We need to get a new car and have 3 kids in carseats...suggestions please

Hi all! My dh totalled my car (no kids OR carseats in it, thank God). So, we need a new car and a 3rd carseat as we have a baby on the way.

Currently, both my kids are RF, almost 3yo in a Britax Marathon and 15 month old in a Roundabout (new one...55?) in our Honda Accord. I already did some research and *think* we can get 3 across in that car with a radian and a key fit, and the marathon. We are going to buy the two seats tonight and see what we can do (and of course get it checked).

Now that we need a new car, we can't decide what to get. Money IS an object, and it's not just the price of the car, it's the insurance and gas as well. So, I was looking for something that will accommodate us for safety, functionality, and financially. We have looked at several cars online, and are thinking that another sedan may be our best bet. We plan to have these kids in harness seats as long as possible, and I don't care if there's room for anyone else in the car. I guess I'm just trying to find out is it as safe as a van, having 3 across (provided the seats are installed correctly), and is it convenient? On a scale of 1-10, how much of a PITA is it to get that middle kid in the car?

As our needs change, we will likely get a bigger car, van, or suv, but for now, with dh being a student and this unexpected baby coming, we really have to watch what we spend.

Any tips would be very helpful! Thank you.

Is it a PITA to have 3 in a row? Yes. Is it doable? Yes.

The hard part isn't so much getting the middle child in, but what to do with the other kids while you do so. Somebody has to hang around outside the car while you get the middle kid buckled up. Be prepared to come up with a system to keep wandering to a minimum.

If you are planning to use a double stroller, you'll want to take trunk space into consideration as well.

I my 1998 Honda CRV... I've been able to make a lot of three across scenarios work (including the RF Radian, MA & Keyfit scenario) and there's plenty of trunk space. I paid under $5,000 for it about three years ago, and I get around 28ish miles per gallon.

Some notes about the CRVs though - the 00 & 01 are known to have some head problems if the valves weren't adjusted regularly. And and 02-06 (the newer body style) had some serious air conditioning problems to where the entire A/C system has to be replaced (a $2,000 + repair) and sometimes the problem comes back even after it's repaired. My 98 has been fantastic though!

My kids are farther apart then yours (5 1/2, 2, newborn when we had three across.) Since my oldest was FFing in the middle and rarely needed help the getting in/out wasn't really that hard. I think with little kids it's sometimes easier than getting one in the third row. You will get really wet if it's pouring rain, though. Just sayin... there's no way around it with rfers, at least that I've found. Well, now that DD can buckle them there is, but that's probably a way off for you.

For me it was the noise level (even when they are all happy), the lack of options as DD neared booster age, and wanting an extra seat that was the most frustrating. I had a tall SUV and tried putting the baby in the center in a convertible once to separate the others and that lasted about 3 hours. We got a Mazda5 (seats 6) when the kids were just over 1,3, and 6 1/2 which is great. Of coarse, now we are filling that up, but that's another story...

I love our Impala for 3 across....and trunk space is great, I can get a double stroller in there and still have room for a diaper bag and some other stuff.