Looking for Advice Re: New Car

Consider a Hyundi Elantra. We have one, it's rated very high in safety, and very reasonably priced.

I have had a Toyota Rav 4 for 12 years. It never breaks down. There is plenty of room for two car seats and it it very safe. I have almost 200,000 miles on that car and it looks great too. It's small but you are alittle higher up so it has good visibility. The back is roomy enough for adults and lots of storage in the way back.
S.

I LOVE my Civic Hybrid! I've had it for 3 years and it's worth more now than when I bought it. When does that ever happen? It gets awesome mileage, it's roomy, safe and extremely reliable.

Good luck!!

Hi L.,
Hondas are consistently rated the safest cars. I'm not sure about the Honda Fit because it is new but the Honda Civic is very safe. That's what I drove until I changed to Honda Accord. The Civics are bigger now and should be able to get to car seats easily in the back.

Check consumer reports.com for up to date safety info and ratings.

Good luck!

I wouldn't ever stick my child in a honda fit. I was rear ended by one around Xmas time. She was going maybe 15 mpr, I barely got any damage and her front in was all smashed in and couldn't get the passanger door open fluid all over. I would get a Honda Civic or accord. We purchased a scion XB not to bad, not cute but comfortable inside and I was able to get a carseat and 2 booster in the back. Just my 2 cents

I drove a HOnda Civic for 10 years and loved it. I had twins in it for almost six years and never had any problems though it did determine what kind of stroller I got due to trunk space (which was big but some double strollers are HUGE).

Great gas mileage and reliability. I only went bigger to get their bikes in the car and now their bikes are too big for the station wagon (Subaru Outbac) that we bought but I love my wagon so that's ok.

Have you considered a Toyota? They make real good reliable vehicles.... like the Corolla or Camry, or Prius or Venza.
But you both seem to be wanting a 'sporty' car... since the models you listed are more sporty in appearance.

Like the other poster said... make SURE it will fit any car seats... or booster seats (as your daughter grows), PLUS will it fit the strollers and if you have room in the trunk for all the baby gear AND groceries at the same time. AND consider that as well if you will be having more children.

We used to have a Buick 4-door sedan... and even with our 1 child at the time, it was cramped in the back with the car seat and having to stoop/bend over into the car to load our child in it and all the kid gear. And not much leg room in the backseat.

Also make sure if you will have just a 2-door car, or 4-door... in the long run, these things REALLY matter when you have kids and the convenience or hassle of access to the back seat and constant loading and unloading of children and their gear.

My friend's Husband has a Toyota Prius... and basically, it's kinda cramped in the back, only the kids can go in the back and the car is basically only for him or if his wife's SUV is not available to use. But it's a good car and sporty looking.

Or there is the Honda Element, which is real handy, and it's not big. We tested one before deciding on our Toyota Van, which we absolutely LOVE! Even my Hubby is so glad we got a van.

All the best,
Susan

We have had several small toyotas (used), and four kids, and they have been our best little cars, and they run forever!

have you thought of a mini-van? i thought it was not cool at first but ... it drives like a sedan - very comfortable and easy to maneuver. small enough so you don't feel like you can't control it. also fuel efficient if you're concerned about that. a big perk is that you simply press your remote key and the doors slide open. no worries about little ones trying to open the door - slamming doors into others cars or pinching fingers in the door. terrific when you're on the go - they just jump in and off you fly! i got a black honda odyssey and i'll never give it up now.

I would suggest getting a Honda CR-V they are not big cars at all. They are very good on milage and fit 2 car seats comfortably. I have a 2 year old and when we bought my car I did a lot of research and this one came out on top. it has a nice amount of space in the trunk for strollers. My girlfriend has a nissan and when we go places together we can only take my car because the car seats fit better and it fits 2 strollers. I hope this was helpful.

I know that Toyota's weren't on your list but I had the Toyota Camry and loved it. Both carseats fit comfortably in the car and if I needed to bring a middle passenger, there was room for that person, or carseat if needed. It also had a huge trunk. We used to go camping and would take it as well.

We now have a Toyota Sienna Minivan and love it as well.

Good luck!

My parents just bought the Honda Fit as a second car and love it. We are considering trading in our Honda Pilot for the new Honda hybrid that is out/or coming out. Cheaper than the Prius and I hear really good things about it.

I don't know anything about those three cars but what i would suggest is taking your carseat to the dealer and try putting it in each one. I did this for my car (a couple of years before i had my daughter because my sister was having twins and I would be the one driving them all around) and I am so glad. We did not do this with our other car. We just bought it assuming it would be easy because it was a Volvo and they're supposed to be good family cars. Well I want to scream every time i have tried to put the car seat in. I just want to punch the cars lights out. I will be trying a carseat in any future vehicle because we move this stupid carseat around so often. I would try it facing backward and forward just to make sure. :-) Good luck and enjoy your new car :-)

I would recommend the mazda 5, it is like a mini mini-van. It has sliding back doors, which is a huge bonus when you have kids in car seats! I am not familiar with the honda fit but the other two cars are really small when you have two car seats in the back seat, especially if they are still rear facing.

I can tell you, I looked for awhile before getting mine. I have a Jeep Patriot. Is is considered a small SUV. It has GREAT safety ratings and is fairly reasonably priced. We tend to search high and low for the dealership that can get us the deal we need. We don't just go to the nearest dealership. It took us some effort, but we got it for the price we wanted. :) Anyway... I love it! It's not big like you think of when you see SUV. But it has enough room for 2 car seats. It gets good gas mileage. Just check out jeep.com to get more in depth info. But, I like mine alot!

hi i drive a toyota sienna lx the best of everything. we owned it for 4 years fits carseats yreat. check it out.
C.

My story is similar to Cindy's. I have had my current Honda Civic for five years. It was fine for me until I had my second child, 14 months after my first. It is difficult for me to put my double stroller, the Graco Duo Slide stroller in the trunk of my car.

Lynne E

I've had both a Sentra and Civic and now an Accord. I had the Sentra and Civic in the 90s so I know it's not the current design but...

In my experience and opinion, the Honda vehicles felt more sturdy, safe and secure. The design was also better. I'm short so the Sentra had certain blind spots for me that the Hondas don't. Another example...for some reason if I cracked the window in the Sentra when it was raining, the water would roll in from the roof - I didn't have that problem with the Honda. The controls, buttons, nobs in the Honda were also in a more intuitive place for me which leads to better concentration on the road.

I also believe that Honda keeps it's value better than Nissan. I'm not sure about fitting 2 car seats into a Fit. I'd suggest bringing 2 car seats down to the dealership and physically try it out.

Good luck!

I know my husband LOVED his Civic. But he was in college at the time and didn't have carseats.

When you go to test-drive, take the carseat with you and actually install it in the tester car to see how it is. That's what we did when we bought our SAAB.

Hi L.,
I haven't noticed anyone post this so I will. Check out www.safercar.gov. You can click on "Search 5 star safety ratings" in the middle of the page and see the ratings on all cars - make, model and year. All crash tests are done within their car class so keep that in mind (a 4 star safety rating is evaluated from a crash within the car class, so a small car hit by a large car will experience more damage.) I drove a Honda CR-V for 8 years and loved it. I wanted the civic hybrid when we purchased new last year, but found it too cramped for our two car seats. We went with the Toyota Camry Hybrid and have been very happy. Good luck in your search.
J.

Hi L.!
I have the Nissan Sentra (2008) I would advise against purchasing it. I hate it. It's the most unsmooth ride in a car I've ever had.

I love my Prius - I have had it for 4 years, it gets fantastic milage (average 43) is very roomy inside and comfortable. The new Volkswagon deisel is also a great value. Trust me, gas prices WILL go back up and you will be glad to have a high miliage car. Have Fun. L.

Hi L.,
I had a Honda Civic and I loved it. However, the Civic is a little tight on the inside, especially if you plan on putting two car-seats in it. You will be doing a lot of bending and lifting as the car is lower to the ground. Additionally, if you were needing to put a stroller in the back you will have to lift and maneuver it out.
As far as maintenance, the car was VERY easy to maintain and the maintenance was VERY low cost. Additionally, I averaged about 34 MPG on highway, which really helped in light of our economy.
My car did "pass away" about 6 months ago and we decided to get the CRV which is one step up and much roomier. Just food for thought....

Hey if you are considering a toyata, we have the Matrix which works well for us. The hatchback is a definite must. It is great place to change diaper and sit the kids in when we are taking a snack break. Also it fits our 2 britix, we are short so are seat are pretty forward though. and we can fit a double jogging stroller in the back. My husbands family always gets toyotas and i am glad i have a hatchback without the SUV

I recently purchased a Edge from Ford and love it !! I feel safe but it small enough that I can park it and the gas mileage is great. I'm a big supporter of American products but good luck to you !!

Honda makes great cars, as does Hyundai (I know that they are not on your list, but have you considered?). I believe that the Hyundai Elantra is a little roomier. I know that I can get my Stokke stroller in the trunk and still have more than enough room for market shopping. Also, there is more than enough room in the back seat for two Britax Boulevard car seats.

They have a very good safety rating & we actually had such a great experience with our first Hyundai that not only did we purchase a second 6 years later, that my in-laws traded in their BMW and bought one XG350 and one Entourage.

As with any car purchase, I would suggest narrowing down to interest, then check safety stats
( http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/ ) & then test drive each a couple times to get a good feel. If your not in a rush, then take your time.

Warmly,
S.

I have an older Honda Civic and it was best purchase I've ever made. I bought it before kids for the great gas mileage I wanted for all the traveling I did with my job. Now, two kids later, it still serves our needs (with car seats), gets great gas mileage, and keeps running with no problems and little maintenance more than 230,000 miles later. The only problem has been fitting a stroller in the trunk. I had one of those big combo units. I later got a smaller stroller and it was fine.

Have you looked at Kia's? I have a Kia Sedona and love it! It's got lots of features, they have great safety features. The mini van is the safest mini van ever tested. A ten year warranty and great prices...not so bad...

-M

I have a Toyota Rav and I love it! Not too big, very manageable, good room. You may want to consider. Good luck!

I was going through the same thing awhile back. I really like the Toyota Highlander. It had plenty of room for two kids and lots of trunk space. Most of the card you mentioned you wont be able to fit much in after you put the stroller in the trunk. I don't like driving big cars either, but the Highlander is not too bad!

I too was used to driving a smaller car and am a smaller person and didn't think I could drive anything bigger. I will say with my first child I was still driving something pretty small (Saturn) and when my child was about 9 months and getting bigger and heavier, I started having back problems stooping down and holding out the child in front of me to put him in his seat. Ended up even having physical therapy. When we decided to have another child, my hubby demanded we get something bigger, in case of an accident, he wanted us to be better protected. We ended up getting a small SUV (honda CRV) I LOVE it. I didn't get the back pain with the second child. Also, I don't think I could have gotten the double stroller in the smaller car, it barely fits in my CRV. If you plan on having another child, I would definately go bigger and something a litter higher. Hope this helps. Good luck.

My vote is for the Honda Civic. It's solid, very well made, flexible (backseat can fold down to haul big stuff), has a big trunk, and enough space for 2 car seats and 2 adults. I love mine!

Hi L.,

I love your name! Sorry, had to get that out. Well, we have two great cars. I have a Prius. I LOVE that car. the gas mileage is awesome. I pay about $65 a month in gas. I have a 3 year old and a 6 month old. This car is roomy for big giant Britax Car Seats. Although, now we are in Boosters. Oh, and I have a gigantic stroller and that fits in the Prius fine! So, the hatch is awesome size!

My husband has the Fit. He loves it. The Britax fit in that car fine. Great on gas mileage.

My car we pretty much drive everywhere. I LOVE my car. I LOVE everything about my car! I have almost 100K on it. And have had no problems. I've done the regular maintenance and everything is great!

The car my husband had before was the Matrix. I think that was just great too. He leased that before the Fit but decided to go for the Fit at the end. Because of the gas mileage and price. However, the Matrix does give you a little more room. And it looks good. The nice thing about the Matrix is that the seats fold down in the back and you can bring tons of stuff home from Home Depot (Wood, etc) because the back window opens up too. So, it is like having a small truck.

Good luck car shopping!!!

Hi there.
I have two little girls (14 months and 3 1/2 years) and own a Honda Civic. I was worried about fitting two carseats in it at once, but I didn't have too much trouble. The only rub was fitting my husband's long legs in the passenger seat when the infant seat was in the middle (I have a front facing carseat by either door now). Still, it was doable. Plus, at over 420 miles per tank of gas, the Civic rocks! It's the only thing that got me through $50 fill ups all summer long.

Good luck.

Consumer Reports!!!

It's worth the subscription, for the online search...we use it for pretty much anything that costs more then $50.

Their car comparison charts are the BEST.

For safety...make as sure on the ABS, as you do on the air bags. Our lives has been saved more then once on literally being able to stop on a dime. Many times, the ABS is not standard, but comes as an option...and frequently bundled with something "sexy" like a moon roof or sound system.

www.consumerreports.org

We have a Mazda Protege & love it...I was surprised that our friends' mini cooper actually fit 3 catseats in the back seat. The safety rating on our protege is up there with volvo...I haven't checked the mini.

I'll tell you though, the next car I MYSELF will buy will be a hybrid. San Diego to Seattle on 2 tanks of gas, with the Prius. And they can actually MOVE.

I personally felt the Honda Civic was too small in relation to two car seats, a stroller, diaper bag & all of the other essentials I tend to "pack" around with me. We downsized from an Escalade (when fuel prices too high) to a Ford Flex & love it. It's very economical, can seat 7 passengers & offers lots of flexibility (must be where the name FLEX comes from) with the seat configurations! Check out Bob Baker Ford in El Cajon - if you get back to me I'll even refer you to our salesperson that did an awesome job! :O) Price is right!

I bought the 2009 Honda Odyssey fully loaded. I love it and so do my kids.