We had a Ford Territory two years ago and we didn't love it. The back row is only suitable for young kids because there is just no leg room at all. We also found that all the door seals and rubber things in the car seemed to shrink a bit. It just seemed a bit cheap.
Since then I've had my Mazda 3 and DH has his Aurion, but to take the whole family somewhere we need to take both cars. And with Baby Boo on the way my car won't fit three car seats in it.
Soooo..... We've just recently ordered our new Kia Grand Carnival. I was nervous at first because I heard about all the problems the early Carnivals had, but my Dad is a mechanic and apparently these new "Grand" Carnivals are much much better. We went and looked at them and they are a true 8 seater. You can easily fit 8 adults into the car. The only seat you can't put a kiddie seat is the very back middle seat as there is no anchor point. Until bub comes we plan on putting two baby seats in the middle row (one rear on forward facing), one on each window seat, and removing the middle seat completely (All the middle row seats can be individually taken out of the car until needed. Then there will be an aisle in the middle to get to the back row. Once bub comes, we'll take one of the middle row window seats out, put the MaxiRider from DH's car in the back row behind where the middle row seat is removed, and the two baby seats will go in the middle row with one on the other window seat and one in the center. DS already climbs into the car by himself, so he'll be able to climb in the maxiRider himself and with the seat in front removed I can buckle him up without even climbing in the car. When the whole family goes on a trip my 11 year old DSS will sit in the back row with DS, and we'll pop the extra middle row seat back in for my 14 year old DSS. We should get it by the end of the month, so fingers crossed it's as good as we are hoping.
Oh, we also love Tarago's but they are just soooooo out of our price range these days
We have the new turbo diesel territory and love it! I have 3 seats in the back but can also fit them in the third row of seats so you could have 5 if you needed to!!!
We test drove the new Grand Carnival two days ago, and really liked it. We just wanted to know what they were like (looking for down the track), and they have a HEAP of room. each seat (except the middle of the third row I think, like Mylitta mentioned) has the anchor point attached to the seat base, so the straps are right out of the way. And whilst the second and third row don't slide forward or back, there is more than enough leg room for tall adults, and a cavernous boot space. They are really wide too.
On a separate note, they go like the clappers. (I swear I didn't mean to scare the salesman!)
Thanks so much everyone! Some great reccomendations, I have a list going to investigate now.
Someone also suggested to me the Dodge Journey bc apparently it was made after interviewing a heap of mum's so is good for kids, i.e. back doors open 90 degrees, heaps of storage space. Anyone have that?
Or also the Honda Odyssey?
Last edited by Heaven; September 23rd, 2011 at 04:50 PM.
Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep are costly to maintain as many of their parts have to be genuine (ie, there are no after market parts available "to fit"). It's not that genuine is necessarily the best, it's just that most other manufacturers have after market parts available of the same quality (if not better than original) as the genuine thing, for less money.
Two of the Kia Carnival models (the SLI or something like that, and the Platinum) have electric side doors which can be opened with the remote, however, the rear hatch/tailgate is still manual. The side doors are lockable like child-lock from the front, and will not open until the vehicle is in "Park" (we tried this the other day). Seriously worth a look at, and they also come in a diesel, handy for high mileage driving.
The Honda Odyssey, we looked at one a few years ago, and seriously.... I don't think much better than a small station wagon for space, let alone sticking full of car seats! The third row access is via climbing over the second row or over the top through the hatch. Leg room is pretty lax, and anchor points, if you use them in the second row, then legally you can't have anyone in the third row (because the belts go over the heads of the third row). If you utterly love and must-have an Odyssey, then do check that, because I could be wrong. We loved how they looked, but turned it down on the spot, on space (or rather lack of), and the anchor point issue.
What is your budget? Aside from filling full of car seats, what do you need it for? (holidays, towing, shopping cart, etc)
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