Looking to get a wagon...

[Marinesfamily5]

okay so my Tahoe is driving me manic. We looked at GMC Acadia's which are nice but $$$
(we aren't getting much as trade value for the Tahoe, basically just enough to pay it off :mad:)

so .... after looking at options of vehicles that get better gas mileage we want to buy a used wagon... we have a 2000 Ford Taurus wagin but we / I hate it, and it doesn't have 3rd seat :thumbsdown: also it can't fit 3 seats across...

does anyone know of a wagon that has a wide 2nd row? I really like the MPG of Volvos but am having hard time finding specs online on older models.
we need at least around 57" ...

I am wanting to fit 2 regents with a radian 65/ safeseat in the middle. would love it if I could fit a decathlon in the middle but I'm dfinately not holding my breath :whistle:

[BW1426]

You might want to check out the Ford Freestyle. The Freestyle gets better mpg than the Taurus X even though they look exactly the same. Volvos don't work well with most or any hbb...just fyi. I was on the great wago search (they're so hard to come by) and finally gave up. I do love the Freestyle though. You can get it in a 6 seater or 7 seater setup.

I cannot even fathom Regent/SafeSeat/Regent. I really think you need something with third row seating. :twocents:

[CPSDarren]

The Taurus wagons were relatively wide and some had a rear-facing third row seat for older kids.

[Misty-Bug]

I love my 1996 Ford Taurus station wagon. I can fit three across no problem. I also have the option to do the RFing seat in the very back. But it is only for older children and am not sure adults fit. You can't have car seats back there.
I can fit an evenflo triumph (I think that is my friends seat) next to a radian and have room on teh other side for a SS1 or a SR. I have the Radian in the middle and on the outside I have fit the SR and or an SS1. The AOE has also fit. If that helps at all. I would take a measurment but I have a bad headache and don't want to head downstairs

[Marinesfamily5]

We have a taurus wagon and cant come even close to fitting 3 seats... ours is a 2000

and I really dislike fords

we wont be using boosters for a VERY long time. is that the only prob w/ volvo wahons? anyone know which model is the widest?
anyone have experience with vw passat wagon?

[amy919]

You might want to check out the Ford Freestyle. The Freestyle gets better mpg than the Taurus X even though they look exactly the same. Volvos don't work well with most or any hbb...just fyi. I was on the great wago search (they're so hard to come by) and finally gave up. I do love the Freestyle though. You can get it in a 6 seater or 7 seater setup.

I cannot even fathom Regent/SafeSeat/Regent. I really think you need something with third row seating. :twocents:

I have an 05 Freestyle with Captain's chairs in the 2nd row. That might work for you. If you found one that has the captain's chair in the 2nd row with the center console, you can take it out and you have that "minivan access" to the 3rd row. The 3rd row has stadium seating and one of the seats does have LATCH.

I can tell you the Regent fits perfectly, like it's made for the 2nd row captain's chair. It fits so perfectly it doesn't even leave so much as a single mark in the leather. I did try installing it in the 3rd row, just for fun and it is doable.

I don't know that you'd be able to get 3 across in the 2nd row with the 7 seater which has a 2nd row bench seat. Plus, it would make it next to impossible to access the 3rd row unless you climbed in through the back.

[Misty-Bug]

We have a taurus wagon and cant come even close to fitting 3 seats... ours is a 2000

anyone have experience with vw passat wagon?

makes me wonder if the newer models aren't as wide then. Mine fits three no problem.

[CPSDarren]

We have a taurus wagon and cant come even close to fitting 3 seats... ours is a 2000

and I really dislike fords

we wont be using boosters for a VERY long time. is that the only prob w/ volvo wahons? anyone know which model is the widest?
anyone have experience with vw passat wagon?

I don't know about current versions, but the early 2000s Taurus was wider than the Passat and Legacy/Outback wagons of the time.

[Jeanum]

The current Taurus X wagon/crossover is essentially a re-badged Ford Freestyle model with a few other changes beyond the name change. :) Ford brought back the Taurus nameplate due to the name recognition, hoping it would increase sales. The Ford Five Hundred sedan was also renamed the Taurus sedan for the '08 model year.

[Marinesfamily5]

well now I am thinking about trying 2 radians and 1 regent just to be able to buy a gas friendly... smaller vehicle!

again... I really dislike fords and mercurys.

I wish they made a 4 cyl. family wagon that was as wide as the Tahoe. it would be perfect for mini van resistant mama's like me who want to drive something that doesn't cost a fortune to gas up

hmmm, I think I will go into auto design in my next life lol

[BW1426]

The FWD Freestyle gets 18/25 mpg (that's the 2008 adjusted, not the stickered fuel economy). I didn't think that was that bad. The FWD Taurus X does not get quite as good of gas mileage...16/24.

The Mazda 5 (Automatic) gets 21/27 and the Manual gets 22/28. That could also be an option worth looking into that would be budget and fuel friendly, yet still afford you more space than a car and it gets better or equal gas mileage to really any of the non-compact wagons on the market.

[Marinesfamily5]

I may cave and trade my truck in for a used grand caravan. then when big DS outgrows his seat get a hybrid crossover cause I am sure more are in the making....

is it poss to get 3 across on the middle bench of a caravan? or will I have to put DS in 3rd row?

[Misty-Bug]

I may cave and trade my truck in for a used grand caravan. then when big DS outgrows his seat get a hybrid crossover cause I am sure more are in the making....

is it poss to get 3 across on the middle bench of a caravan? or will I have to put DS in 3rd row?

my husband is in the vehicle market and he said that hybrids are not any cheaper or better for the environment.
the costs when the battery goes is HUGE. Not to mention on the environment. The batteries are sent to african countries where the acid is dumped onto the ground. The cars are not really any more cost efficient.
There was a news article on this but I am not sure where to find it. It is a false sense of environmental protection. This is from what I have been told.

[twokidstwodogs]

I know someone who has put three across in a Passat wagon -- FF convertible, infant seat, and a booster. I'm not sure of the year, but I'd say somewhere in the vicinity of 2004. (It was before the redesign in 2006 or so.) But it was a really tight squeeze.

Most other wagons just aren't wide enough for three-across these days. (Older Volvo V70s might be an exception.) Wagons tend toward the small and sporty. I guess most people who have three or more kids just go straight for the van or SUV. Newer RAV-4s have a third-row option and should get decent mileage too, so if you move into SUV/crossover terrority, keep that on your list.

As for whether hybrids are cheaper, it depends on the car and what kind of premium you pay for the hybrid version of it. The payback on a Prius happens a lot sooner than the payback on a Highlander Hybrid.

[singingpond]

makes me wonder if the newer models aren't as wide then. Mine fits three no problem.

Yeah, but OP has a different definition of 3-across:

"I am wanting to fit 2 regents with a radian 65/ safeseat in the middle. would love it if I could fit a decathlon in the middle but I'm dfinately not holding my breath"

I'm not sure what, if anything, is wide enough to fit that combination. We have an old (1990) full size Crown Vic wagon, and I don't think that combination of seats would fit in there. I'll have to measure the total width across the back seat, out of curiosity.... (ETA distance between door handles -- which is the space available for carseat installation -- is about 55" in the Crown Vic)

Maybe consider getting some narrower seats for the kids? I don't think you said how big/old the children are? The Britax Frontier and the Graco Nautilus both harness to just over 18" -- not as high as a Regent, but pretty respectable. Both of those seats are around 19" wide at their widest point -- not narrow, but a few inches less than a Regent anyway. I think you already were considering the Radian (or already own one?) -- that certainly is a narrow seat, and very helpful in making 3-across configurations work.

Oh, both our cars are station wagons ('90 Crown Vic, '96 Corolla), and we have three carseats in the back of each car. It can be done, even in a small car like the Corolla. However.... no Regents :)

Katrin

[groovymom2000]

I have an '04 Volvo V70, and 3 across is a real PITB, and no way would you be able to make it with those seats.
The center position of my car is ridiculously narrow--like 10-10.5 inches between the buckles, and the stalks are all but not existent. They are in the seat bite, so you don't even have the "wiggle" room that cars with longer stalks can have. I have gotten 3 across, but we have one in a booster. Even then, it is a real pain.