I'm in the market for a new to me vehicle. We currently have a 2004 Prius and a 2006 Mazda 3 Sport.
Looking for something a bit more family friendly. The Prius is our main driver and I find it a bit difficult to get my 19 month old daughter in and out of her car seat. Our second child is due in February.
I'm hoping to avoid a minivan, and I think we can reasonably afford something approaching $40k.
I like the idea of the CX-5 (I love my Mazda) but I'm concerned about the value, and whether or not it will meet our needs.
My wife has brought up pre-owned Audi A4 allroad, BMW 3 touring, but I'm pretty open.
Looking for good cargo space, easier access for kids/car seats, etc.
Anyone have suggestions?
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I would choose SUVs over cars; it is easier to get kids in and out of their car seat if you don't have to bend over every time.
I would suggest RAV4/CRV/Santa Fe size SUVs if not larger. My sister in law has a Nissan Rogue and the there is barely any cargo space left after they put in a (full-size) stroller
My brother (also one child, one on the way) has a Toyota Venza and seems happy with it. It's roomy. They went with that model because it was much cheaper than the Toyota Sequoia, and they liked it just as much.
my wife got a mazda cx-7 a couple years ago and absolutely loves it
lots of room for crap... errrr... i mean 'stuff' (i can not believe the amount of 'stuff' she has in that vehicle....seriously!!)
it's great for getting our daughter in and out (she's only a year and 5 months old)
i personally am not a fan of this car (but like i said before, it's my wife's vehicle and i rarely have to drive it). i swear this car has it out for me and i have the worst luck when it comes to locking/unlocking it. it's got the little button on the door handle you push to lock/unlock and this car seems to know when it's me hitting the button. it always seems to beep at me for no apparent reason too - i don't know... it just doesn't like me
on the performance side i find it really lags when i 'punch it'. i guess i'm used to the 350 v8 of my truck and when i step on it my truck goes! with the cx-7 i step on the gas (i'm talking pedal to the floor) and i can start counting.... 1-1000, 2-1000, 3-1000, 4....oh... there we go, now the car is going. i swear that lag before the power is going to get me in an accident one day
another thing i don't like about the car are the blind spots - i find there to be a ton of them and they are huge... but again, i'm comparing it to my truck, which is a standard cab/shortbox and it's jacked up 6" and sits on 35" tires, so seeing stuff isn't usually an issue in my truck
__________________ "...and there goes Finger up the middle on Luongo!" - Jim Hughson, Av's vs. 'Nucks
I have a CX7 and can relate...slower than you would think...handles ok though
If you want to just save yourself the trouble of shopping get an Odyssey or Sienna...its (probably) inevitable.
If you want more driving pleasure at the expense of space the INSERT SUV's here and the Forester XT or Legacy GT wagons are fantastic (and come in standard)
Mazda 5 is worth a look...
Volvo wagons are great....try an V70 or XC 70 or maybe a V50 if you care about standard transmission
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"WHAT HAVE WE EVER DONE TO DESERVE THIS??? WHAT IS WRONG WITH US????" -Oiler Fan
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Go with a minivan, you won't regret it. You may hate the idea of it now, but when you are hauling around 2 kids, strollers, sports gear, playpens, their little friends, etc. you will thank yourself for such a wise decision. Those little SUVs can be fine for little trips to the mall etc. but if you go on vacation, skiing, hockey practice etc. you will be glad for the extra room. A lot of them can fit 4x8 sheets of plywood if you take the seats out.
That being said, a supercrew/quadcab truck might do the trick as well... depending on what you need to carry with you....
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A buddy of mine got a Mazda 5 and loves it. He was a VW guy before but has a lot of good things to say about their Mazda.
My inlaws have a CX-7 and when they are watching our kids, there is plenty of room. It's relatively easy to access too (granted we are down to two booster seats and a forward facing child car seat, so your results may vary).
I've said this in other threads, but I really would encourage you to consider a mini van. We were (well, my wife for sure) against the idea of a mini van for a long time but when our third child was on the way and we priced out our options... it's pretty tough to beat a mini van. Tons of storage space, getting the kids in and out is a breeze, there is even space for the dog. We got ours with a lot of options and frankly the thing is pretty comfortable to drive in for adults too. We really wanted an SUV but for the size we needed and all the features we wanted, it was out of price range.
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we got the CRV (2013) right before the kid was born.
It has been awesome. Great on gas, rear-view camera in the base package, tons of room, even more room when you put the back seats down (can fit furniture, etc, in this configuration). All for a relatively speaking, dirt-cheap, price.
We shopped for a lot of the vehicles in this class, but must admit we dismissed the cx mazda series, as we were replacing the wife's mazda, and were very displeased with the service (hurt the brand view in our eyes), although nothing wrong with mazda's themselves.
I'm in the market for a new to me vehicle. We currently have a 2004 Prius and a 2006 Mazda 3 Sport.
Looking for something a bit more family friendly. The Prius is our main driver and I find it a bit difficult to get my 19 month old daughter in and out of her car seat. Our second child is due in February.
I'm hoping to avoid a minivan, and I think we can reasonably afford something approaching $40k.
I like the idea of the CX-5 (I love my Mazda) but I'm concerned about the value, and whether or not it will meet our needs.
My wife has brought up pre-owned Audi A4 allroad, BMW 3 touring, but I'm pretty open.
Looking for good cargo space, easier access for kids/car seats, etc.
Anyone have suggestions?
Mini Vans are awesome, get a mini van
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Family vehicle suggestions
