Vehicle help!

U

Unregistered

Guest
Hi- Looking for some advice on a new vehicle. I have 2 toddlers now with #3 on the way. My son is 3 1/2 and rear facing in a Diono Radian- but I do expect to forward face him in the next several months. My daughter is 18 months and rear facing in a Britax B-Safe (she is very petite) but about to transition to a rear facing Diono Radian. My husband has a Malibu which has to go. I have an Acadia with captains chairs- which I think has to go also. I can't put my son in the third row and climb over two rear facing car seats to buckle him on a regular basis.

I have looked at Traverse with second row bench seat, Santa Fe, Pathfinder...I am not sure what is best. The seats seemed to barely fit- it made me uncomfortable. Budget is not limited. I really really really don't want a minivan. Any suggestions?
 
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NVMBR02

New member
Can you fit a rear facing child in the 3rd row of your Traverse and load through the hatch? Or, if your Dh doesn't have the kids as often in his vehicle, maybe the Traverse you drive would work for him?

I can say that I love my Honda Pilot. We have a 2012 right now and it has been great. I have used it with many different combinations of seats and have always found a solution that works for me.

I will also say that a minivan is very convenient with little ones. We didn't get the Pilot until my youngest was almost 3, but had she been a baby (or not yet born) we may have gone the route. I would at least test drive one and try your seats in one to see how they fit.
 

Mags462

New member
The most car seat friendly mid size SUV i have encountered is the Acura MDX. I love that car and that's saying a lot because i HATE SUV's and totally love my Sienna but it's on my short list for next vehicles because it's that great :D

My BIL old style Honda Pilot is very car seat friendly as well, i just prefer the way the MDX drives :)
 

jess71903

Ambassador
You can make the Acadia work with 3. My friend has the Traverse set up the same as yours, and 3 kids. I would either start working on the 3 year old, teaching him to buckle himself and you just check and give further instruction if needed, or rear-face your other toddler in the 3rd row and load through the hatch (or, at least, buckle through the hatch).

If you do want another vehicle (as I do, so I'm looking), the Pilot tops my list (pre 2016), I currently have a 2005 Expedition, which I love, and can get just about any 3 across I can imagine in there. I understand not wanting to move to "beast-sized", though. I also had an Explorer that was pretty 3-across friendly, but it was the previous generation, and at this point, you'd have to go back several years (pre 2011?) to get one. The newer generation aren't great for 3-across.
 

Brianna

New member
Can you remove a captain's seat in the Acadia, put the newborn in the remaining captain's seat and the toddlers in the 3rd row?

What year Malibu? I have an 08- same as 08-12 and I would think with at least 1 Radian a 3 across would be doable.
 

brooksfamily

New member
We've got a 2011 Honda Pilot. The 2nd row bench is pretty wide and very car seat friendly. You could easily fit 3 car seats across and the third row actually accommodates 3 people, or 2 car seats. So it is technically an 8 passenger as long as you don't have more than 4 car seats in it. It's basically a minivan with an SUV body.
 

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