Good evening,

My coworker has 3 kids; 5,3, and 1. Him and his wife already have a Highlander(2005 with 140k miles) that his wife uses and is in the market for a car for himself.

His budget is 18k and his main concern is fitting 3 baby seats in the rear seat. Is this possible in something like a Camry or Accord.

Any help would be appreciated

 

Buy him condoms.

Camry, Accord, Sonata.. all can fit 3 car seats.

Even a Jetta sedan should be able to.

 

Why not a minivan?

 

Although we do have a 12 MDX, we primarily use our 12 Accord to transport our youngest three kids (6 y/o daughter, 3 y/o son and 2 y/o grandson). Honestly, the Accord is more than adequate for short to medium range travel with three kids. Presumably, the same would apply with the Camry. (the Jetta might be ok but the idea of being stuck on the shoulder of a major highway with three kids pops into my head.)

 

G8

 

Your friend needs something bigger than a sedan.

This is why I'm limiting myself to 2 kids. I don't want a minivan

 

Used Avalon.

 

That's why we're done with two lol.

OP, even in my full size Charger it'd be a pretty tight fit with three baby seats in the back. I have an infant seat and convertible now and my wife can just fit in between them in a pinch. There would be little to no room in between them with three. I'd hate to be the poor baby stuck in the middle seat haha.

 

We have just 2 kids... and still have a minivan.




The Avalon has a slightly larger interior than a Camry/Accord/Fusion, and has a bench rear seat, IIRC.

The only other large sedan choices are the Taurus, Buick LaCrosse and Chevy Impala...

 

Lol, I still haven't bought his Xmas gift..

I will pitch the idea to him.

Thanks!
Hmm 6.2L of pure power and 3 baby seats

Gonna pitch the minivan

Also a great idea

Thanks!

 

A slightly used Passat might work, but $18K would be tight. A used Legacy GT might work, plus it's a 6 MT.

 

Venza.

 

Tell him to check out the Mazda5

 

We just picked up a Ford Flex, there's plenty of room for 3 in that thing. I know it's not a sedan, but I don't see how any sedan is going to fit 3 car seats in the back.

 

Any mid-size car would be VERY tight with three car seats, if they even fit and depending on which car seats they have. The best solution is to take a few larger cars(Avalon, 300, Charger, Impala, etc.) for a test drive and test fit the car seats in the back to see how they fit.

 

With a 5, 3, and 1 year old he's still using full size car seats not boosters.
I can comfortably fit 3 boosters in my Genesis but no way it'd take 3 full size car seats.

I agree with speedemon he needs something bigger than a sedan.
Minivan or SUV.

 

The 5 year old could be in a booster, but that'd be it.

 

Yeah true. But I still don't think you'd fit 2 full size + a booster in the back seat of many sedans.

 

As a reference point, I have once used 3 full sized car seats across the bench of my MDX. We also tried to fit those into a Nissan Murano. While the 3 full sized carseats do fit across the bench of the MDX, the doors just would not close in the Murano. It needed another inch or two. Just an indication that 3 full size seats probably won't fit in most mid-sized sedans.

As for sedans and 2 carseats + a booster, I think they would physically fit just fine in most mid-sized sedans, but buckling the kid in the booster would be hassle since the carseat would be in the way. I've done that setup here and there. You wouldn't want to deal with it on a daily basis.

That said, you'd want a wide sedan. Used Avalon was a good suggestion, although I personally don't find the car very interesting.

Maybe a used 2009 TL. You could pick one of those up for about $18k.

 

My SIL has an Impala and it fits three car seats easily. It's also one of the quietest/smoothest idling cars I've ever driven.

 

maybe a used GS Lexus, buddy has one and it's a BOAT

 

Though my 3 y/o just transitioned to a booster (4pt harness w/back), we used to have him and my 2 y/o grandson in full size car seats flanking my 6 y/o daughter in her booster seat. Snug but effective.

 

Fixed.

 

^Gotta give props to GM for finally making a car that doesn't suck. Drove the Impala recently as a rental...wow! Fit, finish and general execution was top notch. However, I'd give the seat of the pants 0-60mph a dismal 8 seconds.

 

It really depends on the car seat. The radians are the narrowest seat, also very safe and my SIL has had 3 in her forester.

 

300

 

You can fit 3 car seats across a sedan. It's a tight fit but you can do it. As for the booster, you can get a seat belt extender so that the kids can easily access it. I've got 3 kids (9, 5, 3) in my G37xS with no issues. Only the younger two are in car seats (booster and forward facing) but they were in car seats before in my TSX with no issues. Skinny car seats do help. As stated above, the Sunshine Radian is skinny but highly rated.

 

A minivan. With three kids he needs to wake up and realize he won't ever be cool again.

 

Those poor kids.

 

<------Has three kids.

 

holy ouch

 

<<< Has 3 kids, drives a minivan, and is not concerned about being cool at this stage in his life.

But when he wants to drive something fun he drives the vehicle in his signature.

 

My wife's 07 Impala has a massive back seat, massive trunk. Yeah it's boring but it'll fit a lot of kids (we only have 1) but have had 2 cars seats and a kid in the middle no issues, and a stroller and high chair and luggage in the trunk. The 2012-2013 only came with the 300+ HP 3.6 liter so it'll move and be cheap since the new one looks better. We've spent almost nothing on the car over the last 5 years we had it. Throw some strut tower braces on it and it does stiffen up a bit.

 

Well, that seems to prove the point right there.




Thank goodness I'm cool regardless of what I'm driving, whether it's a minivan or even a 3G TL.

 

 

Well that's a pretty tight budget. Can he stretch any? My Genesis is actually a very large car on the inside and is about as affordable as a car with all the features its has can be...

 

Crown Vic. Kids make a mess of cars. Enjoy the torquey V8 punch and throw some flowmaster exhausts on for one hell of a time when you're riding solo. RWD, cheap parts, cheap insurance, and owning the left lane on the freeway. Nuff said.

 

Thanks all looks like he is going for a used Sienna aka Swagger Wagon..

 

Good choice. Our 2006 Sienna is close to 150K and other than replacing the cables/motors in the doors she's been a rock.

 

Ford Flex would be the best choice. As much room as a mini-van, more like a car ride. Best of all, find one with the V6 Ecoboost awd. Faster than most cars all while hauling all the stuff you want.