Looking for a New Vehicle.

We recently got a Toyota Land Cruiser and have been SO impressed by it! It's such a family friendly car. Spacious and safe. And, it's a Toyota so it'll last forever! Good luck.

I also have 2 kids (4.5 and 22 months) and have had a Honda Pilot for a little over 2 years now. I really like it. It has plenty of room for us on a day to day basis and it drives like a car not a truck. There is room between the car seats for a person to sit, and I have a Marathon and a Regent which are pretty big car seats. Plus it has the 3rd row if we need it. The 3rd row is a 60/40 split so you can put up just part, it has 3 pt seat belts and feels like a "real" seat, and you can put car seats in it. Also, with the 3rd row up there is still a decent amount of storage area.

Volvo XC90 has been great and seats up to 7 people. The third row seat can drop down to provide additional cargo space. I definately love my volvo. However our Chevrolet Yukon XL seats up to 8, has a tv and is great for road trips (we can all lay out and relax), but is large, but some people love driving big cars.

Good luck.

I've owned 4 SUVs. Now I drive a Toyota Highlander hybrid, and my previous one was a Honda Pilot. Very similar in terms of driving experience, and both highly rated by Consumer Reports. Both have 3rd row seats and while the Pilot's holds 3, the Highlander only seats 2 children and is very cramped back there. Seating in the front and 2nd row feels similar, but the Highlander is not as tall. I owned a Ford Explorer for a short time but it was too truck-like, and before that a Jeep Grand Cherokee. If Jeep had a better reliability record I'd have stuck with that brand, but I've been very happy with both the Pilot and Highlander. Lexus is another great brand.

Hi T.,

I grudgingly leased a Honda Odyssey minivan at the request of my husband. We have two children ages 3.5 and 9 months. Now that we have had it for a while I absolutely love it. With the power sliding doors it is so easy to get the kids in and out. There is a ton of room for groceries, bikes, strollers, whatever. The inside is extremely cavernous. Sometimes on rainy days I take the kids out for a drive so the baby will fall asleep and I find a great place to park where I can read books to my daughter. Only downside is there is no cool factor, but I'm coming to terms with that. Good luck with your search.

Right before my second daughter was born I was thinking the same as you. I could not imagine getting two carseats in my back seat. I went out and bought a GMC Yukon and LOVE IT!

LOVE love my Tahoe!! So much room, very smooth ride and extremely comfortable!

I always loved my Plymouth Voyager and Dodge Grand Caravan. Now I'm down to one kid (who's hoping to get the Caravan as 'her' car next year...yeah right) and don't need the van, but they have served me well! Many many years of carpooling, hauling sports equipment and family camping!

good luck!

Well it's not a luxury vehicle, but we love our Ford Explorer with a fold down 3rd seat(and would probably love an Expedition if we wanted even larger but environmentally/gas price wise we feel bad enough with the Explorer however we need it right now with small children). We have a 2.5 yr old and a 3 mo. old. It accomodates a lot because it is not roundish or "egg shaped" in the rear - makes a BIG difference. We have 2 car seats in the back seat with room in between and on the floor for diaper bags, snacks, toys etc. We keep the 3rd seat folded for now and the Pack N Play and stroller live there with room still for groceries etc. The 3rd row seat will be put up when car seats are no longer needed and we are carting friends around with us instead. However, if I were to do it again I'd consider a minivan (it's so uncool, but I'd try to get over it) because they are roomy and more efficient with gas.
PS-Explorer has the BEST TURNING RADIUS I have ever seen in a SUV or a car. It's amazing - far better than any car I've ever driven. I can get in and out of anywhere easily.

I love my Ford Explorer - no too small like an Escape, but not as big as the Excursion. We bought a "used" one that the dealership used for driving customers too and fro and it only had 7000 miles on it. It was one of their certified Pre-Owned vehicles. Good luck!

Congrats on your new addition. Going from one child to 2 is a whole new world as Ive learned. My husband and I have owned a lot of cars of all different shapes and sizes (talking toddler talk)We LOVE!!!!!! our Yukon Denali. We have the smaller one not the XL. Best American made car ever. We hvae owned it almost 5 years NEVER had a problem and we will buy another one after the kids beat on this one. I owned many honda's, acura's, Vw's. BMW's, Nissan and list goes on. The Yukon is hands down. The nice part is with two carseats, one for our 3yr old son and 8 month old and we can still fit an adult on the end of the carseats. We took the back bench seat out in the 3rd row as we don't ust it. I hvae have have 2 strollers in the back with a ton of groceries and still had room. Our next Yukon will probably have the 2 captain seats once the kids get older instead of the bench seat like we do now. But it is great. I can sit in the back and attend to their needs without climbing all over the place. Of course we have the baby in the middle as the seat behind the drivers side doesn't have the latch system for the infant carseat. There is only two on the bench not 3. My friend has the honda Odessy and triplets and a nanny and they have tons of room for the stroller and all their bags. I just can't see myself driving a minivan but I have heard great things about it.
Good luck.

SAHM/zombie 40 yrs old with 2 super funny sons.

We have a Nissan Armada and have loved it. We purchased it certified used nearly three years ago and have had no problems with it at all. You can get them to seat either 7 or 8, with either two captains' chairs or a bench seat for the middle row. We have the two captains' chairs, which have been great for our 4-year-old and baby who is now 6 months old. It has plenty of room for travelling. Over Christmas we drove it to TX to see family and it held our family, all our stuff and our two small dogs in their kennel, with room to spare. It is okay mileage-wise at about 19 mpg - not great, but I'm not sure if any of the big SUVs are.

Well I am a sucker for comfort- I'm 5' 8" and i couldnt really fit into a minivan comfortably. I love my Ford Expedition. I have the bench seat in the front, which is really nice. It has a flip down arm rest if i want it, and if not it is in the up position and ready to seat a passenger. So I can seat 9 people!

I say go HONDA! It can't be beat on looks, reliability, and safety! Check out the Pilot SUV or Odyssey minivan, depending on your preference. I have owned both and loved both. I NEVER in a million years ever thought I would drive a minivan, but I drove it after my husband convinced me to, (he sells Hondas) and fell in love. So don't write off a minivan until you drive one! Good luck in your search!

Hi T.,

I'll tell you I absolutely love my Toyota Highlander. I have three children - two of them are younger. When I went searching for an SUV type vehicle, I went on Consumer Reports, after seeing a Highlander in our office parking lot and really liking the look of it. It had top ratings across the board for mechanical performance, MPG, resale value, etc., compared to any other mid-size SUV in its class. It has been so economical and is a terrific drive. It is a 6 cylinder and is all-wheel drive too. It is roomy and the back can even be a third seat if you want. I have 66k miles on mine and haven't had a mechanical problem with it. There is also a hybrid Highlander out there now. Hope this helps.
- E.

I have two kids (ages 2 and 5) and I LOVE my Subaru Forester. We live in the mountains and need the clearance on our 4x4 dirt road and this handles great ... the best vehicle in the snow I've ever owned. A little snug inside sometimes but I take my kids kayaking, backpacking, etc. so we usually carry more gear than most people.

My husband and I argue over who gets to drive it. We want another one. Although technically an SUV, we call it our "car" because of it's compact size and handling. Gets good gas mileage too. I don't know anything about the Infinite so test drive and check it out.

T.,
I read the other responses and can see that those cars are great. I'd just like to share our car experience. We went from Volvos to Hyundai Santa Fes. We loved it so much that we sold both of our money eaters - ooops I mean Volvos, and now have two Hyundais. Their warranty is great (10 year-100,000 mi) so we couldn't pass it up. We also feel very safe in them and they have a lot of room. ( We have 2 dogs too.) The car seats attach with the latch system and there is room for a person to sit in between them.
Just letting you know that we are happy with our choice.

It depends on if you want an SUV or a minivan. We were going to get a minivan - Honda Oddyssey (sp?) but then my husbands family moved to the mountains and we needed an all-wheel drive, so we got the GMC Yukon Denal XL. (We wanted a lot of space since we drive down for Christmas each year and needed space for all of us, plus luggage, plus presents and not be crammed for the 8 hour drive.) We LOVE it! We just drove all over the mountain this year while it was snowing and the car handled wonderfully. Plus, it has onstar and the navigation, which we can't live with out. With the On-star I already had verizon wireless for my cell, so I was able to create a plan for my cell and the car phone all on one bill. The calls go right through the speakers so it works great. Plus we have the DVD player for the kids so it keeps them occupied for the long drive. If you just need a car for local stuff, you may not need all of the extra's, but they were a definite advantage for us!

Good Luck!

I just bought the new Ford Flex....its a like a mini cooper on steroids. The interior is very limo-ish feeling and I am very excited since I have been in a mini-van the last 5 years and its great to have a car that can seat 6 football players and is luxurious on the interior. You can also get the 7 seat function....they have moon roofs for the mid and back section, mine has a refrigerator, and mood lighting. I am a sales rep and needed a car with huge cargo room and could fit 4 people riding(droping off small kids at school).....and also be convertable for 6 people since we have 4 kids.

Hi T.,

My favorite SUV was our 2006 Chevy Suburban. I absolutely loved it! Leather seats with seat warmers, programable for different drivers, DVD player for long trips, very smooth to drive, pedals moved forward and back so that you did not have to move the seat forward, lots of room in the back, never a mechanical problem - and we had over 120,000 miles on it - the list of +'s goes on and on.

As an example of the amount of room: My husband and I took our 4 children to Spirit West Coast along with all of our camping gear and still had room left over!! :)

I only had 2 complaints - 1 is that the center seat did not flip forward in a practical manner to allow adults into the back, of course, this didn't matter to the kids - they can get over any hurdle :). Also, the amount of gas usage became the reason we got rid of it. Not necessarily because of the cost, but more of an environmental issue. I'm becomming very big on caring for our environment so I just couldn't drive it any more. :) I know that they are working on the hybrid SUV's and so I'm waiting now for a larger version of what is already available. We just don't fit in the smaller suv's anymore. (kiddo #5 arives on 3/26) :)

Happy shopping. :)

R.
www.HomeWithMy4.com

We have a Jeep Grand Cherokee limited. We love it because it will take us all(husband, 2 boys 8, 10 and a 90 pound golden retriever). We have the 4 X 4 so snow is not a problem. We also have a travel trailer and it hauls it wonderfully. It is not as big as the chevy/gmc so it does great in town as well. Not as green as we would like but we try and grouop our trip together.

LOVE LOVE LOVE my Toyota Sienna. I have a 2004 (it'll be five years old tomorrow) and I would buy it again in a heart beat. We have the LE model with Package 7 that includes side air curtains, ABS, traction control, and such--all the important safty features. We just spent two years (we do nothing quickly :) ) finding a new car for my husband and he kept flopping and twitching over just getting himself a Sienna, too, because you get so much car for the money. In the end he opted for the Rav 4 Sport because it had what HE wanted--sun roof, etc. We almost drove the Rav to Idaho for Thanksgiving but decided to take Bertie (he's red like Bertie the Bus from Thomas) and I was really glad--for hauling two boys (5 and 8) and one lab and all our luggage, etc. the Sienna just cannot be beat. It's comfortable, it's roomy, it holds everything with room to spare and it still gets 26-29 miles on the highway.

My parents liked my Sienna so much they bought their own. Their's is the dark gray so it's Gertie instead of Bertie. (Sorry--family humor.) Anyway--until the boys are in college I already know that my next new car will also be a Sienna. LOVE it. OH--we bought the Toyota extended warranty on it and it was worth it to us so we did it again on the Rav.

One thing Toyota of Walnut Creek (and I assume the others as well) offered is the service plan--EVERYTHING except gas is covered until you hit 40,000 miles--oil changes, scheduled maintenance, etc. You can put it in with your loan or pay for it all at once--my husband flopped on this, too, but in the end went for it and when that first service plan snuck up on him last month he was glad he could just drop it off (at any Toyota dealer, no less!) and it was taken care of. Wish we'd had it on the Sienna and will do it on the next one.

Can't say enough good things about Bertie. He's the best and as minivans go, he looks GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!! }:) (And it's nice to be able to go to Costco, Target, and groceries in one day with both boys and still have everything fit in Bertie.)

Good luck--M.

We have a Yukon we bought used. It steers as easily as a car in spite of it's size - has a 3rd row seat that comes out and DVD player for the munchkin - great for long trips.
I also like that since it's a GM is comes with OnStar which has been very handy a few times! It's not very sexy looking but it can haul a lot of stuff or people. You can probably get a great deal on a 1-2 year old model. maintenance has been minimal BTW.

Hi T., looks like we have a lot in common ( : We have a Ford Expedition. It's awesome, we have 3 row seating so it actually seats 7 passengers! When we don't need the 3 rows we fold down the very back row then we have a larger trunk. It's really easy to fold up and down, my 4 yr old does it himself sometimes. When the 3rd row is up we can still fit a stroller and some other stuff in the trunk. The way our truck is set up we can also fold up and down parts of the 3rd row. So when our dog is going with us our son likes to sit in the very back with him!! I like the way it drives..lots of power and now you can actually get an extended version if you want more trunk space. My parents always had fords when I was growing up so I didn't really like them but after having the truck I love them! It hasn't given me the problems I had with a Nissan!!!.. I still love my honda but they don't make anything big enough for our family!! Take care, hope this helps!!

I have a Volvo XC90 and absolutely love it!

Lucy B.

Hi T.,
Congrats on your beautiful family! I will be in the same position in about 11 weeks. I have a four year old daughter and am expecting a boy! And I am also a teacher! Anyway, I love my car! I have a Honda Pilot. It seats 7. My daughter has a Britax carseat which is pretty bulky and two adults can still sit next to her comfortably. So I think with the new carseat for the baby, it should be okay. The only valid complaint I have about it is that when I bought it, I could'nt get both the DVD player and navigation but with the new model, they do offer both. Good luck with your car purchase...I know it's a great time to buy a car right now!