What kind of car would you buy if you had a carseat to put in it?

Question

and not just that, the idiots that make parking lots, make the spaces extra small, so you can't get in and out of the car easily.

But you have to think about safety, you can't just say, buy a little Yugo then you will have room.

You want a car that will keep your baby safe if someone slams into you.

What do you buy? I know some of you are in this situation, so you know the answer, and I need your answer and you need points.

Answer 1

A van. I have a Honda civic (which I loved until I put the car seat in once) and a ford windstar. The van is a dream. the doors slide so you don't have to worry about the stupidly skinny spots and the captains seats are right by the door. You can put your knee beside the seat and put the babe in. Now, it isn't the safest place for a baby. The middle seat is in case of a side impact but there is no middle in a van. In the warmer weather, you can stand outside and change the babe on the seat or in the back with the back door open, almost at the height as a change table. Most of my friends make fun of me and my mommy-mobile but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my van. In addition, our van had tons of built in safety feature (XL tank- which is huge b/c you can't leave the babe in the van when you run in to pay, built in baby mirror, and multiple "plugs" for heating bottles, cell phones etc..., tinted windows so you can nurse easily and comfortably in the back) I'm not a huge fan of fords but check out mini-vans. They are AWESOME when you have kids. Also, surprisingly, the insurance for it was the same as our Honda. It's significantly less than an SUV (that's what we went out to buy but got a van instead)...anyways, check them out.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 2

SUVs are not safe. Many are prone to rollovers. I will never personally buy one ... if you have other children, though, that might be your only option. If that's the case, go on the small side, and MAKE SURE it has a 4 or 5-star safety rating.

Vans are usually not too safe either. Some of those are also prone to rollovers, and their shape doesn't seem to fit into parking spaces and such well. I hate driving vans.

A truck might be an option if you get the option to have a back seat. Most will not roll over, and nowadays, you can find one with a good safety rating, side-curtain airbags, etc.

Here is a list from Parents magazine:
Minivans: Chrysler Town and Country, Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey
Sedans: Mazda 6, Dodge Charger, Ford Fusion
SUVs: Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Explorer, Jeep Commander
Economy: Kia Sportage, Mazda 3, Honda Civic

If you only have one kid (in the carseat you're talking about), I would go with the Mazda 3. If you have more, try the Ford Fusion or the Chevrolet Equinox.

Answer 3

We have a Honda accord sedan, but it was made before 2002, and has no LATCH. I recommend a car made after Sept 1, 2002 (i.e. 2003+ models). It should have the LATCH system. That makes installing the baby seat securely a lot simpler.

If the parking lot spaces are narrow, then the sedan might not work too well. It is a little wider than plain accord model.

Answer 4

Make sure that you take the car seat and try it with whatever vehicle you are considering. Many back seats do not allow the car seat to anchor or sit properly. I just took over my daughter's big new SUV because her newborn's car seat will not fit properly. Her car seat is a normal infant car seat, but the SUVs middle seat leans too far forward to fit the baby seat. She had not considered that a baby seat would not fit when she bought the SUV during pregnancy. She ended up with a Cadillac car, after looking at every vehicle on the market, and that works fine.

Answer 5

We got a minivan. A Ford Windstar to be exact. But We also have a Chevy Blazer and it is not too bad. Make sure the vehicle is equipped with the latch hook thing for the newer car seats. And be sure that your car seat is NEW. Mini vans are not huge so they aren't bad to park and are really nice for shopping or car pooling. Have a great night and good luck with your choice.

Answer 6

Buy a Volvo, which has air bags throughout the car. When you're unsure, check with Consumer's Reports on baby seats and car features.

Answer 7

cconsider some thing like a mini van. with the child seat in the vehicle, there is still a lot of space around the seat.
If you were to get hit hard in the side, most back seats are far away enough to escape the impacts

Answer 8

I have two Apex 65 and no back seat in my Mazda 626. But my babies come 1st and not to mention the $$ I save on gas with a smaller vehicle

Answer 9

well theres many a cars these days that are safe .most euro cars have side impact rails ,plus you have to think about how much you have to spend on a half decent car .
you have ,Saab ,Saturn,Volvo ,Audi,BMW ,Subaru ,Honda Chrysler,Chevy theres really alot of cars out there .
do some research.on cars with side impact bars ,you would be surprised what will pop up as a sedan.

Answer 10

We have a Plymoth grand Voyager.Had to get a minivan considering we have 4 kids ages 6,4,3,and 1 and have one on the way that is due in Feb.