Need new car advice

[DURASPANK]

When my kids were young. The wife and I both drove suburbans. Plenty of room and power. I use to joke about it being the only vehicle. That you could take a trip in and the kids couldn't touch each other. Plus when staying at lake. One pulled the camper one pulled the boat.

[bobh4656]

We have had two Highlanders and the Toyota Mini van. My wife drives a 2014 highlander and I used to drive the Mini Van which I Loved!!!! It rode and drove great! Traded it for a newer Tahoe to tow the boat etc.
Honestly had I been able to tow with the Mini van I would have kept it.
Don't get me wrong the Tahoe is very nice but so are the Toyotas.
Our Toyota ownership has spanned 17 years so far with very few issues for me that's a BIG plus.

[Jdub176]

I know this is going to get bad comments, but a dodge minivan is really the most economical way to go dollar for dollar. Not only that, but you will have room to grow as a family and a place for all the baby chit.

[Goin' Ham]

My suggestion is the minivan or a crew cab short bed 1500.

[HDETERS]

I was in the car business when our kids were born as a new car manager so I got demos. I will tell you it is a pain in the ass dealing with rear doors that just don't open wide enough to deal with the car seat. I found that a mini van is the best way to go. This is my opinion as well as lots of customers. I would go with Honda or Toyota. They last a long time with very few issues. Our latest is a Sienna. Toyota went with a timing chain when they started with the 3.5 engine. I think Honda still uses a timing belt in their V6. If you keep your cars a long time that will save you 700-1000 every 60-100k miles (not sure how often Honda says change them). The side doors on a mini van open completely and give you killer access to the kids and anything else. There is a ton of room in the back of a mini van too. Vacations are a pleasure to drive to with a mini van. IMHO the chrysler van just won't give the longevity the honda and toyota will. If you only keep it a few years or less than 100k miles then any of the three should do a great job. If you keep something 300k miles plus then honda toyota. I think we are on our 4th sienna. We drive lots of miles per year.

[pureoil313]

Two kids now, 1 and 3 and before our first my wife drove a small corrolla and we went car shopping for a family vehicle and did not want to go the minivan route and I searched High and low for the right vehicle and settled on a Mazda CX9 and love it. It has AWD which is good as we live in a hilly area with snow. I also wanted a backup camera as I have heard horror stories of people backing over there children. It is great and fits a lot of storage in the back but the big thing is the accessing the third row. If I were to do it again I would have gone with a chevy traverse or dodge durango all because the layout. The Third row does nothing with two car seats as you can not flip the seat down with two car seats to get to the third row where as a traverse/durango has captains chairs.

[n2ratfishin]

The expense is why people end up in minivans. Sure SUVs look cool, but good lord they are high...you can get just as much room and then some with a van for half the price. Baffles me how I know of people who have driven themselves into financial problems simply because they wanted to look cool. Just dumb in my opinion. I hate a van just as much as the next person, but it's a tool to make things easier, and it's certainly not a permanent thing.

Had nothing to with looking cool, had everything to do with wanting a frame instead of a unibody under my wife and child. Early on in our marriage we were rear ended by an old Ranchero in a 4 door Civic. The impact knocked us through an intersection and wiped out the rear of the car. The front bumper of that old Ranchero barley had a scratch. This was back in 86 or 87. I never had her in a small econo something again with our son. We switched to a nightmare with Ford back then. But, that's another story.

People spend their money on all kinds of stuff. As long as they are the ones earning it, no problem. Safety was at the top of this guys list. If I'm not mistaken minivans don't do so well on offset crashes. Most unibody's struggle in that area.

[BeeNix]

Before you buy anything, let her drive an AWD Ford Flex. They are AWESOME!

[Fedora]

Beat a loaner awd sienna drilling gas Wells, up to the windows in mud, lol. Loved it so much we got one for my wife when the explorer crapped out at the 80k mark. Comfy on long trips, great in the snow, will haul a 4'x8' sheet of plywood in the inside, and will tow my boat if need be. Mpg sucks, I think it gets 16 in the mountains.

[river zx225]

I sell cars for a living and the only Vehicle I would own would be a Toyota, or Honda.

[dtibbals]

I highly suggest a midsize SUV. Lift back and space you need, taller which is nice for visibility but also easier than bending over in a car to put baby in and out. I would look at Hyundai/Kia, Toyota, Mazda and Honda. They all have a little different take on what a midsize SUV is. If it was my choice I would go with a 2017 Mazda CX-5. Great car, very good looking, holds value very well and probably as close to perfect for what you want to do.

[jigman51]

Mazda CX5. My daughter had a baby in June and this is what she drives. With just one kid it will do a great job. If you need more room get a CX 9.

[enforcer410]

CAMRY

[Chadsc]

We have one with one on the way. My crew cab f150 does double duty now. This fall we are getting one of the vw atlases. Alot of family friendly features. Any suv like that would be great. Just remember esp with a baby your going to be carrying more crap than you ever imagined. Vw is a love or hate brand, weve always had great luck and loved ours.

[Treker47]

Rav 4

[1fejj]

I'm in the auto body business. Any Toyota, Subaru or VW product is pretty solid in all aspects. My wife is on her 3rd VW Jetta Sportwagen. She was t-boned in the drivers door three weeks ago and it totaled the car (2014 model). She walked away with only airbag rash. I would NOT get a GM product unless you plan on only keeping it for a year or two.

[artcarney_agr]

People spend their money on all kinds of stuff. As long as they are the ones earning it, no problem. Safety was at the top of this guys list. If I'm not mistaken minivans don't do so well on offset crashes. Most unibody's struggle in that area.

I studied the crash tests, Sienna and Odyssey were the only two I felt comfortable worth...some of the other brands did look awful with their results

[artcarney_agr]

We have one with one on the way. My crew cab f150 does double duty now. This fall we are getting one of the vw atlases. Alot of family friendly features. Any suv like that would be great. Just remember esp with a baby your going to be carrying more crap than you ever imagined. Vw is a love or hate brand, weve always had great luck and loved ours.

I tried to talk my wife into an F150 with a campershell on the back, she said she wouldn't like parking it and driving it around town, especially in the city. An F150 makes the most sense to me as it has good resell value, is very safe, good on gas with the EcoBoost, and offers tons of dry cargo space in the bed with a campershell.

[pabasshawk]

I know it may not be a cool car but do your self a favor and test drive a Honda Odyssey. Both of my kids have one and absolutely love them.

[nitrodude]

Before you buy anything, let her drive an AWD Ford Flex. They are AWESOME!

Great advice from Herb. Bought my wife her second Flex (Lmited) for Mother's Day. The Flex is huge inside and that 3.5L ecoboost AWD is a smoking grocery getter. We stuck with the quad captain chairs to keep it open for the boys and their junk. The rear seat flip for tailgating is already a hit with the little man. One of the best and least advertised quality family vehicles built. IMHO