New car...?

I'm hoping to buy a new car sometime soon ... my main goals are safety, space, gas mileage. Are side airbags OK when one child is a harness seat & another is in a booster? Can the newer rear-center lap/shoulder belts secure a Britax Wizard or Husky properly? And finally, thinking of gas mileage as well as space to hold these 3 kids [2.5 yo, 6 yo, & a BIG 10 yo] along with 2 fifty+ pound dogs, does anyone have any recomendations for a resident of upstate New York, AKA "Blizard Country"?
THANKS

I think the 7 or 8 passenger Sienna has an AWD option, and it has very flexible seating (the third bench can split 60/40, so you could put the 10 yo back there with the properly secured dogs on the floor (or the 8 px option has three seats in the middle row and you can fold down the whole third row or harness the dogs in the seat.
There are no problems with any of these seatbelts for installing any Britaxes, fortunately (those old cars with motorized front seatbelts are a no-no for installing seats, but that's about it).
I don't know much about the Ford Freestar, but it too might have the options you need.
This link has crash test data for you to peruse... http://www.highwaysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/summary_passvans.htm

The Sienna is available with AWD, but not in the 8 passenger version. AWD is only avail. with 7 seats.

The Sienna has 4 LATCH positions (5 in the 8 seater) so a Wizard or Husky wouldn't need to be installed with a seatbelt until the child was over 48lbs. All the lap/shoulder belts except for the drivers have switchable retractors for installing carseats. There are tether anchors is all but the 3rd row driver's side spot.

I have not used our 3rd row center belt to install a carseat, but the manual does not prohibit doing so. That spot is a bit narrow so I don't know about putting the Husky there, but I'd guess the Wizard would work. I have had a MA on the /40 section of the 3rd row and it fits fine with room to fold the 60/portion.

The gas milage for our FWD Sienna has been good...we got around 25 mpg on a recent highway road trip and lately I average just under 20 in city driving. I believe the AWD does get a bit less.

HTH

Thanks, Nat, I know there are several Sienna packages, just didn't know what had what options

no problem

Several? There are 21 packages for the XLE trim alone....12, IIRC, for the LE Toyota is supposed to be simplifying things for '05.

I still had a Sienna brochure lying around or I wouldn't have remembered eithernat

Hmmm ... I guess price is also a big factor I should've thought to mention Was thinking about a Subaru Impreza Outback type -- Bodyguard behind driver, Wizard or Husky on other side, big 10 year old boy between them & hopefully there are tie down anchors in the trunk area to harness my dogs to? Wonder if there's any such thing as a large storage bag that can be belted down to store groceries etc. for the front seat???

Thinking outloud, revising plans ... got opinions?

The reason I'm thinking of the Impreza is that I'm still going to keep my Blazer for the snow plow & also because my daughter's big half-siblings very rarely ride with us. Taking another look at future financial responsibilities, I realize that price is a bigger factor than space. But, I haven't seen much info on the side impact ratings for an Impreza & I haven't seen any Consumer Reports info on it. I do have a trunk barrier & organizer ... maybe I could buckle both my dogs into the front seat -- they'd be farther from the kids [who they are great with, but the kids get annoyed with the constant licklicklicklicklicklick, LOL] & the dogs would be more secure than in the back; I'm sure they'd both fit to share the one belt [I know that's not OK for kids, though] & in so doing they'd definitely be more likely to sit still with less potentially playful wiggle room. The Britax Wizard is probably the better seat -- guess the Husky is pretty big! Plus, it doesn't have the enhanced side impact protection. [I could put a Husky in my Blazer for the times my daughter & I would have to take it on the commute to work during the worst of winter months ... & I guess we'll have to buy another Wizard for her dad's old little Pulsar]. Would an adult-sized kid fit between the Wizard & Bodyguard in a Subaru Impreza? Or should I wait a while longer to save for a Legacy Outback wagon or the Forester or some other similar make/model??? I only know I want a newer year AWD with LATCH & rear-center lap/shoulder belt & head rest
Thank you!

My brother drives an Impreza WRX ('02 I think...it has LATCH) and I've put carseats in it a couple of times. I don't know how or if the backseats of the various Impreza models vary, but from my experience, I'd have to say the answer to your question about the adult sized kid fitting between a Wiz and BG is "not very comfortably". It has a pretty tiny backseat. I had a Roundabout and FP booster, which is pretty narrow, in the back and there was not much room in the center at all.

We test drove an Outback a few years ago and it's definitely roomier, but still could be a bit of a tight fit depending on how big the kid really is. I rode on the outboard side next to my son's carseat in the middle (a Touriva, really narrow seat we used as a spare) and I fit ok, but wouldn't have wanted to be there very long. The salesman who sat there while I drove, looked pretty uncomfortable.

HTH a bit...GL finding a vehicle that works for your familynat

Thanks
If the side impact crash test ratings are good for the Impreza, then maybe since it is so rare that mystepkids ride with us [only once every few months since they live just down the street], and NY does not have a booster seat law & the 6 year old is as big as the average 8+ year old, then perhaps the adult-sized 10 year old could sit on the side with the 6 year old in the middle. In their mom's Intrepid she sits in the rear-center seat with no booster -- I think the slight hump of the seat brings her up just enough because the lap/shoulder belts are where they're supposed to be....

That very well may work as long as they both definitely pass the 5 step test without boosters. 5 step test

Not being squished in the middle between 2 carseats would definitely help with the comfort factor and the Impreza is certainly fun to drive

GLnat