Those with 4+kids...Car Question

[nelle]

To those of you with 4 or more kids what kind of car or bus do you drive??
We have a yukon XL (7pass) and a Acura MDX(7pass). With a 5th on the way(shh! nobody else knows) our cars are at their max so we won't be able to have friends etc....
The MDX we will keep because it's our towed car behind our motorhome but the yukon can go.
Really don't want to have to flip or move seats with 2 kids in car seats(baby+5yr old who is disabled and has to be in one or else all heck breaks loose)
Any suggestions???
Thanks,

 

[badblackpug]

Nissan Armada. www.nissanusa.com

 

[kpgriswold]

We love our Honda Odyssey minivan! It lacks the "cool factor" of an SUV, but gets better gas milage, seats more people and is more flexible in the interior. Most of the new models have seats that fold into the floor if you need more storage space and fewer seats on a particular trip -- VERY easy to do.

I also have friends who drive a Dodge Grand Caravan and a Toyota Sienna. The Caravan has had alot of electrical problems, but has the largest storage area of any minivan. The Sienna can seat 8, has good cargo room, and my friend can't say enough good things about it.

Just some ideas...

 

[shaylahc1]

Minivan! We have test driven many vehicles that can accomodate large families and minivans hands down had the most room. Some of the larger SUVs are comfortable but have very little cargo space and the cost of gas is a killer. Right now our main vehicle is an 8 seater 2004 Toyota Sienna, 115K miles and going strong

 

[mjkacmom]

I have 5, and a minivan is really your best option. I have friends who have SUV's that fit 7 or 8, but they're always having to manually move seats when we carpool - I drive right up in my Odyssey, push the door button, and the kid jumps in. Mine only seats 7, but the new ones seat 8.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I wanted a minivan, but dh isn't a minivan guy. And he does have his own car but when i'm at work he uses the truck of course. We bought a Ford Explorer, with a 3rd row. I love it. I do think a minivan would be easier though. I actually have 3 kids, but my stepson is with us on the weekends. So during the week we of course all fit in the regular row of seats, when he's here my 10 yr old likes to ride in the 3rd row. My stepson is too tall for the 3rd row, it's not too roomy back there. Plus you do have to flip the seat down to get back there, no walking back like in a minivan. Unless... your child is like my 10 yr old and likes to just flip herself over the seat to get back there

 

[amez]

We have a full size suburban-I love, love, love the room. It does only get about 15-16 miles per gallon, but at this point I still wouldn't trade it in unless it was for another one Lots of cargo space for the luggage, the big dogs we have etc. The third row folds down as well if additional room is needed. We've laid the seat down and fit all of our bikes in the back as well. Oh yes, and it seats 8-depending on what year the suburban is some seat 9.

My sil has a full size envoy and my suv is much roomier and more cargo space. My sister has a trail blazer and she doesn't feel like she has enough room in the third row for legs/larger kids-I've not been in the back seat so ?? Again she definitely doesn't have the cargo space mine does.

hth

 

[nexttrip4us]

We have 4 kids - aged 5-11 and we have two Honda Odysseys - an 03 that seats 7 and an 05 that can seat 8. LOVE them both and wouldn't trade them for anything--except a new one . I heard that the 2011s are a redesign from what they are now.

HTH (and congratulations on #5--I will say I'm a bit jealous ).

 

[Deesknee]

We have a Chrysler Town & Country with 4 kids. Three are, well, I guess they are adults now. We still travel as a family. The t&c works well for us. SEt up is 4 bucket seats (front & middle rows) and a 3 person bench in the back. I cann't imagine having to climb in to buckle a kid in or out of a car seat. ( I did that for a few years). We also have a Pontiac Transport that works well. It has the same seat configuration.

BTW, congratulations!

 

[poohbear luvs grumpy]

We have a chevy venture and a yukon. The yukon seats eight and the venture seats seven. The venture is are around town vehicle and the yukon pulls our trailer. I love the van because the middle row is captains seats and that makes it easier to get the youngest two in and out. The oldest three share the back and can seatbelt themselves in.

 

[alyssa810]

While I only have 1, my escape is adequate but my gf w/4 (8, 6, 3, and 1) has a caravan and her DH has a 4-door pickup. She loves the caravan.

 

[Davids-Coco]

The 2011 odyssey is supposed to be amazing. They debuted the body and it does look more like a lowered crossover suv than a minivan. They are trying to appeal to those "never buy a minivan" people.

ETA: They should be out around July according to what I have seen online. The pricing will stay about the same... $25 entry - 50K touring, I believe.

 

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

Only have 2 kids but am always picking up my niece and nephew too. We have a Ford Freestyle and I really like it. It has a third row seat, but unlike my Explorer, it has a lot of trunk room even when using the third row. Plus it has better gas mileage! The newer version of the Freestyle is called the Taurus X.

 

[browniemtb]

We have #4 due in a few months........I'm looking now as well. So far we've driven the Odyssey, Sienna, Navigator L, and tomorrow I'm picking up a Ford Flex for the day. My only concern for us is winter driving, so the Odyssey with out AWD scares me a little, Sienna has it but may also come with automatic cruise control, the Navigator L was great but mileage stunk and the $$ is rather large. Still to look at Expedition EL, which no Ford dealer around here seems to carry or want to carry.

 

[southtexasmom]

I have 4 kids, I drive a Escalade, its the longer one with plenty of cargo space, it has the third row seat that 3 can easily fit in, the middle row is bucket seats that can fold down with just the push of a button.

 

[nelle]

Thanks for all the help and advice! We haven't driven a minivan but for those of you who have one that seats 8 how do you get into the back row?? I would suppose it's the same as a large suv fold down one of the middle seats. Can you fit two carseats next to each other in the middle row so that one of the side seats flips forward to allow access to the back?
Is it a pain to get to the back? I guess it's only kids they can live with the painright??
Thanks again!
Oh thanks for the congrats too! It's a little bit of a shock still you'd think after having 4 you'd know how these things happen.
Thanks

 

[nexttrip4us]

We only put our 8th seat in the Odyssey when we know we need it. Only the "outer" seats in the middle row will hold car seats. To get to the back with three seats in the middle, you have to flip up one of the captain's chairs or fold down the back on the middle seat and climb over.

It works for us, since our family is "only" 6, so we don't need it full-time, but when we're taking an extra kid or two, it is a great option.

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

Sweetie, you have got to go play in a minivan...

No seats to move and it's a piece of cake to get to every seat without having to toss kids over any of the seats.

Can't beat the convenience and space. Most of them are set up with captain's chairs in the second row and it's easy to walk in past them to get to the back row. The back row is usually split 60/40 and you can put the whole thing down into the floor for storage or just a piece of it.

Sliding doors are so convenient in tight parking spaces, too! And an added bonus if you get power sliding doors is that your kids will never have to worry about accidentally smashed fingers - my 2 year closed our minivan's door (by pushing the button) on my 3 year old's hand and thanks to the sensors it didn't do anything more than leave a greasemark across his fingers.

 

[tlh0726]

Town and Country mini van here.
Auto liftgate and sliding doors

love the fact of not having to worry about kids opening doors into the cars parked on each side of you or trying to get a baby carrier in/out past an open car door. (Is it me or are parking spaces getting narrower? )

 

[blessedby3]

We have had mini vans for the past 16 years- different makes, models. Our current mini van is a Toyota Sienna. (I know- not a great time to own a Toyota, evidently) Ours is an 8 seater and it is great. We always keep the eighth seat in and have room for extras. There are 6 in our family. The back seats are easy to reach by flipping the outside seat forward. I dont see how families with small children/carseats get into those big full size suv's. We looked at some, but they were so high up that I had to practically climb into the back seat to put our kids in their car seats. Im on the short side (5' 2") but I wouldnt want to do that everyday. With our van, I can reach in the vehicle easily because its lower.