4 kids or more - what car do you use?

[Kells]

Hi,

I am due with no 4 in early May, and so am currently looking into new cars.

I am after everyone's opinions/advice on what car they have with 4 kids, the good/bad points (easy access for older kids, boot space, will two baby seats fit next to each other and still allow room for other two to get in etc). Any info you have would be great :)

Originally we were after a tarago, but I am not sure if the older kids (7 and 5) would be able to get themselves into the back row easily (I'm assuming I'll be struggling with the toddler and the newborn :p).

So then we thought a Kia Grand Carnival, but am not sure on the reputation, and also the sheer size of them!

But I am wondering how people go with 6 family members and a seven seater? Do you wish you had the eighth seat?

Our budget is $30,000 at the very max, but would like to get away with it for $25K if we can. (I HATE the thought of spending this much money on a car!! :thumbsdown:)

:ecomcity: Sorry - I am just so confused and sick of thinking about cars!!! Any advice would be great :yes:

[Kells]

*bump* :D

Please....anyone.......;)

Thanks!

[mummylovesyou]

Hi there,

We have a Hyundai Trajet for our family car and have found it to be great. We have our 6 yr old twins who sit in the back, my 3 yr old sits behind the drivers side and our 16 month old behind the passenger seat. My twins can get into the back quiet easily. The only thing is that it doesnt have a big boot, its fits the double pram in but thats about it, but that doesnt bother us, I am not to sure about the other cars you mentioned, not sure on there boot sizes either. The Trajets are only a 7 seater also, not sure if you want a 7 or 8.

Hope this helps and congratulations on No 4!!

[spoon]

We have 7 month old twins, a toddler and two big kids and drive a chrysler grand voyejor (sorry for bad spelling and laziness).

We have to put the twins in the back row (safest spot in car) because of the baby seats. A big kid sits in the middle. then in the middle row we have the toddler in a booster and a big kid on the other side. It is the best car by far that I have found and would imagine that with 4 it would be easy and suit your needs. the boot is not massive though. it can only fit my pram but if I had a fold down twin stroller it would be excellent.

[MADmumof5]

We are looking for a new car too. I have found the Tarago a fantastic car, but very overpriced. Even the second hand ones are still pricey.

The Kia Grand Carnival are more economical price wise, but I have heard (and the wheels magazine review says) that they are very thirsty and with petrol prices the way they are, you might not save much in the long run IYKWIM. Also the Kias only have a lap seat bealt in the middle seats in each row (on the new models) which personally I don't think is very safe for kids/car seats etc.

I have a Nissan Pathfinder atm and I love it. Although I do wish I had the 8th seat (then I could convince DH to have another bubba :D)

I think we might look at the Toyota Prado - although pricey (very, very :() they have 8 seats and we can still go camping, driving 4wd etc, where as the Kia or Tarago won't go off-road.

HTH

Good luck.

[GraceUnhearing]

sorry i dont know

but i wanted to say congrats on the new bub!
come back over to th dec mums thread!

how is your little girl going now?
i hope everything is ok with her :D

[Kells]

Thanks for the help guys!

The Grand Voyager was one I was looking into before I realised it only had the 7 seats - I dont know why but I really would like an 8 seater - although how often I would need the two extra seats I'm not sure of..... :rolleyes:

The Trajet was one I hadn't even thought of, so will check that out. :thumbsup:

As for the pathfinder/4wd etc - I would be too scared to drive them! They are so big!! :laughing:

Kellie - I will pop back over soon! Have only just returned to BH after a long break (it has taken me months to get over the shock of being pg again!! :laughing:). Thanks for remembering me... *mwah* ..I thought I'd left it too long....

[tally]

We currently use 2 cars when we need to go out as a family.... but one of these days we're going to more than likely get the Honda Odessy, as its not huge like most of the others.. its exp but quite classy and has a better rep and resale value than most others.

[sja]

We already have a Commodore station wagon and are getting 2 extra seats installed in the back for when number 4 arrives in a few weeks. We haven't done it yet, so can't tell you how good it is, but if you have a station wagon at the moment then it might be worth considering - it's costing us $2000 (and we picked some of the more expensive seats). Plus it means I'm not driving a huge car.

[Kells]

We already have a Commodore station wagon and are getting 2 extra seats installed in the back for when number 4 arrives in a few weeks. We haven't done it yet, so can't tell you how good it is, but if you have a station wagon at the moment then it might be worth considering - it's costing us $2000 (and we picked some of the more expensive seats). Plus it means I'm not driving a huge car.

Good idea - esp about the not driving a huge car - but I'm not keen on the idea of the older two jumping over the back seats to get in.

You watch - I'll do all this investigating about cars and I'll prob end up with some massive juice drinker and it will be easier to put the two little ones in the pram and walk to school each day!! :p (Bit far....although it could be done....not on 5 yr old legs though).

Thanks a lot...you have all given me food for thought. :hugs:

[GraceUnhearing]

#

Kellie - I will pop back over soon! Have only just returned to BH after a long break (it has taken me months to get over the shock of being pg again!! :laughing:). Thanks for remembering me... *mwah* ..I thought I'd left it too long....


Never to long :D

[mumof4angels]

We have 4 kids all in car seats. We have a Chrysler Voyager and it'sok but wish we had of got the Chysler Grand Voyager it has so much more room and we didn't realise it when we bought our car :no: silly us!!!

[Miss_Vicki]

dont have a big car or anything , an not sure if looking for brand new , but Hyundai have a 8 seater called the iMax , it looks more like a lil bus thou , pretty thou :)

[MrsDribbleDrawers]

We invested in a Mitsubishi Star Wagon over the Christmas break - it's an 8-seater, with one the folds down for "not all the time" type use. The centre row of seats can turn around to face the back, and there are seatbelts to use in this position.

There are four anchor points for car seats, and the seats are quite spacious, with plenty of foot room, but very little boot space - enough for the pram and associated baby stuff, but not much else - although we tuck stuff under the seats, which works quite well.

The back door is a sliding type door, which means no more worrying about DS smacking it into other cars, and the kids can get in and out quite easily from all the seats. We have Nat's seat in the middle row at the edge, and it's simple to get her in and out of the car as well!

Not sure what they retail for new, ours is 9 years old, because neither of us really believes in buying new cars.

HTH

[tommylu]

Hi there,

We have a Chrysler Grand Voyager and i loooooove it ! I have 4 kids 12,6,4 and 2 .
I put the little one in his car seat in the back row( he gets in his own car seat then i do the buckle) then my 6 and 4 y/o in the middle seats and my 12 y/o sits in the front with me. When we all go out my older one sits in the back with the 2y/o and DH next to me so we have one spare seat(if only i could convince DH to have another bub) lol
Its got a good size boot,not sure if a double pram will fit but the rest of the car is so roomy,7 adults can ride very comfy.
Prior to this we had a station wagon with the 2 extra seats in the back,but my kids were getting to big for them(there is a height AND weight restriction on them)so you might wanna research that.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[Kells]

Thanks a lot for your responses. :)

Tommylu and Mum of 4 Angels - do you ever wish you had the extra seat in the Voyager? I am doubtful of a 7 seater only for the reason of if we have to take people somewhere, it would be more convenient for 2 extra seats. (Although, on saying that, it seems stupid to buy a car for the 'in cases') :p

The Voyagers look great though, although I have heard they can be pricey to repair??? :confused:

[MrsDribbleDrawers]

(Although, on saying that, it seems stupid to buy a car for the 'in cases') :p


This comment made me laugh - that's exactly why we bought ours!! In case someone comes to stay!! We had visitors over Christmas, and had to make two trips anywhere in the commodore, and we were expecting two more visitors early in the new year, meaning lots of sitting at home if we didn't have a car!!

[tens2many]

we have a 2007 toyota prado which was very expensive however just what we wanted,previous to that we had a 1997 prado we paid around $17000 for.both are 8 seater and so long as we have the 8 kids(have to use work ute during school hols when they are all with us) we will stick with prados couldnt find a fault to tell the truth.Old prado had centre seat folded forward new one has split seats 1 folds or behind driver 2 fold.Lets face it getting that many kids in the car swiftly without any tantrums and without hassels isnt possible no matter how the seats fold!!!!!!!!!! :D

[tommylu]

I never thought of the extra seat "just in case".I only have my mum and my sister living here in OZ so if mum wants to come with us she still fits in the Voyager and my sis is 23 so she never wants to come with us(we r sooo uncool :confused:) :laughing:
As far as the repair cost i havent really had any probs with it in the 2 years ive had it. I recently had to get the brake pads replaced and that cost me around $400. not sure how much other cars cost to have them replaced.
My Voyager is still under warranty so that helps too.

[Kells]

Lets face it getting that many kids in the car swiftly without any tantrums and without hassels isnt possible no matter how the seats fold!!!!!!!!!! :D


:laughing: Please let me live in my imaginary 'happy' world!!
I plan to have all the school lunches made on the bench by 8am, everyone just grabs theirs, puts it in their bags calmly, walk to the car, let themselves in (no fighting over who sits where or who is touching who) and we have a lovely drive to school!! :laughing::p

What you say is so true though....:yes:

I think I have decided on a tarago. So if anyone has any opinions, please state your case! ;)

[CJJHRA]

forget folding the seats, mine just climb over! LOL

Having had both a tarago and now an 8 seater landcrusier, I like the tarago better, for fitting all us in better.

the tarago steered and parked better than any sedan and wagon I have ever driven! quicker and easier to fold seats, I liked the one door enterance (still dont like them ones with sliding doors either side, but anyway) theres more room in the boot, and the back row. if you go the tarago, make sure you get DUAL air!!! they get hot!

we never spent a cent on ours the almost 3 years we had it (well tyres and tune ups, that was it!) Havent spent anything on the cruiser either... these toyotas are bult tough I think!! and thats why they are expensive even for 2nd hand :D

I dunno about the parados, but in our landcruiser (not a parado) the rear seats arent that high, and for kids over 10, not too good their knees end up in their eye sockets!

I love the cruiser, it drives great, and I can now park it in the smallest of spots (hehe, but yeah, does need room to get out of!!) its just not too comfy for those in the very rear for long drives unless little. DD (whos 3, close to 4) can get in an out no worries by herself and do up seatbelts, has for awhile now. It sits on the road great I feel anyway.

[uptheduff]

if you go the tarago, make sure you get DUAL air!!! they get hot!

I second that! We have a tarago as well.....we've had it probably for 18-odd months now. I have a 3.5 year old, a 2.5 year old and a 17 month old (number 4 due in 4 weeks).....so they're all in car seats still.

ours is a 1999 model i think. Overall i do like the car, but there's no air con in the back, so it does get really hot...you basically have to have the windows open all the time to get any air in there at all. Other than that it's ok. Plenty of bootspace...although it can get a bit awkward to put kids in the back seat if you have to strap them in yourself iykwim. The newer models of Tarago are nicer, but they really really lack in bootspace!

We are currently looking for a new car just now. I have no idea about anything carlike lol, but DH knows just about all there is to know, and the 2 that he's been looking at are the Chrystler grand voyager and the hyundai trajet....i think he's gone off the hyundai idea now though.

[dylanmum]

Hi Kells,

My Dh & I had the same problem when I was preg with no. 4 (DS2 now 1) Fortunately my Dh works in the car industry so knew exactly what to avoid!

No. 1 - do not buy a Kia - they are well known to give problems and consequently have no resale value because of their horrid reputation. Voyagers are great until they start to get older - very expensive to fix/repair and once one thing goes wrong, generally lots more things start to go wrong also. Toyota has excellent rep with cars so tarago is highly recommended so long as your happy to drive a larger vehicle.

Personally the tarago was our first choice but out of our price range so we settled on a Ford BA wagon and had a single ****ie seat put in for $1,000. The extra seat only holds up to 38kg though - so not a good idea for the older kids.

Hope this helps and good luck with the car hunting.

[staceyyy]

i have a 2003 kia carnival and have had it since dec 06 and have never had a problem with it maybe im just lucky cant wait until i can have a car with a boot tho still got awhile to wait.

[abo84]

I just brought a new car, well it is a used car.

I needed more room, I wanted a 4wd so we can all go camping and stuff like that, my hubby is into,

I wanted a prado, but refused to pay that much for a car, very costly, but after looking around, I ended up buying a pajero, and love it,

We did get a few of our 4wd mates give us heaps, until they realised our pajero went every where the bigger 4wds did, however, in the end, im not driving a truck.

[Josh]

We have 9 kids with another expected in july, and we have a 8 seater starwagon, and a new holden viva station wagon, we usually have to take the 2 cars if we go on a long family outing, but DH wants to get a 12 seater bus I am not sure about it because we have just bought the viva, anyway maybe in a couple of yrs we will get the bus.:o

[Hokey Pokey]

We have 9 kids with another expected in july, and we have a 8 seater starwagon, and a new holden viva station wagon, we usually have to take the 2 cars if we go on a long family outing, but DH wants to get a 12 seater bus I am not sure about it because we have just bought the viva, anyway maybe in a couple of yrs we will get the bus.:o

Congrats! Come say hi in the due in july thread, i'm sure your wealth of advice and knowledge would fit in nicely :D

[Roopee]

We have a Landruiser (newish) and i love it! I didnt want it- threw a hissy fit in the car lot and all- thought i would never be able to drive the thing but after a few drives i was loving it!
There's lots of room for us and we dont need a trailer:laughing: when we go away for holidays- it fits us all, pram, port a cot luggage etc with a bit of designing of seating arrangements.
HTH:thumbsup:

[MumsieMel]

Its only new, but i love the look of the new SUBARU TRIBECA

Looks so good!!!!!!! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :fingerscrossed:

[Refresh]

We have a Pajero and really like it although it chews through the fuel.

[M~T~J~M]

We have a 7 seater Ford Territory. I'll have the two older boys in their maxi riders in the rear 2 seats, and the 2 yuonger ones in the front row of seats.

Yes, the Tribeca does look nice. I would have liked to have a look at it, but the only Subaru dealer we have was closed for site renovations at the time we bought the Territory.

[V8]

Mazda also has a new car out a CX-9 they look fab, but would be hard to find a second hand one as they are still only just released. I'd say they'd be pretty $$$ too.

[EskimoMumma]

I cannot describe just how great the Holden Zafira is :yelclap:

It's fantastic,its not huge like aboat, VERY easy to drive and manauever and sits my 3 children comfortably. I am due for another one in april and cant wait to sit this one in it :smiliedance:

I recently purchased the 2004 Holden Zafira TT 5door for abargain price of $20,206.30 drive away with only 61000kmson the tank.there are deals out there! comes with the standard holden warranty etc etc.. and its great. it doesnt have alot of power, ilike to call it myover sized go cart, but it getsm eto point a and b and i get 650-700kms atank :thumbsup:

[taragirl]

I cannot describe just how great the Holden Zafira is :yelclap:

It's fantastic,its not huge like aboat, VERY easy to drive and manauever and sits my 3 children comfortably. I am due for another one in april and cant wait to sit this one in it :smiliedance:

I recently purchased the 2004 Holden Zafira TT 5door for abargain price of $20,206.30 drive away with only 61000kmson the tank.there are deals out there! comes with the standard holden warranty etc etc.. and its great. it doesnt have alot of power, ilike to call it myover sized go cart, but it getsm eto point a and b and i get 650-700kms atank :thumbsup:

Ditto this. I bought a 2004 Zafira last year and I love it.

I have 2 carseats in the middle row, my 10 yr old fits comfortably between them (not squished, comfortably). I find the extra seats great when grandma comes to stay (several times a year) and also when friends stay over.

The only irritation is that to get the spare seats upright, you need to fold up and push the middle row in, which means removing the 2 carseats first. I find this means I either leave 1 seat up or both down.

The boot is great! Heaps of room with no or 1 seat up, only a small one if both seats are up.

I have put a chest of drawers, 106cm TV and even 6 dining chairs with room to spare in the boot when I have needed (at different times) simply by folding up the middle row.

I get GREAT fuel economy. It is a small, BIG car. I have not found it underpowered at all. It is quite zippy and really nice to drive.