If you have 3 or 4 kids, what vehicle do you drive? Do you like it? Why?

[ChristusG]

We have a 2007 Nissan Quest. I love the design and how it rides and such. But the air cirulation is just. not. good. We spend the whole time in the car heating to death. Yes, I know it is Florida and it is summer....but we got into my parents giant conversion van the other day and that thing was cooled off in minutes. Our never seems to cool off.

 

Right now we only have two kids....but we'd like to have another sometime and then have another extra seat. We want something with lots of trunk space, something that fits car seats well, and something that has a great air conditioning system.

 

Do you love your vehicle? Why?

[TravelingChris]

I drive a Hyundai Sonata. It is fine for my family of three kids (two teenagers and one adult child). I don't mind having too small of a car to not to much driving duty. I am very happy with the amount of trunk space this car has. It is deceptively large.

[The*A*Team]

We have a Honda Odyssey and I think it is perfect! Plenty of room, leather seats are wipe-able and the dvd system is good. I think the gas mileage is ok, probably could be better.

 

We also have an Acura MDX with the 3rd row seat (that has never been used). I really love this car too, but it is our "nice" car and my dh drives it mostly. However we have 3 kids and it works perfectly for our needs also! It has a nice 3rd row, but we do not use it, it still smells new back there, lol. The gas mileage is not as good as we expected it to be though. We are actually considering a prius or something similiar for my dh's commute.

 

Christina

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

We have a Chevy conversion van. We LOVE it. It has 4 captains chairs and a bench seat in the back that folds down into a bed. It has vent windows through out and the back windows open at the bottom (they open out) to vent so air flow is amazing!!! We love it!

[Mom-ninja.]

Honda Odyssey. I like it. Car seats fit very well. DH complains about the driver seat not being comfy.

 

If I didn't have an Ody I would have a Toyota Sienna. I think the seats are more comfortable in the Sienna.

 

Both vans are great. Now, I'm waiting for the gas mileage to improve on these vans....

 

Oh, I have three boys (all 3 in car seats) and our 80lb dog can fit in nicely with us.

[AngieW in Texas]

We have a full-sized Chevy conversion van like wy kid wrangler. It's now 12yo and showing its age.

 

It's great to travel with, but is a pain to park. Once we're down to just one kid at home, we'll replace it with a little car.

[Mommyof4ks]

I love my Honda Odyssey! My current one is 7.5 years old, and I want a new fancy one with windows in the back that roll down lol. It has A LOT of room in the back and the back seat folds down into the floor. The seats are comfy and big so even the huge carseats fit with not problems.

[meena]

We have a Toyota Camry and a Honda Pilot. We have 3 children and are able to fit three car seats in the back of the Camry, although with our high-back boosters it's a tight squeeze and of course there's no room for other passengers. The trunk space is very ample.

 

We have only had the Pilot for a couple months and love it! The cargo area isn't huge with the back row up, but we manage to put two large hockey bags in there. The seats fold down easily if we need more cargo space. They are split 60/40, so you can adjust for your ideal cargo/passenger space. It isn't a behemoth and drives nicely, so I had no problem transitioning from sedan to SUV.

 

We are in FL also, and don't have a garage so our cars get extremely hot. Both vehicles cool quickly. The Pilot has vents in the middle and back, so the air gets dispersed quickly. I like that with the Pilot you can set a temp # and it will automatically cool to that, or you can manually set to whatever temp/fan speed you want.

 

A few years ago we leased a Honda Odyssey and liked it a lot. If you are looking at minivans, I would recommend it highly.

[charmama4]

I drive a 1989 GMC suburban and our A/C is 4/60 (4 windows down at 60mph :lol:) No, seriously I love my Sub. It has more cargo space than the newer ones. Oh! we have 4 kids, a medium size dog and we tent camp alot!

[dirty ethel rackham]

We have a 2000 Toyota Sienna. It has climate controls for the front and back, so everyone gets comfy pretty quickly. Our other car is a Pontiac Vibe (all 3 kids can fit in the back, but not for long trips:)) and it cools off very quickly.

[AnitaMcC]

We had a Dodge Durango for eight years and I loved it... just not the gas mileage-LOL. The third row seat was a bit tight in leg room so not really good for adults to sit back there. When it was time to get rid of the Durango we looked at minivans.

 

We now have a Chrysler Town & Country touring. It is very nice. Lots of flexible sitting room, lots of storage space (we have the stow and go). It rides nice and has good gas mileage. We had to get the power option because without the movable pedals... I couldn't reach them without being literally sitting against the steering wheel. The power driver seat and pedals come only in a package deal so we got the power doors also. They are nice but can be annoying on windy days and the sensors think the force of the wind is someone in the door path.

[rafiki]

.

[simka2]

4kids, great dane, horse stuff, sport stuff, hauls huge pop-up and horse trailer!!!! We love it!!! has front and rear a/c. :)

[Carrie12345]

I have a 2003 Town and Country, and I like it a lot. I can't put a rear facing car seat behind the driver's side comfortably, and I hate being the passenger with the RF behind me (I'm 5'8"), but the kids have plenty of room. And the captain chairs make it somewhat easy to help 3rd row kiddies when needed.

 

Being a 2003, I don't have the stow-and-go seats. That option would have come in handy when we only had 3, but I've heard that those seats are actually smaller, and not very comfortable for the average adult.

 

Dh can actually fit the three oldest kids in his Prius pretty comfortably (2 booster seats and a seat-belt-only kid... who happens to be skinny). Trying to fit 3 with the full-sized car seat and at least one booster is less than comfortable.

[DarlaS]

I have a Chevy Traverse. It seats 7 (8 if you get the 2nd row bench seat). I love it because it is comfortable, reasonably attractive, is NOT a mini-van, and really goes when I step on the gas.

 

It also has a 21 mpg average, which is not bad for a 2.5 ton vehicle with 18" wheels.

[In2why]

I have a Ford Conversion Van with the Captains Seats and bench in the back.....and I LOVE it. So much so that I am waiting for DH to get her a new transmission. It isn't great on gas, but there isn't another vehicle out there that allows me to schlep the kids, pets, and myself around as well. I also love the DVD player with headphones so that when we go on long trips the kids can watch a movie while DH and I can actually hear each other talk. It has separate AC in the back so I haven't noticed any problems with it getting cool. The only problem it has is that sometimes I feel I am driving a sailboat if it is really windy.

Oh I forgot the reason we bought it in the first place......my 2 oldest are now 6'2 and 6'3 and by age 12 I knew that they were going to need somewhere to put their legs besides up around their ears.

Edited July 11, 2010 by In2why

[The Girls' Mom]

Well, I drive a little Kia Spectra. And with 3 tall girls that are quickly getting even taller, the back seat stays a little cramped.

 

That said, I LOVE my car, and it has a HUGE trunk. Great gas mileage too. I do think we'll eventually head back to the mini-van scene only because I really miss being able to bring extra kids along to things.

[KathyBC]

Has it always been like that or does it need the A/C recharged?

[Jan in SC]

I have a 2008 Honda Odyssey. It's fine. The trunk doesn't hold tons, but I can remove a seat for trips. It is loud on the interstate. (Can you tell I'm not excited about this car!)

[K-FL]

2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT--meaning it's the extended version w/dual a/c. LOVE IT! Has the stow-n-go seats which is great since we leave the one behind the passenger stowed 99% of the time for easy entry for the back. Gives 6'1" ds lots of leg room.

[LizzyBee]

We have a Nissan Quest too, and I absolutely love it. We've been having 100 degree days in NC, and our van gets cool. Is it possible your AC needs recharged or a part replaced? Even replacing the whole AC system would be a heckuva lot cheaper than buying a new van.

[fairfarmhand]

DON'T buy a kia sedona. We have one and it is a lemon. In the past 6 months it has been in the shop twice. We got it back from the shop on a Friday and on Wednesday the next week the DOOR FELL OFF! The big sliding door on the back fell off. WE found out later that the hardware that holds the door on is plastic and will need to be replaced.

 

It has lower mileage than any of our other vehicles but has more trouble. They are inexpensive, but there is a good reason for that!

[Lovedtodeath]

I love my stripped down full sized van. I can walk around inside of it and the kids can all be separated. It is luxurious.

[Radish4ever]

We just got a Toyota Corolla to replace our Ford Windstar van that was dying... I love it bc of the fuel efficiency and the back seat safely accommodates our 3 big carseats!

[secular_mom]

I drive a Suburban, I just don't see us fitting into a mini-van with 4 kids and all the 'stuff' (groceries, camping, traveling, etc.). We love it.

[Wheres Toto]

I drive a Suburban. It actually belonged to DH when we were married but there are very few cars out there that would meet our needs.

 

We need something that can fit an adult size person next to two full size car seats, tow an 18 foot boat, have enough cargo space for camping equipment and a Samoyed. We do a lot of long drives so we usually have the third row in so our teenager can stretch out and sleep. :D Even with the third row in there is about 4-5 feet deep of cargo space.

 

Usually our Suburban cools off wonderfully. We have separate controls for the front and back, with eight vents in the ceiling - two on each side over the second and third row seats - and four in the floor, including two in the cargo area. I say usually because 1/2 way through North Carolina (on our way to Myrtle Beach) this morning it completely died on us. The car is 7 years old and has about 125,000 miles on it and the AC has never been serviced. :tongue_smilie:

[babysparkler]

We have a Plymouth Grand Caravan Minivan, but are planning our next vehicle to be a Honda Odyssey:driving:.

[Saille]

We have had two Honda Odysseys, and loved them both. The first was one of the very early ones with car doors in the rear instead of track doors. It was 13 years old when we traded it in, and still going strong. The one we have now is a 2002. Despite being bigger, it's mileage is comparable. The track doors have been known to freeze in our cold winters, but that's been my only complaint so far.

[Guest tempestjewel]

I have 3 DC's and we have a 2005 Toyota Sienna. I love this car! We have the eight passenger version, and it is so flexible. Good air circulation.

 

We bought it used, and the original owner got a model with a rear-seat audio system. I don't care for TV in the car, but being able to let my DC's listen to something in the backseat on headphones while I listen to something else up front has saved my sanity more then once :tongue_smilie:

[LizzyBee]

WE found out later that the hardware that holds the door on is plastic and will need to be replaced.

 

 

Wow! I asked dh, an ex-mechanic, if that's normal. He said, "I don't know if that's even legal, and it sure doesn't sound safe."

[kokotg]

We have a 99 Toyota Sienna, and it's still going strong with 175,000 miles on it. We just took it on a 2000 mile round trip road trip in fact. We toyed with the idea of getting something smaller next time, but I just don't see how it would work with 3 kids plus assorted dogs, bikes, etc. So we'll probably be looking for another Sienna sometime in the near future.

[rwjx2khsmj]

We have a 2003 Chevy Venture. It seats 8 and has plenty of cargo space behind the rear seat. Enough for a week of vacation stuff. I love my paid for van and plan to drive it until the wheels fall off or the dc all move out.

[littleWMN]

We just got a Toyota Sienna 8 passenger van and love it! I have four kids from 9 to 4 months.

[RoughCollie]

I drive a Navigator. I want a Suburban because it holds a lot more stuff.

[JenneinCA]

We have a brand new Mazda 5. It seats six with everyone in their own captain's chair. It drives like a car, fits in a compact parking space, and gets decent gas mileage.

 

We are loving it. It is like a mini-minivan. The one thing it does not have is trunk space. But I don't need trunk space nearly as often as I need to fit in a parking space!

[mommydearest]

Honda Odyssey EX-L. Hands down!

[texasmama]

2007 Honda Odyssey. Love it - comfortable, rides well, good handling, good maintenance record, fair gas mileage. We have four kids. Lots of space in the back area. Back seat folds down easily.

[ChristusG]

Wow, thanks for all the replies everyone!!! Now I'm off to do some vehicle research!! :D

[ma23peas]

I am really surprised in all the homeschooling families posting so far that I'm the first one to say PRIUS!!!! We have 3 children..so most the time it's just me driving them around...our other car is a 2000 Sienna and now my husband drives it to work..he drives 20 miles a day, some days I go 100!!

 

It was a slam dunk, there are MANY cars I would "like" for our family, but seriously crunching the facts there was no other choice...we traded in our Toyota Tundra (have horses but we really don't tow them anywhere yet and probably won't for awhile) for the Prius this January..simply taking the miles we travel a year (30,000+ on one car and about 15k on the other) we save over $5,000 a year on gasoline alone. We traveled to Europe this summer and seeing the cost of petrol in Italy/France/and how ridiculously large our cars are over here..it's simply a matter of time before our gas jumps to $4.00 a gallon and never drops below that..my guess is in about 18 months...so I would buy a Prius or something similar now before the demand drives their price up...we got an awesome trade in on our Tundra and only had to pay 17k for a new Prius with some upgrades....the gas we save each year will pay it off in 3 years....I'm averaging 54 miles to the gallon...amazing! In 2012 they're coming out with a generation Prius that will get 100!! :) Off my soap box now, my son is 6' 200 lbs and my girls are already 5'6 at age 12! No complaints on the comfyness! :)

 

Tara

[Denisemomof4]

well, cars have been a topic of discussion and research for months here. We wanted a Suburban but were disappointed to see the cargo area got smaller. We also were nervous about spending huge bucks on a car that we had previously had so many issues with.

 

I had an 07 Pilot. HATED IT. We are a tall family. I need 4wd just to get home some days. We NEEDED space so we were going to buy another Suburban, UNTIL we checked out the 2011 Pilots. LOTS more leg room, more cargo area. For us, we're losing one son, another is getting up there. We weren't sure we'd REALLY need all that space of a Suburban, so we finally got a fully loaded Pilot. I was shocked at how much room there really was, compared to my older one, after my first trip to the grocery store.

 

I'm a car person. I've always loved my cars. My 2011 Pilot is, by far, my favorite car! I like it more than the Suburbans! I can't BELIEVE the way it handles! I used to drive Porche's and I've never driven a car that hugged the road like a Porche until I got my new Pilot. The interior is SO nice. I *love* it!

 

We did a LOT of research, a LOT of reading about all different vehicles. We are thrilled with our choice, and thrilled that it's gotten better on gas. Once you reach 40 MPH 2 - 3 cylinders shut off to conserve on gas.

[musicmommy]

We recently got a 2001 Suburban and absolutely love it. I told my dh that I really wanted a minivan inside with a SUV outside. We were able to get a great deal on ours and it has 2nd row captains chairs so we don't have to flip seats. We've taken it on a couple of road trips and it's been great!

 

Our other vehicle is a 2010 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. It's a 4 door and easily fits all 5 of us. We've always been a Jeep family and when dh was looking for a car for him for work, we just could never make the decision to purchase something else. We still have our '94 Jeep Wrangler that we drove away from our wedding in. I love my driveway right now. :D

[twoxcell]

We have 4 kids, and drive a Kia Sedona. Love it so far.

[katemary63]

We have a brand new GMC Acadia (six months) and I love it. It is the lightest of the bigger "crossovers" and gets excellent gas milage. The reason we picked it was that it was the biggest vehicle that qualified for the Cash for Clunkers deal. I had never even heard of it before that. It seets 7 or 8 depending on bench or captains seats in the middle row. We got captain's seats. The seats in the back third row are not super comfortable but the kids have never said anything and like sitting back there. They are VERY easy to lay down or raise when you need more cargo space. I just love it. The BEST think about my new Acadia is that it's purple and matches my purse and shoes! :lol:

[smrtmama]

Kia Sedona minivan. LOVE IT! So much space inside, handles remarkably well for the size, and I was pleasantly surprised by the gas mileage.

[DarlaS]

We have a brand new GMC Acadia (six months) and I love it. It is the lightest of the bigger "crossovers" and gets excellent gas milage. The reason we picked it was that it was the biggest vehicle that qualified for the Cash for Clunkers deal. I had never even heard of it before that. It seets 7 or 8 depending on bench or captains seats in the middle row. We got captain's seats. The seats in the back third row are not super comfortable but the kids have never said anything and like sitting back there. They are VERY easy to lay down or raise when you need more cargo space. I just love it. The BEST think about my new Acadia is that it's purple and matches my purse and shoes! :lol:

 

I love the Acadia. The GMC Acadia, Chevy Traverse, Buick Enclave and Saturn Outlook are pretty much the same vehicle. I like how it's almost an SUV.

 

Is yours tricky to back up? Even with the rear camera, backing this thing up is kind of hard to get used to. DH has more of a problem with it than I do--I use the mirrors. It looks like the Acadia got a bigger rear window though which would improve visibility a bit.

[KidsHappen]

We have a Chrystler Town and Country. I love everything about except that we have the same problem with the cooling. If we are driving on the interstate it's freezing inside but if we are drving small distances or are stuck in traffic then it warms up considerably.

[happygrrl]

I drive a 1989 GMC suburban and our A/C is 4/60 (4 windows down at 60mph :lol:) No, seriously I love my Sub. It has more cargo space than the newer ones. Oh! we have 4 kids, a medium size dog and we tent camp alot!

 

What is your gas mileage? I keep talking Suburban with dh (we live very rurally and are about to get a med. size dog). He throws out the gas mileage thing (he isn't as sold on them as I am, lol) but h has no figures to back it up.

[happygrrl]

I am really surprised in all the homeschooling families posting so far that I'm the first one to say PRIUS!!!! We have 3 children..so most the time it's just me driving them around...our other car is a 2000 Sienna and now my husband drives it to work..he drives 20 miles a day, some days I go 100!!

 

It was a slam dunk, there are MANY cars I would "like" for our family, but seriously crunching the facts there was no other choice...we traded in our Toyota Tundra (have horses but we really don't tow them anywhere yet and probably won't for awhile) for the Prius this January..simply taking the miles we travel a year (30,000+ on one car and about 15k on the other) we save over $5,000 a year on gasoline alone. We traveled to Europe this summer and seeing the cost of petrol in Italy/France/and how ridiculously large our cars are over here..it's simply a matter of time before our gas jumps to $4.00 a gallon and never drops below that..my guess is in about 18 months...so I would buy a Prius or something similar now before the demand drives their price up...we got an awesome trade in on our Tundra and only had to pay 17k for a new Prius with some upgrades....the gas we save each year will pay it off in 3 years....I'm averaging 54 miles to the gallon...amazing! In 2012 they're coming out with a generation Prius that will get 100!! :) Off my soap box now, my son is 6' 200 lbs and my girls are already 5'6 at age 12! No complaints on the comfyness! :)

 

Tara

 

We drive a Jetta TDI for this reason. 48 + mpg!!! IT is getting pretty torn up though from our road, and we can't drive it for the few months we have to have 4WD. We are trying to find another vehicle and reserve the Jetta as a "town" car.

[katemary63]

I love the Acadia.

Is yours tricky to back up?

 

Actually this is one fact I didn't think to mention because I am an excellent backer. (I drive trucks with trailers and back them all the time.) So the small back window doesn't bother me. However, my daughter hates backing the Acadia because of the small window, even with the camera. I would say that for the average person, backing it is not exactly easy. It wouldn't stop me from buying the vehicle though, you just have to go slow untill you are used to it.

[EarleneW]

We have a Ford Expedition and a Pontiac Montana Van. I LOVE my Expedition! Tons of room and not much worse gas mileage than the van.