Our sedan is on it's very very last legs, so we are looking at our next vehicle and trying to make a decision quickly. Planning to get some kind of smallish to mid size SUV.
If you have one, what do you have and what do you like or dislike about it, especially related to car seats and getting babies and toddlers in and out?
While I am not happy our car is dying, I am getting excited about a new (preowned) car! It's going to be so much easier to deal with the car seat!
clementine / 972 posts
We have an Acura MDX (I think it's considered midsize?). I love it. Drives super well, has a lot of room. But, I think what you'll find with any SUV, if you have an infant carrier in the middle seat, it can be a bit tricky. I have to get up into the car to put in or take out the seat. It seems to be easier for DH. I can't wait to get a convertible for the side seat!
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@Mrs. Lovejoy: that is specifically one of the ones we are considering. Did you look at the RDX at all? I like that it's smaller but am afraid it will be too small for a RF car seat. C is out of the infant seat anyway and we will prob out her convertible in the passenger side position with the new car anyway.
Can you not fit the infant seat in the side position?
cantaloupe / 6610 posts
My company gave me a 2013 Nissan Murano SL AWD (we get to use our company cars for personal use too and I put about 2500 miles a month on it for work so I drive it A LOT) and I could not love it more. It is super smooth, and I love all the fun amenities like the double sun roof (one over front and one over back seat). And I don't remember the safety ratings specifically, but that was one reason it was selected as one of the available cars on our list to choose from...They actually had a couple of people in the past year end up in accidents severe enough for their Muranos to roll and even with all of the glass on top because of the double sunroof, they walked away with no injuries.
So far, we only have one car seat in it...But it's the humongous Clek Foonf and we still RF and it's totally fine. No issues to report:)
ETA: I also really love the automatic back/hatch door lift, and it has spoiled me for life:) It will be a requirement on everything moving forward!
papaya / 10560 posts
I have a crossover--a Suburu Outback and LOVE IT. Handles excellent in snow/bad weather, plenty of room for my tall husband to drive, enough room in back seat with an infant seat and convertible seat, plenty of trunk space.
pineapple / 12526 posts
I have an 05 CRV and I love it! It's my second one (I had a 98 when we lived in the UK). I think it's considered a "compact" SUV. It fits my large RFing carseat (graco my size 70) and Ive done 3 across (1 RFing convertible, 1 FFing convertible and an infant bucket without a base). I find the height perfect for me (im 5'7) getting my 32lb toddler in and out and for getting our stroller in and out. I find carseat installation easy as well, since the back bench seat is flat.
Hondas also have the added benefit of reliability as well as being cheaper than (some, not all) other brands to repair (parts are cheaper as well as labor, due to the engine not being crammed together).
cantaloupe / 6059 posts
We have a Toyota Highlander and it's been a great car to tote both of our kids and all the things that accompany two small children! 
We have an infant seat and a fairly large rear facing Britax Marathon in and they fit well. Our large double stroller takes up the majority of the cargo space but it still comfortably allows for groceries at the same time.
It drives well in the snow and has been super reliable - no issues since I got it in 08. It also has some nice amenities that make it feel like less of a mama-car!
pomelo / 5789 posts
I have a Mazda CX-5. It has amazing gas mileage and the seats fold down flat. We have a giant recaro car seat in the middle that rear faces and I have no issues getting my 30lb 2 year old in and out. Also no visibility issues despite the fact that it's a huge seat. My friend with the same car just got into a wreck with 2 car seats in the back and not a scratch on either of her LOs.
pomegranate / 3401 posts
Another vote for the CRV!! We have a 2010 and I love it. I have a RF Diono in the middle seat and I do have to pop up into the car to get LO in and out but I don't mind it. I feel like the trunk space is awesome...it came with a divider and I can fit my BOB and Uppababy Cruz in there at the same time when using the horizontal divider. Plus I feel very safe while driving in it. Hondas 4 Life!
grapefruit / 4006 posts
We have the acura MDX too. I like it a lot but to be fair, I don't ever drive. so I can't comment on how it drives. No problems with getting lo in and out but I will say that the third row will be tough to get in and out of if there are 2 car seats because the second row can't fold down. My friend got the Infiniti SUV that has the second row slide forward so that the third row is easily accessible. But that may not be a mid size suv.
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
another CRV fan. I'm 5'11" and very comfortable in it. The only gripe is that i can't push the seats back further with rear facing car seats--i just want more leg room. The trunk space is small so if we have our stroller back there (not often, but we have an Uppababy Vista), there's not a ton of room for other stuff. I think when we have a second, we're going to have to get roof rails and mount our luggage on the roof to free up some space.
I definitely would not be happy bending over into a car to put E in and out, though. Yipes. I love the way it drives, though. It's not a lexus or anything luxury, but it's a smooth and comfortable drive with a nice, tight turning radius (i used to drive a matrix and a silverado, so....this makes me happy to make a u-turn easily)
pomegranate / 3329 posts
I think the Honda Pilot is considered a mid-Size. I really like it for our four kids, when we have all the kids it's too small though. I have I complaints!
hostess / wonderful apple seed / 16729 posts
I have the 2013 CRV and I love it!! I had an accord before and I feel much more safe in the CRV. I got the AWD option. It's real time AWD so it only kicks in when you need it (gas saver!). I love the Eco mode because I try to be more green. DH likes more power so he turns it off when he drives.
Can't comment on the kid aspect of it.
My best friend just got a 2014 CRV and she has a 1 year old. She loves it.
pear / 1852 posts
We have a 2007 Hyandai Santa Fe, and We're pretty happy with it. It's paid off, and we're hoping to get another 1-2 years out of it.
It's really easy to get the car seat in and out of, I can't imagine how hard it would be every day in a regular car. We were in one all summer while visiting, and it was awful!
I love our heated seats and dual temperature control.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
Thanks so much for all the comments so far! You have listed a lot of the ones we are looking at already.
@StbHisMrs: the Pilot is definitely bigger than we want- we plan on having two kids max, so don't think we need to go that big and we both prefer a smaller car to drive, but I do hear great things about that one.
@SleepyMonkey: I don't see us using the third row very often at all so I am not worried about accessing it- more about accessing the car seat (s) in the second row. My BIL has one that we are going to check out.
Lots of love for the CRV. I was afraid it would be too small with a RF car seat but doesn't sound like it's an issue for the most part. Dh does push the seat back very far when he's driving though we looked at the Lexus RX and you can actually push the back seats forward or back based on whether you want more leg room or trunk space- genius! Not sure if that was only the new model though.
Seriously thanks all! I'm happy to see that ppl are happy with so many different options.
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
@Foodnerd81: I think I lost 2" of leg room with a RF car seat behind me. It's not awful, just not as stretched out as I like to be
pineapple / 12526 posts
@Foodnerd81: I don't ride passenger because it's my car, but I DH has never complained about it. Her seat is behind the passenger seat and has been in the middle a few times.
pomegranate / 3032 posts
like @lemondrop: we have a subaru forrester and love it! in fact we're considering trading in my soul for another one when we're ready for #2
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
We have a 2014 CRV and we love it! The price range, what's offered, the high safety ratings, the way it handles, are all reasons we chose it.
coconut / 8854 posts
We just bought a 2012 Toyota Rav4 and looooove it! the cargo space in the back is huge actually (we have 2 big dogs and they both fit back there easily) Plus the car is really comfortable itself also!
honeydew / 7091 posts
We have a 2013 Ford Edge, and I like it just fine (I'd rather drive a truck, so I can't LOVE it).
Right now we have a RF infant Britax in the middle, and a RF Evenflo SureRide on the passenger side. I could get a third RF carseat in there if I needed as well.
I track my gas mileage - I drive about 99% on city streets (rarely ever get on the freeway anymore) and get anywhere from 18 - 20 mpg. Up to 23 mpg when I get on the freeways.
The trunk is plenty large enough to fit my stroller and my monthly Costco trip. It fits stroller + 2 large suitcases and 1 large carry-on.
And then all the extras are wonderful of course, but you can pick and choose those with any brand I'm sure
blogger / coconut / 8306 posts
We have a 2008 ford edge. We bought it used and I echo everything @swurlygurl: said.
Ours is the Limited edition and I love my double sunroofs. The trunk is huge- I can fit our bulky stroller and two suitcases in it with room to spare. Great leg room in front and back. My husband is 6' and can comfortably drive with a RF car seat behind him.
I drive mostly city streets and get 15-17mpg but get 23-25 on the highway (which isn't often).
clementine / 972 posts
@Foodnerd81: We didn't look at the RDX. DH isn't a fan of that "size" SUV. I like it though! We didn't put the infant carrier in the side seat because I think it's safest in the middle. I definitely think it'd fit a lot better in the passenger side. We'll move our convertible there for sure.
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
We have a GMC Acadia, and while I love the style, the convenience (bucket seats for car seats), and how it drives, we have had a lot of mechanical/computer issues with it which are $$$ to fix since the whole thing has like 35 computer systems in it. More than any other vehicle I've had, so we are planning on trading it in very soon for something different.
I'm looking at the Ford Explorer or the Ford Edge (we might go smaller, which seems crazy since we have another baby on the way ha.) I had Fords before and never had issues.
grapefruit / 4418 posts
Love my CX-9! My sister traded in her MDX when #2 came along because she didn't feel there was enough room with 2 car seats.
pomelo / 5628 posts
I have a RAV4 and I really like the size, although I will probably go one bigger next time. Both the infant and convertible seats have fit with no problem and the back has tons of room for the stroller, etc. I'm smallish and I like how it fits me and that I have good visibility.
pomegranate / 3779 posts
I have a 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid and I've been very happy with it. I have a Chicco NextFit RF behind the driver's seat right now and have plenty of room to move the seat all the way back. (I am 5'11", so I like a lot of legroom.) We've put our backup seat (Graco Size4Me 65) in and still had room, but we had to straighten the seat up a bit. It has good cargo space in the back and we can easily fit our City Mini and several suitcases.
I'm a fan of the hybrid model because it has two 200 hp engines, so I really get the power needed for quick acceleration when needed, but don't have the gas consumption of a V6 or V8. I usually get about 27 mpg. We've only had 1 or 2 minor issues in the 5 1/2 years we have had this car. My only major complaints are the lack of handles near the windows in the back seat and the included GPS program is awful, which is a Ford issue, not specific to the Escape.
We will have to look at sizing up or getting some sort of roof rack/small tailgate rack when we have a second LO though, because we take our dog with us on a lot of trips and there isn't anywhere to put her if we put another carseat in.
nectarine / 2079 posts
I'm short so I love small SUVs. I currently have a CR-V, but I've also driven a Subaru Forester. No car seat issues (although my drivers seat is very far forward because I'm short) and it is easy getting LO in and out of the car. I have driven larger vehicles and it is such a struggle to climb in and buckle her in so I appreciate not having to do that in a small SUV.
squash / 13764 posts
We have an Acura MDX and like it a lot! We have LO's RF convertible (Peg perego primo viaggio, it is a BEAST) in the middle, with no visibilty issues and plenty of room on both sides for 2 passengers or two more carseats. It drives really nicely and there's a good amount of storage.
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