whats the best car for being a mom just NOT a mini van

[lovebug]

DH and i were talking about this. we are going to need a 'new' (maybe not new but new to us) car when he gets back from Iraq.

we want a car, truck, suv that will be great for parenting. we loved our Durango SUV, but the doors were so big that in parking spaces i would think getting a kiddo in and out would be hard. but like the idea of space for baby gear.

the reason why i say NO mini van is DH will not drive or buy one! i dont mind and love the idea. they have family friendly doors, space for baby gear and lots of room for people.

so my question is, what car has a mini van feel, thats not a mini van.

thanks mamas!

[noobmom]

There really isn't THAT much baby gear you need to carry around--and any car can fit it. Diaper bag, carseat, stroller (if you use one, DS wanted to be carried so we never used our stroller).

From your siggy it looks like you're TTC #1. How big of a family are planning to have? My sister seemed to think I would rush out to buy a minivan as soon as I was pregnant with #1, but personally, I don't understand the point of driving around in a minivan that can hold 7 people when it's 99% of the time just 2 or 3 people.

In your case, I'd look for a smaller SUV or station wagon. I love our Honda CR-V. We have 3 (soon to be 4) in our family and it's just big enough to hold us all plus one passenger if necessary. The back has plenty of cargo space. If we ever need to hold more than 5 people, I'll just rent a minivan.

[Drummer's Wife]

I'm not sure what to recommend (and really, with 1-2 kids - most vehicles would work well) but once you have 3+ kids, your DH just might change his mind . Mine was just a few minutes ago saying how he missed the convenience of our remote powered sliding doors on the madza mpv we had (we now drive a 7-seater Nissan Pathfinder and a Subaru outback).

I think as long as you get something with 4-doors and a decent sized trunk you'll be good. I know several happy 1-2 kid families who love their Honda Accords. Whatever you decide on doesn't have to be your forever vehicle. We have four kids, and since our 1st was born 8 yrs ago we have had 8 or so different cars (between the both of us).

ETA: as someone who is driving across Colorado at this exact moment (well, DH is driving) I would say geta 4-wheel drive vehicle if possible.

Oh, and I missed your feels like a minivan - what about a Honda pilot? Oddly enough, my DH has vetoed it b/c it looks too minivan-ish.

[lindberg99]

My friend got a new Ford Flex and she just loves it. Although they have only been out since 08 or 09? I'm not sure if that recent of a model is in your price range?

[34me]

I had a Subaru Outback Wagon until my kids were 9,12 & 14. The sa
e one since my second kiddo was 1. It was getting older and the kids are taller so I got a
Mazda 5 last year. It would have been awesome when they were younger too. It has sliders for passenger doors.

[blessedwithboys]

ford flex or mazda5

[sarah04]

We loved our Honda Civic until we had our 3rd baby, it really was great with 2 kids. Now we're looking at getting a Mazda5. By the way, the new Honda Fit (2009 or newer) is HUGE inside. It will fit 3 carseats across and has great trunk space!

[moaningminny]

We love our current Nissan XTrail, but our lease is up this month and we've decided to buy a Nissan Rogue.

[lovebug]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

I'm not sure what to recommend (and really, with 1-2 kids - most vehicles would work well) but once you have 3+ kids, your DH just might change his mind . Mine was just a few minutes ago saying how he missed the convenience of our remote powered sliding doors on the madza mpv we had (we now drive a 7-seater Nissan Pathfinder and a Subaru outback).

I think as long as you get something with 4-doors and a decent sized trunk you'll be good. I know several happy 1-2 kid families who love their Honda Accords. Whatever you decide on doesn't have to be your forever vehicle. We have four kids, and since our 1st was born 8 yrs ago we have had 8 or so different cars (between the both of us).

ETA: as someone who is driving across Colorado at this exact moment (well, DH is driving) I would say geta 4-wheel drive vehicle if possible.

Oh, and I missed your feels like a minivan - what about a Honda pilot? Oddly enough, my DH has vetoed it b/c it looks too minivan-ish.

yes in Colorado a 4-wheel drive is a must the snow and roads get bad here!

Originally Posted by lindberg99

My friend got a new Ford Flex and she just loves it. Although they have only been out since 08 or 09? I'm not sure if that recent of a model is in your price range?

we can spend up to 25,000 to 30,000 but would like to stay much lower if possible. we are willing to buy new, but for the most part buying new is not totally smart. cars drop so much in value as soon as you sign on the line and drive off the lot. so if we can buy used, with low miles and in good shape $$$ wise that would be better. it would be our main car so to spend a bit more is ok with us.

i have an Acura RL right now and love it, but it really has crappy trunk space! it would be hard to have a kiddos, stroller, groceries and another person. i watched a friends kiddos and it was hard to have them and their stuff in that car. so it will go to DH and i will drive the 'new' car.

to answer some of the questions. we keep our cars for a long time so this one we hope to last us for all the kiddos.

we plan to have 3-4 kids, so a larger car would be nice so that at kiddo 3 we dont have to upgrade.

[lonegirl]

We have a Dodge Durango and it is great for hauling stuff/people.

[lovebug]

Originally Posted by lonegirl

We have a Dodge Durango and it is great for hauling stuff/people.

is it really? we had one and i LOVED it, but the doors were so big and hard to opening them in a parking lot was hard.

i did love it though! it was by far my fav car we have owned!

[marrymeflyfree]

We don't dig the minivans, either...hubby has always said he'd buy an old stretch limo before a minivan if we had more kids. hehe We have an Audi A4 wagon and it suits us perfectly. It is functional and sporty and very comfortable, and really is just a joy to drive imo - and our's came with a free scheduled maintenance package, so we've yet to spend an extra dime on that stuff.

Performance stuff: I get 30mpg or better. It's a 4 cylinder, but has a zippy turbo engine and can really move if need be. The Quattro all wheel drive feels really secure no matter how much snow we get. It has the tightest turning radius of any car I've ever driven and is reeaally maneuverable. That and its smaller size lets me turn around easily and park in spots that SUV drivers can't touch!

Kid stuff: I'm sure a lot of the minivan and SUV moms would say my 2 kids and their car seats look a bit cramped, but they're quite happy. I could see upgrading to the bigger A6 wagon when they get to be tall teenagers, but they're totally fine for now - and I like that they're close enough for me to reach out and hold a hand or offer a toy at a stop light.

Stuff stuff: The cargo area is plenty big enough to carry our (large) stroller, a big mess of groceries, and a couple of extra bags and blankets and whatnot. The back seats fold down to extend the cargo area if need be (we don't have a truck or SUV and have used the wagon to haul big things from time to time). Being a wagon, it doesn't have a lip into the trunk that a car would nor is it high off the ground like most SUV's - so it's easy to get big/heavy things in and out, and very easy to lay a baby down for a diaper change on a roadtrip.

Comfy stuff: Heated seats! Before I ever had them, I'd have laughed at the frivolity of such a thing, but now I don't think I'd willingly do without them in a cold climate. And it is just comfy...long road trips are a breeze.

The downside is that they can be a bit pricey, and I doubt that I could do 3 car seats in the back. I can fit between my kids' 2 car seats, but 3 car seats would be pushing it for sure (although I think the current model is slightly bigger inside). The A6 would be better for more than 2. We ended up finding our's practically new on ebay motors and got a helluva deal, but we knew this is what we wanted and held out for just the right one. All in all, sport wagons are a great but often overlooked alternative to minivans and SUVs. They are incredibly popular in Scandinavia, where my husband is from.

[noobmom]

Originally Posted by lovebug

yes in Colorado a 4-wheel drive is a must the snow and roads get bad here!

we can spend up to 25,000 to 30,000 but would like to stay much lower if possible. we are willing to buy new, but for the most part buying new is not totally smart. cars drop so much in value as soon as you sign on the line and drive off the lot. so if we can buy used, with low miles and in good shape $$$ wise that would be better. it would be our main car so to spend a bit more is ok with us.

i have an Acura RL right now and love it, but it really has crappy trunk space! it would be hard to have a kiddos, stroller, groceries and another person. i watched a friends kiddos and it was hard to have them and their stuff in that car. so it will go to DH and i will drive the 'new' car.

to answer some of the questions. we keep our cars for a long time so this one we hope to last us for all the kiddos.

we plan to have 3-4 kids, so a larger car would be nice so that at kiddo 3 we dont have to upgrade.

It sounds like to me you want a minivan--nothing feels like a minivan and has the convenience sliding doors like a minivan except--yep, you guess it, a minivan. You've already tried a large SUV, which is the next best thing and you didn't like the size of the doors. A smaller SUV won't hold 3 or 4 kids in the long run. So, unless you want to get a smaller SUV now and pass it onto your DH when you have kiddo number 3 or 4 (which is what I would do), I'd just go ahead and get the minivan.

[LynnS6]

We have a Subaru Legacy wagon that I like a lot. You don't need a minivan with your first or second. My kids love them whenever we rent them, but we don't need one.

A small station wagon like a Subaru (there are others) gives you lots of good space in the back to store strollers and other stuff, plus doors that are small enough to make parking a non-issue. I park is some pretty tight spots in my garage at work. I like the Subaru because they are 4WD, but get decent gas mileage.

[Addy's Mom]

I'd recommend my Honda CR-V if you weren't going to have more than 2 kids. It's got the AWD you want, tons of room and compartments for gear (two glove compartments). It would "not" work with 3 kids, however until they were all out of carseats, and even then it would be a tight fit.

But it's in your price range new. Gets great gas mileage. Super-safe and super-reliable.

[staceychev]

Honestly, I've done fine with my compact car (1997 Saturn SL1) with one child for the past 4.5 years. As PPs have said, you don't have to lug that much stuff around. My years in NYC taught me that I'm much happier not being a pack animal, so minimizing baby stuff is always good for me. My DH drives a minivan (uses it for work), so we always have a big car that we can access if we need to carry a lot of stuff... which, by the way, is always house related and almost never child related.

Now, I'm not saying that you should get a compact car. In fact, if we had the money, we'd be buying me something like a RAV4 or CR-V right now with DD2 on the way. I'm just letting you know that you can get by with a lot less car than you think!

[Megan73]

Honestly, your current car should be fine for a long while.
I have a Honda Civic and it's fine with a toddler and I expect it will take us through a second child no problem - many of my friends with 2 are still driving compacts although a few drive Subaru or Volkswagen station wagons. People don't need HALF the gear they tote around for kids. My trunk could easily hold an umbrella stroller and a full load of groceries.
I live in a very snowy place, too, but have no problems with a good set of snow tires.
I'd made do for now - your husband will come around to the minivan when you have more kiddos

[Pavlovs]

The Mazda 5 is awesome! It seats 6 - two in the front, two in the middle, two in the back (or you can fold down the back seats for space for groceries or whatnot. It has minivan doors that slide, so getting the kids in and out is a snap. It's basically a mini-minivan. If I had the money I'd have bought one (they're not that expensive, but we live on a limited budget and didn't want to get stuck in car payments).

[Chryseis]

Honestly, if you're not willing to buy a minivan and you liked the Durango, why not get another Durango? All SUV's are going to have the larger door problem. It sounds like it would get you to 3 or 4 kids pretty comfortably, although it does seem to have a heck of a lot less cargo space than a minivan.

We were very happy driving our Honda Civic and Nissan Altima until very recently with our two kids (although we primarily used the Honda just because of better gas mileage). In both cars I was able to haul everything I needed (larger stroller, groceries, etc.) with plenty of room to spare. Both convertible carseats fit quite well in both cars.

When we decided to have the third we did upgrade to a minivan. Partially to fit the third carseat, and partially because my parents moved closer and we tend to have extra passengers more often. We looked at a few crossovers and SUV's and really found them lacking compared to the minivan. We felt like we'd be paying at least 5k (and quite often 10k) more for fewer options, less space (both cargo and legroom) and worse mileage.

Frankly, either way you go, SUV or minivan, you're still driving a people-mover and you're still going to look like a soccer mom.

[lolar2]

Pretty much any old car is fine with just one child. So I'd keep your current car for now, and get a new one when you're pregnant with the second child. You can get strollers that fold very compactly.