Geeky Talks
I like my cars like I like my jeans: Compact looking, roomy inside.
We’ve hit another milestone in life, much like the expanding wardrobe and increasing panty sizes, our cars are feeling a little too tight lately. I’ve had a Subaru Outback Sport (see? I’m SPORTY! My car says so!) for about five years now. Five years ago children were a mere mention. One child, let alone two, was hardly conceivable and as a single woman with a nice job, I was able to make whatever decision I wanted. I wanted sporty. Because? I felt sporty.
Just like Guess Jeans, my car isn’t meant for a behemoth pregnant lady coming dangerously close to weighing the same thing her husband does. In fact, we’ve recently traded cars so my belly would fit behind the wheel and I could get the SheChild in the car without breaking a disc or giving myself a hernia. That’s right, Internet, we’ve “de-balled” the Xterra and placed them in the mason-jar next to Mr. Flinger’s. Last week he climbed in the Xterra, looks around, sees cheerios on the floor, toys strewn about and Dora blaring from the CD. “Oh, Jesus, the man-mobile has been neutered.”
It’s time to update the Subaru. It’s time to let go of “sporty” and find something “practical.” I’m not ready for a mini-van but I’m not trendy enough for a Prius. What I want is a smart, sensible, reliable vehicle that gets a million miles to the gallon, can fit two car seats comfortably, two adults, a stroller, diaper bag, gear, and have an iPod hookup. That the equivalent of Eddie Bauer jeans you find on sale that slip just over the hips snugly, lift and contour the ass nicely, and leave a little room in the leg with a slight flare.
Any suggestions?
Because If you hear me ask if this car makes my ass look big, you’ll know I caved.
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I just got me a used Passat Wagon. I love it. Alot.
You might try the Toyota Rav-4 or the Highlander. They both get decent gas mileage and the new Rav-4s are quite a bit bigger than the older ones. There’s also the new Camry, which I love, if you want something sedan-y. They have the hybrid version, but it’s much more expensive than the regular and probably not worth the better gas mileage. Oh, and skip the Prius, it’s not big enough for two kids.
Full disclosure: my dad works for Toyota, so they’re the only cars anyone in my family drives and thus the only ones I know. That said, they do run forever with very few problems and we’ve all been happy with them for the past 20 years.
I’m big on the Toyota’s, which LauraLou mentioned. Also, I’m a huge Honda fan. When my Civic got totaled by an idiot not paying attention as he drove his gas-guzzling whore of a Ford 250 through a parking lot, we were looking into either the Toyota Highlander, or a Honda Pilot. Unfortunately, finances dictated that when my mother-in-law offer her ‘03 Ford Escape to us at less than half of what it would have cost to buy any one of those vehicles from anyone else, we couldn’t refuse. So now I’m stuck with a Ford. I hate Fords.
Children “hardly conceivable.” Ha!
I always recommend Toyotas. Whatever size you need, buy it from Toyota. I learned to drive on a Camry, then had a Camry of my own, then a Corolla, and now a Sienna. Love Toyotas. My parents have a Highlander, which they love. We have a Ford truck and we Hate It.
We recently bought the Honda minivan and are loving it. YOu can get an ipod add-on to the entertainment system. We got the dvd player and navigation system and have found both quite nice. I didn’t think I wanted a mini van either but they aren’t that bad really. They are so much more comfortable than a car once you add in a baby and 2 dogs. In the higher end models, half of the pistons or something cut off when you hit a cruising speed so the milage is somewhat better than you might expect.
I don’t know why moms don’t get minivans! They are comfortable, easy to drive, and designed for carting kids of all ages. The SUV as a kid-mobile is ridiculous! Its the equivalent of wearing a hoop-skirt. Stuff between you and the world that you just have to manipulate, it adds to your appearance but completely non-functional. I see those moms getting their kids out of the minivan, and it just looks easy.
I’m also in the market for a bigger car in a few months. I’ve caved and am totally going with a minivan..but not just any minivan. Nono..the Buick Terraza
http://www.buick.com/terraza/index.jsp
because I love it and it loves me back. Also..I already have a Buick Century..and lemme tell ya..that thing is like..the greatest..most comfortable car I’ve ever been in..has room for both boys..plus a 3rd carseat if someone else is riding along with us..and enough room in the trunk for at least 4 bodies. PLUS it gets all sorts of great gas mileage.
But..I may end up popping a 3rd kid out one of these days..and it’d also be nice to have room in the car to ya know..pick someone up from the airport or something if we needed. So THAT is why I’m dragging my sorry ass on over to the minivan side.
After having our Xterra for 7 years, we just added a new Pathfinder to our family. We had to have something that would, um, HOLD the whole family, and we love Nissans (it’s my third). The 2007s do come with iPod hookup, too! So far I just love it!
Gotta tell ya, I was dragged to the dealership kicking and screaming practically…. but I LOVE my Chrysler Town and Country minivan! You can’t beat the room (for both kids AND their stuff AND your groceries) and the fact that I don’t have to lean down and our hoist myself up (a la SUV-style) to put Ben in his carseat? Awesome. I think it does make my ass look big though.
My friend adores her Town & Country (2 kids), and I am voting in the motion for a Highlander. That’s what I drive and it’s awesome. Feels tall and mighty, but drives real smoooooth.
i’d go for an escape…they come in hybrid!
Honda pilot, seems sporty yet safe, since its an assault vehicle, as the wife likes to call it. Plus, it also comes as a hybrid for the environment.
We have a Toyota dealership, so I’m biased of course, but the Highlander is what I would have if we had two kids instead of FOUR! (I messed up my vehicle coolness with all this procreatin!)
Highlanders comes as a hybrid as well (did someone already say that?) so, to maintain your hotness and love your car….TOYOTA HIGHLANDER!
I drive a Ford Freestyle. They call it a crossover, which means it is a cross between an SUV and a wagon. Several manufacturers have their own version. Nissan calls theirs the Murano. I love it! I had a minivan, but the A/C broke last summer and we decided 2000 bucks would be better spent towards a newer car, rather than repairing it. I loved my minivan, but I like this car even more. It holds all of us (4 kids in some kind of carseat) comfortably. There is not the interior room of minivans, but we weren’t using that anyway. I don’t know what tech options it has, as we weren’t shopping for anything beyond a cd player. It gets decent mileage. It is technically bigger than Ford’s Expedition on the inside, but not significantly. Ours seats 7, but there is one that seats 6 too. Like I said—I love it. It drives like a car, but has room, and we use it when we go places sans kids but with other adults. Check out other manufacturers versions if you don’t like Ford.
I also have a Passat Wagon. It’s not as fuel efficient as I’d like, but I love it otherwise. I drove a Saturn Vue hybrid for a week and liked it as well, although I think my wagon has more functional cargo space. Most of the internal square footage in the Vue was height, whereas in my wagon it’s length.
Good luck, and resist the van.
I also have a Passat Wagon. It’s not as fuel efficient as I’d like, but I love it otherwise. I drove a Saturn Vue hybrid for a week and liked it as well, although I think my wagon has more functional cargo space. Most of the internal square footage in the Vue was height, whereas in my wagon it’s length.
Good luck, and resist the van.
I second Mrs. M. and Nicole. I drive an explore and it’s my 3rd. I totally love it for shoving in multiple cherubs.
My neighbors have a Ford Explorer and a minivan. The Mom just told me how much she likes the minivan over the Explorer. Very roomy & easy to get stuff in & out. I think vans are awesome, but can’t justify one with one child, really. We have a Subaru Legacy Outback wagon & it’s plenty roomy. It would be cozy with 2 car seats (no seating for anyone else!) , but it would work. Great cargo space in back! The crossover thingys look really sweet too…
I know you’re violently opposed to minivans, but the Toyota Sienna is awesome. I’ve just about badgered Brent into getting one. Right now I’m driving a Galant, and it’s just not big enough for all the toddler gear.
Another suggestion- Jeep Liberty. My sister has one and it kicks ass!
We’ve been drooling over the new Toyota Rav4’s.
Why? Tons of leg room front and back, can have a rear-facing Britax Marathon *behind* a front seat (which is *huge* in our world), optional 3rd row seat for when my sister visits town, 4WD, automatic, and it comes in a 4-cylinder which is much friendlier to fuel efficiency than a V6.
Oh, and the Chariot bike trailer? Fits in the trunk with extra room. We have to wrestle the damn thing into submission into the trunk of our own Subaru (Impreza).
Don’t waste you money on a Highlander hybrid - it only gets 1-3mpg better than the gasoline one. For an extra $15,000 for that measly mileage, dh says it better give blowjobs, too. Oh, and the new Highlanders will only come with V6 (you could special order them with a more fuel efficient 4-cylinder like my dad’s), and I believe have been redesigned to be a behemoth like the latest Landcruisers.
I’m also one of those freaks who just doesn’t like minivans. Didn’t when I was 11 and riding in my mom’s Honda wagon, when I was 16 and driving my mom’s Camry, didn’t when I was 18 driving my Geo Prizm, didn’t when I was 23 and attempting to drive my hubby’s 70’s Jeep Wagoneer. Plus we can fit more camping gear in something like a Rav4 and be better equipped for road trips to visit my sister in Seattle.
I want a minivan next (Honda), I love my CRV, love love love it, it’s small but big enough for us and all kids crap, but I love the idea of a car I can lug friends around in too since as the kids get bigger they are bound to make friends, lol. Well, unless they are mini Ben’s or Sarah’s.
Yeah yeah yeah…“I’m not ready for a minivan.” You think you’re so cool sayin’ that, don’tcha? Well, maybe YOU still are, but since I’m not, I’m driving a minivan.
BUT…this isn’t just ANY minivan. Its a Honda Odyssey, and it is KILLER cool! It’s the EX model which includes the remote sliding doors. AWESOME when your arms are full of kids (plural…just like you are about to have). It gets about 23 mpg and drives great. Mechanically, you can’t beat Honda! I think it is a super-cool rig and to me rises so above the “mini-van” stigma. My husband even loves it.
Oh yeah, and by the way, we once said we would never do the mini-van thing either. Funny how parenthood makes ya do stuff you said ya never would! So get over your cool self and start thinking like a mom with two kids! All your cool-ness will SO not matter when you have two screaming kids and both arms full of groceries and diaper bags. If you don’t do it now, in a few short months you’ll be shopping for another vehicle again. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!
I have a Saturn SUV (the vue). It’s big enough to fit everything but small enough to fit in the garage. Plus, I can tell myself it’s really a jeep and that I could go mudding any time I want.
(Oh and cheap enough that you can get the leather and all the other upgrades and not feel guilty about it.)
We own two sedans that at the end of the day are too small for our family of three. That being said we (my husband) is not ready for a family vehicle. When we need to go somewhere that requires packing more than a diaper bag we take my moms car, a Toyota Sienna (I think that is its name). Yes, it is a mini-van and yes I have a car crush. The turning radius is great, the seats all come out and fold every which way, it does not have large blind spots and most importantly I thought it was economical with decent gas mileage. (For future reference I will deny my love of this car, but I do!!!)
If you are not ready for that kind of van commitement this past week we rented the Suzuki SUV thing. I have heard they are a good price. It handled well but most importantly it got EXCELLENT gas mileage. At all times we had it loaded to the gills so this was an impressive feat. I also think it is cute looking which at this moment in my life is important.
A not to be named member of my family (and its not me!) buys cars specifically to make the size of her ass appear smaller. In which case it takes a mighty big vehicle!! LOL!!
Oh, she drives a honkin’ huge Ford Expedition.
I am a fan of the crossover vehicles..specifically the Pacifica. Love it. My husband won’t let me have one, but I have a friend who drives one and is really happy with it.
Hi there… I tagged you. Go and read about it on my blog and play along. Thanks!
I don’t drive, so I don’t have a car recommendation for you.
I so love the way you tell a tale
Oh crap! I just noticed in the comments that you’ve been tagged already. Well, I gotta follow through with what I started last night, so…um…you’re really “IT” now! (Sorry!) Reference my “Will This Bring Me Good Luck?” post.
I recently bought an Accord, after I was tired of paying for repairs on my very sporty but very unreliable Passat. God, how I loved that Passat. But $1000 every month on repairs was getting old. And the thing was only a 2001. I came REALLY close to a Prius, but I drive highway most of the way, and I just didn;t like the way it handled in the highway. If I only drove city, I probably would have gone hybrid. My husband has a Honda Element which has been AMAZING. Great great vehicle, if you can handle the box. He gets 25mpg. And you know what car I have noticed is cute lately? The Mazda 3. Kinda looks like a little baby BMW.
I can see you in an Acura MDX Sport
When you get a sec, check this site out,
motherproof.com
Oh, y’all and your tagging. I am SO AWFUL with those things. I will do my best not to let you down and to earn a complete “A” for “I’m not an ass!” and make my post sooner than later.
Of course, I still have that other two tags in draft (Hi Emily!) and it took me two weeks to come up with six weird things about me. Not that I didn’t have six weird things, mind you. Seven? I need seven more? POSTABLE ones? ‘k. Lemme see what I can come up with.
i have to say i love the Toyota that you chose! Cute and girly yet still has room for kids! Good luck! oh and one more thing…i just had to give up my mini van cause it broke down…i so miss my van :( so even if you have to go with a van i just want to say…it will become your best friend once you figure out that there is nothing you can’t fit in there!
We have a Jeep Liberty and I have to say that, though I love it mightily, it is not for the faint of heart nor large of butt if you should dare to put more than one kiddo in it. With two car seats in the back, there is no room at all for a 5th person. There is room enough for all our gear, but it is tight, and when we go a-traveling we have to mount a shell on top the car to make room for the extra crap. I would shie you away from the Liberty, again, though I love it and it is hella fun to drive, it is just no fun at all when people come to visit and so we are also unfortunately looking to buy a bigger car (read: minivan) in the next year.
I drive a Nissan Pathfinder and love it. We’re also big on Hondas. I do have a thing for refusing to drive a minivan. Nothing against the minivan mamas of the world…I just likes me an SUV (I know…I know…not very fuel efficient.)
We are kind of eyeing a used Chrysler Pacifica for late next year a the prices are going down. Yee haw! It’s a hybrid SUV/van type thing. Also, the Toyota FJ Cruiser? Totally bad ass. To me any way!
Yeah, and just when you think you’re set with a car that does all that- especially the part where it has to fit two car seats, you find out you’re having twins and have to sell the car you bought less than a year ago and buy a new one that will fit three car seats plus all that other crap. Oh, wait, that’s me… argg…