SUVs

DH wants to buy another vehicle for our main vehicle. (Currently our main vehicle is a 2005 Saturn Vue. We're keeping the Vue as a backup vehicle and getting rid of our Mitsubishi Eclipse.)

I like the size of the Vue, he says maybe slightly bigger. Not huge though. So I'll take recommendations for both small and mid-size SUVs.

We have a 1.5 year old (RF-ing in Chicco Nextfit) and I'm newly pregnant again so we'll [hopefully] have a Britax B-Safe in there towards the end of the year. We also have 3 small dogs that travel in crates.

3rd-row seating option would be nice, though it won't be used on a regular basis, it would be a nice option to have. Also, we won't ever have to have both dogs & 3rd row at the same time.

I like sportier-looking SUVs, like the Kia Sorrento & Acura MDX.

Any suggestions? I don't even know where to begin with all the makes & models out there!

In summary, we are looking for:
- small or mid-size
- sportier look
- enough room for 2 kids, 3 small dog crates, and luggage
- 3rd row seating option would be nice, but not a "must-have"

Thanks so much!

Edit to add: We're also open to the option of a crew-cab pickup. (I know there's no 3rd-row seating in pickups.)

abbyful said:

Edit to add: We're also open to the option of a crew-cab pickup. (I know there's no 3rd-row seating in pickups.)

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If your looking at trucks be sure to check out the 2013? 2014 F150 I'll have to find out for sure what year FIL's is but that thing has a ton of room in the back seat.

Kegracin said:

If your looking at trucks be sure to check out the 2013? 2014 F150 I'll have to find out for sure what year FIL's is but that thing has a ton of room in the back seat.

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Everything in the latest body style has a huge backseat in the SuperCrew. Dh got one a few months ago and it's heavenly!

As for an SUV, my mom has a Ford Edge that's really nice. It doesn't have a third row, but three small crates would be no problem. It has lots of safety technology, including a blind spot sensor, something to keep you from getting too close to the car in front of you on the highway, etc.

I have a Flex, which I love the appearance of, but some people don't. It's pretty big, but it's front wheel drive or all wheel drive, so it drives more like a mid size. It's also not super tall. It does have a third row, and the same safety equipment has the Edge.

I would look at the Buick Enclave / Chevy Traverse / GMC Arcadia. It's rated by Informed For Life as the safest (statistically) vehicle.

http://www.informedforlife.org

sunnydayz said:

I would look at the Buick Enclave / Chevy Traverse / GMC Arcadia. It's rated by Informed For Life as the safest (statistically) vehicle. http://www.informedforlife.org

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I second this. We bought an Acadia when we decided to TTC #2 (due this May). We opted for captain's chairs and have an RF Radian on the passenger side and a B-Safe going behind the driver. (Though we might switch them; the B-Safe is perfect for me as the driver but DH can't decide if he wants a little more room or not). Cargo room is limited with the third row up but very nice when it's folded down.

You could also look at the new generation Ford Explorers, Ive not done a RF seat in mine yet but Im very happy with it other wise. I know there is a review of it on the blog and if you do a search you would also find few threads as there are a few other members with them.

I also second the Edge I love my MIL's its very CR friendly and the cargo space is large (we fit a dishwasher back there).

Sportiness is in the eye of the beholder, but the Mazda CX-5 has gotten good reviews for looks and car-like handling. It earned top scores in IIHS testing and is also recommended by Informed for Life. Not sure if it's got enough cargo room for you with the 3 dogs, but might be worth a look.

If you're open to truck then I highly recommend the Dodge Ram Crew Cab. The new body style, which started in 2009. (I can't speak for the older style pre -'09). Just make sure it's a CREW cab, not the quad. We originally had a 2004 Ram Quad Cab right before we brought our twins home, but we found that we'd be eating the dashboard with them behind us in their Baby Trend FlexLocs. So we got a 2009 Crew Cab. We didn't have to move the seats forward at all with the FlexLocs behind us. At 10 months they moved into Safety 1st Guide 65 Sports RF with a pool noodle for recline. There was plenty of space with the front seats all the way back. I hated those car seats though, so finally at 27 months they moved into Chicco Nextfits, still RF. We can put them on the furthest recline allowed for the RF position and the car seat just touches the front seat. We just traded in the '09 for a 2014 Crew Cab (can you tell we love our Ram trucks?!), which has almost the same backseat dimensions as the '09 with the only difference being the '09 has 39.4 inches of leg room, the 2014 has 40.3 inches. The only issue with the Nextfits in the truck is I really have to heave my 25 lb 34 inch girls up into the seat due to the deep seat on the Nextfit. It's not really that much of a problem, can just be a hassle sometimes.

We are also now in the market for a second car, hopefully a small SUV that fits the Nextfits really well or even a midsize car.

If I had 2 kids instead of 3, I would prefer a truck. We regularly ride in a chevy silverado and a f150 and I really like them. Even with 3 car seats, both forward and rear facing, I have plenty of room. I drive an suv with 3rd row daily, but I prefer the trucks.

Thanks for the input everyone! This has given me some great ideas on which vehicles to research.