Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

I currently drive a small/crossover SUV which is leased. My friend who works for the dealership contacted me that the make/model/year and mileage of my car is desirable and wanted to know if I'd be interested in turning it in early to get into something else. I'm happy to downsize into something smaller if it means saving a decent amount of money each month. I know the trend is to drive an SUV or minivan when you have kids, but is it necessary? If you drive a 4 door sedan type car and have a child, how do you feel about the size? For the record, I have a 16 month old daughter who is still rear facing in her carseat and we're not thinking about having another child for at least 2-3 years. Thanks!

Message edited 8/28/2016 2:36:26 PM.

Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

We have both an SUV and sedan and for the longest time we only put dd in the SUV. The SUV had to go into the shop last week so we had no choice but to put her in the sedan and I found it MUCH easier to get her in and out of the sedan. So I say 100% not necessary.

Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

Of course it's not necessary...When I was growing up in the 80s most families had a sedan.
If you have three children in car seats then it might get a little tricky but for only two kids it's perfectly fine.

Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

I have a Mazda 3. The trunk fits my city mini stroller and groceries without issue. I have one DS who is 2 and he uses the Chicco NextFit convertible car seat. I could definitely fit another kid in my car with no issues.

Re: Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

I have a 4 door sedan and it's fine. My 2 y/o is still rear facing in Britax Pavilion seat & I could easily fit another car seat. DH has a 2 door coupe so the baby is never in his car. I want to get rid of the 2 door, get an SUV for me and then have DH use my 4 door.

Message edited 8/28/2016 9:03:31 PM.

Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

I drove a civic hybrid until dd1 was 2. It was fine, even though the hybrid had an extra small trunk. We did have to keep the passenger seat pushed petty far forward but it was okay. With two kids, I adore my van bc I can keep all my strollers in there to save space in the house and we can pack it out for road trips without worrying about everything fitting but for one child I never had an issue.

Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

We had a Chrysler 200 for the first 3 years we had DS. I liked it. It was our primary car and had no issues with space.

Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

I just got rid of my Jetta a few months ago for a bigger car. DD is 5. I loved my Jetta, but I just needed more space. The passenger seat had to be pushed forward to accomodate the car seat behind it. My Dh hated being a passenger in my car because he couldn't get comfortable. My trunk was pretty deep so it held the stroller and groceries when she was younger. But overall, I just needed more space.

Re: Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

All I've ever had are 4 door sedans, I have an 11 year old and a 4 year old and they fit no problem.

Re: Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

DD is 3 and still rear facing in DHs 4 door sedan. It's comparable to DD rear facing in my crossover/SUV.
When we all go somewhere together we do always take the SUV, but only because it has more room. It's also better for grocery shopping and long trips but as far as getting DD to and from places locally no difference.

Re: Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

Had a 4 door sedan with my first two children with no issues. I loved it and didn't want a big SUV. I didn't get a larger car until I found out I was pregnant with our 3rd child. My sedan lease was up the following month so it was perfect timing to make the switch.
You'll be fine!

Re: Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

We had a sedan until just before my second was born. It was fine, but I love my minivan. The three of us drove down to Florida right after we bought it - DH said he wouldn't drive to FL in the sedan : ) we could bring everything we wanted to and were more comfortable. I also like that I had more room for diaper changes. After I had 2 children, I started keeping both a double and single stroller in the van and I still have plenty of room. I love the sliding doors to get the kids in and out. I'm sure we would still be ok with a sedan, but the minivan is more comfortable for us.

Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

I drive a Chevy volt. It's small. I have 2 kids rear facing with no problems.

ETA: our other car is a Honda CR-V.

Message edited 8/28/2016 10:53:22 PM.

Re: Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

I will never drive anything larger than a sedan. I don't do trucks. Putting her in my car is no different than putting her in DH's SUV. I see no difference and no need for anything bigger.
in fact I am dying for a 2 door next but DH says no

Re: Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

I drove a 4 door sedan until this year when I got a CR-V. I loved my sedans, but now I have more trunk space to bring the kids' bikes or other stuff. We also hope to have 1 more child within the next year or so. My kids are 4 and almost 8.

Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

We have two kids and a Honda Accord and we all fit just fine in it. We are looking to upgrade now but only because we want something that will drive better in the snow. As far as space goes though, we have no issues.

Re: Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

I have two kids in a Hyundai Sonata and it is VERY roomy. We also have a Chevy Equinox (which is supposed to be the car I drive, but we are way over on miles) and they are both the same amount of room in the back seat in my opinion. Only thing that isn't as roomy would be the trunk, but the Sonata fits a good amount of stuff - including a stroller!

Re: Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

Also wanted to add that DH has a small SUV and my mid sized sedan has MORE room in it actually than his small SUV.
Even the trunk has more space than his cargo area.
And more room in my back seat.

Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

Exclusively drove my 4dr sedan since the day she was born until 2yrs ago when it finally died. I only drive smaller SUVs and I HATE/LOATHE Minivans and large SUVs. I do now drive a compact SUV (CX7) and we still have our very old (01) Tribute. But our Mazda6 never gave us any issues size wise having a baby carrier, RF Car seat or FF Car seat the years we had it.

I'd still have a 4dr sedan if I had found one in my price range.

Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

We have a Ford Taurus and a Ford Escape. The Taurus has more room than the Escape. We were actually just talking about this and how we're going to get rid of the Escape first because the Taurus has more room. Our LO is 3+ and still rear facing in both cars...I'm pregnant with #2 but see no problem fitting 2 carseats.

Re: Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

Re: Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

We had a sedan when we first had DC1. It was fine, but when we needed a second car (when we moved to LI) we got an SUV and I was so glad I did. Then we had DC2 and the double stroller barely fit in the trunk of the sedan, so we never really drove that car. We recently had to get rid of the sedan and we got a second SUV with an even bigger trunk. I'm so glad we did because there's no way we could do trips with the smaller trunk of an SUV, let alone a sedan. Double stroller + PNP + suitcases + toys + food = no room!

Once you have an SUV, I can't imagine going backwards with less space either.

Driving a 4 door sedan with child?

We have both and i primarily drive the suv with our daughter. When im stuck with the car honestly, i hate it. It is sooo annoying getting my daughter in and out. And shes 4. I dont no longer need a stroller or a diaper bag.
When the car was our primary i had no choice but i hated it. Her stroller didnt fit in thr trunk so it was in the front passenger seat.
When i finally downsized from the full size stroller to an umbrella that fit in the trunk but if i went food shopping the bags ended up everywhere in the car that they would fit. And God forbid i needed stuff in bulk. It barely fit.

Personally i could never downsize. I love the size of our truck. I love having space to fit everything. I love that my daughter has tons of space.

And if ever decide to have another i wont have to worry about first looking for a truck again.

Just to add we own.

Message edited 9/2/2016 7:23:50 PM.