# Need Advice... Best Car for 4 Carseats?



## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

We are looking to replace our 2010 Jeep Liberty in the next 6-8 months and I am trying to start researching now. We like the look of the Traverse but weren't sure how it worked out with carseats and such... here is what we need from a vehicle:

- seats 7
- comfortably fits 4 car seats, 2 Nautilus, a RF Complete Air and a Snugride 35
- 2009 or newer
- under 30,000
- will grow with our kids... ie, will hold 3 FF seats and a booster or what have you
- prefer an SUV or crossover that can get gotten with AWD or 4WD but would be ok with a mini van as well
- has room for a double stroller in the back


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## blessedwithboys (Dec 8, 2004)

Honda Pilot!

I love the passenger room in mine. The second generation came out in 2009 (mine's a '10). You can get 4WD. I don't have it because I don't need it where I live. I also didn't get the DVD player. I like to talk to the kids when we travel and if they really need a movie, I use my laptop.

It holds 8 adults comfortably. The middle bench has LATCH for all three seats and the back bench has LATCH in the passenger outboard seat. All 8 seats have shoulder belts and headrests.

Configuration...I assume both of your boys are currently RFing? Will the older one be FFing when #3 comes? If so, you could put him in the back row and space out the other two in the middle. Or all three seats could go in the middle bench. I just had two carseats outboard in mine with room for my 5mos pg sister in between! If you have all three kids in the middle you could fold down the back seat and have tons of room, or leave it up and have more room than average. I won't lie and say it's cavernous back there.

I just hopped on cars.com and there is at least on EX-L with 4WD for $30k. I have the Touring (leather seats) and if I had it to do over again I would have saved money and just gotten cloth seats. The leather is sort of cheapie and the car seats will tear it up, so I would say check it out to see if you can get 4WD with cloth seats.


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## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

My 2 year old is FF (just flipped him) and my 1 year old is RF and the new baby will obviously we RF. We plan on having 1 more in the next 2-ish years. I like the look of the Pilot but it would depend a lot on how much we found one for... Is there some reason that 2009 and up is better than 2008?


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## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

Any other thoughts?


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

If you'll do a minivan, the 2010 or older Sienna AWD. LOVE ours.


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## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

I wouldn't mind a mini van if it was AWD at all!! I didn't know there was one with AWD!! What does a 2009/2010 Sienna go for with AWD? How are the seats set up?


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## Peony (Nov 27, 2003)

AWD Siennas only came with Captains chairs in the 2nd row, so a 7 seater. We had one and it handled awesome in the snow, I had no problems ever going over all the mountain passes.


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## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

7 seater is fine... we have almost 3 kids now (due in October) and only plan on 1 more and if we did end up with 5 it wouldn't be a huge deal as our oldest would probably be booster aged by then. Plus we will have the money for new seats by then if needed.

I think we have it narrowed down to the Chevy Traverse or the Toyota Sienna.... Any thoughts on these 2 vehicles?


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

I have a 2009 AWD Sienna. No idea what they go for used, but if you just do some vehix searches and such you can get an idea. It is AWESOME! We live on a hill and get occassional snow so AWD was essential for us to be able to get out. And so far it's handled great (we've only had it a bit over a year).

Seat wise, in the '09 you have the 2 front seats, two middle captain's seats, and then a rear third bench that seats three. The captain's seats each have full sets of LATCH and the back has 2 full sets of LATCH on the passenger side and the middle. You can move the passenger side captain's chair to the middle or leave it outboard as well, whatever configuration works best for you.

One of the best parts about the Sienna, IMO, is that there is TONS of storage space. The trunk is huge, they put doors on every nook and cranny so lots of places to store little things when traveling, and there are a gazillion cup holders. In my trunk I usually have 2 camp chairs, 3 kids folding chairs, my peg perego pliko stroller, a box of emergency stuff, a picnic blanket, and a small bag of toys for my kids when we go to my dh's games and such. I still have tons of room to throw in groceries/a costco run without feeling like I'm running out of space. And last Winter we took a 3 day trip to Canada with my in-laws in our van and had plenty of room for all our luggage in the back. Very roomy.


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## bobandjess99 (Aug 1, 2005)

I just want to caution you that most SUV's, even the bigger ones, tend to not have nearly as much stoarge room if you actually have the 3rd row seats up, which of course you will have to do to get 4 carseats in there. Also, chances are you will really miss not having the "walkthroughability" of a minivan when you are schlepping around outisde the vehicle, in the cold or rain, etc, top buckle in diffierent kids through different doors, etc, unless all youres can already do it themselves. Just something to consider.


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## NewDirections (Jul 18, 2008)

I'd go with a Sienna, but also be open to buying one more than a year old.


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## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

Sounds like the sienna is probably the way to go as long as we can find one in our price range... My husband is military so we do cross country drives fairly often and move every couple years so storage space and room inside the vehicle is pretty important. My main hang up is simply that I don't love the idea of a mini van but I might just have to deal! The traverse does look like it has decent storage space but it might be harder with 3 or 4 little kids... Do the 2008 siennas have the same seat set up and anchors as the 2009?


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## mbhf (Jan 8, 2005)

I am also going to encourage you to go for a minivan over an SUV. The sliding doors are awesome (power sliding is ideal! I love opening my doors from 10 feet away with my hands full) and they are just so much more child friendly. When you have three+ in carseats accessing the third row in an SUV is difficult and unless you go for something huge (like a suburban) there is almost no trunk space with the third row up. And even in a Suburban, the third row is pretty cramped. I said no minivan, but after my third was born I really wished I had gone for one instead of a 7 passenger SUV. I would recommend the Honda Odyssey over the Sienna personally. They don't come in AWD, but IMO they are nicer vans and they're more roomy.


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## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

I guess I can see the advantages of a mini van over an SUV, but we really need AWD if at all possible. We never know where we are going to end up living since the Army just kinda tells us where to go and when DH is deployed I am not real comfortable driving in snow without it. I mean, I know if I needed to I could put chains or whatever on it but ideally we would have AWD. Given that... if you ladies had the choice between a mini van with out AWD and an SUV like the Traverse with it what would you choose?


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## KempsMama (Dec 1, 2008)

I thought I'd chime in here re:AWD. I have a 2004 Sienna, two wheel drive. I live in Central Minnesota. I've driven my van in some of the worst conditions (we used to live in Fargo, too.) Never have I once wished it had AWD. It handles beautifully.

IMO, AWD gives a false sense of security. Learning how to drive your vehicle in varying conditions is the key to staying safe. I know how my van handles and drive accordingly.


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## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

That's good to know KempsMama, I guess my main concern is that I am not good at putting chains on if I needed them but it is always something I could learn to do! Would you be more worried driving somewhere in 2 wheel drive that isn't used to getting snow? Where we are from in WA it snows every winter, but they are never prepared for it... Also, do you feel the 2 wheel drive would do ok going into the mountains for skiing?


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## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

I have another Sienna question... the none AWD ones seem to come with a middle bench and a back bench, so they set 8... how do you guys feel about that cofiguration? Is the LATCH the same? It kinda looked like all 3 middles seats had latch but it is hard to tell from pics...


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## mbhf (Jan 8, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chely7425* 
I guess I can see the advantages of a mini van over an SUV, but we really need AWD if at all possible. We never know where we are going to end up living since the Army just kinda tells us where to go and when DH is deployed I am not real comfortable driving in snow without it. I mean, I know if I needed to I could put chains or whatever on it but ideally we would have AWD. Given that... if you ladies had the choice between a mini van with out AWD and an SUV like the Traverse with it what would you choose?

We are Navy, so we also go where the military sends us and my dh is frequently gone. I am perfectly comfortable without AWD, I've never had to put chains on my tires (if it's that bad I wouldn't go out anyway) and we have lived with a lot of snow. We currently live in CT and we have had two really snowy winters, we live at the top of a fairly steep hill and I haven't had issues. FWIW, my dh drives a Subaru Tribecca (AWD, of course) and I really can't tell the difference between my car and his.

I would definitely choose a minivan without AWD over an SUV for more than 2 small children. The Tribecca was originally mine, we had always driven Subarus and when my second was about 6 months old we decided we wanted something bigger to fit more kids. I said no way to a minivan, really wanted another Subaru and AWD. After my third was born I was really kicking myself for not getting a minivan, and I got my odyssey when he was about 8 months old. I have had all four of my kids in my dh's car a couple of times and it is such a huge pain in the butt, seriously. It was perfect for 2 kids, really roomy and nice. But add in that third carseat and UGH.

FWIW, every mom I know (myself included, obviously) that has bought an SUV to avoid a minivan has traded in the SUV on a minivan within the first year of having 3. You just can't beat the convenience!


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## Peony (Nov 27, 2003)

Snow tires are going to be what you would what if you live in a snowy place and have 2W, really even AWD/4WD should have them as well, it makes a huge difference. We had well over 100 inches of snow at my house last year, I would choose 2WD van over a crossover with 4 kids. Lots of people drive 2WD cars up to the ski resorts, you just need to know how to drive in snow regardless of what you are in. The only issue I see with 2WD and resorts ( we snowboard several times a week in the winter), and when it is really snowing and there are mounds of snow where the plows can't get with the parked cars, 2WD have some issues in the parking lot and again when it is warmer during some days. Slush+2WD+incline can be interesting trying to get out, I passed a few stuck 2WD vans/cars last winter in the parking lot last winter, but also there is no telling if they had snow tires either.


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## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

I think you guys have me convinced that a van is the way to go... we are probably looking at a 2009 or a 2010 Sienna, they seem to be pretty reasonably priced and I believe they have all the TAs and the 8th seat is removable.. right?


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## KempsMama (Dec 1, 2008)

I've never put chains on any vehicle I've owned, never needed to, and it's actually illegal to use chains on the main roads here. As far as mountains, there aren't any around here, but I've taken her up into the mines with no problem. I used to live farther north than I do now, and frequently made winter drives to the border, and never had a problem. That being said, I grew up here, and actually took my drivers test during a blizzard, so it's all I've known.

If you do move to a climate that gets a lot of snow or ice or whatever, ask your neighbors for driving tips and places to avoid. There are roads around here I avoid like the plaque if the plows haven't been out yet.


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## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

Thank you for the tips







I think we are definitely going for an 8 passenger Sienna, either a 2009 or a 2010 depending on the prices!


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Great choice!

We actually just moved from a minivan to a small SUV. We looked at many and our favorites were the Pilot, the Tribeca, the Highlander, and we ended up buying a BMW x5. It has AWD, which is important since we live in Alaska...it is not a "false sense of security." Our van was 2wd and had traction assist and it did fine for 2 winters, but I wanted something I wouldn't hesitate to go on a road trip in during a snow storm.


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## Joyster (Oct 26, 2007)

I was in your shoes having to replace my CRV with a van and really wasn't feeling it. I went with an Odyssey 4WD. LOVE the seating and storage space...not so keen on parking the thing and will have to see what it handles like in winter, but overall, I'm pretty happy with the purchase. Power doors are the best thing ever!


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## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

Thanks guys! Like a lot of you pointed out, if the weather is THAT bad I probably won't be going anywhere, and I can always get snow tires. None of this is an issue in Louisiana where we are currently stationed and we are hoping for WA state next where besides going to the mountains it would probably also no be an issue







If we had a bigger budget I would love a Suburban but that is definitely not happening...


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

I live in WA! Usually when you go to the mountains the roads are decently plowed. It's only when it's actually snowing a lot up there it's an issue (and chains are usually fine).

Good luck in your search!


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## chely7425 (Aug 8, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DahliaRW* 
I live in WA! Usually when you go to the mountains the roads are decently plowed. It's only when it's actually snowing a lot up there it's an issue (and chains are usually fine).

Good luck in your search!

Yeah, my parents go up to Crystal all the time and half the time they drive my dad's 1992 Taurus Station Wagon so I probably shouldn't be too worried... I mean, if we can find an AWD one in our price range then I am all for it but I am not going to throw our budget out the window for it!!!


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