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We're a family of three (though we have one on the way) and bought a full size. I definitely think a mid-size would have been to small for us, but then again, we shop a lot and need cargo space lol. We were originally looking at the Mazda CX5 and ended up going with the CX9. Now I'm wishing I had just gone with a minivan (I know, I know...).

Honestly, if you have any thoughts on another child in a few years, unless you're leasing, I'd go for the larger one. But it all really depends on your needs.

@Modern Daisy: we are a family of three and im rive a Toyota matrix. It's been plenty big enough. We store our Bob stroller in the trunk, and I can squeeze groceries in around it or on the floor of the back seat. We have a maxi cosi car seat positioned behind the drivers side so that we can fold down the larger portion of the back seat for packing for trips, taking skis, etc.
the only issue we've run into is that my dad, who is the tallest person who has ever attempted to drive my car at about 5' 11" or 6' can't put the seat as far back as he'd like to or else it will touch the car seat.

We are planning to buy a used vehicle in the next year, and anticipate being a family of 4 in a little over a year, but are still going to likely go with a forester or RAV4. If I found the perfect used highlander I'd go for it, but I doubt I will.
We do plan to replace the vehicle with a larger svu or (maybe) a minivan by the time we have #3

What besides people do you regularly drive around? If you tow stuff, you probably want a truck, but barring that, I wouldn't get a SUV. I don't take a stroller with me in the 'burbs because it's a hassle, and our 2-door hatchback VW Golf is plenty big for all our other stuff, including huge car seats (usually just one, but I have put two in before and it has been fine). It's also easy to park, reasonably fuel-efficient, and has a lower center of gravity than any SUV, making it less likely to flip. I also like that it has excellent visibility. I've yet to drive a SUV that didn't have a significant blind spot. The Golf has enough trunk space for a massive Costco run (the kind where you have an embarrassingly full cart and have the paper towels and such filling the under-cart space) and just about anything else I want to haul around. I like its trunk space better than the CRV my parents have, because I think it is bigger, or at least better laid out with more usable space to stow our junk.

Unless you're planning to tow a boat or a trailer around, I would get a smaller car with a hatchback. Save some $$ and fossil fuels. You don't *have* to have a SUV in the suburbs!

@Silva: Good point (which I forgot to mention). I'm 5'9" and definitely need more room to push the seat back. LO is also tall, so we have a clek foonf, which is a beast of a convertible. Since he's still RF, I would never fit in a smaller car.

Even a car is plenty big for 3! I have a Honda CRV and its fine for us and will be for 4, too. I wish I had a little more leg room, but I'm taller than most

We had a midsize SUV and managed to get our one month old, all of our stuff (less a stroller and only one bag of groceries) and our two dogs (60 lbs and 35 lbs) to the beach for 4 days without any problems. It was totally doable. We have a Range Rover sport, which is a few inches longe in the trunk r than my old Jeep Grand Cherokee I think. What midsize are you looking at?

We have an Acura MDX. I love it - it's comfortable, drives like a car, and fits our NextFit rear-facing with enough legroom for my 6'2 DH. However, it's big, takes premium gas, and the gas mileage is poop. We take road trips to see family a few times a year and knew we'd be bringing kid stuff, golf clubs, camping gear, etc. and possibly driving in bad weather, so that swayed our decision. We really loved the Audi Q5 as well, but it was comparable in size to a sedan. It was go big or go home at that point. (Our other car is a Mini so I definitely see the advantages of both choices!)

We are a family of 3. My CRV is plenty big enough and would continue to be big enough if we had another.

Maybe if we had 2 kids, a big dog, and a trunk of groceries, then we'd have a problem.... But I can't see us taking a dog grocery shopping.

@loveisstrange: haha! I'm laughing thinking about taking a dog grocery shopping!

We have a Chevy Equinox, 2 carseats (britax marathon and peg prego bucket) a large dog, etc. and it's a fine amount of space. We will be getting a van when we have 3 because it would actually be to small then and also because vans are just way easier with more than 1 kid!

Currently, I drive a Kia Soul and my husband drives a Subaru Forrester. We have an 18m old and a 65lb dog. I do all the pick up and drop offs during the week and while its tight for a passenger we have RF car seat on that side. (I would not be able to drive if it was behind my seat) We use my husbands car on the weekends for the most part, he keeps the RF car seat behind his seat and has no issues (he's 6'). He's looking to trade his car in for the CrossTrek and my biggest worry is weekend trips to the beach we'll need to take both cars. When we have a 2nd child we'll definitely need to trade the Soul in for something bigger.

We needed a rental awhile back and ended up with the Mazda5. I really liked the set up but I'd prefer all wheel drive. When we went to the car show a couple months ago, the Ford Flex, Mazda CX5, Mitsubishi Outlander, Honda CR-V, Subaru Forrester and Outback all made our short list for replacing the Soul.

I really like comparing the models on Consumer reports. they do a really good job of illustrating the pros and cons of each car and make it easy to see the info side by side.

Congrats! We just bought our first car Friday, and it is certainly a nerve wrecking, exciting, and anxious time all at once. We currently have a 2 door Honda accord. Great space, but I can hardly get car seat in and out with my bad back, and it's tight since seats don't go all the way up or fold. So, we car shopped for a SUV for me. Baby is due in the summer, and won't have another for at least a few years. We looked at cr-v, rogue, escape, forester, and any other compact SUVs because we live in the city. Lots of paraell parking, and narrow streets. We ended up getting a new Jeep Cherokee Limited. It's bigger than the Compass, still drives like a car, and is super spacious! I've only had it about a week, but I love it! If we have another, and need more space, we will trade in the Honda. It's a 2001, with almost 200K miles on it anyways. But, for a family of three, and knowing you may trade in the older car down the road I see no need to jump into the full size market. That's also a higher gas bill I'd like to delay!

ETA: when our family visits from 10hrs away, they have their own car. And, once we get to the point of needing to car pooling we can upgrade our old car then.

@Modern Daisy: I live in New England, so I hear you on AWD/4WD for sure! Especially after this winter…..
My husband had an Audi All-Road and recently traded it in for a Lexus GS300 – both have AWD and are great in the snow. Not trying to sway you either way, and I love SUVs, but they definitely are not necessary when you only have 1 kid and the smaller ones are not tons bigger than a decent sized sedan or wagon-style car. I know the X3 isn’t that large either, so probably a better SUV choice for commuting too than larger models.

We have a forester and are looking for a new car.
There are four of us and a 60 pound dog.
It's fine for day to day stuff, but way too small for road trips.
We drove from Canada to Florida when DD1 was a year old and just getting luggage, stroller, pack and play, misc baby stuff was a tight fit.
We can fit the dog and a stroller (G-luxe, forget the UBV or double) in the back but not much else.