Car or van for three kids?

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turtlejd

New member

• Jun 25, 2011

• #21

Mini-van! I have an Odyssey and debated and debated before getting one. We were considering the Honda CR-V, Mazda5, Toyota Highlander, Sienna and Odyssey. I was replacing my Honda Civic for baby #3. I am so glad we got a full size minivan. It's so comfortable, room for everyone and I no longer have to worry if all our stuff fits. The gas mileage is terrible though. Our other car is a Prius and we try to drive that as much as possible. I work 1 mile from home and drive the minivan with my oldest who's in Kindergarten. Most days, the two younger ones are in the Prius, but it's great to have a large car for the whole gang to travel and we can take friends! Since you have larger car, the Mazda5 might work for you too. Our main issue was the trunk space once the third row was up, but you have the truck, so it might work too.

 

A

acoro

New member

• Jun 25, 2011

• #22

What year/trim level odyssey do you have? We have a 2009 Touring and we get really good mileage considering it is a V6 and well, a van. It has the iVtec engine that shuts down up to 3 of the cylinders when not required and is considered an ULEV (ultra low emission vehicle)

 

Phineasmama

New member

• Jun 25, 2011

• #23

I would LOVE a minivan, or even something like a Mazda with 2 captains chairs and 3rd row seating.

I have a Honda CR-V right now and we're going to have 3 across in there for a while until we can afford a van. It's doable but it will be SO nice to have more space!

 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin

Staff member

• Jun 25, 2011

• #24

Incidentally, we hope to have a review of the all-new 2012 Mazda 5 at CarseatBlog this summer! It will, of course, have our usual emphasis on kids and safety.

 

rxmommy

New member

• Jun 25, 2011

• #25

I didn't really love having a van (except when hauling other kiddos, which happens occasionally) until I got a Honda. I am in LOVE with that van. It gets decent gas mileage (similar to what my little crossover SUV got). I just wish it had AWD. Of course that would decrease the gas mileage, but I would use it probably 6 months of the year. Oh well. We can fit 3 in DH's pickup too but like you I do not like driving the truck most of the time. 3 across was fine until the baby decided to start pulling her sister's hair and poking her. The big 2 are generally fine next to each other - baby, not so much. I need to rearrange seats so that the sister with shorter hair is next to the baby (lol) but DD1 is close to outgrowing harness height and needing a booster in the truck and I'm afraid it's going to be hard to buckle.

DH claims he doesn't fit in a Sienna so I hope to have a Honda van of some sort for many years!!!

 

E

emin

New member

• Jul 8, 2011

• #26

We had to buy a new car when we got our third child, and ended up with a Ford S-max with 7 seats. I don't know if it's available outside Europe though, but maybe there is something similar in the US? Just wondering since I see you have Mazda 5, which also is available is Europe and also is named Mazda 5 here.

 

G

Guest

New member

• Jul 17, 2011

• #27

Ford hasn't decided whether to offer the S-max here yet. So far, the car nerds don't think they will but that's subject to change depending on how the public receives some confirmed competitor models (like the bigger Prius, etc).

 

M

mkmama

Active member

• Jul 18, 2011

• #28

LOVE my Impala sedan for 3 kids....I can get more in that trunk than I can get in 99% of mini-vans, and the gas mileage is way better.

Before we bought our Sienna, I would have said Impala over van any day, unless you're planning on more kids or hauling lots of friends around lots. However, now that we have our 8-passenger Sienna, I love that more for the kids...I can separate them if needed, and with all three in the middle row, I have tons more cargo room in the van than even in the Impala trunk. I sacrifice gas mileage, but we also have a 4th child on the way and haul friends/cousins at least 2x/week so we were to the point of outgrowing the Impala soon anyways.

 

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fitzski

New member

• Jul 22, 2011

• #29

I'm in the same boat (car??): Considering a Mazda 5 (likely a new model... 2012) in the near future, with baby #3 due in early February.

At that time, our boys will be 4 and 2.5 years old. Current car seats are - in our VW Passat - a Britax Boulevard (my least favourite) and a First Years TF, and - in our VW Jetta - a First Years TF (newer, w/the RF'ing foot thing), and a Graco Nautilus. Forthcoming infant will be in a Graco SafeSeat. I should be able to do 3 across in the Passat, but not a hope of such in the Jetta with the SafeSeat in the middle.

For the folks with the Mazda 5, what is the best (safest?) layout for 3 kids? I'm imagining both older kids in the 3rd row, with the SafeSeat in the 2nd row (driver or passenger side?), with the other seat removed or stowed as possible for access to strap the 3rd row kids in.

However, maybe older kids in the 2nd row, with infant in 1/2 of the 3rd row, with ingress/egress through the rear hatch? That puts baby well out of arms reach for one thing, and for safety, I would prefer the slightly more resilient passengers be in the rear most positions.

Is there really enough space for this to work?! I'm not too worried about luggage space - we'll work with what we've got, and that's fine. My priority is can I safely strap in 3 kids? That being said, my wife & I are both 6' tall, so need to consider not being able to move the front seats too far forward to accommodate second row installations.

Thanks...

 

kittykate

New member

• Jul 22, 2011

• #30

You can completely do three kids in a 5. Our baby isn't here yet (but his carseat is installed) but our set up is 3 yr old DS 2nd row passenger, newb 2nd row driver and 5 year old DS in the third row driver side. My husband is 6' and is able to have the driver seat all the way back with a Keyfit behind it. We also had a rear facing True Fit behind the passenger seat (pushed all of the way back) for my 3 year old until a month or two ago...

The 5 is small enough that I have no issue (even at 37 weeks pregnant) reaching over the newb's 2nd row rear facing seat to buckle/ unbuckle the 5 year old.

I would look into how the 2012's second row seats fold down before planning on putting 2 kids in the third row. On my 2010, the seat only slides forward a bid and tilts forward unless the seat cushion is removed (and even then the seat doesn't "stow" the back merely folds down to the seat. It is not removable as far as I know. I had planned on putting both of the older boys in the 3rd row to leave a second row seat open to collapse or slide, but it ended up being much more workable to only have one kiddo all the way in the back...

 

amyd

New member

• Jul 22, 2011

• #31

I would also do the oldest child in half of the third row and the younger two in the second. As the PP said, the captain's chairs aren't removable and don't fold very compactly. It's not difficult to lean over to buckle in the child in the third provided they can climb into their seat without assistance.

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org

 

amyd

New member

• Jul 22, 2011

• #32

About the seats, the Nautilus fits very nicely in the third row. I don't care for it in the second row because it sits up too high for my son to climb in the seat by himself. He can in the third row, though. The True Fits will not install securely forward facing in the third row, at least in my 2010. Not sure if there's been any seat belt redesign for 2012.

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org

 

ericarizo

New member

• Jul 22, 2011

• #33

I have to say with 3 kids you would have plenty of room with a van.

 

F

fitzski

New member

• Jul 22, 2011

• #34

Thanks for the prompt replies!

Correct... looks like the 2012 is similar to earlier models, in that the seats are not a true stow-and-go variety (i.e. fold into the floor), and cannot be removed.

Next time I get to the dealer, I'll bring 3 car seats along and figure it out - specifically, Nautilus in the 3rd row, and the Graco SafeSeat and either the True Fit or Boulevard in the 2nd row, on whichever side works best for the comfort of all involved (i.e. front seat room included).

Lots of 2012 pics here:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/11q1/2012_mazda_5_grand_touring-short_take_road_test/gallery

http://www.caranddriver.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/reviews/car/11q1/2012_mazda_5_grand_touring-short_take_road_test/gallery/2012_mazda_5_grand_touring_interior_photo_32/4048230-1-eng-US/2012_mazda_5_grand_touring_38_cd_gallery.jpg

http://www.caranddriver.com/var/ezf.../2012_mazda_5_grand_touring_45_cd_gallery.jpg

 

B

bnsnyde

New member

• Jul 22, 2011

• #35

I vote car. You will get better visibility and gas mileage. Just get one that is wide across. Mid or full-size. We did 3 in a row before. Baby outboard b/c middle was too hard for us.

We only got the Odyssey b/c we had a 4th child.

 

B

Bansheefaerie

New member

• Jul 23, 2011

• #36

I am voting Van. We are having our third in November and I want a Van so badly. We have one car right now. A 2011 Nissan Versa :thumbsdown:

 

Jillian

Active member

• Jul 27, 2011

• #37

I vote van. I sold my car because it was too small and i have one kid. Best move i ever made.

 

spinningfans

New member

• Jul 27, 2011

• #38

I would only do three across if I couldn't afford a van or other vehicle with two passenger rows. If I had the ability for a bigger vehicle, I'd be jumping on it fast!