Hellobee Boards

Are you thinking sedan if you stick to two rows? DH has a Volkswagen Passat and I’m actually shocked how much room the backseat has with two big car seats. Trunk space is good for. Sedan but not as good as my suv.

I normally drive a Nissan Versa which is small but roomy. Any time we travel out of town it turns into a clown car situation and we definitely can't take the dog. I'm driving a Nissan Rogue right now while I wait for my air bag to be fixed (Thanks Takata...) and I really like it. It drives like my Versa but has a little bit more room, plus the gas mileage is great.

I love my Chevy Traverse, AWD, 3rd row. We usually keep the 3rd row partially down for extra storage.

I wanted a Subaru, but my husband thought they were too sporty, so we ended up with a Toyota Venza that I really liked. We no longer have it because we've gone electric, but I would have kept that car, no problem.

I wanted something that was a bit higher than a sedan and that had a hatchback. We also looked at the CRV and a Jeep Liberty.

Subaru Outback! Can’t sing it’s praises enough. Tons of storage space, back seat space, safe, good gas mileage by doesn’t feel huge.

I have a Mazda CX-5. It has 2 rows and a roof rack. Our 2 dogs (lab and medium sized mutt) fit comfortably in the cargo area and we put luggage in a carrier on top. For as big a car as it is (plus I got the AWD version) it does really well on gas, and I'm able to parallel park it consistently (I street park during the day most days). Had it for 3 years now, and haven't had any issues. I picked the CX-5 because it had more cargo volume than the CRV and the Rav 4, so the pups would have plenty of space without needing to spend the money both for purchase and gas on a full sized SUV. The Forester was second on my list. I know there was a reason I liked the Mazda better, I just can't remember what it was. Anyways, I 100% recommend the Mazda, it's been great for me.

We're planning to get DH a new 2nd car after the New Year. It will likely be a Subaru Outback - have been eyeing it for years.
We've have two kids and two dogs as well, so I think it will be perfect.

@nana87: i also recommend the outback! We love ours and the only reason we upgraded to something bigger is we are expecting #3. It was great for two kids and a large black lab

The new VW Tiguan has an optional third row without being a huge hulking SUV.
If wagon, I vote VW golf alltrak or subaru outback.
Just keep in mind, with a lot of midsize SUVs with a third row, as soon as you put that third row up you lose practically all cargo space.

Eta: we have a vw GTI which we love. It has as much cargo space as some small to "midsize" suvs shockingly. But what makes it perfect is the addition of our Yakima roof rack. We can fit loads up there. We have a second kid on the way and we've contemplated a larger vehicle but we've decided that it makes more sense to rent a big SUV if we realllllly need space for road trips. Having a big car does NOT make sense in and around NYC. granted we don't have dogs. Just lots of stuff.

To echo shootingstar, the third row in SUVs is extremely useless in my opinion other than for short trips. We have an explorer with a third row and while it is nice when we are traveling locally with friends. You lose all trunk space when using the third row and the seats are not that comfortable. A truly useable third row only exists in the largest of SUVs.

As shootingstar said, buy what works for you every day and then rent as necessary.

Yeah, I agree with @ShootingStar: and @MACSUNSHINE: - I really don't think almost anyone needs a vehicle with 3 rows; they're bad for the environment and take up so much space and cost so much money. I always advocate for downsizing as much as possible and then on occasions when you do need more space you can rent. Otherwise you're paying an enormous premium (in car payments, insurance, and maintenance) for a huge vehicle you are only using like 5% of the time, the rest of the time it's sitting around taking up a lot of space.

We're also considering a new vehicle and focusing on station wagons and crossovers, so interested to see the replies on this. We are leaning toward a Prius V for our two kids and two dogs, since mileage is top priority. @MamaCate: Do you put luggage up on a roof rack or is there room in the back for dog + stuff?

We looooove the Ford Flex. It has a third row. It’s low to the ground like a car but similar size to a SUV.