The stereotype is that you have kids, they start soccer or something, and you end up trading in your Mustang for a minivan. Now I’m not sure why soccer needs it, as I’m pretty sure it’s not BYOGoal, but I guess you’re expected to ferry other kids?
Obviously, if you love 2-seaters, you’re going to have to adapt. But for those of you who normally drove smaller sedan-type cars prior to starting a family that can fit 5 people and a little luggage, did you end up going the SUV/van/station wagon route? Do you lament doing so or do you feel it is an unnecessary step (assuming you aren’t the Duggars)?
I’ve moved up and back again. I found that a minivan turned out to be an excellent family vehicle and really useful when not lugging kids too. I was driving a 200sx when I got married, gradually moved up to larger cars, got the minivan when the kids were in High School and have recently gone smaller with a Scion Xb now that I’m down to one at home.
It is not a preference change. I would still prefer to have a Aston MArtin DB9 but that isn’t going to happen. It just means I’m realistic. With 4 kids in our blended family a minivan makes sense. And it drives pretty good to. Then add a sensible compact car for me because I would rather have a nice house than a nice car.
Had I known I was going to be ferrying a child, I would have sprung for automatic locks/fob. Having to unlock the front door, reach into the back to unlock the back, open the back, etc. etc. is a huge PITA. It was never a deal before that. It was especially bad when baby was small enough that he had to be carried through all those steps.
My preferences didn’t change. I still prefer a BMW 3 series just like I had when I had my first child. However, after I wrecked it, I realized there was more utility in some other kinds of cars in lots of ways. I love my Toyota RAV-4 Sport because it is really good in the snow (really important during this past Boston winter with a long commute), has lots of cargo space and can do almost anything reasonably well even with 5 or 6 people loaded in it. You won’t ever see me driving a mini-van because I don’t like them and they can’t meet my range of needs like a small SUV or a crossover vehicle can but then again, neither can a Ford F-250 pickup truck or a BMW Z3 convertible.
My basic rule of thumb is to figure out your current needs first and then pick the least dorky vehicle that suits it overall. There are different vehicle classes for very good reasons. I will go back to the BMW 3-series as soon as practical and I will also probably have a beat-up old pickup truck on the side for heavy work.
Before my kids were born, I drove a Toyota Starlet. My wife and I then switched to a 1987 Toyota Corolla FX16. My first child was born, and I drove a 1986 Hyundai Excel GLS. Don’t knock it; it lasted 6 years for me. Later I bought a Camry 4-cyl, so while I’ve gone away from the “sports” cars, my preference hasn’t changed in the sense that fuel economy is a prime factor in my car buying decisions.
I’d always rather drive a small car than some monster. The SUV may technically be safer, but the small car is more nimble, and in my opinion, more likely to avoid obstacles and accidents than a Hummer H2 or 4-door dually. Plus, as a rule, smaller gets higher mileage, so it’s cheaper at the gas pump.
We got a minivan after having kid #2. Before that I drove a mid-size sedan. I really couldn’t care less about what kind of image I project - it’s all about function. And the minivan has so much to offer for a family of four or more. Tons of room for all the kid gear, easy in-easy out, power sliding doors (best. thing. ever!), room for the kids and their friends, etc. I don’t mind driving it at all, except for the lower gas mileage.
It’s certainly possible to have two kids and not get a larger car. But it sure is nice.
I’ve got a somewhat sporty if underpowered 2 door coupe that is getting up there in age. Its about at that point where I now must accept reality so the next car I get will most likely be a 4 door but if I get a sedan I’d really like to get one that is still sporty and has a manual transmission. Something like a Pontiac G8 GXP would probably be fun but they sell pretty quick and are still pretty pricey.
When we had our first child 20 years ago I moved from a sedan to an Isuzu SUV. It was so much easier to carry our precious child and “stuff”. With three children I moved up to an 8 seater Toyota Prado and have owned it now for 14 years. It is a magnificent vehicle.
You can never have too much space in a vehicle when there are children + friends + bags and extraneous stuff to cart places.
Plus I go off-road from time to time so the 4wd actually gets used.
yes, we moved from a small ford focus to a Mondeo when the kids were little (needed it for push chairs, double buggies and so on).
That was too big and too thirsty, so we swapped to a Skoda Yeti (smaller than the mondeo but much more frugal and much more usable space and it’s the best car I’ve ever owned)
Now when we are starting to need more room for ski’s and bikes and more luggage (because the kids are growing up the little buggers) we still need something reasonably compact and frugal so are going with either a new Skoda superb or Octavia (80+mpg!!! very tempting)
My husband has a rather nice E Series Mercedes. I have a small commuter car (I used to have a Pruis and am going to trade in my Volvo sedan for another one). And we have a well used Honda Pilot.
See, you need a car that will allow you to take your car pool turn. My Prius and Volvo will fit four kids. Carpools will be up to six because everyone else on the carpool schedule has a minivan.
Then, if you move to the 'burbs, you need to move mulch. For us, about 25 bags a year. Mulch is NOT going in my husband’s car, and it took three trips in the Prius.
Then there is two kids, two friends, and skis and snowboards.
Two kids, us, the dog, and all the luggage for a long weekend at a friend’s lakehouse.
Trips to drop off the crap accumulated over the year at Goodwill for a tax writeoff.
Getting the lawnmower into the hardware store for blade sharpening and tune up.
Nine days out of ten, the Pilot sits in the garage.
Three of the Jeep Wranglers I’ve owned over the years were purchased taking advantage of the original purchaser having kid issues. In each case a couple purchased a brand new Wrangler, only to have a positive pregnancy test soon thereafter. They were willing to take a loss in order to move to what they felt was more appropriate transportation.
I first switched from a 2 seat Mercedes roadster to the big Lexus LX that could hold 7 or 8. It eventually seemed too cumbersome and I missed the performance when driving it by myself so I downsized to something still roomy enough but much more agile and very safe, the Cayenne S. It was perfect for the 3 of us, a safe, fun, go anywhere do anything, never a problem ride. It’s one of the better vehicles I’ve ever owned.
I’m currently shopping for a car, yes, because it is very hard to snake a one year old into a rear facing car seat in the back seat of a Grand Prix. Too low, too sharply angled roof. I’m not getting a car to haul a bunch of soccer kids around (not sure how you do that anyway before they’re out of the booster seats), I’m getting one to make my car seat life easier since we’ll be doing this for awhile.
Cargo was the issue for us. I had a Camry which was great, until it was time to haul something home from IKEA and it wouldn’t fit without half sitting in the small child’s lap. We traded the Camry for a Rav4. Everybody’s happy.
Post-Kids- Jeep Cherokee. Minivans in the 90s sucked ass, but I needed more room and wanted 4WD and some hauling ability. That was followed by Ford Focus ZX-5 with roof rack and Subaru Legacy Wagon as the need to schlep them around lessened, plus we became a two car family post divorce/re-marriage and have a Ford edge for utility/distance driving.
Now that the boys are almost out of the house, I’m eying up a Focus RS or WRX.
My preferences haven’t changed in the least, but my budget and circumstances sure have.
Somewhat, although for entirely pragmatic reasons. My wife and I are both tall- I’m 6’1" and she’s a long-legged 6’2".
We needed a car that would fit either of us in the driver or passenger seat, and accommodate a child car seat behind each seat.
This is harder than you might think; Short of going minivan or SUV, the only mid-sized car we could find that actually handled this was the VW Passat, which while a fine car, wasn’t really on our radar prior to having children.
If it was up to me, I’d continue on my merry way of driving small or mid-sized pickups with extended cabs, but again, you can’t fit two tall people and two car seats in there, so it looks like my next vehicle will probably be a SUV or a crew-cab midsize pickup, if I can fit the carseats in. I’m not wanting a crew-cab full-size pickup though.
You get a minivan or a large SUV because you aren’t just hauling your kids, but your kids, their friends and all their stuff, multiple bags of groceries every week, everything you need to visit the grandparents, etc.
After the kids finally moved out, my wife decided she was spoiled by the elevated seating she had in her minivans. We now drive a small SUV that we chose specifically for its great seating.
My wife and I were small car people. We thought those big SUVs were driven by environmental criminals.
Two houses down lived a young couple with an infant. They had a Honda Fit and a Civic. I had an Acura Integra, my wife a Corolla.
Six months before our first child was born, the young mother and infant were car, just coming home. As they passed a neighbors driveway, a 79 year old in a Mercury Grand Marquis pulled out of her driveway at a hellacious speed t-boning the Fit all the way off the street and into a fence. Mother was in traction for months, baby was unharmed.