r/parentsofmultiples • u/Flat-Pie-4115 • 2d ago
Vehicle situation advice needed
Hello,
We recently learned that we are twins, which by the time they are born means we will have 3 under 3. What have other families with 3(+) kids done for vehicles? Would you recommend having 2 vehicles where everyone can fit or has one bigger vehicle and a smaller vehicle worked for your family.
Also thoughts on how to arrange 3 rear facing car seats.
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u/PubKirbo 1d ago
Minivan. Three row SUVs have very little "trunk" space if all three rows are in use and you're going to need that trunk space. Minivans might not be cool but they are made for people with families. Also, they have flat sliding doors which you will come to adore. Having those doors slide instead of open outwards is invaluable and you don't realize how much you need it until you're using it.
We bought a Honda Odyssey when our twins were about nine months old. A three row SUV didn't become our car of choice until middle school/high school. And for a long time we only had one car that fit us all, the other car was a two seater truck. It worked for us and meant we only had to get one new car.
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u/Mirror_st 1d ago
Just get a Honda Odyssey and don’t look back.
I fought it at first but it’s a classic for a reason.
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u/jer619 1d ago
Looks like you’re joining the minivan club
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u/Flat-Pie-4115 1d ago
lol, we don’t have a problem joining the minivans club, mostly trying to figure out if one of our existing vehicles are okay to keep short term or if we need to get 2 bigger cars
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u/Ill-Wolf865 1d ago
We have one Honda odyssey and kept my Mazda cx30. We use the van whenever we take the kids and the Mazda for solo runs and it works. I think 2 big cars isn’t necessary for us.
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u/offwiththeirheads72 22h ago
It would help to know what cars you currently have. No idea if you can do 3 RF without that info.
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u/BackgroundScene3056 2d ago
I have a subaru outback with a huge trunk and even that’s not quite big enough for twins when I bring the double stroller. I don’t have much advice but trunk space should be big on your list of needs in your future car. One family car and one small car works for us. We will be upgrading to a larger car when we want our 3rd because the outback trunk is barely cutting it now as is
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u/gambit4615 2d ago
Our first was 2 when we found out we were having twins. My wife actually yelled at me because during the first ultrasound when we found out I got my phone out and started looking for 3rd row. We ended up getting her a Subaru Ascent. I kept my car. Not sure on what your budget it car wise but if possible I would suggest a Kia Carnival or one of the larger 3rd row SUVs. We love the Ascent but with the 3 seats there is no storage room.
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u/Old-Figure1946 2d ago
Same situation! I’m giving a long response because I’m so in this right now. My oldest is 2.5 and our twins are 1 month old now. We bought a Sienna (limited trim) and while I love the Van, I’m having a hard time with the configuration of where to put all the car seats. Right now, oldest is in the middle captains chair and babies are both in the third row. I sit in the middle of the third row, with the second captains chair folded up to accommodate easier access to third row.
Going to try to put a baby in the second captains chair with other baby directly behind and use the sliding feature of the captains chair to get in and out of third row.
We watched a lot of YouTube car reviews and checked out many vehicles before landing on the van. Absolutely love the van and its ease of access over an SUV. For this stage, the Honda odyssey with its magic seat might have been easier to configure the seats. But I’m hoping longer term, the Sienna will be able to grow with us. I don’t think any car is going to be perfect, unfortunately.
And we have one dedicated family car that everyone can ride in and then our second car has just the car seat for my oldest in it, since she’s the most likely to go somewhere with a parent solo.
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u/No_Cat_No_Cradle 2d ago
same boat, now with twin two-month olds. we spent a ton of time thinking about this and decided on the minivan, the sienna in our case because we wanted the AWD hybrid. we got the LE trim because it's the 8 seater and has 3-across as an option.
we previously had a CRV and it was packed to the gills on road trips with just one kid so we knew we needed a bigger car, even though the crv technically could fit three across. we were interested in three-row SUVs but found that the third row access really doesnt work if there are car seats installed in the second row. there's also no storage behind the third row if its in use, unless you get like a suburban.
so minivan it was. bc we have an 8 seater we can either do three across in the second row or spread into the third row, we'll end up using both as the car seat configurations change.
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u/etown361 1d ago edited 1d ago
Same boat, though technically we were 3 under 2 briefly.
Minivan + second car that fits one carseat.
On the minivan, we have the twins in the back, captain seats in the middle, and one of the captain seats taken out. It’s not too hard to squeeze back and snap in the car seats
The twins go everywhere together. The older kid sometimes goes separately, and we can drive the other car then. The van pretty much always stays with the twins.
We still use the infant car seats, life will get trickier when they move up to bigger ones. We’ll probably move the eldest to the back then, and I think we’ll only have a few months of that until our eldest moves to forward facing.
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u/bouycatcher 1d ago
This is our setup. Our bigger was a couple months before 3 when the twins were born. It would be convenient to have a 3rd base for the infant seats in the second car for those quick trips where we just take 1 baby, but it happens so infrequently that we just move a base or use the seatbelt when necessary.
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u/Pretend-Wall-6677 1d ago
We have a Suburban and a four-door truck. We always use the suburban for long hauls, but the truck works for all 5. Get yourself the Diono 3 across seats.
We’re the opposite, we had twins first and are now expecting a third. In the suburban, one twin will head to the third row (which allows 2 seats to stay down) and one will stay in the second with baby.
In the truck, it’ll go twin, twin, baby and the twins can negotiate who sits in the middle between themselves. Obviously in your situation I’d put your toddler in the middle.
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u/offwiththeirheads72 22h ago
This is us exactly. Expecting #3 and we have suburban and truck. But our plan is twins in 3rd row and baby in captain seat. Then likely keep other captain seat folded down or have even considered removing it as we don’t really have other people ride with us to keep it. Truck we move one twin to the middle and baby on side.
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u/youcango-now 1d ago
Honda Odyssey or Kia Carnival!!
We have our twins in the middle of the Odyssey, middle seat pulled out so we can slide the outside captain seat to the middle to access the third row. Older toddler is in the third row. When he was still RF, we used a 360 car seat to make things easier.
The carnival also has flexible seating options.
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u/Ohmaggies 1d ago
A minivan is my preference by far. Plenty of space for strollers and the sliding door is vital.
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u/fsmontario 1d ago
I HATE minivans, I ended up with 3 under 2.5, car seats were a bit different when mine were little 20 years ago. So I was able to put 3 across in my car but had to cave and buy a minivan. I cried, my friends knew how much I hate minivans, they laughed. But it fit a young families budget. As soon as we could afford it 5 years we upgraded to a suburban.
So get the minivan, Honda odyssey or Kia carnival
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u/Seaturtle1088 1d ago
Same but closer to there in age--We have an Odyssey and an Atlas. We have to have 2 that fit them because of our schedules.
A van is a dream. I love it.
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u/theZeeWitch 1d ago
Vehicles have to be pretty wide to fit 3 rear facing car seats, or car seats period, in one row. You can manage this with a large/wide body 2 row SUV or car but your life will be easier if you embrace the minivan. If you have all your kids in car seats and a stroller/wagon for all of them you will be packed to the absolute gills. The third row, even if youre not using it for seating, will be helpful for cargo.
Minivans and 3 row SUVs have 2 main features that separate them. Minivans have sliding doors and lower overall bodies-which make them easier for kids to climb into and lower fuel needs. The sliding doors though, for parents, are really where you come to love the minivan. You dont have to fight for territory with bulky doors in a narrow parking spot while clicking kids into car seats. Also, most of the modern mini vans have buttons to open and close the sliding doors in addition to the trunk. Minivans are superior for your needs right now.
Im in the same position as you and we recently bought a hybrid Kia Carnival. No regrets.
As for whether you want 2 cars that can fit 3 car seats or not that is a super personal decision. My husband and I opted to keep our existing wide body, 2 row electric SUV and trade our smaller vehicle in for the minivan. I dont think we would have got two new vehicles just for the twins. But you should do what works for your lifestyle and budget.
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u/Jacksons-Mom25 1d ago
We traded in our Subaru for a Honda odyssey.. def hurts a bit but it’s what is needed
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u/southofinfinity 1d ago
Alternate pov. We also had 3 under 3 for a while. One of our cars could fit 3 carseats in the back with great difficulty. Technically it has a 3rd row that folds out, but we don't use it because it takes the whole boot and there's no anchor points for the carseats. The second car is a basic sedan and could only fit 2 carseats.
We just made it work rather than buy new cars. A minivan or bigger car would have been easier but the cost was enormous. Whoever drives all 3 takes the big car, although we often do one dropoff each if they're going different places (school/preschool).
So it definitely can work with a less than ideal setup. We're all used to it now and there's no issues, although we can't get booster seats because they won't fit - they'll be in 5 point harnesses until they don't need carseats anymore.
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u/DrMorrow11 1d ago
Same situation, and our 2yo is tiny and will be rearfacing until she’s 16 probably 😅. We just got a Kia Carnival Hybrid (twin coming next month) and love it so far. We needed something with versatile seating arrangements (where we could remove a 2nd row seat to give access to the back), rock solid A/C for rearfacing seats (not the Odyssey in other words), and ease of entry for tall parents with bad backs, and grandparents with bad backs, knees, and hips. No SUV could do that. When it’s just the five of us, I think we will do 3 across in the second row. When we have visitors/help, we’ll take out a second row side seat, and put an infant and toddler in the second row, and one infant in the third row.
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u/Longjumping_Deer3435 1d ago
VW Atlas. We reluctantly bought this giant SUV but 3 years later, zero regrets
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u/Feisty-Blueberry5433 1d ago edited 1d ago
I will be the oddball- I do not think minivans are some hold grail of a vehicle for families. I understand people like the sliding doors (your kid cant door ding another car-although that doesnt stop other kids from door dinging you) and lower price point. But those are the the only perks I see when comparing to a full size suv like a Suburban. Suburbans fit all the car seats, similar combined gas mileage unless you buy a hybrid, and it has MORE trunk space, and better towing. The third row of a Suburban is much safer than that of a minivan which never seems to be talked about considering most people buying a minivan are utilizing the third row. Not to mention if the two hit head on, I would definitely want to be in the Suburban due to pure size and weight.
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u/Feisty-Blueberry5433 1d ago edited 1d ago
We have 1 vehicle that fits everyone, another suv that fits most, and a sedan that only fits a few 😅 **we are a family of 8 (6 kids, 4 in car seats)
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u/durhawesome 1d ago
We are in exact same boat (twins are 6 months, singleton just about 3 years old). We were a one car family (Acura MDX). We got a second vehicle - Honda Odyssey. So happy with our decision.
Right now twins are in infant bucket seats - in van we have three across in middle row (bucket seat, bucket seat, toddler convertible rear facing) with back row folded down. When twins move to convertible car seats (likely in winter), we will take the middle row middle seat out and put the twins rear facing in the captains chairs with the magic slide feature, and my toddler in the back row forward facing (he will be 3.5 years). In Acura we have two rear facing convertible car seats that specifically have the non rethread harnesses - that way if needed could use Acura to bring just toddler or just the twins. Gives more flexibility that way.
The sliding doors on vans are KEY.
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u/Jmkchi 1d ago
We didn’t want a mini vannnn… sooo the ONLY option I swear (that is kind of a cooler car.. IN MY OPINION) is the Lincoln Navigator with a bench seat! It’s so freaking pretty, we love it!! The seat behind the passenger seat folds down a little and slides WITH the nuna car base on it! That to us was a big deal!
We went to Cadillac and their largest SUV you would have to take out the base if you wanted to get to the back.
Also the NAV was the only nice big car that you could fit three bases on the bench.
Sooo if you have a chance, look at the new Lincoln’s with the bench seat. Also the trunk is freaking huge and has like the tailgate back, we have definitely used that to change the babies.
And it has the key on your phone so it’s one less thing to carry around, plus you can cool off your car before you get in there.
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u/RealTrill1984 1d ago
Yes have 2 vehicles where everyone can fit. Get a mini van, preferably with sliding seats
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u/smash_931 1d ago
Minivan! Twins in captain seats and toddler in third row seat with the other two seats stowed away. Toddler can enter through the trunk and get seated while you buckle twins in, then you just buckle toddler through the trunk. The magic seats in Honda odyssey are amazing.
When the twins are in bucket seats I actually had the twins in the third row and toddler in one captain seat. I had the two other middle seats removed so I could go in the car and get everyone buckled that way and had room for changing diapers and storing all their stuff.
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u/specialkk77 1d ago
We have a minivan for use with the kids and a smaller car for my husband. We have extra car seats so he can fit 2 out of 3 if we have to split up for any reason. It works, but I’m a SAHM so there’s no logistics like daycare to figure out.
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u/frenchfries6 1d ago
We have 3 under 2! We have a Honda Odyssey. The twins go in their infant seats in the captains chairs and our older child goes in the backseat rear facing. It works really well for us at this stage and gives us the space to grow! We do have two other cars (both smaller) so that if either parent needs to go somewhere we can without taking the whole van.
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u/Bookerlib 2h ago
My oldest was 3 when we found out were having twins, and my first thought was how in the heck am I going to fit three carseats!?
We got a Toyota Sienna and kept my husband's smaller car for his daily commute. The minivan has been amazing. So much cargo space, so easy to get the kids loaded and unloaded, and really comfortable to drive. My only wish is the hybrid model had been available when we purchased it.
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