Will certainly subscribe to the ones you suggested. Alex recently purchased a Dodge Durango R/T, which makes me want to take a second look at them. You figure this guy has literally driven everything and I was surprise he chose that vehicle. He had great reasoning… its RWD, can be had with a V8 and the only SUV with 50/50 weight balance which makes it the most fun to drive.
I just watched his review of the Ascent and he was a little harsh on it, basically said to avoid it if you have small kids because the 2nd row seats will not slide forward enough with a child’s car seat in place. Something very important to remember as the majority of people buying 3 row SUVs will be using a car seat. Also wasn’t a fan of the CVT and its fake shifts to make it feel like typical torque converter.
This is NOT going to be a problem for you and I for a long time. This feature only applies if you have a forward facing or booster seat. The minimal legal age for forward facing is 2 year old (for sure) and 35lb?? Most people keep their kids rear facing until they are 50lb or so, it will be more than 3 years before your twins and my son get there. By that time, you will be leasing another car. So your next lease will need this feature
While watch review on youtube is a good start, I haven’t any one actually test fit a rear facing or infant carrier in any review. Rear facing seats and carriers these day are not small. I will sure take them on a test drive. My wife’s coworker bought (financed) a used Q5 anticipating a new born. A week after bringing the new born out, they wish they got a larger SUV
In the UK, that might be true, but I don’t know of anyone in the US keeping their kid rear-facing for that long. In years past, many switched to front-facing at age 1. With the new law, I think many parents will switch to front-facing at the first legal chance, which as you stated is now at age 2.
Front facing is more convenient for the parents, but it is not necessarily a safe practice at 2 years old. The key is the weight of the baby. If the smaller the baby, the higher the chance of getting ejected from a forward facing seat because the harness just can hold such a small body. Many baby can be well under 25lb at 2 yr old, which IMO is too small for forward facing.
I have known of an above case, and the parents after losing one baby in an accident, switching back to rear facing for other kids below 50lb. And I think this isn’t uncommon these day as you can see many convertible seats are coming out with leg extension to keep rear facing capabilities as long as possible.
Having that said, I am new to parenthood, so I am all armchair quarterback at this moment. My plan is to keep my son rear facing as long as possible. But will see.
People are so brainwashed by marketing. What larger SUV did they need for one child, a Q7? A Suburban?They could easily have gotten a larger car (larger defined by more rear legroom). A Corolla, Accord or S90 would have been a better choice.
So why do you need a two-row SUV? A Corolla or Camry would lease way better than a 2019 RAV4 (the outdated current gen remains Toyota’s best seller so it’s obvious they won’t need much support to move the brand new ones when they’ve just been introduced).
This is not true. If properly belted, the 5 point harness is more than capable of holding an infant securely. The real reason is the neck is not strong enough to support the head in the event of a collision or even a sudden stop. Statistically, there is higher likelihood of a forward collision than rearward so it makes the most sense to be rearward facing to prevent injury. This applies to all passengers, though it’s not practical for drivers to be rear facing.
I totally agree here. SUV just isn’t efficient in term of space utilization. Actually sucks in MPG too. However, this seems to one of the American culture. SUV out sold sedan or minivan by a large margin. It is never about the need along. People just prefer SUV.
In my case, if I can, I would bought a odyssey over leasing a QX60 if I need the space. But wife doesn’t prefer a minivan.
FWIW, you have to decide as a parent what level of safety you are going to commit to. We kept our kids rear facing until they physically no longer fit, then had them in the 5 point Britax seats until they again were physically too big to fit.
Now the kids are a bit older and in boosters. We have several friends who quit putting their kids (~6-7 years old) in boosters because “it wasn’t worth fighting over”. When they roll up you can see the belt across the kid’s neck. WTF. I disagree with this (to put it mildly), and when those kids ride in our car they are in boosters.
Among our peers I’ve noticed an odd phenomenon where some parents think of a kid no longer using a car seat as a milestone, and celebrate the fact that they are no longer in a “baby seat”. I assume they didn’t do well in physics.
As for the SUV question, I went minivan from day one of kid #1, despite my reservations about driving something so uncool. I got over myself pretty quick, because a minivan is a freaking awesome family vehicle.
This is my plan too as of now, baby is only 5 month old now. I plan to keep him RF as long as he fit that way. But who knows, maybe for some future reason I may change. So will see.
I need it because im 43 years old and am tired of bending over every time I need to put kids, cargo or even myself into a vehicle. An SUV has a much higher entry/exit point which makes loading and unloading (especially small kids into car seats) a million times easier. I absolutely dare you to put twin 3 month old babies, their car seats, double stroller in/out of a Camry or Corolla for a week while running daily errands… then turn around and do the same exact errands in a RAV4 the next week. You would literally come back to this thread and apologize for even asking that question.
Furthermore the higher, more upright seating position of a SUV is simply more relaxing to drive, provides a better view of the road ahead & around you which allows you to navigate traffic in a safer and less stressful manner, offers the extra confidence of AWD in slippery conditions, 2nd & 3rd row lay flat seats provide a flat, unobstructed cargo floor and the large power tailgate which can be often be operated hands free (wave foot under bumper) make loading and unloading large things when both hands are full a breeze.
TL:DR… you couldnt pay me to purchase a sedan over an SUV.
Back to the car seat conversation… if you need to access the 3rd row make sure you test it both RF and FF. Our car seat system by Chicco uses a base, so its not really an issue with newborns as they get put into the carrier first… which then gets put into the carrier base that sits permanently in the vehicle. But when they get old enough to FF… the carrier will sit permanently in the vehicle. And this feature helped sell us on the Atlas vs other 3 row SUVs:
These are common misconceptions based on older truck based SUVs. Newer car based SUVs (aka crossovers) utilize space more efficiently than any sedan. A Crossover is basically a tall station wagon. It is literally car that with more cargo and passenger space. Because its built on a car’s frame and uses a car’s drivetrain… MPG is generally very acceptable. Something like the 2018 CR-V has much more interior space than a Honda Accord, lay flat cargo floor, takes up the exact same parking space and still gets over 30mpg in mixed driving. The newest CR-V’s get around 35mpg on the highway.
The QX60 you mention is an much older design. Its based on the 2013 Pathfinder, a design that has been sitting on dealer lots for over 6 years now. Its inefficient because its literally old. When it comes up for a redesign expect a totally different cabin, drivetrain and frame which should make it a much more competitive vehicle.
Actually, I really don’t agree with this after owning QX60 for 2 months. Previously, we were mainly using my BWM 3 series sedan. So far, we found the higher height less comfortable for taking infant carrier in and out. I can see 3 series is on the low side, but something like a normal sedan or minivan height would work out the best
Depend on where you live, AWD can be very hefpful or just dragging along unnecessary weight. “Safer” really depend on your definition of “safer”. Myself much prefer a smaller, more nimble car that I can easier maneuver my way out of trouble… And sedan comes with power tail gate too.
Except that SUV’s are less safe than cars, due to their tendency to rollover. Mercedes E and 5 series BMW are the safest cars according to NHTSA. Mercedes GLE has the highest roof strength around 6 times the car weight.
This is absolutely not accurate. We test drove so many crossover in our baby leave time. Simple example is my midsize single stroller will fit into my 3 series trunk flat and straight in, but the same fashion won’t fit into Q5, CX5, RX350, forrester + a few more (which we own previously). The depth of the cargo space is less than 3 series trunk and the slander tail gate really makes fitting odd shape subject like s stroller difficult.
Same goes for rear facing baby carrier. Surprisingly, I can fit it behind driver seat and still drive confortably in a 3 series. Not so in the cross over list above. I also believe a full size sedan like S90 will have better fit for baby + baby stuff than my QX60.
Sure large cross over has its advantage. If I have to go to home depot for a 4x8 piece of plywood, then sedan is a no go. But the other end of the efficient space choice is a minivan tho. All in all, I am still very confused at why American like crossover over something more efficient. And I am one of them with a large 3 row cross over now. While I like QX60, it is not my preferred type of car from experience so far.
When im referring to SUVs/Crossover are safer and less stressful to drive due to drive height… Im specifically talking about the ability to see ABOVE and OVER traffic. A 3series BMW behind a pickup truck in traffic cant see anything ahead but his bumper. Whereas a SUV/Crossover the driver sits much higher is able to see ahead and around better. I thought I made this point clear in my previous post. If something happens AHEAD in traffic… the SUV/Crossover driver is typically able to react to event that much quicker because they can actually see what is going on ahead in traffic.
As for being less stressful to drive the same amount of additional awareness of what is ahead would apply. Driving an SUV/Crossover the driver is able to see better which lanes are moving faster, which lanes are congested and better potential hazards/obstacles/events that may slow down my trip. Something as simple as debris ahead in a lane… the SUV/Crossover driver should be better able to see and navigate around.
The vehicles you named are all pretty poorly designed for space. The same would go for the sedans made by the same manufacturer. If you are going to compare SUVs to cars and complain about inefficiency, then look at the manufacturer. For example look at a Q5 vs A4. RX350 vs ES350. Forester vs Impreza. In every comparison the the Crossover still has much more space. What you are doing is comparing this brand to that brand… and some manufacturers are simply MUCH more efficient with their designs than others. Go test drive a CR-V and come back and tell me that your 3 series uses space much more efficiently. You wont. Because Honda & Toyota do a much better job of utilizing available interior room.
If your concern is a car rolling over… then by all means stick to a car… I certainly cant argue your point. A car has a lower center of gravity, which means it should stay grounded better vs an crossover given the same conditions.
As for me, I’m quite satisfied with the entire NHTSA safety rating of pretty much any current crossovers. Many are rated 5 stars. Some are even rated 5+ stars for safety. At some point you have to ask how much “safe” is enough “safe” and anything 5stars or better works for me. A current make/model crossover rolling over is probably one of the absolute last concerns on my list when shopping.
