are almost 6 months old, and the two of them rear facing and her between them is too much for us. It's a total pain to get her belted in properly and if they cry she gets really upset. If we pop up the 3rd row for her, there is no space for luggage or stroller, etc.

Right now the best family vehicle we have is my Dad's 2001 Silverado Extended Cab Truck which i've had since he passed. Plenty wide, plenty of cargo area. I put my wife in the back between the twins and she says it's plenty of space. Riya sits in the front, and I turn the passenger airbag off.

For now, this works. We don't always have all 5 of us going somewhere, but when we do go we go in the truck. I think my long term solution is going to be a Suburban/Yukon XL. Eventually these kids, esp the boys, will be really tall and something bigger will be needed. For now this old truck serves us well, and I can probably keep it around for years to come.

Sometimes it's a hassle, but it beats the Highlander or the Leaf easily. It's a 4.8L V8, so not terrible on gas on the HWY, it works. You should do whatever works for you, every family situation will be different.

joltdudeuc

iTrader: (6)

FWIW: We just did 200mi round trip this past weekend to Sacramento. Everyone was pretty comfortable other than me. This is due to the rear facing carseat behind me, which limits how far back I can put the drivers seat. Not bad, but could use an extra couple inches of leg room

En3D

iTrader: (12)

Once we had our second daughter, we bought a 2005 Odyssey. I had a WRX wagon, now a 2013 Outback. Kids are older now, no booster / child seats of any kind, but the room for road trips, etc. hard to beat the minivan especially with our dog.

Bought the van new, now approaching 170k. A bunch of trips snowboarding, road trips, home depot runs (can fit 4x8 sheets of ply or sheet rock with all the rear seats down / out.

joltdudeuc

iTrader: (6)

My wife REFUSES to own/drive a minivan... It would be best for us, and she knows it, but nope.

So I think the replacement to the truck will have to be a Yukon XL sometime down the road. Good thing about that would be 4x4/AWD as well for snow/camping etc. Also may get a travel trailer later and I can tow that using the Yukon XL (This would be in lieu of buying an RV or something... I'm thinking waaaaay in the future)

eastbaysubaru

iTrader: (9)

I had an '04 FXT before the kids came along and it was great. Best car I've ever owned. When my daughter was born, it became quickly apparent that this wasn't going to be our long-term family car. Especially so because we were planning on having two kids. I could not sit in front of the rear facing car seat, either to drive or ride as a passenger. My wife could barely sit in front of the rear facing car seat and she's only 5' 6".

I completely understand using the truck as the family car. Even with just two kids we run out of room in our hand-me-down '03 X5 all the time. Plus, it's just a general PITA vehicle but I'll stop there.

I couldn't sit in front of the rear facing car seat and drive the FXT (hell, I could barely do it in the X5). I'm 6' tall and it just wasn't going to happen.

It's kind of sad, but I'm really looking forward to having a vehicle with that much room. The kids won't be as cramped, it'll make a great road trip vehicle, and I'm not going to have to drive this god-forsaken X5 any more. I just don't see the point of most SUVs. They're severely compromised for most endeavors and don't do any one thing particularly well. I suppose if one's not comfortable with their "manhood", then the SUV makes sense. I for one have two kids and a great wife and have no need for such nonsense. Bring on the minivan!

-Brian

MrMakesItRain

iTrader: (14)

Seems like I should just keep my fun car and try to get her mom to hand us down her sequoia. That thing is pretty huge.

sigma pi

iTrader: (6)

Jack in a box churros are magic!!!

Did you take a second out for the pretzle?

sigma pi

iTrader: (6)

Exaclty!!! they shake you down like you are going to fly some where at the gate!!

but nope, you can bring in food and drinks, they even have a pick nick area.

sigma pi

iTrader: (6)

Been maybe 5-10 times, I took my own flat ware after the first time hahaha

Having to eat the soup like a caveman pissed me off the first time haha

joltdudeuc

iTrader: (6)

My wife is like "Minivan? I don't want to be another soccer mom"

Geronimos81

Narrow it down and rent something similar to what you want for a weekend and see if it's a good fit.

Minivan is the obvious choice once you have more than 1 kid. Seriously, my wife and I weren't ever going to have one and now we'll never go back until our kids are gone. You just can't beat the functionality/ease of entry/cargo space/utility etc.

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

We had a 2005 Sequoia for a while and it was a great car. Only drawback is terrible mileage, and the traction control system is a little weird, but all that comes with a really nice engine. We got it because anything smaller or better was too expensive at the time, and my wife was not driving far. I had been shopping for a 4-door Tundra because trucks make great family cars as people have mentioned, but after thinking about it for a bit, the Sequoia made more sense than the truck unless we wanted to get a canopy or cover of some sort.

Some great things about the Sequoia:

With the 3rd row in place, it seats 8 people, so you can sometimes take two families (or kids friends) in one car. Can't do that in anything we have now - it's at least 2 cars to go anywhere.

Even with the 3rd row in place, there is still lots of room behind the seats for diaper bags and crap.

If you have dogs - the 3rd row slides all the way up flat against the back of the 2nd row and makes like an upholstered "valley" for the dogs to hang out in.

With so much room in the rear seat area or in the back, it's super easy to change a diaper or change a kids clothes in the back of the car.

Minivans are awesome, would love to have one. We rented a 2013 Toyota Sienna AWD for a week and it was such a nice car. Super nice to drive, so much space inside, just really comfortable.

There is no global need for a specific kind of car - it's all about what works for you and your situation. We have spent all day driving with 2 kids and 2 adults in my 1991 Justy and it's been cramped but okay. The car we had the longest with kids was probably my old SAAB 9-5 Aero wagon and it was okay, but not enough storage.

The hardest part to get through with kids and cars if you are taller is the "rear facing child seat" phase. The angle is just all wrong and if you have to have a passenger, it can be tough. We had a 2009 Honda Fit when my daughter was born and I simply did not fit on the passenger side with her seat behind it.

Best idea is to figure out what you think you want, and rent it for at least a week. If you are concerned about the kid thing, find someone who can loan you a child seat for the time you have the car to see how it works.

Toyota Sunnyvale rents all models and it's a great way to figure out if a car will work for you or not.

eastbaysubaru

iTrader: (9)

HA! Too late!! And plus, all the soccer moms are driving ****ty SUVs now. Only the cool moms rock minivans!!!

Trust me, my wife is still protesting my plans. She's a realist though and hasn't been able to formulate a convincing argument (mostly because there's not a lot of choices for family transport). She knows that we need the extra room and also hates SUVs (thankfully more than minivans).

-Brian

eastbaysubaru

iTrader: (9)

That's another major reason I want a minivan. When we want to go somewhere with our family and my parents/brother/sister/in-laws want to join us we have to take two cars. Think Giants games, going out to dinner, etc. etc. Plus, I figure anywhere we're taking the kids, especially as they get older, they're going to want to bring friends. A bit of future planning perhaps but the additional interior space will pay dividends immediately.

-Brian

chimchimm5

iTrader: (9)

Let me introduce you to a concept called parenting. ;P When I fly, I have to buy 5 tickets. During peak off school dates.

To the OP... it all depends. Different strollers are of different sizes. It turns out the sedan WRX's have more "stroller" trunk space because they are big wide boxes. The wagon have more volume, but they are shallower and assume you "use the air of the trunk".

The first few years of the kids life is the hardest for vehicles because they have giant bulky rear facing seats which take up GOBS of space. Babies need large cars. If you can work it out so that you have one larger vehicle in the family, then you might night even need to sell the BRZ.

That being said, my 06 WRX wagon carried my 3 kids around to/from school/sitter. For stroller trips, we have a van.