For those of you who are regulars here, don't get too excited by the title. No, no one's expecting here. Cara with her three and me with my two are about all we can handle right now between school, activities and jobs.
One of the side effects to Baby Bunching (that we're recently discovered) is the carpool. Following my own advice, I have befriended so many other Baby Bunchers with their kids in rapid succession that pick up/drop off from activities and school often means double the kids--way more than my Toyota RAV-4 can handle right now. Even with one extra child, you'll often find me loading people in and cursing as I try to tilt one booster one way and jam the seat belt in while the child is huffing and puffing from having to "suck in" to get everyone placed just so.
We have been talking about a new car in the future anyway so we're not upgrading JUST for the carpool factor, but I must admit the idea of being able to throw more kids/carseats or perhaps a grandparent or two in the car is a huge factor in a new car purchase.
I will never be a mini-van mom. No matter how many times Cara has tried to tell me how much she loves her van, I still catch her preferring to drive her CRV when kids aren't in tow. You all may feel free to chime in and tell me I'm crazy for not even considering one, but I'm not. So let it go.
We're deciding between the Mazada CX-9 and the Toyota Highlander based on reliability, price, gas mileage, driveability (aka speed), ability to turn and park in tight spots. (The latter comes after owning a Volvo wagon that took us 3-4 times for each parking spot because of it's turning radius. Turning on a dime is a nice thing to have.)
I'm curious about your decision process when upgrading to your next car, specifically for that third row.
I hate vans. Seriously hate.
Hence my ridiculously priced Lincoln Navigator. But it's oh so lovely. And it's super super nice on vacations. Much more comfortable for lung drives than the inlaws' minivan.
Posted by: jespond | Mar 03, 2011 at 03:38 PM
I LOVE my minivan. :) haha, it really is great though for such situations. although climbing back to buckle some kid in the third row when i'm 30+ weeks prego with my third is no walk in tha park.
what really sucks about carpooling with little kids is having to constantly move the stinking carseats! I've considered buying an extra carseat to permanently keep in my backseat for extra kids.
Posted by: Kelly | Mar 03, 2011 at 08:05 PM
we briefly toyed with the idea of upgrading to an 8-seater (currently, we have a 7-seat durango and our family will grow to 6 people come june). i am anti-minivan and hubby is anti-imported cars, so that left us to choose from chevy's traverse or suburban, gmc's yukon, or ford's excursion (which they quit making in 2005) ... for now, tho, we've decided to wait until baby 5 makes the purchase really necessary (so we won't be having kids climb over carseats to get to the third row)!
Posted by: Joelle | Mar 03, 2011 at 08:58 PM
I'm a super huge fan of my Chevy Tahoe. Even more so after this week, because the kids and I were in an accident and walked away totally unharmed - I have serious doubts that this would have been the case in something smaller (or less badass) than our Tahoe. (Who, by the way, we now refer to as "Frank the Tank".) It has a 3rd row, and it can be pulled out when not needed (making plenty of room for the beastly double stroller). If/when we add a 3rd child to our bunch, I'd stay in the Chevy family and either get a newer Tahoe with captain's seating in the 2nd row (so #1 can walk through to the back row of seats) or move up to a Suburban.
Of your choices, I'd go for the Toyota all.day.long. I used to drive a Sequoia and you really can't beat the style, reliability, or resale value of a Toyota.
Posted by: mandie | Mar 03, 2011 at 09:56 PM
We have a 2007 CX9 & we LOVE it! It gets decent gas milage & is very nice inside. I feel it drives more like a car unlike many SUV's that drive more like a truck. We currently don't often use the third row seat due to the 2 carseats in the middle would have to be moved to fold the seat forward to get to the third row.
Posted by: Deena | Mar 03, 2011 at 11:00 PM
with #2 due very shortly and #3 planned soon after, we've been trying to make this same decision - australian traffic laws now say that any child under 7 years has to be in a car seat (not sure about over there) - but it basically means that anyone with over two children has to upgrade to that 3rd row option.
Posted by: jim | Mar 04, 2011 at 05:41 AM
We have a highlander right now - 3 row seating was a big selling factor BUT we are considering going to a minivan b/c the Highlander isn't practical at all. Consider: How do we pick grandparents up from the airport with 2 car seats in the middle row? we would have to remove a car seat before they could squish through the opening & have very little foot space in the 3rd row. The cargo area can hold 1 suitcase or 1 stroller when the 3rd row is up.
We have loved the Highlander and I swore I'd never drive a minivan... but with 2 in car seats, a minivan is a better option.
The 3rd row is hard to get to with 2 car seats, and the cargo area is not enough when 3rd row is up...
Posted by: Alicia | Mar 04, 2011 at 02:26 PM
Love my highlander, but the third row is tough with car seats. As for driving, it's amazing. We have the hybrid so I feel a bit more virtuous too.
Posted by: Daina | Mar 05, 2011 at 06:45 PM
with natural twins we have a 1 in 8 chance of twinning again, so we went for maximum number of seats... the 8-seat Sienna. And while I absolutely hated being forced into a minivan, this purchase has gone so well that my husband is sold on always buying Toyotas in the future. The turning radius is the same as my mom's camry (they are built on the same base), we've consistently gotten 22mpg or more, and the seats can change with our needs. We've already reconfigured it several times to deal with sibling fights or out of town guests, and we almost always can get out entire party into one vehicle. We pack it to the gills, keep emergency clothing changes pre-stocked, and clean it out mostly just at oil change time. Now that we have four in car seats, I do have to walk to either side of the car before they are all out, but before I could do it all from one sliding door and it was great. The auto doors are my favorite daily luxury.
Posted by: jean grow | Mar 06, 2011 at 02:57 AM
I have three kids under 5. We had the Toyota Highlander Hybrid until #3 was born. I loved it but when the third seat is up, a purse barely fits in the cargo area let alone even a single stroller. With our baby was born, my oldest was 3 and a half, my daughter 2. A stroller is essential - even with one in a sling - a stroller is needed for any kind of excursion. We went for a minivan which I swore I NEVER would - I believe my line was "if I ever say I am going to drive a minivan, SHOOT me on the spot". I can't say I love tooling around LA in my Odyssey when I am by myself. However, with three kids, an occasional nanny, a husband, ever increasing take-home playdates, park toys, strollers, an emergency duffel bag and three car seats I have no idea how else I would manage. The other day my husband said "the floor of your van looks like the bottom of a birdcage" so I recently banned all snacks that have crumbs and committed to a weekly wash so it isn't AS bad. I certainly would rather have a fast, high end Volvo R but with three kids and a busy, activity- filled life, I am stuck with the minivan for now. Good luck.
Posted by: Dickie Gray | Mar 06, 2011 at 11:53 AM
We live in a rural area, and the nature of our business and lifestyle leaves only one option. I have a Chevy 4x4 crew cab pickup with a bench seat in front. While that only allows 6 passengers, due to complications with #2, we are done with babies. I have a retractable bed cover with storage bins in the bed that basically turns it into the biggest trunk you've ever seen. I do things like pick up 200 pounds of feed for livestock, etc. In case you ever have to do that in a SUV when you have to leave it sitting in 100 degree heat, I can tell you the "oaty, earthy smell" lingers for a long time! ;)
That said, these days there are so many options that if I didn't really NEED a truck, I would be overwhelmed with the choices!
Posted by: Beverly | Mar 09, 2011 at 12:34 PM
We're expecting Baby #3 in 5 weeks (my oldeste is 3 1/2) and we just bought a minivan. I was DEAD SET on an SUV, until we tried the Dodge Grand Caravan with Stow-n-Go. Stow-n-Go is heaven and it is SO EASY to get into the third row with one of the captain's chairs down. Not to mention, even with all the seats up there is STILL room for groceries, a stroller and even a suitcase or two. I am LOVING my minivan!
Posted by: Michelle | Mar 10, 2011 at 12:46 AM
Funny you should say this. I just saw a friend last week who has 4 kids under 6. She has always driven SUVs and then went to buy a minivan for their aupair and realized she could take all 4 kids to costco and then still have room for all her stuff. Yeah, Im still amazed she took all 4 kids to Costco when she has an aupair. Ha!
Posted by: Baby Bunching | Mar 10, 2011 at 11:24 AM
We have three boys ages 8, 5, and 13 months and manage to fit them comfortably in the back of my Toyota Matrix. But with number 4 due in May we need the extra row.
We were pretty antivan too and were looking to get a crossover. Unfortunately we are going to have two babies in car seats for at least 2 years and with a crossover you have to be able to fold down a seat for access to the back row. I haven't been able to find a crossover without a giant console between the two middle seats (one we could afford).
So we are stuck with a minivan until the kids are out of their seats and probably out of boosters (8 years). Sigh. Due to budget constraints and owing to the fact that we are a one vehicle family we chose the Mazda van.
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