SUV under $26,000 -- maybe new Kia Sorento?

Hi y'all. I'm looking for a SUV/car that would fit our budget. We have a 5 year old, and a 3 year old with a Britax Frontier 85 Combination Booster Car Seats for both. My wife is due in October. We're going to buy a new car seat for the baby soon.

We were thinking about the Kia Sorento because it has an optional 3rd row seat.
Aside from that SUV, any other suggestions car/SUV around that price point that would fit 3 across?

Thanks for your help!

zio said:

Hi y'all. I'm looking for a SUV/car that would fit our budget. We have a 5 year old, and a 3 year old with a Britax Frontier 85 Combination Booster Car Seats for both. My wife is due in October. We're going to buy a new car seat for the baby soon.

We were thinking about the Kia Sorento because it has an optional 3rd row seat.
Aside from that SUV, any other suggestions car/SUV around that price point that would fit 3 across?

Thanks for your help!

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The Sorento is bigger than most compact SUVs, but not as big as the midsize SUVs. It's even a bit smaller than the Highlander, which is one of the smaller midsize models on the market. As such, 3-across will be challenging, but the third row will add some flexibility. I don't think you will be able to fit two Frontiers and an infant seat in a 3-across. You could do this in a Honda Odyssey, or perhaps one of the larger midsize SUVs with a 2nd row bench seat or a full size SUV, but those are all likely to be above your budget. You might find a LX or EX trim Odyssey that is a couple years old in that price range. You could almost certainly get two Frontiers and an infant seat 3-across in the wide seating mode.

Back to the Sorento, I have a review here:

http://carseatblog.com/15393/2012-kia-sorento-review-kids-carseats-and-safety/

Current models have some minor updates, but are essentially the same in terms of seating. It's smallish and one child will have to be in the third row. Perhaps if your 5-year old is ready to be in a booster, that would be an option?

We have a 2013 Dodge Journey and LOVE IT!! I paid around $19k for it straight off the delivery truck :jive:

CPSDarren said:

The Sorento is bigger than most compact SUVs, but not as big as the midsize SUVs. It's even a bit smaller than the Highlander, which is one of the smaller midsize models on the market. As such, 3-across will be challenging, but the third row will add some flexibility. I don't think you will be able to fit two Frontiers and an infant seat in a 3-across. You could do this in a Honda Odyssey, or perhaps one of the larger midsize SUVs with a 2nd row bench seat or a full size SUV, but those are all likely to be above your budget. You might find a LX or EX trim Odyssey that is a couple years old in that price range. You could almost certainly get two Frontiers and an infant seat 3-across in the wide seating mode.

Back to the Sorento, I have a review here:

http://carseatblog.com/15393/2012-kia-sorento-review-kids-carseats-and-safety/

Current models have some minor updates, but are essentially the same in terms of seating. It's smallish and one child will have to be in the third row. Perhaps if your 5-year old is ready to be in a booster, that would be an option?

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That's a great review! We also might consider the Hyundai's Santa Fe too.
Also, we decided to get a new car instead of used because used cars are priced similar to new cars!

love-pink said:

We have a 2013 Dodge Journey and LOVE IT!! I paid around $19k for it straight off the delivery truck :jive:

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That's a great price, but I'm worry about the reliability. Do you have any problems with the Journey so far??

If you went the minivan route... They are blowing out the 2013 Odysseys right now and you could likely get at least an ex model for your range.. Brand new. The extra space is always nice.

zio said:

That's a great price, but I'm worry about the reliability. Do you have any problems with the Journey so far??

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I have an 09' journey with the 3rd row seating - no complaints other than gas mileage which apparently is much better in the 2011 & newer models.

The only issue is no top tether anchors in the 3rd row so forward facing harnessed seats would be an issue for those that require a top tether.

If I was to get a 2013 I would get one with the middle captains chairs

I had a 2009 KIA sportage & hated it!!! We had numerous issues & I found them to be quite cheap feeling :/

zio said:

That's a great price, but I'm worry about the reliability. Do you have any problems with the Journey so far??

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The new models have been vastly improved - I wouldn't hesitate a second to look at a Journey now.

Yes! Major overhaul starting with the 2011 year models. Right now I average 25 mpg. The ONLY thing I wish I would have gotten on mine was the 8.1 inch touch screen radio... I have the standard 4.3 inch It's simple to use but the 8.1 looks cooler IMHO cause I like the tech looking stuff

Correct, there are no top tethers in the 3rd row but when we use ours it's used by booster riders so its not been a problem so far. I'm almost 100% sure the Journey does not come with 2nd row captain seats... At least they did not when I was doing my research back in January. It was a feature I thought I absolutely wanted... Now that I think it bout it though it would be a pain for me to always need the 3rd row because there would be no option for a 3 across in the 2nd row. I think to get the captains seats in a 2nd row you'd have to upgrade to the Durango which I think are lovely BUT you loose the MPGs the Journey has to offer MPG is more important than captains seats for our family because we live so far from everything.

I've had my Journey for 7 months now and have no complaints and its my favorite car I've ever owned. We have had 10 vehicles between DH and I in the last 9 years

We just took a 3 1/2 hour road trip a couple days ago and DH and I both kept commenting on how the Journey is the best vehicle we've owned and it suites our needs perfectly!

Here's the carseat set up we had for the trip