Sell me on your vehicle!

I'm totally lost. So if you love your vehicle I'd love to hear more

What I have:
$20,000 CAD maximum budget (this means buying used most likely)

I don't really *LIKE* driving a car, I find them too low with too many blind spots, I don't feel safe. However I don't want an SUV that is really high off the ground either (currently the 4runner is too high), and DH is ADAMENT that he will not buy a minivan.:thumbsdown:

Back injury from a car accident 10 years ago, so lifting kids and strollers and gear into a vehicle over waist height can sometimes put my back out.

Currently have an almost 3 year old RF in a true fit, he's 31 pounds and will stay RF until he outgrows the TF, then into a graco nautilus FF. The newborn will be RF in an infant seat for a few months then move into my sons old graco myride RF, if this child is tall too he/she may end up in the TF RF at some point. The reason I mention this is because the TF is a BEAST to install RF, it's SO BIG

ABSOLUTELY needs to have anchors in all seats in the middle row, since I don't know if we're having any more kids or not. Also the middle seat must be actually a full sized seat, not the tiny sliver of a seat I've seen. I'm open to third row seating if there is easy access without uninstalling the car seat to get to it. So far I haven't seen any crossover that offers this.

Has to be relatively easy to install car seats. LATCH would be lovely, but at the very least I don't really want to have to use an H clip.

Of course safety is the primary concern. Side curtain air bags would be nice, I also don't like how close the kids will be in their car seats placed outboard to the doors. They're practically touching the doors!

Any other features or input you'd like to add I'm open to!

So far I've pretty much ruled out the Dodge Journey due to the middle seat, the Ford Explorer was too high, I may test drive the Toyota Rav 4 (used, have to check out the safety features), I'm not sure about the Kia's (haven't seen them in person yet), or the chevy's. I don't know about the mazdas etc.. I think they might be out of our budget.

We're, all things being equal, going to pick up a Kia Rondo on Monday. No real-life experience to relate yet, but it does have 3 anchors across the middle row. :thumbsup:

I'm sure you'll get lots of recs for a Mazda5. It does drive nice, higher than a car, but not as high as a SUV. It does look like a minivan, though, and it only seats 2 in the middle row.

I love my sister's Chevy Equinox. Done a few variations of 3-across in that thing. :thumbsup: It also (at least her '06 does) has 3 anchors across the middle. Her's does not have a middle-position headrest, it has the weird offset LATCH anchors (the middle is not in the middle,) and there's no third row option. All things that may have changed in different model years (except the 3rd row.)

I've also enjoyed my cousin's Honda CRV. Her '99 was not so friendly for carseats though, and I've not been near the current generation of them.

VanIsleMommy said:

I don't really *LIKE* driving a car, I find them too low with too many blind spots, I don't feel safe. However I don't want an SUV that is really high off the ground either (currently the 4runner is too high), and DH is ADAMENT that he will not buy a minivan.:thumbsdown:

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We got a Kia Rondo last fall and like it so far. It is a car, not a minivan, not a SUV however you DO sit up higher. It has huge windows, visibility is great. We got the one with the 3rd row seating which we have used a few times. The middle seat does sit 3, and I see some threads on here where people have put 3 car seats across, but it must be a bit tricky. I have a FF True Fit and RF Roundabout installed outboard, there it not much room left in the middle.

The Rondo has great safety features, and great visibility. Check one out just for that fact alone, see how you well you can see out of it. (And my kids can see out too! In some of the vehicles we looked at the slope of the car door going along the sides to the back made it impossible for them to see out of the window. We were driving in the mountains with our Rondo and everyone could see fine.)

Hope that helps.
I searched and searched for the perfect car for months, there isn't one. There is always something to compromise on.

You should be able to find a Mazda 5 in your budget-range, and I highly recommend test-driving one (and MAKE your dh test-drive one!) They're a funny little car - some people see them and think "minivan" but most people I tell to look for me in a "minivan" don't see it, they call it a car.

It drives like a CAR - tight turn radius, low to the ground, etc. Doesn't feel like driving a van at all. It also uses gas like a car, not a minivan (which is the reason I got mine.)

As far as visibility, it's great until you put people in the back seats LOL. Because of its size, though, it's easy to learn to use the mirrors.

Carseats are very easy to install in the second row; a few types of carseats are a bit more tricky in the third row, but it has top-tethers in all four rear seating positions (lower anchors in the second row, but not the third.) It's also an excellent vehicle for getting kids in; even if you're using the third row, you can easily access the seats from the rear hatch without too much bending/lifting in odd positions. When I've had carseats in the 2nd row, my kids either just walk around them, or if it's just one kid in the 3rd row, I'll fold down the other seat and they climb in through the cargo hatch. Some people with RF kids put them in the 3rd row specifically because it's so easy to load them through the cargo hatch.

Cargo room is good if you're carrying four, but once you start using the third row for passengers the cargo room is dismal. I only haul all four of my kids to school and such and there's room for backpacks but nothing else; we borrow my parent's truck or take two cars if we're going on a day or weekend trip and need to bring luggage, tents, etc. I never take all four kids grocery shopping LOL.

You definitely need to take one for a test drive to know for sure if you're going to like it or not. It's really not like any other vehicle out there.

I'm not much help since my favorite vehicle ever is our 2008 Toyota Sienna...but its a van Of course, my husband swore he'd never buy a mini-van too, but now with three kids, he's moved over to the dark side after I made him test drive vans, and load kids in/out of one at the dealership. Now he's sold on the convenience of a mini-van with three small children.

Chevy Impalas are a great sedan if you can't find the crossover you want/need. LATCH in all three rear positions, and three across is definitely possible (I've done a number of combinations with TrueFits and Nautiluses).

Plus, there is so much trunk space, you can pack for a family of 5 for 2 weeks without issue. Also a plus is that there is plenty of front-to-back room...its the only car my 6'5" hubby can comfortably drive with a RF seat behind him.

mkmama said:

Chevy Impalas are a great sedan if you can't find the crossover you want/need.

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I bet they are. :thumbsup: I LOVED my mom's Chev Malibu (I think that's the midsize counterpart to the Impala's fullsize?)

Chevy Impala has a HUGE backseat with 3 sets of LATCH and TT.

Look at a used Traverse or the clones Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave. Again dismal cargo space if 3rd row is used though

My mom has an Impala. She likes it a lot and it really is awesome for 3 across situations.

I have a Mazda 5 and love it. I dont really think of it as a small van. I think it's more like a large hatchback And with your budget you could probably get a new one.

Another one to look at is the Ford TaurusX. It has a 3rd row, really good safety ratings, and looks more like a typical crossover. It comes with either a bench in the middle or captains chairs. I would prefer the captains chairs over the bench to make it easy to access the 3rd row. It has at least one TA in the 3rd row. I would stay away from it's predecessor the Freestyle bc their known for tranny issues.

wow this is great!! I like the idea of having DH test drive and practic taking kids in and out of a minivan.

does anyone have either a Honda Pilot or a Rav 4 (or maybe considered one at one point?) they could shed some light on? So far I like the Rav 4 better due to the height of the vehicle and the rear door (and cargo space!), but the Pilot has a way better middle seat, and anchors in the back row as well. I don't know about third row access and car seat installation but I do plan to test them both out.

I'll look at the mazdas too DH didn't go for my "the mazda 5 is really an SUV" ploy

I have a pilot and in terms of 3 across and tt's its great but if you do need to put up the 3rd row you don't have a ton of space, I have packed the thing with 7 people and had no issues, we have owned it for almost a year and a half and love it. I have driven it a ton too, we have put about 30k miles on in that time so enough to know for sure!

Also I have installed the truefit its easy with both latch and seatbelt.

In terms of height its really not that bad, I don't know if its the same or less than the 4runner though. I also find access to the 3rd row very easy, you'd have to squeeze a bit more to get back there with a carseat in the sliding seats but not hard for a smaller child, they can always go through the trunk too, we've done it both ways.

VanIsleMommy said:

wow this is great!! I like the idea of having DH test drive and practic taking kids in and out of a minivan.

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Yep, it might just change his mind...what we did was take all the kids to the dealership with us, as well as their main car seats. He'd wrangle kids while I installed all the seats, then I'd turn him and the kids loose and have him completely put all three kids in all by himself. The key was all by himself...because that was often what I was doing every day (and I was not afraid to point this out to him)...after trying probably 5-6 vehicles, he realized the van really did make sense, and once he was inside it, he kinda forgot he was driving a van (we had one w/ some cool higher-end features, which helped I think!)

I came very close to buying a Pilot last year. It has top tethers and headrests in all spots. The redesign in 09 model year gets a little more cargo room. It also looks more truck-ish than before.

I was coming from a minivan, but wanted something else. But I still wanted the convenience of a minivan. I wound up with a Ford Flex. I don't know anything about Canadian prices, but $20k US would get you one a year or two old. They came out in 2009. People love or hate the body style. It sits lower to the ground than a SUV/Crossover. The bottom of the door area also goes down in the back (hard to describe) so it's very easy to climb into the second row. A 2yo can easily do it. It has a ton of room inside. The cargo area has a well like a minivan. My 6'3" DH can sit in the third row. It went on a road trip with 6 large men and everyone raved about it. It's available 6 passenger seating with captain's chairs in the second row or 7 passenger with a bench second row. Mine is bench 2nd row. I can put all three kids in the second row, fold the third row and have tons and tons of cargo room. Bench second row has full latch outboard and top tether for the middle. Third row has 1 full LATCH set. So it only has 1 rear seat without a top tether. All seating spots have headrests and shoulder belts. The only goofy thing is the middle of the second row doesn't work for a RF car seat. It has plastic covered hinges that interfere (at least with Britax and Radian).

I carry 7 passengers frequently. It's had all kinds of combos of car seats and adults without a problem. I've also done 5 car seats without issue.

The basic model comes with a lot of niceties. Lots of techy stuff, a back up sensor. People are surprised to find out mine is the base model. It was a lot more plush and nice looking inside than the base Pilot. The only thing I miss from my van is the sliding doors.

With 2 or 3 children, a van is still awfully convenient if you can get your husband to go along.

VanIsleMommy said:

does anyone have either a Honda Pilot or a Rav 4 (or maybe considered one at one point?) they could shed some light on? So far I like the Rav 4 better due to the height of the vehicle and the rear door (and cargo space!),

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I have a 2008 RAV4, and I wouldn't recommend it. The second row only seats 2 adults/children/car seats at a time. They lead you to believe there are 3 seating positions, but the seat belt setup makes this impossible. I think the optional 3rd row is pretty small, but I haven't tried it out.

thanks everyone!! I put a deposit on an '07 pilot today LOOOOOVE IT!!! Subject to DH's veto power lol

well darn. DH likes it but doesn't like the fact that it has 97,000 km on it used. and to buy one new is out of the question.

the good news is, I told him it was either the Pilot or a cheaper minivan and now he's willing to *consider* a minivan

I have an 08 Pilot, LOVE it. I traded my Odyssey for it. I only have 2 kids, I'm not sure I'd love it as much if I had 3. Cargo space is pretty low with the third row up, I've seen worse though. If I had 3 kids I'd probably go for a van.