Which rental cars(not minivan) will hold 2 adults and 4 kids ? AND airbag issues

[mill4023]

I know a minivan would be the ideal option, but the cheapest I can find one for our 10 day stay is $340. I currently have a Full size reserved through Avis for $230 with an coupon to upgrade to a Premium car. I talked to an agent at Avis and they said the Premium has 3 seat belts in the front and should be fine for us. The Avis website also lists the seating as 5-6 for their full-size and premium cars. I checked National using the priceless code and I could get a full size for $190 with an upgrade. So I thought about switching, but the national website just says 5 adults for the seating in their full-size and premium cars.

Has anyone rented a full-size or premium car from National with 6 people?

Also, is there enough trunk room in a full-size or premium to fit two large suitcases and a stroller? I was thinking maybe I should just spend the extra for a minivan, but in many cases, there's actually more space for luggage in a large car's trunk than there is in a minivan.

 

[dvc guy]

Many full size cars have a middle seat in the front, Ford Taurus and some of the Chey Impala have it. The questions is do you want to put a child in the front seat with an airbag, and do you want to roll the dice that your full size will have the additional seating. Do yourself a favor and get a minivan

 

[mill4023]

I wonder what the safety recommendations are when it comes to the middle front seat? It seems that not being in the direct path of the airbag, it would be safer for kids. Of course, there is no lap belt, so maybe not. I wonder about a front-facing infant carseat being in the middle of the front seat. All of the warnings I've seen about carseats don't seem to mention this. They all just warn of the danger of rear-facing seats.

An interesting note: I was looking into this issue and I just came across a study done by Harvard that basically says that kids aged 9-12 sitting in the front seat are safer with an airbag than without. It says that for kids ages 9-12, sitting in the front with an airbag is just as safe as sitting in the back without one.
I've also seen recommendations that say children under 4'7" (rather than an age) shouldn't be in the front with airbags.

My oldest is 10 and is 5' tall and close to 100 pounds, which is why I thought it would be ok to have him in the front in the middle. But like you said, there is still a chance that the vehicle available won't seat all of us, and even if it does, it will be more squished than a minivan.

Anyone else have an opinion?

 

[disneyldwjr]

I wonder what the safety recommendations are when it comes to the middle front seat? It seems that not being in the direct path of the airbag, it would be safer for kids. Of course, there is no lap belt, so maybe not. I wonder about a front-facing infant carseat being in the middle of the front seat. All of the warnings I've seen about carseats don't seem to mention this. They all just warn of the danger of rear-facing seats.

An interesting note: I was looking into this issue and I just came across a study done by Harvard that basically says that kids aged 9-12 sitting in the front seat are safer with an airbag than without. It says that for kids ages 9-12, sitting in the front with an airbag is just as safe as sitting in the back without one.
I've also seen recommendations that say children under 4'7" (rather than an age) shouldn't be in the front with airbags.

My oldest is 10 and is 5' tall and close to 100 pounds, which is why I thought it would be ok to have him in the front in the middle. But like you said, there is still a chance that the vehicle available won't seat all of us, and even if it does, it will be more squished than a minivan.

Anyone else have an opinion?

If the vehicle can accomodate 6 then there will be a regular seat belt in the middle front seat. As to an infant seat in the front middle, I would not do it, you cannot properly anchor it in the front.

 

[CarolA]

I would NOT plan on doing this by getting an "upgrade" coupon unless it is a guaranteed upgrade (read all the fine print) Most upgrades are subject to having cars and if there are not unrented cars to upgrade to you are out of luck.

 

[dudspizza]

Do you really want to be that squished while on vacation. Packing 6 in to a car will not be fun.

I don't even see how you could operate the car with someone sitting that close.

We had a full size from national last trip and it had a console in between the front two seats, so there was only room for 2 up front. I would not count on getting a car that you can seat 3 up front. Not comfortable at all.

Duds

 

[mill4023]

Thanks everyone. The upgrade coupon does say it's only "if available". And yes, even with 6 seat belts, it would be squished.
We are spending way more on this vacation than we had planned, so I've been doing my best to keep the costs down on the non-fun expenses. But I've definitely gone too far on some things.

In this case, it's definitely not worth the stress, uncertainty, and discomfort just to save $100. I went ahead and booked a minivan from National. 10 days for $320 using the Priceless code and entertainment coupon. I feel much better now. Thanks.

 

[Gillian]

You'll forget about the money once you get there & start having fun!

Doesn't matter now, but I would also worry about fitting 3 across the back seat. Not sure if you have car seats or not. It's hard to fit 3 of them!