We have a territory! I have to say we were against the territory at first too! but endedup with one!
but we looked at
1)Captiva - I couldnt see much out the back window and didnt enjoy test driving it, so we gave that one a miss. The territory had a wider vision out the sides and back.
2)Hyundai Santa Fe - was out 2nd choice, loved how it drove and wide enough for 3 seats in the back row, but we chose Territory as it was cheaper.
3)Kia Sorento - very similar to Captiva and Santa Fe nice car worth looking at, but for me I couldnt see enough out the back window like the Captiva.
4) Kluger - liked it - however I couldnt understand how I could fit a normal carseat for my kids in themiddle seat as its not the same width as the others its like 1/2 a seat, maybe others with Kluger can say which kid sits in that seat with a carseat? there is now way we could put a capsule in that middle seat,maybe only the booster seat would have fit, so we decided against the Kluger.
5) Mazda Cx9 - soooooo wanted that car has everything but was out of our pricerange! if you can get one for $20,000 definately look at one its awesome!
6) Mitsubishi Grandis - not a SUV but has enough room inside definately worth looking at! but we wanted a new car and they dont sell new ones in Aust anymore only 2nd hand ones.
7) Honda Odessy - love honda but I didnt like where the anchor points where as they hung over the heads of the kids and the boot space was almost nothing couldnt even fit a proper pram in there.
What we did was measure the carseats we were putting in the back seats in a row and then measured the back from door to door closed inside and the only ones that were wide enough for us were the ones mentioned above. (we have a SNS Compaq, SNS Unity Carrier and InfaSecure Booster)
Have fun choosing! love getting a new car!
Re the fuel consumption this was hubbys concern too - he said that it depends on the weight of the car. Ifyou have alook at redbook in the webyou can compare all the weights of the cars and the consumption. We only fill our car every fortnight it costs $90 so for us it was $15 more a week in fuel (we used to have a Mazda 3)
We have a kluger and love it, we JUST fit 3 carseats in it when we takje HotI's DD somewhere but we have 2 maxi rider's so if you had 2 thinner seats you would fit 3 easily.
I can't wait for DD1 to be in a booster (a few yrs off i know) so she can sit in the back and then we can have HEAPS of room upfront if need be.
I have just looked at the older shape Klugers again and I was wondering about the middle seat. We currently have a Maxi Rider & a SNS Premier. So the plan is to buy DS one of the "thinner" car seats.
Personally if I wanted a car for 3 children with boosters I would look at 7 seaters.
It can be annoying try to get your hand between seats to do up belt and lean into the middle to do up straps or remove sleeping babies.
Also having a 7 seater gives you the option of driving school friends home for play dates and so on too.
Our Kluger is an 08, it has the weird smaller middle seat but we actually take it out so the girls have access to walk through the back of the car (so much easier loading kids & shopping), we have the 7 seater but there is no rear anchor point so it can only be used for an approved non-anchor booster etc.
Personally i LOVE my kluger anhd even DP who is a ford man said NO to a territory but i know ppl who have them that love them.
Belle- I would buy a CX9 in a heartbeat if it was in our budget!! I LOVE them!!
The thing with a 7 seater is the space for shopping etc. We currently don't need all the space in our wagon but will use about half the floor space for shopping. The 7 seaters I have seen have minimal space. However, they are much more practical for being able to fit more people in. So much to weigh up, still working on my shortlist. Once that's done I guess it's a matter of getting out their & checking them out & test driving!!
With the back seats down in the kluger there is HEAPS of room for shopping, i have my pram in and still have half the boot for shopping and more room to stack UP IYKWIM, when the seats are up though your lucky to fit a stroller in the back
We had a territory and are now looking for another one, nothing else compares, i miss all my hiding holes and storage a must for any mum I have done lots of research and test drives and I vote territory, but wait a bit longer until the 09 drops into you price bracket they have the new front suspension without the problems of the older model and all the side airbags etc, get hubby to take a test drive you won't be dissapointed, loads of bang for your buck and a good size, bigger than most of the other SUV type cars, Kluger is a bit eXXXy .
I say go for a 7 seater as well, even if you don't want to use the extra seating yet, you will at some point!!! 3 boosters seats/baby seats fit fine but as they get older you will get extra passengers.With the 7 seats up I can carry a childcare twin pram, even around the back anchor points, we have the anchor type boosters seats and the territory has 2 rear floor anchor points...i just pop the shopping in the front seat.
Other than that I really like the look of the grandis, and the Chrysler voyager is a really nice looking car with a good repuatation, good luck, we are starting to look mid year when the price tickets drop...and remember many goverment department use them, so that can't be anything other than a good wrap.
Reply With Quote
I am soooooooooooooo in love with it!!! It's a 7 seater also but the 2 in the back fold up
Bookmarks