hi...first visit with these forums...
I have 4 kids, 6 and under, so all in car seats/booster. I'm also a car seat technician. Right now I drive a 7 passenger explorer; we bought it thinking we were only having 3 kids (surprise! ha!), and at the time I could fit 3 carseats across the middle row. Now, I have my 3 & 5 year olds on the 3rd row (marathons, tethered), and my 6 year old (almost 7) and baby in the middle row in a booster and rf. It's such a pain for my 3 year old to be in that back seat, but it's the safest right now. And, I have NO STORAGE now behind the back seat. It fits my maclaren stroller and that's really it. Costco runs are super lame; we have groceries all over the car.
SO, I'm thinking I'd actually like a van! Something I never wanted because I learned to drive on a van...huge, bulky back then. I've held a grudge . My neighbor has a sienna and loves it; I'm eying those because before the explorer I drove a subaru forrester which I loved, but it couldn't fit 3 carseats across. I heard they drive more like a car, and she said her storage is great. However, I would love 8 seats; right now when we're all together (dh, me, 4 kids) we have only 1 open seat, which we're finding we're using ll the time with carpools, etc. AND, it HAS to be awd or 4wd. We live in Alaska, up in the mountains where there is a sign we pass that says not to go past that point without 4 wheel drive...and as I'm researching, I see that the sienna 8 passenger is front wheel drive only??? So...thoughts? thank you!
C
I have 4 kids, 6 and under, so all in car seats/booster. I'm also a car seat technician. Right now I drive a 7 passenger explorer; we bought it thinking we were only having 3 kids (surprise! ha!), and at the time I could fit 3 carseats across the middle row. Now, I have my 3 & 5 year olds on the 3rd row (marathons, tethered), and my 6 year old (almost 7) and baby in the middle row in a booster and rf. It's such a pain for my 3 year old to be in that back seat, but it's the safest right now. And, I have NO STORAGE now behind the back seat. It fits my maclaren stroller and that's really it. Costco runs are super lame; we have groceries all over the car.
SO, I'm thinking I'd actually like a van! Something I never wanted because I learned to drive on a van...huge, bulky back then. I've held a grudge . My neighbor has a sienna and loves it; I'm eying those because before the explorer I drove a subaru forrester which I loved, but it couldn't fit 3 carseats across. I heard they drive more like a car, and she said her storage is great. However, I would love 8 seats; right now when we're all together (dh, me, 4 kids) we have only 1 open seat, which we're finding we're using ll the time with carpools, etc. AND, it HAS to be awd or 4wd. We live in Alaska, up in the mountains where there is a sign we pass that says not to go past that point without 4 wheel drive...and as I'm researching, I see that the sienna 8 passenger is front wheel drive only??? So...thoughts? thank you!
C