Seeking Advice on Station Wagons

I just went through alot of cars shopping and getting lup to what really works for me. I love the toyota highlander that we got! It has alot of space and a third row. And better yet it is versitle like a van because of the removeable and center stow middle seat. in the second row. I have done alot of reserch and I had a GMC envoy. I did not like it. There were a few features that i liked on it but it did not suite my family the way my Highlander does. And the gas milage is way better than the envoy and I have alot more room. I think the crossovers are really good to look into. But the midsize suv suited my family perfectly!

1 mom found this helpful

Since my husband stayed home with our baby boy, I let him pick the car. We were opposed to SUV's and weren't quite ready for a mini-van. Anyway, he immediately chose the 5-series BMW station wagon, black of course. So here's what we found: The Graco infant seat will ONLY fit in the middle seat, unless you're willing to sit with one of the front seats all the way forward. Of course the middle seat is considered the optimal location...but it's back-braking to load the child in, esp. as they grow bigger. The Britax Marathon child seat fits behind the passenger seat...mostly. Once our son turned 15 months, it started to squish his feet against the back of my seat and I've been inching forward ever since. The bugaboo fit in the back easily. It's also a great place to carry the dog! Operationally, the the wagon's been reliable. But it's a little underpowered for its size. So although it's fine vehicle - there are probably station wagons that are better designed for children. These comments are about the 2003 version - later models may have corrected some of these issues. So my primary advice (for any car) is bring the car seats to the dealer and check!

1 mom found this helpful

I used to have two dodge minivans and I got my Ford Taurus wagon three years ago. It is THE BEST car I've ever owned and it uses less gas then a minivan, has plenty of room and it's rated extremely high for safety.
When we were car shopping, I saw it and it caught my eye because of the flip up seat in the back (was like my mom's station wagon when I was a kid) but it was a Ford and it wasn't a van and... well I got out of the car to drive it convinced it wouldn't handle well. It did. I thought for sure when I got home and looked up the car, I'd find something wrong (recalls, bad reviews) I didn't. No matter how hard I looked for something wrong with this Ford, I couldn't. It got high safety ratings and for it's size it wasn't quite the guzzler. Seriously, I could find no reason to not buy it. I have never regretted my decision. I can't recommend this car enough.

OH I wanted to add one more thing. With both of my Dodge Caravans I had transmission problems. My cousin (seeing my first van and finding it cool) bought one too and then when it's transmission began to fail got another one. I talked to him today and it died this morning on I-5. Run, don't walk, away from a Dodge Minivan!!

We have a Dodge Magnum and it is GREAT! It fits our large stoller in the back and on occassion when we have needed to purchase and transport large items like our rocking chair, it fit in the back and we put the stroller in the front seat. They can also be purchased with a GPS which is very helpful>

I love my Subaru Outback! It is surprisingly roomy inside...and has very low emissions! It was also rated the number 1 safest family car by Consumer Reports.

We bought a used lincoln navigator before our daughter was born. She is now 5 months. I was not on board with the idea because I thought it was WAY too big. But it is perfect. we never run out of room. We've been on several road trips and it makes them very enjoyable. It has a TV/DVD in the back so if Lainee gets fussy one of us can sit back there with her and watch a movie too! Also my cousin has a baby and we never have an issue if we want to go somewhere with both of our strollers. I was looking to buy one of the infinity SUV's I thinkit's the FX? the smaller one..Anyway while test driving it I put my stroller int he back and that was it...There was absolutely no room for anything but the stroller!!! Good luck!!

I love my Subaru! They have seat warmers, 6 CD player and all that, but are one of the safest cars. I have the Forester, but the Outback is more like a wagon.

I have the volvo v70 wagon, i love it, it is my 2nd, I had a 1998 model and now I have a 2006, I think they are roomier than other higher end wagons. I'm not a fan of the suv's i think they tip, don't feel as safe, and use more gas. I also love to use the back as a changing spot, since it is lower, it is so easy. I am a 34 year old new mom of a baby boy, and I am cool, stylish mom.

Hey I have a bugaboo too and we just got rid of our BMW station wagon and upgraded to a Yukon Denalhi. I was more worried about comfortably fitting multiple carseats in the BMW, it was too narrow and we want to have a second baby. Our 1st one is 8 months and toting her and all the gear there wasn't enough room in the BMW. We also test drove the Lexus SUV and it didn't seem big enough either. Good Luck!

My cousin suddenly has 3 kids...2 fosters and one new arrival. She has always driven an SUV. With all the new growth, my husband sold her husband a minivan. She hated the idea and refused to drive it for awhile, but now she loves it. Minivans are suppose to have the most interior room. Send me a note if you would like some assistance, my husband works for 5 different stores.

I know you asked about station wagons, which we don't have, but we DO have a Ford Escape and LOVE IT! We actually had 2 but just traded one in for a smaller car. It was the one SUV that my husband who is 6'3" could actually fit his legs into and drive comfortably. We bought it the first year it came out. The things about it that attracted us to the Escape were that it is 4-door, smaller (easy handling) than most SUV's yet very roomy inside. It also gets pretty decent gas mileage. Now that they are hybrid, we're considering getting one of those! Just a thought....

I purchased my Volvo XC70 before my 2year old was born and it's perfect! Roomy and safe. I wish it were more mileage efficient though and am looking forward to switch to a hybrid (Like the Ford Escape) or converting to a bio-diesel.

The Volvo is great, though. Good Luck!

I have a Volvo Cross-Country (a slightly raised station wagon....not an SUV)and it fits a car seat and Bugaboo easily, with plenty of room to spare!

If you can afford it I would highly recommend buying a hybrid or station wagon that can run on biodiesel. I know size is an issue, so be assured that there are hybrids out there that can fit a lot in them, and if you get a diesel station wagon to run on biodiesel or vegetable oil, (mercedes or volvo are the most common), they tend to be huge.

Please consider the lives that have been lost overseas for the oil we use and how much our decisions as consumers effect the earth. Good luck finding a car!

We love our Chrysler Pacifica!

I have a Ford Explorer. It has lots of room for all of the toys and strollers that you need to take with you. The downfall is the gas. It does not get good gas mileage. If you want something with space and good gas, I would look at a mini van, or a conversion car. Thast all I have

We have a 2001 Ford Focus wagon. It is great. Consumer reports rated it well and the gas mileage is great. There is a lot of room and it rides well.
H.

I have the exact same problem: I have one baby and a 3-series BMW that I love, but it's already too small, even before we (hopefully) create a sibling for him! I don't like SUVs on principal, so I was considering getting the 5-series wagon. Though it's much pricier, the people I've met who have that model, with two kids, seem quite happy with it. That said, the Lexus SUV seems to be popular and well-liked as well, but some people don't consider it a bona fide hybrid. Good luck!

I have the Volvo V70. We've never had a problem getting any carseat in and for a while I carried a Graco stroller and a Bob stroller in the back at the same time. A Bugaboo would easily fit.

My husband and I drove a mini-van for years while our kids were growing up. Three years ago, we downsized to a VW Passat wagon. It's very roomy, handles really well, gets better mileage than the van, and so far, it has given us no trouble. I can fit everything from big Costco shopping trips in the back. I was even able to move a twin bed in it by putting down the back seats. When we drove our youngest daughter to college last fall, we used the roof rack and the back without folding down any seats, and we were easily able to fit in her massive amounts of stuff. I have friends with BMW wagons who have had them for years and are happy with them also. I think the size is similar, though they are more expensive to buy and maintain. I also have friends who had Volvo wagons while their kids grew up and loved those. To attest to the Volvo's longevity, my husband and I still have our '95 Volvo sedan. In any case, I do recommend station wagons as great family cars.

I've done a lot of research on this recently and I personally think the GMC Acadia or Mercedes R350 are the best SUVs for moms on the market and are priced about the same. The GMC was designed by a team of women for women. For an American car it's a bit on the pricey side but gets great gas mileage, has more room than most other big SUVs and has seats 7. If you prefer foreign cars, the R350 has the same 7 person seating for the same $$. Hope that helps :)

Hi, I'm 37 and we got rid of our 325i when we got closer to delivery. We checked out the 3 series of the SUV because it was in our price range, however, I didn't find it all that roomy, plus, for the price didn't have all the bells and whistles that we liked. We actually traded our BMW in on the Ford Edge. The outside reminds me of the Lexus RX. Inside, it's roomy enough for a weekend trip with two adults and one set of golf clubs, including a full size Graco stroller. It doesn't have the Anchor System in the middle of the back seat, but it does on the two sides and it fits perfectly. We got leather, heated front seats, reclining rear seats(which is nice for breastfeeding), navigation and the rear DVD system for about $32,000, a lot less than the BMW or Mercedes. It's price in on line with the Pilot, but I found the Edge to be much more comfortable. Another SUV that I liked for the money, was the Saturn Outlook. Just as a side note, I may be biased, but I did have A LOT of trouble with my BMW and ended up suing them under the Lemon Law. Instead taking the car back, they bought us out to keep our mouths shut. We took the money and bought the Edge. I'll never deal with BMW again. But that's rare.

I have had a Volvo XC70 station wagon and now have a Volvo XC90 SUV. They both have room for carseats and a bugaboo. The station wagon has a bigger space in back, but was too low to the ground for me to load the kids in and out, and the SUV can be used either with or without its 3-row of seats. I generally use it wothout the 3rd row, and I can fit my baby's bugaboo, my toddler's Maclaren umbrella stroller and groceries in there. Good luck!

Hello first time mom. I would say the station wagon is a great alternative to both the SUV and the minivan. The mileage is comparable to a sedan and its roomy enough for 2 car seats and your bugaboo (that you won't have past the age of 2.5 anyway). Buy a car with long term in mind, not the details of your current lugging around town situation because depending on how long you plan to have said car, your son could be 5-8 by the time you end up trading it in. I recommend Mercedes as number one choice followed by Volvo for close second. Happy car shopping! We're looking to trade ours in if you want one on the cheap!

My daughter has a volvo station wagon they bought after their first child, then the following year came the 2nd child, well with two car seats and all the other necessary "stuff" needed, they now are buying a mini van. They will definately need that third row of seats just to accomodate any adults. Always plan for the future.Good luck.
Christi

I had the BMW station wagon and it's pretty small. If you plan on having another child, I would choose another car. When I had my second child, we had to trade it in for a SUV. I loved my BMW, but it was just too small. My friend has a Bugaboo, and she has the Infnity small SUV, and it fits fine, but she also has only one child. If you are only going to have the car a short amount of time, or if you only plan to have 1 child, then the BMW would be fine. I just don't know how well the stroller would fit. Why don't you go for the X5?

Hi,
My husband bought a Toyota Matrix. We have the two GIANT Britax Car seats and are able to put our Phil & Teds E3 Stroller which is pretty huge. Also, we have a new Toyota Prius and it fits them as well! We have two kids and both have been able to accomodate us just fine! Plus the gas savings on the Prius is AWESOME! Good luck!

We just did an immense amount of research on SUV's/wagons and finally went with the Acura MDX. We love it. It's got some of the best safety and reliability ratings and a lot of things that are options on similar vehicles come standard on the MDX. Before that we had a Ford Expedition which was great in terms of space, but I was exhausted trying to find parking spaces for it.

I have a 16 week old, a bugaboo frog and a nissan murano. Everything fits wonderfully! I enjoy the height of my car when loading and unloading my baby girl. We sold my vw passat wagon because it was so low. Good luck!