(Don't get me wrong I would LOVE a minivan, LOVE it. Someone mentioned that the backseat is like a Corolla/Civic (true! Civic is our other car!) But funny thing, the Civic/ Corolla these days is the size of an older Accord/ Camry. When I was a kid we went on long car trips to visit my older sisters, 2 hours each way, and we had a fiat for some of that time.
(However, three carseats probably would not fit terribly well.) I think the older RAV4s are smaller.Īs far as when they get older, I dunno. But the carpooling was only home from school, so a short distance).Įven so, my kids are now 2 and 9, and the 9 year old is still short and still in a booster with a back, and there is plenty of space. We had a couple of years of having the baby/ toddler seat in the middle, and the boosters on the side (because I carpooled with another family, I had 3 kids in the back and one kid in the front in a car seat. I've got a Matrix and two kids, two car seats. Not saying to buy a car bigger than you may need now but just something to keep in the back of your mind. Not sure the age of your children (mine are 6/10/12) but situations may change in the future. My thought is that if you want to keep the car long term as you said, think about what you may be doing in a few years. Another great car but the only issue is that it only seats 5. That being said.we also own a 2002 Subaru Outback. Put the third row down and the kids can sit comfortably in the second row. Didn't need to put bags on the roof like the Mazda. Just drove it on a long car trip over the long weekend and it was great. The mileage is not great but it was actually comparable to the Mazda5. Even the Mazda dealership wouldn't give us crap for it. What I realized is that the Mazda does not hold its value. The problems began when we started getting involved with carpooling for soccer practices/games.
It's a 2 x 2 x 2 configuration so we always had one in the third row. Loved the car- and it met our needs in most situations. I too have a family of 5 with one in a car seat (actually a booster). I was in the same situation just last fall.