WWYD? 2 car seats + adult in backseat = minivan or lg sedan?

We need to replace one of our cars NOW and I want to be able to keep the car 4+ years.

We're only at 1 car seat + adult in the backseat right now but we're planning to add a 2nd Dc to our family. We also have visitors 8-12 times a year bumping us to 3 adults + 1-2 car seats. Too often to justify renting each time, but is it enough to justify driving a minivan regularly? I feel like a minivan is overkill for 2 adults and one toddler because Dc#2 is not even on the way yet. OTOH, I don't want to change cars again when we get pg.

Are there any sedans with backseats to fit 1 adult + 2 car seats comfortably? Seats would be Companion and RA for starters. I'd consider a radian and sedan combo if it would really be comfortable.

I'm looking in the 4-6k price range, closer to 4k or under is better. Used Taurus, Ford Windstar? Other ideas?

Well, we LOVE our Ford Windstar, and there's only two adults and one child in our family. I also considered a Taurus (your price range is about what ours was; 5K was our max; we bought the 99 Windstar for $4300), but my main reason for going with a sedan over a van was gas mileage, and honestly the Taurus isn't that much better than the Windstar in that respect, so we went with the van.

I love being able to take out the third row and have tons of cargo space for camping and road trips. I love being able to transport dd's friends when I need to. It's difficult in sedans sometimes because if I kept Hayley in the center it was usually a lapbelt in the cars we could afford, so it had to be a harnessed seat. As she got older very few harnessed seats would fit, and the ones that did made fitting boosters outboard next to her for other friends hard.

I also feel safer in the Windstar than in a Taurus, even though both get good scores for older vehicles, I feel a minivan is usually safer. You're usually sitting higher up and usually sitting a bit farther from the sides of the vehicle (middle row captain's chairs sit closer to the center of the vehicle anyway).

If I KNEW I was having a second child and knew I'd need to fit two carseats plus another adult comfortably, or two carseats plus children's friends sometimes, I'd want a minivan.

I want a minivan for all the reason Scatterbunny lists, and like her we just have 1 DC. If I KNEW there will be a DC2, I would get a minivan.

A minivan would give you more space, but just to throw another one in the mix - I just replaced my 97 Toyota Camry, and I could definitely fit 2 adults/1 Marathon or 3 carseats, or a combination of that in the backseat, and all have shoulder/lap belts...it was tight with the seats, but we had an MA, Cargo, and Snugride back there...and its in the $3-4K range.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I find it really helpful to hear others' perspectives.

sdjeppa I do like Camrys but it would be two car seats and an adult not two adults and a car seat. We do take longer drives (1+ hours) with guests so I worry more about being smooshed than if we were just touring around town.


scatterbunny your post is exactly what I needed/wanted to know. Gas mileage is a factor in my equation, and I love the idea of a removable third row with tons of space for road trips/camping. We gave up on a road trip earlier this fall only because our car didn't really fit the trip very well. I think we'll be leaning heavily towards a Windstar now. :thumbsup:

Am I right in thinking that they have the best pre-2000 all-around crash test ratings? I love how the Windstar would fit our budget but I do have the option for a 2000 Sienna for 7k. I could make that work but I'm not really sure its worth the extra $. Opinions?

The 95-98 Windstar scored Good (highest score) in IIHS testing, but I believe those model years did not have rear headrests, only low-back bench seats. The body style changed for the 99-03 model years, the year I have, and scores from IIHS went down one level to Average. The 98-03 Sienna scored Good, as did the 99-04 Odyssey.

Reading the detailed description of the test explains why the score for the Windstar was "average" instead of "good": http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=114

And based on the comprehensive data compiled at InformedforLife.org for the 2003 model years (the earliest list InformedforLife has), the Honda Odyssey is safest, and the Kia Sedona, Toyota Sienna and Ford Windstar (in that order) are all solid contenders, as well.

Just based on browsing my local Craigslist, I can find 99-00 Honda Odysseys for 6-8K. I found 98-00 Siennas for 5-8K. I found 99-03 Windstars for 4-7K.

http://fueleconomy.gov/ is where I compare gas mileage for different vehicles.

I still debate with myself about selling the van and getting a small, more fuel-efficient car. If I can ever find one with a CENTER SHOULDERBELT to use a good booster for Hayley, one that will also allow two boosters or adults outboard, one that gets OKAY crash scores, at least--I might do it for awhile. I do too much around-town driving these days. I'm actually trying to convince Mark to drive the Windstar to work, so we can keep it for road trips and longer drives, so we can sell his old 93 Ford single-cab pickup and get a fuel-efficient car for my around-town driving. He loves vans, and doesn't want me to sell the Windstar, and I don't, either, but he wants to get rid of his truck and get a conversion van! The horror of it all... I can't have two gas-guzzlers; his truck is awful enough.

But yes, the road-trip-ability of the Windstar is phenomenal, I loved the 6-hour-one-way trip we took in August (my mom, 14yo sister, myself and Hayley, with third row removed for a weeks' worth of gear), it was so comfortable and fun, and I really do not think it would have been so nice if it were in my mom's 1996 Toyota Camry.

I'd definitely plan ahead and get a minivan.

I wrestled with this decision 1.5y ago, I had DD2 on her way, and I still felt silly getting a van. I made the last minute choice to get a used large Audi wagon, only to seriously regret it when DD2 was born. She had health issues and some had to sit next to her since there was a real fear she would stop breathing, I'm a small person but I very quickly grew tired of being squeezed next to two Britaxs. We ended up with a Sienna, lost quite a bit of money in the trade, and kicked myself throughly over not just getting a van in the first place. I am so happy with our van now, we actually have room to breath and spread out, sometimes I'll drive DH's car and it works with just me and the girls, but when we add all 4 of us and all our gear, it's tight.