My wife and I are going to have our first child in January. This brings up the old SUV vs. car debate. First off, the S2K is staying, it will just see less action.

All of my wife's friends say that an SUV is a must for a child. They talk about storage, safety, ease of getting the child out of the carseat, etc.

My thinking is that for one child, an average four door car has plenty of trunk storage and room in the backseat. We're going to stay with a Honda product of course so I'm thinking a TL-S or maybe even a one or two year old RL, but she's dead set on an MDX. Now I am not against the MDX, but I don't buy into that it is a must have.

However, I have never dealt with the child/carseat situation before. Am I totally off base with my sedan vs. SUV thinking? Has anyone dealt with both types of vehicles and could share their experiences as far as children are concerned? Again, I am not anti-SUV, I just feel that there should be more justification for owning one and that maybe one infant is not reason enough. Then again, I could be wrong but I am too much of an auto enthusiast to give in without confering with other enthusiasts. Believe me, the mom's at the neighborhood pool are all about Tahoes, mini-vans, etc. The most common comment we have heard lately is "I guess that little car of yours will have to go now". Its almost like a Pro-SUV Anti-Car campaign. Thanks for any input.

 

You are correct. The SUV arguments are without merit. Raised a baby/toddler just fine in an ACCORD. Two would have been fine as well.

Here are the things you need to know as a new parent.

1. Don't read too many books. They all contradict each other and you'll drive yourself crazy. Children have been raised quite well on intuition for thousands of years.

2. Get rid of half of everthing on each of your shelves. Sooner or later you'll need to start moving your stuff upwards and out of reach.

3. You'll both probably want short hair after a while.

4. Don't even consider cotton diapers.

5. The stinky stuff stops bothering you after a while.

6. Get the plastic mat that fits under the carseat.

7. Don't believe any who tells you that you must do anything unless they are talking about disposable diapers!

Now you're ready!

 

To say the SUV is safer is really not true. I mean the average braking distance of the average SUV is goign to be longer than that of your average capable sedan. Not to mention handling etc etc. Not to mention the SUV is top heavy.

I mean with 3 in the family, and med sized sedan will be more than enough to carry everyone and eveyrhting around. SUVs to me are not that useful in generally. Heck, if you can swing it, an S4 Avant would be perfect... 4 doors + the utility of a station wagon. Looks great, and drivers great.

-Shing

[QUOTE]Originally posted by tommyg
[B]My wife and I are going to have our first child in January.

 

tommyg

First I want to say congratulations on the addition to your family. My wife and I have a 8 year old and have had a 4-Runner, Volvo wagon, and currently a 190E. If you have only one kid you don't need an SUV or mini van. I am like you and like cars not trucks. The only thing that you need to consider is trunk size for a stroller. If your wife has no problem putting a stroller in the trunk, because of size and weight, I would get a car. But if your wife has trouble picking up a stroller and putting it in the trunk, then I would look into wagons. Personaly I like the Acura TL Type S, but we are looking at getting a ML430 or ML55 because we want to buy a couple of Sea Doos

And as for this comment

Me and my wife get the same thing. She drives a SLK and of course I have my S2000. People always say to us you need to sell your little cars and get a Mini van or SUV. I say why? Our daughter loves both cars and I think she would be more upset then we would if we got rid of either car. In fact she is the one that wanted me to get the S2000. We have a third car that has four dours and we all can fit in it fine. Plus when I drop off my daughter at school in my Spa Yellow S2000 the other kids tell her, "Man you have a cool car" How many dads driving mini vans hear that. Just because we are parents does not mean we can't have fun cars.

 

First congratulations! It is funny, but we are in a very similar situation as you find yourself. Our first child is due next month (gulp). My S2000 is absolutely staying, of that there is no question. Our other car is a 1999 Acura 3.2 TL. This will obviously be the car the child will be riding in. My wife REALLY wants an SUV as well and also wants that SUV to be the MDX. Actually, she has wanted the MDX for longer than she has been pregnant.

The issues I don't believe are of safety or so much of convenience. I feel the TL is very safe and offers plenty of room for our typical drive situation. We have already mounted the car seat just so that it would be one less thing to worry about when the time comes. Getting the car seat in and out probably is not as easy as if it were in an SUV. However, it is far from impossible.

I wouldn't mind the MDX, but not for child reasons. I'd like to have a little more cargo room for the occasional large Home Depot purchase or other oversized purchases. However, I'd like to see us get a few more years out of the TL. Trading the TL in now would not be the best financial deal.

In short, buy the MDX because it is the vehicle you both really want. Don't buy it just because you think it's necessary to safely and conveniently carry a child around. Whatever convenience might be there (if any) probably does not equate to 40k.

jschmidt, where do you get the plastic to put under the car seat. I've been looking for something like that.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ScottB
jschmidt, where do you get the plastic to put under the car seat.

 

Tommyg, Congrats!!!
First of all...GET SLEEP NOW!!!
There won't be enough of that soon !!!!!

As far as the car situation, My son will be 6 in a few weeks and my daughter is 3 1/2. So, I've been through this recently.
The only reason I would think you need a larger vehicle is for it's "stroller, diaper bag, toys, blankets, diapers and lots of other crap that you WILL be lugging around" carrying ability. (maybe not at first but these 'necessities' begin to pile up!)
Also, It's nice to have room in one car for everybody when grandma or whomever comes to visit junior!

We've been through mini vans, Grand Cherokee's, Volvo station wagons and other 2 door cars. And I have to say that most of 'em are not that exciting to drive! I would consider one of the newer, sportier wagons on the market like the Audi Allroad or the BMW wagons or the MDX!

Good Luck!

 

Thanks. We have become very good customers of Babies-R-Us. I'll have to look again.

 

That plastic is available at The Right Start.

www.rightstart.com

 

The Highway Patrol seriously frowns on those plastic seat covers. They compromise the safety of the seat.