4 kids in car seats, which car to buy

tds1024

New member
We currently have 3 kids in car seats in the back of a Jeep Liberty, but we are expecting our fourth next June. Needless to say, we need a different vehicle. We thought that we were settled on the Chevy Traverse, haven't driven it yet but liked what we saw as far as specifications. We were told by a friend that in order to get to the third row of seats, you have to fold down a seat on the second row. That will be a huge problem/hassle with 2 car seats on the second row. Any suggestions on what to look for now? I know that a minivan will probably work, but we were looking more at crossovers than anything else.
Thanks,
 
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Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
Can you give some more details? What are the ages/weights of your kids and what do they currently ride in? Do you need cargo space to carry a stroller?
 

romanoma

New member
I think most crossovers reqire one seat to fold forward to access the third row.

But then there is that mazda, is it the mazda 5 that just has 4 bucket seats in two different rows in the back? That might work for you. My brother just got one and really likes it. It is still smallish, if that's what you want.
 

tds1024

New member
our oldest is 5 and she sits in a regular car seat for now. She weighs about 40-45lbs. Our next is 3 and he also sits in a regular car seat. He weighs about the same 40 lbs. Our current youngest is 15 months and is still in the carrier seat facing backwards, but she will soon be transitioning into a regular car seat. She weighs about 25lbs. Our baby will be born in early June and will obviously be in an infant seat for awhile.
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
You could check out the Mazda 5. If your older two can buckle themselves in their carseats, it's easy for them to crawl between the 2nd row seats and access the 3rd row (my 9 and 11 yo do it every day.) I will say that the 3rd row isn't the easiest for installs, but most harnessed carseats I've tried have been do-able. Plus, all four seating positions have top tethers, which isn't always the case in vehicles like this as they are only required to have at least three (and many just use the minimum.) The 2nd row seats are super-easy for installing carseats.

There is, however, almost no cargo space. You could fit a stroller back there if it's a particularly small-folding one, but nothing else. A small grocery trip would fit back there (my kids are old enough we leave them at home for big trips) but only if you removed the stroller.

One more thing - you said your two oldest are in "regular" carseats. Most "regular" carseats have a 40lb weight limit for the harness, so depending on which carseats you've got, it sounds like your two oldest may have outgrown their carseats and need new ones. There are many options available for higher-weight harnessed car seats, if they have indeed outgrown the ones they're in.
 

daddydaycare

New member
I'm planning on being in a similar situation. I have a 4yo and a 2yo in FF'ing Marathon's in a 03 Mountaineer. I actually fit a 3rd Marathon in the 2nd row for our 4yo friend whom we carpool with frequently. That leaves no access to the 3rd row except through the trunk and given the 03 Mtnr is a 1 piece 3rd row the kid would have to jump over the seat and be able to buckle themselves in. Not ideal.

We have baby #3 on the way and are planning on having a 4th, so we definitely need 3 seats, usually 4 due to the carpool and at some point we'll have a 4th kid of our own. So we'll need 4 seats for carseats/booster and I'd like to have an extra seat (5 total) for friends. That's a lot to ask for, but right now I'm willing to go for just 4 seats.

I was ready to buy an Acadia (same thing as a Traverse) thinking that was the car for us. However, the 3rd row is poorly designed for car seats. There are no LATCH's and there is only 1 tether. So if you bought the Acadia with the 2nd row buckets which would allow easy access to the 3rd row, you could only put 1 car seat in the 3rd row as the tether can only accomodate 1 seat. It would also have to be in the middle position too. So the Acadia can only accomodate 3 car seats. I was very disappointed in this, terrible design by GM.

I'm trying to look for other cars but it's rare to find anything with a 3rd row LATCH. So far, I've only found Mercedes R350/320 and GL450/320 to have LATCH in the 3rd row. The GL only has a bench for the 2nd row so access to the 3rd row would have to be through the trunk if you had 2 seats in the 2nd row. The R class has essentially 6 full size bucket seats for 6 adults (2+2+2), but then I'm stuck with only 4 seats and not even an option to squeeze in a booster or something in a pinch.

My wife doesn't want a minivan, even though that would probably help with more options, but that's not happening.

Any other cars out there that give 7 seating with the ability to have 2+ car seats in the 3rd row?

Thanks.
 

Melanie

New member
How about a Honda Pilot? 09 or newer. It has 3 full sets of LATCH in 2nd row, 3rd row has 1 full LATCH and top tethers for the other 2 positions. It technically seats 8 with 3 in 2nd and 3rd rows.

We found that a lot of the crossovers don't have top tethers in the third row. I don't mind having to install with a seat belt, but no top tethers is a deal breaker for me. The Mazda CX 9 is that way.

Of course, a minivan would be the easiest. :whistle:
 

daddydaycare

New member
Melanie,

Thanks, I actually thought about the Pilot right after I made my post and did some research so that seems like an option. I agree, the lack of tethers in an Acadia or any car is a deal breaker for me too.

What I don't get is why the Pilot only has LATCH on 1 of the 3 seats in the 3rd row? How much does it cost to have LATCH on two more seats.

I don't think the Suburban is the car for us yet, but I don't even know if that has 3rd row latch? From looking at other posts it doesn't, seems to only have LATCH in 2nd row middle and behind driver. Not sure about tethers. Anyone know? Thanks.
 

Maedze

New member
our oldest is 5 and she sits in a regular car seat for now. She weighs about 40-45lbs. Our next is 3 and he also sits in a regular car seat. He weighs about the same 40 lbs. Our current youngest is 15 months and is still in the carrier seat facing backwards, but she will soon be transitioning into a regular car seat. She weighs about 25lbs. Our baby will be born in early June and will obviously be in an infant seat for awhile.


Can you tell us with more specificity? What do you mean by 'regular' car seat? Harness or booster?

Are you familiar with the rules about keeping kids rear facing for as long as they fit in convertibles, (usually 3-4 years)?
 

J-max

CPST Instructor
Melanie,

Thanks, I actually thought about the Pilot right after I made my post and did some research so that seems like an option. I agree, the lack of tethers in an Acadia or any car is a deal breaker for me too.

What I don't get is why the Pilot only has LATCH on 1 of the 3 seats in the 3rd row? How much does it cost to have LATCH on two more seats.

I don't think the Suburban is the car for us yet, but I don't even know if that has 3rd row latch? From looking at other posts it doesn't, seems to only have LATCH in 2nd row middle and behind driver. Not sure about tethers. Anyone know? Thanks.
We have an 09 'burb and it has just the 2 sets of LATCH in the middle row,and 1 TT in the 3rd. IT is our 3rd suburban, and the last one had the same set up (first one had none). It drives me crazy and is my biggest beef with this car, but it is very car seat friendly - I currently have 2 regents, RXTSL, BLVD, and RA installed in mine (last 2 installed RF in 3rd row - they go in through the hatch which is fairly easy.
 

lovemyfamily

New member
With that many kids, we are PG with our 4th so I am with you, I would suggest a larger SUV, such as a Suburban, or Yukon XL (same thing). With the smaller SUVs for crossovers, you will have little cargo space and with 4 kids, you need room for stuff. You don't want to end up creating many projectiles, but piling things in the seats near your kids because your cargo space is full.
I have a Yukon XL and I LOVE it! Sadly with 2 large seats in the 3rd row, Frontier in booster mode and Regent, you cannot have another passenger or seat back there, that row is full. I have a bench seat in my middle row, I LOVE this. DD is currently RF in a Marathon in the middle seat of this row. It still leaves the drivers side seat of that middle row open. Then I fold down the passenger side portion, this seat is a 40/60 split, for my boys to access the 3rd row. If we need that extra seat, which we will when we have guests, once the baby arrives and we fill that drivers side middle row seat, then we can fold up that 40 seat after the boys are loaded.
I see lots of families loading kids through rear doors of SUV/Crossovers at school pick up. So this isn't uncommon, but could be a real PITA if you had your cargo area full.
Good luck deciding. I am certainly glad we already have a vehicle big enough to haul all of us. Not something I would want to have to deal with when PG.
 

Melanie

New member
How about a Ford Flex? It's around the size of the Pilot and Traverse. It looks, well, unique. Kind of like a super sized boxy Scion. Or like a 50's era station wagon...the cool kind of station wagon not the brady bunch kind. I think most people either love it or hate it.

We recently looked at them and there are a lot of things I liked. It sits lower than a lot of crossovers. The middle row row comes in a 60/40 bench or captains chairs with a console between. The third row seats 2. I measured the 60 part of the bench at 31". If you could squeeze 2 car seats on it, you could put your other two in the third row. There would still be room for 1 passenger on the 40 part of the 2nd row. Lower LATCH anchors on both outboard second row and one 3rd row spot. Top tether anchors on all 3rd row spots. I believe there were top tether anchors in 3rd row both spots, but I'm not positive.

Negatives-the second row isn't as wide as a Pilot. The exhaust pipe is at the rear of the vehicle. You (or a child) could burn your leg loading cargo if you weren't paying attention.
 

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