ford focus 2 kids... what would you do ??

[Vette73]

Alkemyst by noon

 

[JulesMaximus]

Alkemyst by noon

That, Sir, was well played! :thumbsup:

 

[speedy2]

I have a year and half old son and a month and a half old baby girl. I drive a 2005 Grand Prix. Their seats in the back take up all the room. My wife is only 5'1" and she still has her seat up farther than she used to because of the rear facing seat. My sons seat has the bar that comes down in front and that hits the roof when you lift it up. I just couldn't tolerate anything smaller than this car. The trunk is ok, but if we take 2 strollers and want to take any luggage, it's gonna be a tight tight fit.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

I had 2 kids, 2 years apart in a 4 door Senrta for a couple of years.
OP are you a home owner or will you be soon? If so I highly recommend you use this as an opportunity to buy a 4 door truck. OHHHH so much easier putting kids in a vehicle you don't have to stoop, crouch, or contort to get into or out of.
And you get the versatility of a truck.

 

[Dirigible]

Based on our experience with two kids and a 2000 Volvo S40 as the mom/kid car, I'd think you'd be fine with the 5 door. We really only used one car to drive kids around, so the second car didn't matter.

If you have a lot of stuff that's tough to fit in the car or carry kids in both cars or something else, go ahead and get a new larger car. We did eventually get a minivan and absolutely love it. Makes everyday life easier and vacations (with a bunch of gear and a grandparent or two along) MUCH easier.

 

[alkemyst]

Alkemyst by noon

That's about half of it.

 

[kornphlake]

We had 2 kids in a Saturn 4 dr, about 4 months after having our second we were given a 4 dr blazer. It worked out okay, either the Saturn or the Blazer seemed large enough for running around town. The Blazer had a little more vertical space in the cargo area, but I as I recall the stroller didn't really fit as well as in the trunk of my Saturn, the distance between the wheel wells was too narrow so almost everything had to be put in at an angle which meant that the stroller alone took up all the cargo space, the blazer did have a trailer hitch that I used a couple times to tow a u-haul trailer. When we had our third we bought a mini-van and it was an improvement, the sliding doors make getting in and out a lot easier but there still isn't much cargo space unless you remove one of the rear seats and the MPG is less than good. I'd consider the build quality of any mini-van to be below average compared to the compact and mid size market today. Having owned a 4 dr econobox, mid size SUV and mini-van with 2 children, I'd suggest sticking with the sedan for now. Unless you plan on getting in and out of the car a lot, there isn't really a huge advantage to owning something larger than a 4 door sedan. Once the kids get a little older you might need something with a bit more room in the back seat, but for now just look for car seats that fit in your car and you'll be fine.

 

[child of wonder]

My wife and I got by with a 2 door Ford ZX2 for a couple months after our 2nd was born. We had one in a car seat and the other in a carrier.

Then we got a Taurus and that was much roomier.

Today our kids are 8 and 6 and we drive a 2007 Camry and a 2007 Civic. Haven't needed more room yet.

 

[xaeniac]

My wife and I got by with a 2 door Ford ZX2 for a couple months after our 2nd was born. We had one in a car seat and the other in a carrier.

Then we got a Taurus and that was much roomier.

Today our kids are 8 and 6 and we drive a 2007 Camry and a 2007 Civic. Haven't needed more room yet.

Thanks to all. Sharing your experiences was very much appreciated. I will save my money for the time being at least to put a few more miles on both cars. You never know when something could come up. I guess I will wait and experience the joys of two smallish cars with two kiddos. I know we will get by for a while and if we need to upgrade we will.

 

[sdifox]

Thanks to all. Sharing your experiences was very much appreciated. I will save my money for the time being at least to put a few more miles on both cars. You never know when something could come up. I guess I will wait and experience the joys of two smallish cars with two kiddos. I know we will get by for a while and if we need to upgrade we will.

Them diaper and formula be very expensive :awe:

 

[Bignate603]

Rules are a lot different now than then. The rear facing infant seats are monstrously huge nowdays. And if you have an infant carrier with the handle then it's even more cumbersome. Same thing with toddler seats. Trying to get my 3 year old out of her carseat is an act of contortion in some vehicles because the seats sit up so high off the cusion of the car.

He was already able to do the infant seat and everything for the 2 year old they have now. Unless either the OP or his wife are so tall that they can't get a kid in a carseat behind them I think they'll be fine.

I can only think of two advantages for a larger car.
1. Roadtrips where you have more junk. There are roof racks for the focus though which should work just fine. A few hundred bucks for a roof rack is cheaper than another car.
2. In a minivan you can load both kids from one side of the car. This can be handy in a busy parking lot or when you're parallel parked on the side of a busy street. Trying to get a kid into a carseat while people are zooming by right next to you isn't the most fun thing in the world.