My wife and I are in the market for a new car. We probably won’t buy until early next year, but are trying to sort out the hundreds of options on the market. Any info that you guys have would be much appreciated in helping us choose.
Here is our situation:
3 kids- all boys. ages 1 1/2 to 12.
we are SCA members (medieval re-enactment society). we anticipate going on a lot of weekend camping type outings, and in addition to camping gear, I also have armor to ferry around, as well as a period arming pavillion we’re hoping to buy in the near future.
my wife hates minivans. If we decide on that route, we need a kickass one (dvd player, etc.). I’d like 3 rows of seats, myself.
4)i am wary of suvs- don’t like their fuel inefficiency, or rollover rate. wife loves the look of them.
We are in the US.
Well, that’s all I can think of at the moment. Any ideas?
An four-door pickup truck. I’ve seen some that look quite workable as a family vehicle (especially the short-bed models. Some short-beds have an odd arrangement of bars behind the tailgate that can extend the usable space in the bed if you are carrying something long.
what about a family sedan like a Taurus, Camry or Sable. You can latch a plastic cargo carrier to the roof if you need extra space. When you combine the cu. feet of a 30 cu. feet roof mounted luggage container plus the trunk which is roughly 14 cu. feet that should be enough space. You’ll be just like the griswolds, driving around with a giant luggage rack on the top of your car.
I’m in a similar boat – considering a new car, husband and wife torn between a minivan and an SUV.
Haven’t made a decision yet, but you might want to consider these:
(1) Honda Odyssey. Yeah, it’s a minivan, but it’s roomy and comfortable as heck. Seats seven, and the rear seat folds into the floor for extra storage. You can get it equipped with leather seats and a DVD player for $29K MSRP. Relatively good fuel efficiency.
(2) Honda Pilot. Yeah, it’s an SUV, which is sure to please the wife. Seats eight, fuel efficiency is slightly worse than the Odyssey, but might be acceptable to you. Costs about $2K more than the Odyssey, though.
I’ll definitely be following this thread with interest…
I don’t know if a normal SUV would work for you. If your kids are fairly wide, all 3 may not fit in a regular SUV/station wagon (car seats take up a lot of space don’t they?).
3 rows is probabaly your best bet. The Toyota Sienna got really great reviews and it’s not as “mini van-ish” than your typical mini-van.
Pricing for the '04 is a little steep though ($23K - $37K)
The Acura MDX is an SUV that I think looks like a sporty minivan. It has 3 rows of seats and decent fuel efficiency (17/23 mpg) for a big car. In a recent issue of Time magazine, the MDX was rated the least likely to roll over because it has a lower center of gravity than most SUV’s. I haven’t looked into it very much, but Honda and Acura tend to offer tons of options with all their cars.
Here’s a link to the official site if you want to take a look.