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I was in the same predicament as you when my wife and I were expecting....I had a Celica and she had a CLK coupe but I was going to be doing all the daycare shuttling so we kept the CLK and I got a 4 cylinder Highlander. Originally I was going for a Rav4 or Outback, but the Base Highlander was more spacious than a Rav4 and cheaper than the outback. I am VERY glad we got the midsize SUV with 3rd row seating. Your wife will spend the 1st year sitting in the back with the kid a lot...and you likely will shuttle other people so you will easily outgrow a small SUV very quickly. We rarely use the 3rd row since the big stroller sits in the trunk but it's nice to have it on the 3-4 times a year we want to drive 1 car rather than 2. On the rare occasion she needed to pickup the kid, the CLK worked in a pinch. When we had our 2nd kid, this arrangement still worked so I have no plans to sell our Highlander any time soon.
I would not recommend a luxury SUV because kids are just messy and gross. They will drop food everywhere, kick your seats with their feet, car dings from the car seat/stroller...that's just my opinion. I am very happy we got an economical midsize SUV since the gas costs are reasonable vs a v6/8, and we paid less for the Base engine. Go with safe, reliable and affordable.
I personally think a large percentage of the people on this thread don't have kids, or haven't had kids in the past 5-10 years.
we were in a similar situation, had a sedan and a small SUV that was on its way out and a sports car. eventually when we got rid of the SUV the sedan was just not big enough for use with the 1 kid. the rear facing car seats are such space hogs. my wife is 5'5" and had trouble fitting in front of it and wasn't comfortable. I'm 6'2" and honestly it didn't work at all. This was a 2003 Honda Accord so a decent sized car.
we got rid of the accord and got a minivan, its much much easier.
we used to have to load up the back seat when we went food shopping since the stroller took up the whole trunk. Now we have plenty of room, we can change him in the back. Sliding doors are great.
we looked at the smaller SUVs, and yes, they probably would have been better than the sedan, but ultimately we're planning on 2, so we figured we'd get the car we wanted for the planned situation and keep it, rather than feeling constrained in 2 years.
Also, the "rule" is rear facing until 2 now in theese gigantic seats..
you can make due with anything if you're willing to cram yourself in the front seat, and overload the interior of the car with everything imagineable. but you don't have to if you don't want to.
I would say both your cars are too small as a primary family transport. keep the IS and get rid of the 3 for something bigger, you can wait until you've dealt with this stuff for a little bit, but generally if you keep them rear facing until 2, you're going to feel the pain pretty quick
Gee, and how did families survive without minivans or large SUV? Maybe they carried around less garbage (things that don't need to be kept in the vehicle at all times).
Gee, and how did families survive without minivans or large SUV? Maybe they carried around less garbage (things that don't need to be kept in the vehicle at all times).
They drove station wagons and well since 1949 families had the good old Chevy Suburban to be the SUV that has been used by many people to haul the kids and all their gear around in larger families...
Also, in past decades car seats were not required, much less the large size seats today. A stroller is also large, unless you use an umbrella size, which is not always practical due to the small wheels and limited capacity.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
Location: Butler County Ohio and Winters in Florida
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My wife was against a mini van in the begining. I brought one home, that was 17 years ago. He have had mini vans ever since. One of the biggest issues my wife liked was with the mini van there was no more bending over and in to place the kid in the child seat or carrier base. Much easier on her back.
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Now I understand how GMC is able to sell those gigantic SUVs, and get people to part with 40-50k for the privilege. 
