Our truck died...

[casatterwhite]

Now we need to get a new vehicle. DH does construction and often needs to haul stuff, but with gas prices how they are, we don’t want to get another truck. We are thinking of a 2006 or newer Toyota (Highlander or Rav4) or Honda (Pilot or CRV).
We have two preschool kids in Nautilus’s and sometimes have 1-2 teenage relatives along. For long trips we have my 7 passenger Sienna – but it doesn’t have much cargo room.
Any suggestions on what would be the best choice for a safe car seat compatible vehicle that will still allow hauling of stuff when the kids aren’t in the car?
Thanks!

[BW1426]

Another mini van with seats that fold flat into the floor could be an option. When you say haul, do you mean boards and stuff. I just can't forsee a CRV or a RAV4 offering any kind of substantial room to haul things.

[casatterwhite]

I thought about another mini van, but my husband won't go there. :)

He does haul boards and stuff, but most often it is just work tools/equipment and gear. He should be able to do 90-95% of it with just the reat seats folded down. I am hoping to get something smaller (more fuel efficient) and then have him able to tow a small trailer for the times he needs to haul a lot of stuff. I think that would be best in the long run.

As far as safety and ease of installing car seats - are any of those better?
Thanks again!

[Judi]

Personally, I hate the CRV. I had one at Saturdays clinic and I swore to never own one. I think it was because of where the center shoulder belt connected?

[casatterwhite]

Thank you - that is helpful information. I need to head to a dealership and really look at all of these.

[beeman]

Find something with a higher tow rating, and get a nice trailer to cart along behind when you need it :twocents: .

[shellebelle]

CRVs are the pits for car seats, and the new ones aren't much better. Outboard installs are fine, it's just dealing with the silly center setup.

Depending on what kind of weight you're talking about you may actually consider something like a Honda Fit. You can fit a surfboard in them and the back seats do all kinds of cool things to accommodate different sized cargo. The one coming out this fall is a little bigger than the current one, if you can wait. They're great on gas and fairly small, and they did well in crash tests.

[casatterwhite]

Thank you - I hadn't looked at the Fit at all. I will take a look and see if it will work for us.

[safeinthecar]

Nothing at all helpful to add to this thread....but I just can't help but picture trying to haul 16 sheets of drywall in a CRV.