Anyone have a Rav4?

[Abby'sMom]

DH and I are potentially interested in a Rav4, but I'd like to know if other moms have them, and what you think of it! (Of course the luxury SUVs look nice, but we can't afford those. Happy to take opinions on non-luxury vehicles of a similar grain though!) Right now we have a tiny subcompact coupe and a pickup truck; fine for DD, but when DC#2 arrives we'll need more space.

TIA for any comments!

[jengen]

we have a 2005 rav4 and i love it, but for some reason our rear-facing car seat wouldn't fit securely enough in the middle, so we had to put it behind the passenger seat (we had it installed at the police station). Now, we have like no room in the car because the front passenger seat needs to be pushed up so far to the dash. I actually have to sit in the back when DH is driving We are considering trading ours in for the newer "limited" rav4, which gives you 14" more of space. I would definitely recommend going w/that.

[Abby'sMom]

Aaaah, good info! Thanks for that. I think we were leaning more toward a Limited. :) Good to know we'd probably need the space.

[OctoberPrincess]

I haven't seen the new "bigger" Rav4 but when we purchased our car (2002) we did look at them and found them quite small for our needs. You may want to look into the Mazda Tribute, it was in that price range but much roomier and can easily fit 2 carseats, we love ours! We had DS's Britax Marathon installed on the passenger's side with plenty of room still for the front passenger and the exta cargo space has really come in handy. We are currently looking for an even bigger SUV (since we eventually plan to have 3 in carseats) but since I can't find a bigger car that I love as much as my Mazda (and we don't even have #2 yet) I am considering waiting another year to see if anything new comes out. Phen also has a Mazda Tribute with her twin boys and has been very happy with it, she has mentioned that she or a friend has been able to fit (tightly) in the middle of the 2 carseats when needed - with a seatbelt.

Good luck!

[karina]

I also have a Rav4 (2003). I have two children, and that is pretty much all I can fit in my car.. so it's a good car to have while your children are still small. Myself, SO and the kids fit comfortably in the car, and I have huge trunk space.

[flyerwife]

We have a 99 Honda CRV and love it. I'm thinking it will be plenty big when #2 arrives in May. We have been driving DS and his friend around and even at 4 they have plenty of leg room.