HELP!! family of 5 questions

[Silverstoned]

A little part of me is dying inside, yet happy. I'm going to be having a 3rd child in September so for those of you that already have 3 kids you know what dilemma I am facing...

How do I avoid having to buy a minivan or Titanic-like SUV? Three kids with the oldest just over 3 means no booster seat. Without the booster seat there is no way I can fit 3 car seats in the back of the A4. Any suggestions on how to avoid the seemingly inevitable minvan purchase?

I was considering importing a TDI westfalia from Germany but man, those are huge $$$.

Is the All-Road that much bigger than the A4 that it can handle 3 car seats (2 convertible and 1 bucket)? Maybe by the time the newborn is old enough to switch to a convertible seat my oldest can move to a booster.

[Aleks]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

Wow Jeff! 3 kids?? You work fast =) I would say you could get away with a moderate sized SUV, like a Touareg...Nobody needs to rush out and buy a Nissan Armada or Expedition just yet!

[R_Ethug]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

kyle said his allroad is huge inside.. graeme just picked one up too and its quite big inside compared to a b6/b7 avant

go test drive one i guess.

i agree tho jeff.. NEVER buy a minivan or giant SUV.. theys stupid

[Silverstoned]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

with regard to the allroad... They stopped making them in what, 95? I've only seen a few used ones at Glenmore and they all had gross 2-tone interior leather. Automatic is needed as my wife is the primary driver. Did they make them in solid black leather? How bad is that 2.7T on gas?

[Silverstoned]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

Diesel T-reg might be interesting. I'll have to figure out an easy way of checking for 3 car seats without having to actually install them in the vehicle :P

[nemohm]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

Allroads are still manufactured but not imported.
The gas consumption is the last one should worry.

[JPO]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

Diesel T-reg might be interesting. I'll have to figure out an easy way of checking for 3 car seats without having to actually install them in the vehicle :P

I have a 07 Santa Fe and it is ever so slightly bigger inside than a T-reg (I looked up the dimensions for each) and there is no way in hell I could fit 3 car seats in the back seat. Well at least with the 2 car seats I have which are kind of wide (Britax Marathons).

[Silverstoned]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

I have a 07 Santa Fe and it is ever so slightly bigger inside than a T-reg (I looked up the dimensions for each) and there is no way in hell I could fit 3 car seats in the back seat. Well at least with the 2 car seats I have which are kind of wide (Britax Marathons).

Thanks for the heads up. I have the same 2 seats, and a bucket that will be the 3rd. I didn't think any vehicle short of a giant SUV could handle 3 seats across.

Damn minivan might be in my future. Maybe I can offset the pain by selling the A4 and putting a turbo on my VR6

[Stonewall]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

3 kids already? Last I heard you where just starting on the second lol I think any vehicle is going to be a tight squeeze to get 3 seats across so you are going to need something with 2 rear rows which pretty much puts your into minivan only territory. It is a sad fact but you really have no choice when you have kids. You also have to take into fact that fitting in 3 kids is only half of the room you need. With 3 kids you are going to need a HUGE stroller as well as a HUGE bag of stuff to take with you where ever you go. Our stroller for out kids takes up all the rear space in the van (although there is room under the shelf).

[R_Ethug]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

they made allroads on the new A6 platform up to last year if i remember right..

you can of coures look at an A6 avant too

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

Mazda 5 for something a little different than a van.

Congrats on the growing family!!!

[Kor]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

First option would be a Cayenne. Drives better than most cars. Maybe you can get a used one.

Mini clubman? Not sure but think about it? Or Scion xB...

Next option would be an all-road for sure.

[Smarty39]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

although I don't have any kids yet myself, I do know that you can fit 2 car seats VERY easily in the allroad...which makes me believe a booster could fit in between the two. You would be more than welcome to do a test fit in my AR if you'd like?

[Silverstoned]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'll probably begin the hunt on the internet and move to the dealerships when things warm up a little outside. I have until September to pull the trigger. As you can tell I'm having a hard time letting go of the 'I can still drive a cool car, even if I am a dad'.

Hearing myself say "I'd like to take that mini-van off your lot" makes me throw up in my mouth... just a little bit.

[Silverstoned]

Re: HELP!! family of 5 questions

although I don't have any kids yet myself, I do know that you can fit 2 car seats VERY easily in the allroad...which makes me believe a booster could fit in between the two. You would be more than welcome to do a test fit in my AR if you'd like?

My son won't be big enough for a booster by the time #3 arrives. Will have to go with 3 full seats for probably a year before the wagon will be an option again. As far as storage, we have a nice big Thule box for the top of the wagon when we need the extra space.