Topic: which car for 5

[jezza99]

thanks for help from previous post, was looking at cruze,jetta and as somone said on here i should try the 2011 civic . however im not sure if civic will fit 2 child seats + teenager maybe i will need something a bit bigger but as cost is one of the major factors in my purchasing ability. maybe somebody her has some more suggestions?   was looking at a 4yr. lease zero down etc. payments less $300 month. 2.0ltr or less to save on the gas.

[Shnak]

You must not like your teenager very much to put him/her between two child seats! How about a Mazda5? That vehicle is tailor-made for your needs. I'm not entirely sure, but a $300/mo lease should be attainable with the deals they frequently have on the Mazda5's.

[quadzilla]

+1 for the Mazda5

Another would be the Kia Rondo

[5 Wheel Drive]

Having 2 car seats in the back seat of my Forester right now, I can tell you you're definitely going to need something bigger than a Civic if you have any hope getting a teenager in between them.  

If you want to stick with a car, then I'd try an Accord, Sonata, Fusion, Malibu, Camry.  Although it's not my cup of tea, the Chrysler 300 is huge inside.  Not sure how a new one of these would fit with your budget, but being popular sellers, I'm sure there's no shortage of these coming off 3 or 4 year leases.

[ktm525]

Used Mercedes R class has got to be worth about $10k by now....

[Shnak]

Having 2 car seats in the back seat of my Forester right now, I can tell you you're definitely going to need something bigger than a Civic if you have any hope getting a teenager in between them.  

If you want to stick with a car, then I'd try an Accord, Sonata, Fusion, Malibu, Camry.  Although it's not my cup of tea, the Chrysler 300 is huge inside.  Not sure how a new one of these would fit with your budget, but being popular sellers, I'm sure there's no shortage of these coming off 3 or 4 year leases.

Then again, it depends on which baby seats the OP has... I could see a teenager fitting between two Sunshine Kids Radian seats like the one we have, it's thinner than anything else out there.

With that said, sitting between two of these would be the best case scenario for the teenager, and even then, it'd be pretty horrible in a compact car. It might be doable in a mid-size car, but would still be a tight squeeze.

[safristi]

Used Mercedes R class has got to be worth about $10k by now....

....

 and ya can sell the big HONKING 3 pointed star fer $5,000 at a Markham fea market.....

[bridgecity]

I've got two car seats in the back of my Pilot (Sunshine Kids) and its a tight squeeze for an adult to sit in the middle, even for the mother-in-law  .  Its fine for short trips around town, but I wouldn't want to be back there for any extended length.

[Shnak]

I've got two car seats in the back of my Pilot (Sunshine Kids) and its a tight squeeze for an adult to sit in the middle, even for the mother-in-law  .  Its fine for short trips around town, but I wouldn't want to be back there for any extended length.

There you go. As I said previously, these Radian seats are amongst the thinnest available, and the Pilot is much wider than a compact car. A very young and thin teenager might be okay between two of these seats for short trips around town, but even then, that's stretching it. The OP would be much better served with a Mazda5, especially if a previous year left over can be found for maximum savings.

[ktm525]

I've got two car seats in the back of my Pilot (Sunshine Kids) and its a tight squeeze for an adult to sit in the middle, even for the mother-in-law  .  Its fine for short trips around town, but I wouldn't want to be back there for any extended length.

There you go. As I said previously, these Radian seats are amongst the thinnest available, and the Pilot is much wider than a compact car. A very young and thin teenager might be okay between two of these seats for short trips around town, but even then, that's stretching it. The OP would be much better served with a Mazda5, especially if a previous year left over can be found for maximum savings.

Is the second (middle) row of a Mazda 5 a bench or a pair of captain chairs?  The problem with LATCH kids seats is that they prevent the movement of the seats so the third row can be accessed.

[Shnak]

I've got two car seats in the back of my Pilot (Sunshine Kids) and its a tight squeeze for an adult to sit in the middle, even for the mother-in-law  .  Its fine for short trips around town, but I wouldn't want to be back there for any extended length.

There you go. As I said previously, these Radian seats are amongst the thinnest available, and the Pilot is much wider than a compact car. A very young and thin teenager might be okay between two of these seats for short trips around town, but even then, that's stretching it. The OP would be much better served with a Mazda5, especially if a previous year left over can be found for maximum savings.

Is the second (middle) row of a Mazda 5 a bench or a pair of captain chairs?  The problem with LATCH kids seats is that they prevent the movement of the seats so the third row can be accessed.

A picture is worth a thousand words...


It's not a very big opening, but there is an opening between the two captain chairs. Someone should be able to make its way to the rear seats through that opening.