Open to vehicle suggestions...

[3Fitty]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

Ford just came out with the new Ford Flex it looks like a woody and has plenty of room.

Wifey would never go for it... she'd say I bought her a hearse.

[3Fitty]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

3fitty,

no problem. I know you were looking also for reliablity and you could not go wrong with the top 3 auto makers. honda,toyota,subaru. Like I said I did not check specs, i knew it was on the smaller side of the suvs you are thinking of but I did not realize it was about the same as your cr-v wow.

Andrew

Yeah, they are identical in the rear hip but the tribeca gives you about an inch more on the shoulder. Darned baby seats are so wide, you wouldn't believe it!

Maybe I can just tie my son to the roof (he is 3 after all and it would serve to "toughen him up" a bit) .

[03mach1]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

Would she go for a chevy Trail blazer, my uncle has one great SUV.

[yalerd]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

3fitty,

I am not sure of the spec but check out the subaru b9 tribeca. Since they redesigned the engine it no longer runs on 93 octane just 87. Has all wheel drive,and over 250hp with similar mpg.

Andrew

I would check it out as well. Plus Subaru is a great vehicle, very reliable

[3Fitty]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

Would she go for a chevy Trail blazer, my uncle has one great SUV.

Hey she's a Michigan girl... half her family works in the auto industry and she use to sell brake dyno's for a living...lol, but her Mom has a Trail Blazer and she probably wouldn't want the same thing.

[Mort Corey]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

For unadulterated room I think I'd go for a full sized SUV aklong the Suburban/Escalade venue. Slightly (year old) used ones have dropped in price like a stone and could be had for cheap yet still under full warranty (assuming GM stays in business) The MDX sized vehicles seem just too small for carrying all the gear small kids require....stroller(s), changing bags, playpen cages, etc. My sister-in-law recently becmae custodian of her three small grand-kids and packs all the stuff in her Suburban with room to spare (hopefully not for more kids in her case).

Besides....if you get a black one you can put a couple of flags on the front bumpers and moonlight as a Secret Service agent to help defray the cost of the new addition

Mort

[03mach1]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

Heres another one Nissan Armada? I think it is a little big.

[guitarman502]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

THe Nissan Minivan, don't know the name. Basically has a rebuilt 350z motor (the only difference is the heads, i think). Can we say twin turbo minivan?

Just something think about. (twin turbo, twin turbo, twin turbo)

[TXShine]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

Toyota Sequoia ????

[mcox]

My two cent worth. The Nissan van is the Quest and the Armada requires that you own a bank in order to afford the gas. I don't know your thoughts however a Titan has a bunch of room in the rear/front areas. I know, its a truck and the mileage is poor. I don't know about anyone else however I am over 20 mpg on the highway and around town I can run for about 350-400 miles per tank. 28 gallon tank tho'. You can put all the additional stuff in the bed, (big Meguiar boxes, ect.). I'm about 6' and 230 and it has plenty of room for anything I need to drive somewhere.

[onawrxhigh]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

Yeah, they are identical in the rear hip but the tribeca gives you about an inch more on the shoulder. Darned baby seats are so wide, you wouldn't believe it!

Maybe I can just tie my son to the roof (he is 3 after all and it would serve to "toughen him up" a bit) .

3fitty,

I understand the issue with car seats. I still have to seats in both of our vehicles right now. NJ state law is 4years old or 40 pounds for a booster seat. With said booster seat you can put the child in the 3rd row of say a subaru tribeca with just the shoulder rest belts from the car. You may want to check this and see if the purchase can wait a bit longer if you son is close to the weight. I also undestand the 3rd is on the way. My wife and I got rid of 2 subarus for bigger vehicles. She had a legacy gt wagon and I had a wrx impreza. I now drive a ford F-150 extended cab and she has an expedition. This was the best bet for her as the kids now have a large amount of room between them and if we had a 3rd the seat would fit between the others without a problem. You ma need to go bigger if you plan on running all 3 on the same seat.Hope this also helps.

[Nappers]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

The Chevy Traverse/Buick Enclave/GMC Acadia are nice looking rigs, AWD and going to get the update high feature V-6 (288hp, 281hp with single exhaust) and seats a soccer team with room to boot. I like the Chevy version but the GMC and Buick versions are probably more plush and more expensive.

3 kids on a trip in a smaller SUV such as a MDX or similar size, you'll wish you bought bigger. Especially with a baby seat and half the house when you go anywhere with a baby as you may remember eh? I really like the MDX, actually the whole Acura line (and Lexus).

We own a Yukon and we love it, just limits our running around with gas prices. It's a 2000 model we get 16-17mpg, the newer ones have a little more kick in HP and mileage, the new Tahoe/Yukon Hybrid are pretty cool for gas mileage concerns. They may be more than you want to spend though.

My .02

Happy Shopping.

Aaron

[3Fitty]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

3fitty,

I understand the issue with car seats. I still have to seats in both of our vehicles right now. NJ state law is 4years old or 40 pounds for a booster seat. With said booster seat you can put the child in the 3rd row of say a subaru tribeca with just the shoulder rest belts from the car. You may want to check this and see if the purchase can wait a bit longer if you son is close to the weight. I also undestand the 3rd is on the way. My wife and I got rid of 2 subarus for bigger vehicles. She had a legacy gt wagon and I had a wrx impreza. I now drive a ford F-150 extended cab and she has an expedition. This was the best bet for her as the kids now have a large amount of room between them and if we had a 3rd the seat would fit between the others without a problem. You ma need to go bigger if you plan on running all 3 on the same seat.Hope this also helps.

Onawrxhigh,

Thanks you for the thoughts. All good ideas, but I just wanted to give you a tidbit of info... seing that we are both from Jersey with kids.

As of December 1, 2001, New Jersey's child passenger safety law requires:

• Children up to age 8 or 80 pounds must ride in a safety or booster seat in the rear seat of the vehicle. If there is no back seat, the child must sit in the front seat secured by a safety or booster seat.
• Children under age 8 who weigh more than 80 pounds must wear a seat belt anywhere n the vehicle.
• Passengers age 8 to 18 (Regardless of weight) must wear a seat belt anywhere inside the vehicle.

[3Fitty]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

Aaron,

Good post and certainly something which has crossed my mind many times. Maybe we just need to bite the bullet and get into one of the tres grand SUV's.

[davidw]

Re: Open to vehicle suggestions...

My .02 here ! I have 2 kids. 8 mnts and 5 yrs. When the baby was born I had a pathfinder which I always thought was big enough until I tried puttung the infant seat in the 2nd row. ( the useless 3 rd row screwed up the 2nd row leg room ). I went for the Armada. ( dont get black obviously and you know why )
its got PLENTY of room to grow the family and waistline. It's got a powerful 5.6. Of course the milage could be better but everything has it's pros and cons.. I bought an 08 LE that has every feature you could dream of. You could even watch a DVD on the dashboard nav. screen.
( emergency brake has to be on ) I m sure you could get a killer deal on one because not many people are buying large SUV's now. I also love the Acura but ny good freind has one it and it seems medium in size.

On a side note I just had whats known as a 2 degree timing advance on the Armada which got me another 2 / 3 MPG. The dealer did it for 45 bucks. I learned about it on an Armada forum..
Great truck and pleny of room. IMO