Truck is out. Maverick is out. As is the Santa Cruz, Baja, or Ridgeline. If we're spending the money, we want that third row.
Truck is out. Maverick is out. As is the Santa Cruz, Baja, or Ridgeline. If we're spending the money, we want that third row.
ojannen said:You want a European style compact MPV. The three sold in recent memory are the Mazda 5, Ford C-max, and Prius V. I think the C-max plugin hybrid is the interesting choice of the three. My wife and I just traded in a Ford Flex for a low mileage Mazda 5. There are a few left on Carvana. The lower price should pay for the mpg deficit for a while.
The Ford Flex was great with the best headroom and the best second row head/legroom of any minivan or 3 row unibody suv I test drove. We sold it because we started getting into 3.5 ecoboost transverse engine issues and after buying a full sized truck, we didn't need two big cars.
We were pretty close to buying that V70R that was in the For Sale forum last month. 5 real seats, built in boosters in the rear, and the option of 2 extra rear facing seats for kids and occasional use.
Spot on.
I would probably have a much easier time paying for a low-mileage Mazda5 and much easier time convincing her of their benefits. I know the third row is nearly useless, but for how often we'd use it, it'd be fine.
The C-max is seating for 4 adults max. I think front seats would be tight with rear-facing car seats in back and I don't think there would be space for a person between two front-facing seats. There is no third row.
Mazda 5 is a wierd one for pricing. Privatley, they can be had cheap, but all of them have a decent amount of mileage.
Via Carvana, you can find plenty with low mileage, but they are $18k.
On Autotrader, the pickings are slim.
Compared to the Ascent, which is a few years newer, I can find lots on Autotrader for not much more money. The Ascent is definitely an outlier of affordability.
No minivans. No trucks or large SUVs. No Ford Flex. So we're back to 3 row CUVs then. Those are the only thing that will give you the 2nd row hip room similar to the Mazda 5.
New ones will start mid-upper 30s. Some of them can just tickle the very bottom of your fuel economy target. You'll just have to try them out.
If the price can go up, then you might find some PHEV options (Mitsu Outlander PHEV, Jeep 4XE stuff, Aviator hybrid, etc).
Look at that long hood and 2-box profile, clearly this is an SUV and not a minivan. Perhaps she will fall for it?
With tax credits and what not the Outlander could become very affordable but I'm not sure I like the fact that there is like two Mitsu dealers in the entire state. The new model is also but ugly. Honestly, if the Outlander looked like anything else, I might be more interested, but I dont like the "Juke on Steroids" look.
The Jeep 4XE is cool. But no third seat. So it's like having a truck with better MPGs and I can buy a lot of MPGs for $38k for my existing truck.
The new Lincoln SUVs are sexy but I don't think we can afford one.
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:
Look at that long hood and 2-box profile, clearly this is an SUV and not a minivan. Perhaps she will fall for it?
Definitely not a minivan. We'll check one out in person.
pheller said:pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:
Look at that long hood and 2-box profile, clearly this is an SUV and not a minivan. Perhaps she will fall for it?
Definitely not a minivan. We'll check one out in person.
Exactly. That's what my friend's wife finally fell for. I don't see why every automaker isn't trying this trick
...besides SUV profits and all..
In reply to pheller :
That last part - "ride 3-across with the kids" is actually where we find some common ground. That excludes a minivan, but it does require a much larger vehicle that a CRV/Rav4/Forester. A Mazda5 or Transit Connect would not fit this criteria because they are both relatively narrow.
If this defines your parameters, the smallest option that fits is a minivan. If she doesn't want a minivan, then she doesn't really want the smallest option.
These guys tested cars with three across car seats. Note theses are just what they tested, there are quite a few good candidates missing from the list. Also, just because they fit, doesn't mean that an adult would fit comfortably in the middle. But it's a start...
I forgot to mention:
My wife's secret downfall to cars is "cool colors". She drives a 2012 Honda Fit in Raspberry Blue Metallic (Teal). She liked the car primarily because of the color.
I'd have better luck getting her into a minivan that had a cool color option than a SUV with bland colors.
The Carnival does come in Teal.
However, she also has said she might just want to get whatever blank colored car we purchase professionally wrapped in a cool color. Added expense.
Boost_Crazy said:In reply to pheller :
That last part - "ride 3-across with the kids" is actually where we find some common ground. That excludes a minivan, but it does require a much larger vehicle that a CRV/Rav4/Forester. A Mazda5 or Transit Connect would not fit this criteria because they are both relatively narrow.
If this defines your parameters, the smallest option that fits is a minivan. If she doesn't want a minivan, then she doesn't really want the smallest option.
She is ok with sliding doors and long wagon egg shapes. She just percieves minivans as bigger than SUVS when they aren't.
In reply to pheller :
Not on the outside, anyway.
pheller said:pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:
Look at that long hood and 2-box profile, clearly this is an SUV and not a minivan. Perhaps she will fall for it?
Definitely not a minivan. We'll check one out in person.
Exactly. That's what my friend's wife finally fell for. I don't see why every automaker isn't trying this trick
...besides SUV profits and all..
Oh, when we were shopping them last month, they were sure going for SUV profits. Pricing was pretty much even with the Telluride, and they were marking them up- a lot. The one base model they had on the lot- they wanted $48k for?!? It does sound perfect for the OP though, other than the cost. This thing is more SUV looking than lots of SUV's. My wife, who is also anti-minivan, liked it.
pheller said:She just percieves minivans as bigger than SUVS when they aren't.
They are only bigger on the inside.
My wife drove minivans for 15 years. When the kids got older she moved to a Jeep Liberty. It was only OK. It was too small after driving a minivan for so long. After the Liberty, she moved to a Suburban because she didn't want to be the "mini van" mom, She really likes it except it's hard to get people in and out of. Namely her father. He had a stroke and is wheelchair-bound.
She is now shopping for another minivan and our youngest is 19.
I started paying attention to Kia Minivans, and I can't remember seeing a current model in recent memory. Or even the previous generation. I knew that minivans were decreasing in popularity, but wow. The Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna seem to be the most common around here, followed by the occasional Dodge. The Telluride and Palisade seem to have taken over for them in my area, along with all the other 3-row SUVs.
pheller said:
If you try to brute force it (like I did with our home), she might come around, but she'll hate you for forcing it.
pheller also said:
To be clear:
- I want as much as space as possible because if my portion of the family finances are going towards a new vehicle, I want something that I will never say "damn, I wish I would've brought the truck." Currently, we exceed the capacity of our small cars frequently and inevitably drive the truck.
- "Wifeheller" is the opposite - she'd rather have as small a vehicle as I could drive comfortably with a carseat behind me and space for her to ride in the back 3-across with the kids. That last part - "ride 3-across with the kids" is actually where we find some common ground. That excludes a minivan, but it does require a much larger vehicle that a CRV/Rav4/Forester. A Mazda5 or Transit Connect would not fit this criteria because they are both relatively narrow.
- "Riding in the back 3-across with kids" is a temporary requirement - once both kids are forward facing I'm not sure how much we'll do this.
Revisiting this, how long will it be before both kids are forward facing? Maybe 2 years at most?
Since fitting an adult between the car seats is really what's determining the size requirements here, can you just keep the status quo until both kids are forward facing, and then revisit this in 6-24 months? You'd have more options if that constraint is removed, and it seems like a bad idea to force your wife to compromise long term just to be slightly more convenient in a short term situation. Especially if she already feels like you did that with the house. By all means, take her out to sit in all kinds of things, but I'd probably let her make the call on what she wants to be driving.
. By all means, take her out to sit in all kinds of things, but I'd probably let her make the call on what she wants to be driving.
STM317 has hit the real nail on the head.
I love all of the people that have 2 kids, are carting them around, yet don't want to be looked at as "Minivan Moms". Like there are a bunch of guys looking to hook up with married Moms, but the minivan is the deal breaker....
I don't think it's part of the external identity, I think its part of the how they view themselves. The idea of "this is my life now" - well yea, you wanted kids, what did you expect?
Just like dads who oppose minivans. It was once joked that if you drove a minivan you had to give up your man card. Now the same would be said about a Prius, an Electric Car, a Miata, and a Minivan.
Isn't driving a minivan with your pile of offspring a way of flaunting to the world that you've mastered the art of procreation?
In reply to pheller :
Maybe. Maybe taking large vacations and doing what we wanted is us flaunting that we know how but chose not to procreate.
Still not seeing the Sante Fe/Sorento on your list.
Any chance you could convince her sitting in the back row of the Transit Connect wagon to keep an eye on the kids in the second row is acceptable?
Wonder why nobody makes pickup truck seats like the Subaru Brat had. Seems like it'd be fun, a weird convertible even.
...yeah probably not for flagstaff. I went last spring and we got 40" of snow over a weekend.
Our '16 Pilot isn't as small as your wife would probably like, but it ticks the majority of your boxes. It drives well, has a ton of room, and a very useable 3rd row.
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