As I troll the countless mom groups, I found that a common topic is what kind of car is the best for their growing family. Well, I can’t tell you for certain that I have all the answers because I for sure don’t. I just know what works for us and what didn’t. It’s one of those I wish I would’ve known before then I would have (blank).
Just a little background, when I first had Nat, I had a Jetta. Gosh, I loved that car. It was perfect. I loved the MPG, I loved the speed, the compactness. It was great for us at the time. The trunk space was amazing. It fit our UppaBaby Vista, a diaper bag, a purse & an extra bin filled with diapers, extra clothes, wipes, water, and snacks because well– I was a first time Mom so I had my ish together. So Wolfy was my ride or die forever. A couple of years later I got pregnant with Z.
At this point, I had the little baby bucket seat and Nat was forward facing. We had a Britax and those seats are beyond chunky. The Graco Snug Rides aren’t skinny either. So my middle seat was pretty much non-existent. At the time, I had siblings that I often carted around, and there was no way that they could squeeze between the two seats. The space between the car seats was literally enough space to squeeze in my overly stuffed Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag that I had to have.
This is where it really got tricky. At the time, I had a crazy obsession with strollers. LIke it was a crazy obsession. It’s just a thing. I guess in 2012, it was all the rage to get a double bob when you had your second kid. Well, it’s all fun and games until you had to stuff that bad boy in your trunk. You know it gets kind of ridiculous when you have to start taking tires to get the damn thing in the trunk. Well, that’s what I did. Had to have the double bob. B was so mad that I sold the UppaBaby to get the Bob. My entire stroller obsession can be found in an upcoming post.
This was getting out of hand. I decided it was finally time to switch cars. Our other car is a Honda Pilot. Man, going from the Jetta to the Pilot, I for sure was in a whole new ball game. It was ROOMY, the kids had space, the car toys had places to go. It was beyond necessary. The pilot which seats 8, has 3 rows, a sunroof. . it was everything the 4 of us needed.
Fast forward a few years, and Travis comes along. If you’re just tuning in, I always wanted 3 kids before 30, and at a ripe young age of 29.. here he is. And well, while the pilot is MORE than accommodating, I had a tiny issue of sticking my first born in the trunk, with no AC and windows that didn’t open. Not only that, but she was with our stroller. (I sold the Bob and bought a fully loaded used UppaBaby **face palm**) Oh gah. So before Travis was born I hit a roadblock. I researched minivans. I had a minivan growing up and that thing took us everywhere. So of course, I went that route.
Literally, B was at work and I bought a minivan. WTF. Don’t ever be pregnant and go car shopping alone. I was SO late picking up Nat from school but I pulled up in a VW Routan. This thing had an entertainment system, automatic doors, the trunk was button operated.. it really wasn’t the fanciest on the block, but it was beyond fitting for our fam.
I love our van. It really has SO much storage, the doors that open by themselves is EVERYTHING. I love that there is space and the kids don’t have to sit on top of each other because it gets LOUD. The van was by far the best choice for us for size and space. If you want to get down and dirty with details, mpg, how many issues I’ve had with it, how many times we’ve almost died.. that again is a whole other story.
Travis is 4. I’ve had the van for only 5 years but it really feels like an eternity. I do have to say that it served our family wonderfully. It’s gotten us to so many places, so many memories but now I’m back in the Pilot. LOL. This shit never settles. I can’t even begin to tell you. I finally feel like I am ready for the next thing.
I went from the minivan which the kids were OBSESSED with watching TV even if it was a 5-mile drive. that drives me BONKERS. I’m not a huge proponent of screentime but it really was more of an argument of what it was they wanted to watch than to keep them quiet. It was a headache. My initial plan was to use the TV for Freeways and beyond, but it just didn’t happen that way. Now that we’re back in the pilot, I feel so much better. Everyone just talks and watches and eats snacks. We haven’t taken a road trip yet, but we’ll be Dez bound this summer a few times so I can’t wait to see how that all plays out.
But right now, with the kids being 9, 6, and 4 my ideal car would be a 7-8 seater SUV with bucket seats. I don’t think I’d do entertainment again because the kids are always in front of a screen. A backup cam is a must, seat warmers, and if I had an automatic hatch that would be a bonus.
I’ve got my eye on a Chevy Traverse, Tahoe (it’s really big though.. maybe an eco-fuel one), a Ford Explorer or a VW Atlas– all of which fit my wants.
Side note, after a three day weekend and over 200 miles drive, my dream vehicle right now is a Harley with Jax Teller in the front. 😉