Does such a car exist? I really don't mean a Suburban, Yukon, or any other gas guzzler. I currently have a mini-van but would love to ditch it b/c it gets poor gas milelage around town. However, I am not really sure what other cars might work (any SUV would probably have just as poor city gas milelage). We have 2 young kids and often have my young nephew with me, so I am hoping to find something that could provide space for 3 car seats. Any ideas?
Impalas are pretty well known for fitting three across... Also, the diono radian fits three across In pretty much any car
My sister in law drives a Ford Edge (it's a crossover). She only has 2 in car seats, but from what I've observed, the back seat is surprisingly roomy, so I bet you could put a third car seat back there. She gets great gas mileage in it (driving in mostly stop-and-go Bay Area traffic).
I have a 2013 Subaru Outback that gets 30+ MPG on average. LOVE love love that car! I drive around town 3 days per week and to work on the highway for about 10 miles 4 days per week. For just long highway trips I have gotten 32 mpg. In winter it seems to go down to about 28 with lots of all wheel drive action. It would fit 3 car seats in the back seat. I considered the Dodge Journey which is a much more affordable car (My Subaru was $25K and the Dodge was in the $20K range - before taxes) but it did not have the all wheel drive and seemed a lot more basic in the included features. However the Dodge has a third row option which you pay additional money for. I would test drive some cars and then sell your car yourself which will take it out of the negotiations for the new car price. I use TrueCar to find out what people paid locally and then called my Subaru dealer and asked if that price was something they could meet for the features I wanted. Since it was the end of the month I got an email that stated the features and a price which I took with me for the test drive and I bought it on the spot without having to negotiate further. Make sure you are in business mode when talking to dealers, don't let them talk about monthly payments you might be able afford (none of their business), negotiate a final price and then figure out how you will finance it. We always state we will be paying cash and once the price is negotiated you can then ask about their financing options or go to your bank.
I'm not sure how you define "gas efficient." I have a 2012 Honda Odyssey and around town get 22 miles per gallon. I have seats for 8 and 5 of those are car seat friendly.
I have the ford edge (mentioned). I love and am am the first to recommend it. I am not sure about 3 car seats in it all the time though. Although I am not sure there is a better option. They will for sure fit but there might be a little grief/struggle. We had my youngest in a britax marathon and oldest in a booster and there was a good amount of room in between. Occasionally we would bring a friend along in a booster and getting them buckled was pretty rough. Unless the seats would all be buckled long term and the kids buckled to the car seat that might be stressful. And the fusion, escape, and crv are all smaller. Of course this would be the same situation with ANY car with 3 car seats in one row. There is a nice amount of cargo space in the back too. Since my kids are older now and no car seats they have tons of room. And bringing a friend is still really comfortable. Now the problem is we can only bring ONE friend for one kid. And we can never ride with grandma and grandpa or anything. I am REALLY wanting the new ford explorer. It gets almost the same as my edge but has a 3rd row.
A friend mentioned she has a 2010 Ford Escape.
What about some of the Honda CRV's (2010-2011)?
You might want to check into radian seats...
Are you talking full size car seats or booster seats?
A Honda Accord can fit 3 full car seats, but it will be tight.
It's usually a waste of money to trade in a car. By the time you add in all the extra costs of the trade in, and more than likely extend the term of your financing, it may not be cost effective to trade in.
I truly think, from what you've said, that you must have an older van. Ours gets pretty good gas mileage. It's a 2012 or 2013. I think we get around 18 in town if not better. I know on the highway it's over 20.
It's a good vehicle for us because we always have kids with us. We can also haul stuff because all the seats fold down into the body and the floor is flat when they're stored.
I don't think you'll be happy with a vehicle without a 3rd row.
We have the Diono Radians (used to be Sunshine Kids). They fit 3 across in a lot more cars than a lot of carseats but they still don't fit in all cars. They do not fit 3 across in the back seat of our Honda Civic. They do fit 3 in a row in the Toyota Sienna minivan. The Sienna gets some very good mileage. We love ours.
The best and only sure way to know if the car seats are going to fit are to try to put them in the back of whatever car you are interested in.
You can get a Dodge Journey with 3rd row seating, and then you'll still have room for each of your kids to bring a friend along on outings..
