Auto advice for large families

I spent a year having the form/function argument with myself over a minivan--I finally broke down and bought it because we have to cart everyone to the in-laws (including big dog) for holidays, which is a four-hour trip. After two days, I was like, How did I ever have kids without having a minivan? I am so over the fact that I'm probably the youngest minivan driver of all time, and that I've totally dorked myself out while my friends are busy buying flashy, fast cars (these are the single ones with no student loans...). We have a Dodge Grand Caravan--it's a 2004 that we got used--a dealership in Columbus had just bought a bunch from a car rental place at auction, so we got it dirt cheap and in good shape. I loooooooooove it and just plan on driving it until it dies...and then I'll upgrade to an even nicer one, like a Sienna or an Odyssey. Our friends keep coming over to visit and they're like, "Whose minivan is that in front of your house?" I just keep telling them that my son bought it, not me.

I just keep telling them that my son bought it, not me.

[mommax3]

And in a lot of the cases the third row really cuts into cargo space so there is no way you could have 8 people and their stuff.

That is why I love the Suburban and why it will be hard for me to ever switch to a minivan. We have never run out of space for luggage, etc. when we have taken long car trips, and many times we have had a dog kennel in the back as well. There have been a couple of times we have talked about getting a top carrier (which scares me because the Suburban by itself is high-profile enough) but we haven't ever had to do it. The back row of seats in ours folds down (not completely into the floor) but we have only had the back row down once, when we moved here and were hauling stuff. It is SO nice to go to the nursery and be able to buy bedding plants or whatever and know that I have plenty of room for them without altering the structure of my vehicle.

In dealing with carseats, I much prefer the Suburban's height to bending over and sticking my head into a car. I have never had a minivan but when I have had my kids in a friend's, I have had to do some awkward bending to place infant carriers or buckle in little ones. It kills my back after a while. I think that is probably height-dependent, though.

Really, the only drawback to my car is that it doesn't have second row captain's chairs. My two older kids are old enough to move the outside middle row seat forward, though,so it isn't usually a big deal.

Sally

[BonBon]

Jenn, the Dyson is the best. I have the Animal model and it is disgusting how many times I have to empty it while going through the house. (We have 5 pets too, so that may have something to do with it) When I had a bag vacuum, I didn't change the bag very often. Yick, hate to think of what was in the carpet.

Sally, the minivans don't have cargo space?? I also buy tons of plants in the spring and need somewhere to put them. Now the pendulum is swinging back in favor of the suburban. With the captain seats, of course.

Did I mention already that the Tahoe will be available as a hybrid in '07? I can't remember and I can't see back far enough to look.

[mommax3]

Minivans don't have NEAR the cargo space of a Suburban, unless I have missed some new developments. The cargo space I have (without having to move seats or anything) is roughly large enough to set up a Pack-n-Play in the back, not that I have ever done that. BUT it is the perfect height to lay a kid down in and change their diaper!!! (which I have done PLENTY of times.) You may have to go with the Yukon XL to get second row captain's chairs.....I am not sure they are offered on the Suburban.

I just saw an ad for the Dyson animal model today. I have been noticing that our vacuum has very little suction power.....we have had it for a while. Also, in the past six months or so, my oldest son broke off the part that holds all of the attachments. DH and I have been thinking that it might be time for a new one.....tell me more about yours!

Sally

[DCJenn]

We have Dyson, too- with the animal fur attachment and it is more than worth the expense. Sally- we got ours at the BX at Andrews so look at your BX. Might as well save some $!

Jenn

[BonBon]

I just saw an ad for the Dyson animal model today....tell me more about yours!

Sally

:--- <---me and my Dyson. Sally, it is SO easy to use and it has incredible suction. You would not believe the animal hair that this thing pulls up. And - this really makes your carpets seem new again. Our carpets are suddenly fluffy, for lack of a better term. It feels like there is a lot more cushion when you walk on it. The difference is amazing. To empty it, you just pull of the canister, hold it over the trash and hit the red button. You never have to touch it, it falls out of the bottom. It's got a lifetime HEPA filter, a longer than average cord, and such a long hose that you can leave the vacuum at the bottom of the stairs and the hose will stretch all the way to the top. LOL, we have a black oriental carpet that the dogs always lie on. The first time I used the Dyson on it, DH was shocked. He forgot it was so black. (Let's ignore what that says about my housekeeping! )

I heard that you can sign up for coupons at Kohl's and they send you 20% off coupons fairly regularly and you can use them on Dyson's. You might have to sign up for their store credit card to get the coupons, not sure. It is well worth the investment. My old vacuum cleaner is a Fantom canister, which worked great - until I tried this one out. This blew it away.

I can't believe I just wrote all that about a vacuum cleaner!

[SueC]

We went through the same car struggle a year and a half ago when I was pregnant with Mitchell, and we ended up with a Suburban. I felt very conflicted about it, since it isn't exactly the most environmentally conscious vehicle to be driving around, but having a larger than 100lb dog that we actually like to take places was the clincher. Several times a year we drive either 3 or 8 hours to see grandparents and we take the dog with us--a minivan wouldn't be a safe way to transport the dog, unfortunately (I really wanted one with all the cool compartments). Then again, he takes up ALL of the cargo space, so we are going to end up getting some type of yakima rack or something so that we can top-load all of our luggage.
I'm pleasantly surprised at how it handles and have gotten pretty good at even parallel parking the darned thing.

[Sheherezade]

We haven't had an issue with cargo space with our van. The only time we do is if we are loading full sheets of sheet rock or plywood - 8 by 4 items. Still, that is an unusual amount of cargo . The back seat folds down easily to a flat floor and then the space is about ......5 by 6 feet with the captain's chairs and the front seats for passengers. Without the back seat down, there is a well about 1 foot deep and 5 by 2 in the back. You should take a look to see what your needs are, but I haven't heard any cargo compaints among my fellow van people (at least with the Honda or Sienna with the disappearing back seat). Stop talking about the Dyson!!!!! I just bought a much cheaper and inferior product but our rugs were dirty and we aren't that rich yet......

My station wagon has a ton of room in the back -- also great for changing diapers.
I'm going to have to check out the folding rear seats of the minivan. The Landcruiser's seats do fold against the side of the car but it is cumbersome. Waaayyy back when my dad had a Previa (pre-Sienna) those seats folded up pretty easily and it sounds like it is even better.

Re: Auto advice for large families

So...my question is, what is a great car for a family of 6? I've been thinking about the suburban with 2nd row captain seats like Sally recommended. But it's so...BIG. Any suggestions? I used to think that I would die before I got a minivan , but it's actually looking like a better option in terms of ease of use. Is there such a thing as an SUV with easily accessible 3rd row seats, say with sliding doors?

*sigh*

We have a Volvo V70 with a third row seat. It seats 7 and is a wagon instead of a minivan. We love it!

Miranda

[DCJenn]

Just an FYI-

The February Conde Naste Traveler magazine had an article wbout the Hondo Odyssey and the author LOVED it, felt it had more interior room than the Suburban and got significantly better gas mileage.

Jenn

Re: Auto advice for large families

We have a Volvo V70 with a third row seat. It seats 7 and is a wagon instead of a minivan. We love it!

How do you feel about accessing the third row? I haven't tried that one -- just looked at pictures and thought it looked like a similar arrangement to 3rd row SUVs.

Do tell!

[houseelf]

Just a piggyback on Laura's comments-- Our minivan's smaller second row and larger third row (both bench seats) are interchangeable seats. IMHO, I enjoy this option because if we switched the benches, we could put three car seats in our second row. Bench seating is nice for the young kids because you can kneel in door well when you have to wrangle a child into a car seat. The second row captain chairs do make it harder to get to that third row and limits seating close to the big people.

I couldn't agree more, take all the car seats and boosters with you. These minivans are designed for little people and their gear, but you need to know how it will really work for you. After having to essentially perform yoga to get two car seats in the back of our Honda civics (with the infant in the middle and a booster next to it), the minivan practically sold itself when we saw the dual sliding side doors and roomy second and third row. Hey, I know that by driving this vehicle I am a walking stereotype, but I don't care, I love the car and I love my life.

Anyway, we wanted a VW Eurovan but couldn't afford it. We ended up with a Chrysler Town and Country and we are pretty happy with it.

Good luck,

Kelly

[SueC]

I thought I would throw my opinon in here. We went from a Jeep Cherokee, to a used mini-van to a Chrysler Pacifica (with 3rd row seats) and I hated it! We had it for 4 months and returned it for a Chrysler mini-van with the stow and go seats. It cost us to do this and as much as I think cars are a huge waste of money, I wouldn't trade the minivan for the a vehicle with 3rd row seating for a long time. I think if your kids are old enough to manipulate the second row seats to access the third row and can buckle themselves up, the 3rd row seats probably would be fine. But with 3 car seats, two had to go in the 3rd row (so the second row seat could be moved forward to give them access to the back) so that meant, I had to leave one kid standing outside while I buckled the others in. It stunk. I would suggest that whatever you are considering that you take all of the car seats, booster seats and kids with you that you think you will be transporting around and get them all in and out. Also, we got the extended wheel base so that our cargo space is awesome. We bought new couch last weekend that was 95" long and we hauled it home (just DH and I) with no problems. Happy shopping!

Good to know Laura--I really wanted either a Chrysler Pacifica or the Volvo equivalent, but my dh (you can let the "d" stand for whatever you want here ) basically bought the Suburban while I was out of town last year. We have to put two carseats in the back and one in the middle, and I leave one middle seat permanately folded down so that I can open the door, let my older two climb into the back and while they are situating themselves I buckle the baby in. We then can still use the cargo space for groceries, the dog, the stroller, etc., and we can quickly fold up that middle seat if for some reason a few other people are riding with us. Getting into the car is a carefully orchestrated event for us.