Small SUV Suggestions - 15,000-20,000

jamiebrewha · Jul 5, 2008

We are looking at a new car as we are expecting in Februrary (so we have plenty of time to buy).

We have a Radian 65 for DS (who is 18 mos and 25 lbs, rear-facing).... and a Snugride for the baby that DS used. WE cannot fit them both rear-facing in my chevy cobalt. We have a Scenera as a back-up seat... so DH will be driving the cobalt, and will be able to fit the snugride and the scenera rear-facing in it. But I'm going to need a new car that can fit 2 rear-facing carseats (at least.. maybe 3 depending on how long DS can stay rear-facing and when we decide to TTC again).

I'm guessing there are probably some other seat options which I'm going to look into... but we also want a bigger vehicle for me with all the junk I end up lugging around.

We plan on buying used... would love to spend something between $12,000 and $17,000 but could go for $15,000 - $20,000.

I was considering the Hyundia Sante Fe... any other suggestions of things I should look at? Or thoughts on the Sante Fe? Thanks!

jen_nah · Jul 5, 2008

The Ford Escape (& cousin models), Chevy Equinox (& cousin models) and you can easily get a new one of these models for less then $20k.

BW1426 · Jul 5, 2008

Are you or DH tall or leggy where you need to have the seats back especially far?

My experience in my car shopping was that some of the smaller SUVs had less room for my carseats (FF Radian and RF Radian) than some of the midsize cars on the market.

I didn't test drive the Santa Fe, so I can't say anything about that.

I wasn't pleased with the way my seats fit in the Escape. I found the Saturn Vue doable. You may want to look into a Ford Freestyle as that would offer you extra seating should you need it, but if you don't need it you can fold the 2 rear seats down and have added cargo room. It still gets decent gas mileage, especially if you get it in front wheel drive.

jamiebrewha · Jul 5, 2008

Thanks for the ideas...

We're not particularly tall. My legs are a little long - but I'm only 5'5" so it doesnt make that much of a difference.... but I do sit with my seat almost all the way back - but i could probably adjust.

I'm not a big fan of how wagon-like the Freestyle and the Vue look....

maybe I'll have to give up and enter mini-van world... hmmm...

jen_nah · Jul 5, 2008

I just wanted to say the back seat on the Equinox can be moved forward or back up to 8" to allow more leg room for front or rear passengers.

Caseylaine · Jul 20, 2008

We have a 2001 Nissan Xterra, and I love it to bits. I'd love a newer one more.... but I dont have that much $$.

What I like about it is that the back seats sit higher than the front seats, so you get a bit of a stadium seating kind of feel. My husband and I tested out a LOT of other vehicles, and it seemed to us to be the most roomy and most utilitarian. Its NOT fancy, the newer ones are quite a bit nicer. But it serves its purpose and its not huge, but its not too small for the three of us, as well as a 110lb dog.

I did not like Escapes, they drove hard and just were too small for what we needed.
The Equinox was pretty nice though, as far as I remember.

If I were you I would get a consumer reports magazine/book about SUVs and check them out there. See what ones are rating well, and then see what fits into your life and budget and then test them out.

ETA: We test drove a Santa Fe, and while it was nice it seemed a bit too pricey for the quality of the vehicle. We were testing an older one though, maybe before the quality had gone up.

seamonkeys · Jul 20, 2008

Come to the mini-van world! ::cool!:

We got a Honda CRV (2004) right before DS1 was born, and then 2 yrs later I wanted a mini-van for DS2! I was kicking myself for not just going for the van in the 1st place!

We were able to get a used Ody (2001) for just under $15K!! Of course now I want to upgrade again to get a newer model! But it won't be happening for a while!

Small SUV Suggestions - 15,000-20,000

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