Ford Explorer or Chevy Trailblazer for 5?

[Princess Dot]

I have 2 ressies for our trip for the same price. We are 2 adults, 3 kids (one in a booster). I was going for the bigger cargo space, so no minivan, but has anyone had experience with both of these cars and how were they with 3 in the back seat?
Thanks!

 

[husker_billy]

I'd go with a full size car (We had a Chevy Impalla). The last time we went to DW, we had 4 adults and 1 child in a booster. With two men in front and two women in back with our son in his booster, there was plenty of room. We had no trouble fitting all our luggage in the trunk either and that included a stroller folded up.

It worked for us.

Brian

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I am not familiar with the Chevy, but 3 kids will easily fit in the back seat of a Ford Explorer.

 

[raidermatt]

We rented two different Trailblazers in Hawaii (2 different islands) and 3 kids would be fine. At times, we had 2 children (one in a car seat) and 1 adult in the back and it was fine.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

Go with a Premium Vehicle or Fullsize Car. More leg room and actually a little wider vehicle. The TrailBlazer is nice, but really is more of a 4 passenger vehicle...

 

[tms295]

There are also 2 different versions of the trailblazer... one with the standard backseat and one with two rows of back seats.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

There are also 2 different versions of the trailblazer... one with the standard backseat and one with two rows of back seats.

Unless you rent from Alamo/National, they are not distinguished between each other. Ive ended up with Explorers with Leather and 3rd row seats at Budget many times, simply out of luck....

 

[bnf2]

We have a Chevy Trailblazer with 2 rows of back seats. The back back row only has 2 seatbelts; the middle row has 3, but that middle one is sooo skinny... no way an adult, bigger kid or booster will fit there- I don't even condiser it a "seat" myself! You could have one child in last row and the seat next to him folded up for luggage and such with the other 2 kids in the middle row.

My 2 biggest complaints about this vehicle (wish I'd researched it further before purchasing!) is the second row of seat are not adjustable- as far as back and forth- so if the front seats are all the way back the middle guys do not have a lot of leg room. And my biggest complaint is gas mileage... I only get 18-19 Hwy!!!! Don't even ask me about around town

 

[Roo-Lover]

We (myself, husband, 18 and 14 year old daughters) rented a 2006 Chevy TrailBlazer, standard size, from Alamo while we were down at Disney World from 7/1-7/10/06. First of all, for the 10 days, with all fees and taxes, the cost was $208.11 which was the best price I have ever found since 1998 which was the first time we took the family to Disney World. I was able to use two discount codes on line to secure the reservation. There would be plenty of room for the five of you to fit in, however, we found that there is less cargo room in a Trailblazer than the Ford. The way we found out was that we took our 1998 Ford Explorer to the airport filled with our luggage. There was no organization to how we loaded the truck. We just put it in there with plenty of room to spare. After we arrived at MCO and picked out our Trailblazer, we went to load the truck. To our surprise, we had to work a little bit to make sure that we could see out of the back window of the truck. Everything fit, but the cargo space was definitely smaller. This was the first time that we have rented a midsize SUV. We have rented full size vehicles (Grand Prix) in the past and not all the suitcases fit in the trunk and we all had to hold some small piece of luggage.
Good Luck and have wonderful time.

 

[Princess Dot]

Thanks everyone! I did some research online and according to the vehicle specs the Ford does have more cargo room but the Chevy states it has 3 more inches of hip room but basically the same amount of shoulder room in the back seat. Go figure!

We have some pretty large hardsided suitcases so the cargo space is really the clincher for me. I haven't driven a car with a trunk in years and I have become very wary of fitting everything in a trunk. I know some fullsizes have nice sized trunks, but I would rather have the height of an SUV cargo area. The kids can squeeze, but I need to fit all the bags, LOL!

We have the Ford reserved at Budget, so maybe we'll luck out and get the extra seats too! We are spoiled here at home, driving a Suburban and a Town and Country. My kids don't know what it is like to have to share a bench seat 3 across!

I think the Ford has a shoulder belt in the middle position on the rear seat, correct? So I was thinking of putting the highback booster there and having the other 2 on either side. Maybe I'll run by the Ford dealer and check out the seat myself.

Thanks everyone for your input!!

 

[Frantasmic]

A consideration while you are looking. Does your booster you are taking have the extra strap that hooks to the back of the seat or cargo floor? Make sure the middle position supports that if you do (and you should).

If the Explorer is like the Trailblazer, which I have, the middle seat may be the 60/40 split, if their is a third seat, and you don't want the booster sitting on the split for safety reasons.

 

[adisneynut]

We have 2 adults and 2 14 year gals that are at least 5ft 6inches so we need alot of room also. Then my neice has a packing problems. Believe me she will have as much packed as the 3 of us. I have cheking around here in town and I feel more comforable booking with Budget so I know that we will have an Explorer. At least that is my plan at this momment.

 

[PortieOwner]

I was not that thrilled with the space or anything else about the Trailblazer (we had 2 adults and a 2-year-old in a car seat). Cargo space was marginal, the back seat was small, the vehicle felt a little "tippy", and it got lousy fuel economy.

Portie