Next car purchase due to arrival of twins

So as the story goes, we will be having not one but two babies this winter. Being a car guy, I am researching like crazy to see what will be family friendly (read: car seats) fun, and possible track (hpde) capable. I am a Vette guy and currently have a 2006 c6 corvette coupe, six speed that obviously will not work as strapping them to the roof is apparently frowned upon,, so the time has come to part ways but the wife has given green light for a replacement!

i am thinking an e93 m3 or Audi S5, both in the 2009-2013 vintage. These may be tight with two, yes two car seats (man I am not ready for this!) older CTS V maybe?  I’m not afraid of maintenance as I do all my own work  

what do you wiser and more child experienced weekend warriors say?

thanks!

chris

Came here thinking you just bought a new FRS and a BRZ and were going to give a real-life comparison.

Pete

NOHOME said:

Came here thinking you just bought a new FRS and a BRZ and were going to give a real-life comparison.

 

Pete

I was thinking Taurus/Sable.

I’ve  never read better advice on this subject than to find a few cars you like and are interested in driving and take along a car seat and see how it (they) fits.

And you can’t get by with the fitment behind the passenger seat alone now, you’ll have to adjust the seat to your driving position and test fit.

Buy or borrow two rear facing car seats. Maybe buy them, keep them clean and return them. 

I'm not talking the infant seat with the handle, I'm talking the 1yr-2.5yr seats. 

These:

These things can be huge facing backwards.  With one it often means putting the passenger seat forward or placing it in the center so as to overlap the center console. With two, you might need to be a short driver with the seat rather forward. How tall are ya? 

Take these two seats with you on test drives. It can be eye opening. 

Edit: look close at that photo above. That is a large SUV. Now look how forward of the b-pillar the passenger seat is and look at the erect angle of the seat back. 

In reply to John Welsh :

This man is speaking the truth. I had a HARD time getting a rear facing car seat and a forward in my Saab 9-3 wagon. That likely has a similar seat to all three you mentioned. 2 rear facing is 100% not possible unless you and the misses are 5'2".

Yup, what was said above.  Buy your car seats first, then take them along for test fittings.  And adjust the front seats accordingly and see if >you< still fit.

Oh, and if you buy an infant carrier/stroller combo, take the stroller along for test fits, too.  You'll be unpleasantly surprised how little luggage space you have left after you get the stroller in.

Also, keep an open mind.  We ended up with a 2006 Subaru Outback and a 2009 Hyundai Sonata.  The sedan actually has more room for car seats than the wagon.  And a big trunk, too.  We thought the Outback would be our long-distance tourer but the Hyundai works out better most of the time.   Huh, who'da thunk it...

you are going to end up with either a mini van or a suburban / expedition.

I would be looking at full sized sedans. 740il S class mercs or the full sized Cadillac. All are good places to spend time. A bit adventurous would be an A8l.

Point your browser to autotrader in Houston. The white Mercedes R63 is a good one with verified good headbolts. 

when I was pinging around last year looking for a OneLap car that could fit 3 GRMers for extended highway use... I got real familiar with:

Cars.com Comparison

Find a car that fits you and the car seats John mentioned (a number of states are edging towards mandating kids be rear facing until 2)... then use that as a guide for Front + Rear leg room minimum (make sure to click "Customize Comparison" and select only "Specifications")

I had a 06 Sonata (same as the 09 mentioned above).  It racks in around 81in total leg room, at 16cubic feet of trunk sapce.  I'd suggest these numbers as minimums (keeping in mind that 'hatches' are measured differently... for hatch/wagon/mini-van/SUV I'd spec a 30cubic feet minimum).  Although, I'm only a 30" inseam... so adjust as required.

If you can convince the wife to ditch the stroller, and the pack-and-play, you will reap significant cargo space increases.  But, that might not be possible with twins.

Good Luck With Twins, Let us know how it goes (Build Thread?)  

dean1484 said:

you are going to end up with either a mini van or a suburban / expedition.

find the right group to run with, and the right mini-van to run, and it shouldn't be a problem

edit, or MDX's that run 14's...

BTW, rear facing is now recommended up to 40lbs.  Which for my kids will likely be around 4 years old :)

i know that the rear facing toddler seat for our 2-year old sits between the front seats of my Focus RS.

The infant seat fits just fine behind the seats though.  

If I move the wife’s seat forward, I can fit the larger seat behind it, which I’ll need to do once the newborn outgrows his seat.

Do you have any other kids?  If so, then the answer is minivan.  It just is.  I have twins, who are now 11 years old, plus a 14 year old.  Minivan has been the best car purchase I have ever made.  

Otherwise I agree with above.  V6 Accord is surprisingly fun, or I'm partial to the G37.

In reply to Walletsmallerthanideas :

You wrote e46 and S5.

I see no way you will be able to do a 2 door car until you are through the rear facing phase. More likely not until the kids can self buckle the seat, so about the age of 4

When we were expecting our first, we dragged a car seat to CarMax and wandered the lot.  Found out that many of the cars that looked big enough on paper weren't big enough in reality.

Surprises: Passat is huge.  Outback is a squeeze. The various small SUVs are smaller than I thought.

E39 540i(t) wagon

But, seriously, beware the food schmoo that happens.  I wouldn't get a collector car for hauling kids at the 1 yr mark - mine's cranky if she isn't snacking in the car and I made the mistake of getting cloth seats in my GTI. 

Also, strollers are enormous now. Think hot wagons. 

Trailblazer SS?

this thread makes me want to build a "Truck/SUV/Mini-van" class car for OneLap this year; and then run the whole event with two rear facing toddler seats installed... probably with larger teddy bears strapped in.

Twins are fun, get a wagon.

John Welsh said:

Point your browser to autotrader in Houston. The white Mercedes R63 is a good one with verified good headbolts. 

This is literally the worst advice on this thread, but........

What the R63 has that are awesome and should be a feature to look for is sliding second row seats. It's not a case of wanting the back seats a certain distance from the front, but a case of different differences at different ages. Getting the click in car seat in and out when they're really little. Bucking them in when they're bigger but still rear facing. When they're front facing and want you to hand them another handful of cheerios so they can stay happy for just 20 more minutes please god we're almost there. 

If I were in the baby game again sliding second row seats would be the absolute top thing on my car list. 

Welcome to Van City.

Population- you

2 rear facing seats in a 2 door anything is extremely optimistic at best. Masochistic might be the better term. I cant picture even getting the seats into the back with a baby in them.

4 doors, lots of rear legroom, and a bunch of storage space are going to be required unless you hate yourself and want to introduce as much difficulty into your life as possible. Even if your ride won't be the primary family trickster, I don't see how it makes any sense to buy something unless it will fit You, the wife, 2 enormous carseats, a big stroller, and a diaperbag at a minimum. Plus room for stuff like groceries or whatever. That's not going to vibe with much of anything with performance aspirations, and it's going to be this way for the next 3-5 years.

It might be worth looking into a Charger or New Caprice, but minivan is really the best tool for the job here. Youre going to have enough difficulty in your life when the babies arrive. No reason to let something as simple as loading/unloading the family add to that difficulty. Giant sliding doors on both sides of the vehicle will make your life much easier. If you're upset about not having a fun car, you can console yourself with the understanding that you wont have any free time to do car stuff for quite awhile anyway. Congrats on being a dad!

Oh, and don't discount the idea of a full size something, either crew cab truck or SUV. Will you hate it? Probably. But they are absolutely big enough for the family and they can tow a trailer with a track car. There's a lot to be said for the ability to trailer. 

Any chance you can keep the Vette and let your spouse drive the family car?

I daily drove a Miata until kid #3 and now with 4 kids I daily a Jag XK with school-kid size rear seats. Works out 99% of the time because my wife drives a minivan. 

I don’t think he is asking for one car for him and his wife, he is asking for a car that CAN fit both car seats (on occasion) and is still fun. My wife took the kids in the van or I drove the van when I took the kids, but in case I had a four door pickup too and a rabbit...that’s not a good idea though.

First of all, wow thank you for the responses and wisdom!! The more I read from you guys, the less I think the care I have been looking at will work. 

For a little more  information, I have a full size crew can Sierra that definitely can fit stuff as my daily. My wife has a late model Prius v wagon that also swallows a lot of things surprisingly. Also, we live in New Hampshire so corvette/fun car use is only four to five months. 

I could keep the Vette which I love however I don’t know if I would use it that much as I could only go by myself. This the idea behind getting a fun car and being able to drive spiritedly while involving the whole family at times.    

In reply to chandler :

This exactly!!