SUV recommendations

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shanniesue2

New member

• Mar 8, 2014

• #1

My husband is looking for an SUV to replace his current vehicle. We have a strict 15K budget. He is looking for a vehicle with less than 100K miles. He is adamant that the vehicle have AWD/4WD. And we need to be able to fit 2 Britax b-safes (having twins in less than a month) and either one turbobooster or one Frontier (frontier must remain in harness mode for another pound and a half, but my vehicle has a 3rd row tether anchor, so if hubby's vehicle doesn't, we will put the turbobooster in his car). We prefer a 3rd row, and it would be nice if the 3rd row was a split seat so that our 6 year old can just climb in from the back.

We have looked at the following:
Mazda CX9--current top choice, but hard to find a AWD that isn't more than 5 hours away
Nissan Pathfinder--infant seats wouldn't fit in the middle seat
Honda Pilot-- infant seats wouldn't fit without moving front seats too far forward
GMC Acadia--seats fit well, but husband is concerned about reliability reviews

So aside from those, what recommendations do you have for us??

 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member

• Mar 8, 2014

• #2

What do you mean the infant seats won't fit in the second row?

 

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shanniesue2

New member

• Mar 8, 2014

• #3

we had to move the front seats too far forward for the infant seats to fit.

 

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emntheboys

New member

• Mar 8, 2014

• #4

Were the 2nd row seats all the way back in the Pilot? You can also gain room by having the front seats more upright. Takes a little getting used to but it is actually safer as well. There should be plenty of room for your B-safes in there...:scratcheshead:

We've had our Pilot for almost 2 years now ('08 SE model) and it has been wonderful. It has very versatile seating- top tethers for all seats, lap/shoulder belts for all seats, headrests for all seats, and 3 row curtain airbags. The AWD is phenomenal in the snow. We get pretty decent gas mileage for an AWD SUV as well (18/23). We have all of the maintenance records for it since it was new- the only things it has had done besides routine maintenance is a headlight bulb and a new battery in the keyfob. We put new tires on at 60k. I really can't say enough good things about it!

IME you will hate the rear doors of the CX-9. They are HUGE and you have to have a lot of space beside you to be able to get them open far enough to get an infant seat out.

 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin

Staff member

• Mar 9, 2014

• #5

That's what I was thinking. The Pilot is essentially just as roomy as the CX-9, but unlike some midsize SUVs, the 2nd row seats can move fore and aft to create more legroom. I have some photos and videos here:

http://carseatblog.com/14535/2012-honda-pilot-review-kids-carseats-safety/

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4oL5qwEj30#t=97"]2012 Honda Pilot Legroom - YouTube[/ame]

 

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shanniesue2

New member

• Mar 10, 2014

• #6

The pilot we looked at was a little older... 2008, I think. Can you still move the 2nd rows back on that? And when you move the second row back, what does that do to leg room for our son who would either be in a convertible or a booster?

 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin

Staff member

• Mar 10, 2014

• #7

I think the 2008 is essentially the same, but their could have been minor changes in the refresh. Whether you can adjust it to work as well as the CX-9, I don't know. One advantage for the Pilot is that if your child in the third row is in a harness, the Pilot has top tether anchors there, whereas the CX-9 does not.

 

gagenivy

New member

• Mar 11, 2014

• #8

I haven't heard great reliability with Acadians. My husband's cousin just talked us out of one (she is a dealer).

 

Cath3114

New member

• Mar 11, 2014

• #9

I have an Acadia with captain's chairs. I have a RF Radian in one and a B-Safe ready to go in the other in a few weeks. We've had zero issues and I drive between 80-100 miles every day.

 

wavegal

New member

• Mar 12, 2014

• #10

I agree with others i have an '06 pilot and a graco snugride35 and britax chaperone without issue. the chaperone was tight but the snugride never had an issue, the second seat does move back in that body version. there is a rod under the seat front you lift and push back the seat.

If you put the forward seat in the center you may be able to fit all 3 across the second row in the pilot

 

aeormsby

New member

• Mar 13, 2014

• #11

gagenivy said:

I haven't heard great reliability with Acadians. My husband's cousin just talked us out of one (she is a dealer).

Click to expand...

Cath3114 said:

I have an Acadia with captain's chairs. I have a RF Radian in one and a B-Safe ready to go in the other in a few weeks. We've had zero issues and I drive between 80-100 miles every day.

Click to expand...

We have a 2007 Saturn Outlook which is the same vehicle and haven't had any issues with it. I guess it doesn't have a ton of miles (less than 50,000 since we bought it new 6.5 years ago). But other than replacing the battery and oil changes once a year (because we put so few miles on it) the only thing that we had to fix was one of the electric windows not working (and we've done that a couple of times on our 10 year old truck too).

 

canadiangie

New member

• Mar 13, 2014

• #12

I would keep it simple and get a Pilot. Put all three kids in the 2nd row. You can fit just about anything across the 2nd row.. Right now I have two Britax Parkways side by side (middle and passenger), with a rear facing Peg convertible behind the driver. You could easily do two B-Safes side by side (belt lock-off on base will be so nice with a pre 09 Pilot 2nd row middle belt), and then whatever harnessed seat your oldest is in in the remaining seat.

Eta- I see its a Frontier. That will be fine with the B-Safes. Use the seatbelt to install and bump it just a hair towards the door.

 

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shanniesue2

New member

• Mar 14, 2014

• #13

It's so weird b/c we've had so many recommendations for a pilot, but the front seats had to go so far forward that even the passenger would have knees in armpits. Maybe we'll have to find another one to test and play with it more.

As for the carseats... DS has a turbobooster for one car and the frontier for the other. He weighs 38.5 pounds, and will ride most frequently in my minivan, so I think that's where the frontier will be.