[ednaboo]

Hello all. We have just discovered we have #4 on the way so we need to think about a bigger car. I'm not keen on a people mover so I'm looking at SUV's. We don't need 4WD, so I'm not looking at those. I've had a good look at old threads and learned a lot already.

When the baby arrives I will have a 2yo (carseat), 6 yo (tethered booster) and a 9yo (can probably go without a booster then) so I should only need 3 anchor points. I would love to hear your opinions on a Territory, Subaru Tribeca or the Volvo XC90 and if they would work for 4 kids. This will be our only car.

I understand that with the Tribeca, there are 2 anchor points in each row, so my 6yo would have to travel in the 3rd row. Does anyone know which 2nd row moves to allow rear access? Could I have 2 car seats set up behind the driver? Also, I'm finding conflicting reports on whether there are airbags in the third row?

I know the XC90 has 3 anchor points in the middle, so all restraints would have to go there. This would mean my eldest would have to get in via the boot? Would this work?

I know the Territory has 5 anchor points, so has the most flexibility. But I believe it has no 3rd row airbags?

Any wisdom or other suggestions much appreciated. I have ruled out the Odyssey (because of the stupid location of the anchor points), and the Subaru Exiga (mainly because it's so ugly!).

This post has been edited by ednaboo: 03/02/2013, 08:38 AM

[Rolex]

Honestly I was thinking the same way as you. Didn't need a 4wd, and I didn't really want a people mover but all the SUV's I looked at just seemed too small, and in many of them, the 3rd row was too close to the back door for my comfort, and also for pram/shopping space. Tribeca was one of the smallest of all. I only need 2 anchor points, for newborn and my 7yo's booster. My other kids are 11 and almost 10. But even with only imagining a RF seat in there, my kids felt too cramped.

We ended up getting a Grand Carnival, and despite not wanting a people mover, I love my new car. So much space, and so much power compared to the old Carnivals.

Have you looked at Mazda CX9? If I had stuck with a SUV that's probably what I would have gotten. But I just couldn't go past the space of the GC, and I'm loving the sliding doors, especially in my garage at home where we have two cars, a motorbike and other assorted crap lol, so the cars are parked quite close together.

[3mummy3]

I have 4 kids and have a mazda cx9. Great car but my kids are aged 14, 12, 8 and 6months so only need one car seat.

[Carmen02]

i have a territory (I have 3 kids but we do get the 4th row up alot) to be honest i wouldnt put up with it for 4 kids all the time. my 10yr old has trouble fitting in the back and my 8yr old is getting to big for the back seats too. I would look at bigger

[Fossy]

We bought a Kluger, we looked at territory, captiva, Volvo, Hyundai Santa fe, Kia something and Mazda.

We were sold on the Volvo but couldn't justify the extra $20k for 10cm more boot space, but of space is important then the Volvo is the biggest we found.

Territory we discounted because the third row isn't split, so you would have to have both seats up all the time leaving no boot space - bad if you need a pram.

Captiva was tiny, Mazda was expensive to service and a fuel guzzler, Kia seemed cheap, hyundai was nice for a cheaper car.

We chose Kluger due to space, it's quite roomy, can easily fit adults in rear row, they had fixed price servicing, $170 for 6 years. 6 year unlimited km warranty, 6 years roadside. I like the reversing camera, the screen is huge, sat nav is handy. the extra gimmicky things are nice like keyless entry and ignition, auto open and closing boot, DVD and wireless headphones, big sunroof. We also looked at re sale, toyotas hold their value well, the territory does well too, mazda did very poorly.

[TashaG]

Hi OP
We just bought a Mazda CX9. Number 3 is on the way, but already have a DD12 and DS2.5, so needed space for two car seats in second row, and preferably the third row to have the option of being either as six or seven seat. The reason for this.... If only carrying the five of us, we can have the third row as only one seat up, one down, so can still fit a huge amount of stuff in the boot/seat well space. Other cars such as the Territory don't give this option, and have a tiny amount of space when the third row is up, which with four kids will probably be impractical.
The Mazda is fairly well priced brand new, wouldn't bother with second hand as they hold their value rather well (we figured we may as well pay the extra $8000 for a brand new one, as second hand you get all the problems of high km's, lack of warranty, etc. Seemed much more sensible to buy brand new-one owner (us), full warranty etc. and oh, that new car smell.....

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[ednaboo]

Thanks for your replies so far. We did consider the CX9 but we were put off by fuel usage. However we will look at it again. Can older kids fit in the 3rd row?

I didn't know the Territorys 3rd row was not split. That would be annoying.

Any more words of wisdom will be appreciated!

[againagain]

We have a 4wd with split third row and when we compare cars it is a huge factor that we consider. Airbags are another in all rows.

The Territory would drive me mad with the solid rear row, I know a lot of cars have that but if you need to use the third row all the time for one child it's definitely something to consider.

I always look at a car and think - so I can fit my kids in there, now where do four school bags go? They take up a lot of room!

[lotsofbots]

My daughter has a territory, the rear row sits on the floor so no leg space as the kids get older, tiny 7 year can not fit anymore,it does have anchors in the rear row. She has had a lot of trouble with it mechanically.

Hubby had a Tribecca to small, the 7 seat liberty has more room.

I drive a tarago, love it to bits smaller than the other vans on the market, more like an over size station wagon not as boxy as the IMAX and the Kia a little less roomy, doesn't feel like a van to drive

My daughter has a territory, the rear row sits on the floor so no leg space as the kids get older, tiny 7 year can not fit anymore,it does have anchors in the rear row. She has had a lot of trouble with it mechanically.

Hubby had a Tribecca to small, the 7 seat liberty has more room.

I drive a tarago, love it to bits smaller than the other vans on the market, more like an over size station wagon not as boxy as the IMAX and the Kia a little less roomy, doesn't feel like a van to drive

[elle-M]

We have a new Prado (only had it for 2 weeks) and it's perfect, easily fits three car seats across the back and two adults in the rear. It has a huge boot with split fold seats and is one of the only big 4WD's around with head airbags for the third row occupants - very important to us because we have a precious golden retriever who travels in the boot

I'm only kidding about the airbags working for the dog, but anyway, this was a factor we looked at, as well as wanting diesel and plenty of room. There are no anchor points in the third row though, just three in the middle.