What vechicle has room but not mini-van?

[mom2threecuties]

I love love love my Honda Pilot. It fits our family of five perfectly. My husband drives an Expedition, and he'll be trading his in for another Pilot when it's time.

 

[cheekymonkey]

Minivan convert here too. If you have more than 2 in carseats there is no other "easy" option. We travel a good deal as well and it's great for road trips. Mind-you I will not be driving it forever but it works while the kids are little.

We have a Hyundai Entourage.

 

[polkadotminnie]

Need seating for 5, with 3 car seats (two rear facing). What vechicles have a 3rd row that is not a mini-van?

The only one I know of for sure is a Toyota Highlander.

We have a Nissan Murano and a Highlander. We like both.

 

[micheleq]

Love my Acadia I have the second row captain's chairs and they move back and forth pretty easily to make room for the third row. Looking forward to the Denali version in 2011!

 

[DebMcDonald]

The Dodge Durango is coming back this year.. my dad has one from the last year they were making them. Seats 3 across in the middle row very comfortably, and can seat 3 in the 3rd row also. Or the 3rd row fold down into the floor, and you have a TON of storage room back there.

I love mine, very comfortable for three kids and you can even separate them when needed which is often when traveling long distances

 

[stitchlovestink]

I'm not sure... We traded in our Ford Escape for the Pilot, I know it is a different car but we HATED our Escape. We had the XLT Sport 4x4. It just felt SO cheaply made, I don't think we will ever buy a Ford again. Our Pilot is the same year with more miles and it is just SO much nicer, I can feel the difference.

We had an Escape as a one way rental from WDW to Port Canaveral in Nov 09. I agree with you that I did not care for the Escape at all and would never buy one. But there is no comparison between an Escape and a Flex. Everything about them is competely different...drive different, sit different, ride different....

we went to the Auto show this year just to nose around, looked at the Flex, but yikes! $40+ ? Were you guys able to get one at or under 30 grand? I guess we were in sticker shock...but when cars are costing 1/2 of a condo, I really have to re-evaluate. We did like it for the most part tho, it did have decent visibility compared to a lot of other larger vehicles.

the SE model (cloth interior)which is the entry level can easily be had for under $30K, more like $27ishK. The SEL model (leather interior) which is the mid grade can be had for around $30ishK with good rebates and shopping around. It will also depend on what add on features you want too. We got the convenience package which incl the power lift gate (LOVE that feature) 10 way power seats w/ 2 memory settings, power pedals, and some other 'stuff' and we also got the 40/40 split middle row w/ power fold feature and the rear console. We also got the sony 12 speaker premium sound system. And one of my fav features of all, microsoft SYNC. And I cannot remember whether the seat heaters were standard w/ leather or an upgrade. The LTD version will probably push 40K but I really didn't need to pay $5k extra pretty much for a backup camera and built in navigation. But to each his/her own...
You can even get a refrigerated/heated console in the second row. The features available were pretty cool.

We just got a used Ford Flex it's a 2009 and only had 7500 miles on it it cost us under $29,000. It's the SEL model with leather seats it has the bench seat in the middle and the vista roof so far we love it! We've taken it on a road trip to Disneyland and it was a dream to drive and ride in. Plus, it also looks cooler than a minivan IMO. We almost got the Mazda CX 9 but at the last minute checked out the Flex and fell in love with it! We just finished our lease on our Toyota Sienna Minivan and I really liked that vehicle a lot but so far I love the Flex more!

We had NO IDEA what a Flex even was in 08. We went to pick up our rental car from Enterprise and they were going to give us something else, but we couldn't fit all our crap in the back of it, so they offered us the Flex for the same price!!!! My DH is a Chevy man thru and thru...and rolled his eyes at the thought of having to drive a Ford. Well, he fell in love with it! I only got to drive it for about 10 min. We drove thru a WICKED rainstorm from WDW to Port Canaveral in Nov 08. And it drove incredibly. When I was hit just before Cmas of 08, they totaled my van. I had no choice but to get a new vehicle, and DH said get what you want but I think you should get a Flex. I drove over 20 different vehicles (no cars/no vans) all SUVs, crossovers, etc... I brought the flex home from the dealership and drove it for 2 days before buying it. After that I was sold!! It is the BEST car for roadtrips. Everyone is comfy. And last year when I carpooled a bunch of kids to a high school dance, EVERY single on of those teens LOVED the car...ROFLOL. There were arguments over who was riding w/ me vs. the other mom who was driving a minivan.
I still love my Flex 13 months later!!

 

[5stljayhawks]

I am voting for "Gus the Bus" our 06 Chevy Suburban 2500 6.o L.

It can be a pain to park, but does it have the room. We have three car seats, 2 booster 6/4 and a full seat 2yr. What I like about it or maybe the wife @ 5' 10" there is a lot of leg room.

I bought my used $26K in 2008. about 40% off sticker 2 years later, chevy certified.

BTW - I also pull a 24 foot trailer and it is a dream.

 

[disneymarie]

Need seating for 5, with 3 car seats (two rear facing). What vechicles have a 3rd row that is not a mini-van?

The only one I know of for sure is a Toyota Highlander.

GMC came out with the Terrain this year, the equal to the Equinox. The weight of it I would go with a 6cyl as it is too heavy for a 4 cyl.

THe MPG was a seller.

I am not craxy over the Dodge but they have a journey with 3rd row, no rear facing awkward to get into a car seat.

Did you try the Santa Fe? Another is a Ford Edge.

I am out looking now. I should just buy my son's Odysee van as he wants to downsize as gas will be $4 by summer end.
Good luck,

 

[Melrosgirl]

We have a Mazda CX9 and it would would well. Seats 7 and is AWD.

 

[Shmily1]

We have two Dodge Durangos. Needless to say, with two of them, we do love them!! They have loads of room and are very good cars. You can't imagine how much stuff and people we can pack in that thing! Six adults and a baby with all our clothes and a stroller went to WDW in December! We had a blast!

DH hated when I bought my first one. He kept telling me that was not the kind of car I like and I didn't need anything that big, not to mention those seat heaters were useless since we live in the south. About 18 months later, he bought one too.... it has seat heaters! He told the dealership he would not buy one without that option!

 

[Bren's Mom]

BTW op, whatever vehicles you decide to look at be sure that you check the manual for LATCH and tether anchor locations!

 

[LG2]

I have been a long-time Ford driver and last year I decided to get a 3rd-row vehicle to be able to drive our grandkids around from time-to-time. I agree that a mini van gives you excellent room, but I too preferred an SUV. Focusing on legroom and knee comfort, I tried over 20 SUVs and only a couple met my needs. I bought a KIA Borrego without any upgrades and paid under $30K. Not a dream car, but like I said, it met my needs. The Borrego is similar to a Ford Explorer. If you can wait, the 2011 Explorer is coming out with a unibody like the Taurus, instead of the truck chassis. But IMO no SUV has a 3rd row that is easy to access...

 

[PatMcDuck]

Chevrolet equinox the inside is huge.

 

[Desnik]

My BFF has 3 year old triplets in car seats and a 7 year old in a booster. She has a Chevy Suburban and loves it! I have to say the room in there is incredible! I even fit in there with them (including her and her DH) comfortably. There was even a ton of room in the trunk. She parks it easily because it has the back up camera. She traded in a Chevy Tahoe for it because it wasn't big enough.

She went for the SUV because even with 4 kids she just couldn't drive a mini van. She was against it! I have to admit I would be the same way. Also we get a lot of snow where we live so an SUV is helpful.

 

[madcat]

I have not seen the dodge journey mentioned. I have one and love it! It has so much room, my father (who is over 6ft) can sit in the front seat with it far back and there is still plenty of leg room in the back seats. It has a 3rd row that is easy to get to b/c the seats actually slide, so you wont have to move the car seats in order to get someone back into the the third row. One of the best things about the journey is that it has two "coolers" or storage compartments in the floor, they can be removed in order to fill with ice or to dump it after it has melted. There is also an air cooler in it that will hold a baby bottle, small water bottles or cans in the front of the car over the glove box. The passenger seat cushion lifts for more storage space and it also holds a large size pizza box in place. It rides really well. I get a lot of complements on it, especially after people ride in it!

 

[RooRach0906]

We bought a 05 Chevy Trailblazer EXT in Nov because of the 3 carseats across the back of my Envoy was not gonna work. We were going to get either the Trailblazer EXT or Envoy XL, same car basically. I mainly drive it and I love it!!!! I dont have the third carseat in there yet b/c our daughter isnt here yet but I watch two little girls and have car seats for them. One other big thing for us was 4wd. We live in a very rural area and when it snows I wanna be able to get out if I need to, however if you dont need this I vote for the Traverse or Arcida.

 

[rainy~daze]

we have a Trailblazer EXT, also. I love it. I don't think they make them new anymore though, ours is an '06.
4wd was important to us, too. Before that we had a regular size Trailblazer and I loved that one as well. The EXT with 3rd row is so roomy and handles very well. I could never go back to driving a regular sized car now that I have driven an SUV for so long.

 

[arihillfarm]

We went from a mini van to a Suburban...I LOVE my Suburban!! Lots of room for the kids and all their stuff. I do home day care and can get SIX car seats in it!!

We have a GMC Yukon XL Denali and I it. We have the seven seater version with the second row bucket seats and having that center aisle is great for getting to the last row. The third row seats two adults comfortably and I often use the third row bench to change diapers and I'm not exactly skinny, LOL! Take out the third row or tumble it forward and there is tons of room. Even with the third row seat in place, which it is normally, I still have room behind it for a jogging stroller, a larger umbrella stroller and at least $100 worth of groceries from Aldi. IMO, that's the big difference between the Suburban and Yukon XL and most minivans and other third row seat SUVs. Most don't have a lot of room behind the third row seat. I can't complain about gas mileage either for what it is. Our Denali gets 16-17 mpg combined driving and 18-19 on long highway trips. It can pull our boat too.

-Astrid

 

[hsembrick]

You guys are great. I'll start the reserach based on these lists.

Sorry. This daddy just can't stomach taking a mini van to work every day.

Suburban or Ford Expedition!!! I love my Expedition and can't wait til next year when I get to upgrade to the XL model!!!

 

[Mary•Poppins]

We our Honda Pilot! Roomy and just keeps on going with no problems!