Car Shopping

Recently I delivered our fourth child and that meant we had outgrown my SUV.   So it was time to go car shopping!  The idea of getting a new SUV was exciting but the actual process of test driving and negotiating gave me a headache.  Over the last few weekends my husband test drove almost every third row SUV on the market today.  Some were instantly crossed off while others remained possibilities.  I'm sure as time passes more and more will be made as well as updated but at this point in time we found it challenging to meet all my requirements.

My requirements:

-seats 7 passengers

-4 car seats (1 booster, 1 forward facing car seat, 1 rear facing car seat & 1 infant car seat) preferably with latch attachments

-safety driving sensors 

-city select double stroller fit in the trunk

-large cooler (yeti) fit in the trunk

-kids could get in and out themselves

It was a tall order and our preferences came down to the Ford Explorer sport and the Honda Pilot touring.  In the trunk both SUVs impressively fit our yeti cooler and city select double stroller which almost none of the other SUVs could.  Both SUVs fit all 4 car seats however the ford explorer only had latch attachments for 3 car seats.  In terms of safety features and pricing they are very comparable.  The Honda Pilot touring has a rear entertainment option included, a couple extra ports for charging gadgets and more cup holders however the Ford Explorer sport drove a bit better feeling more more powerful and with tighter steering/handling.

In the end the Honda Pilot was the winner because they have a push button that moves the second row seat forward so my kids could climb into the third row.  The second row could also fit 2 rear facing car seats (peg perego infant seat and Diano radian car seat) with latch attachment which we found no other third row SUV could accommodate.  The latch attachment wasn't a deal breaker however it makes it easier for me to install and/or rearrange car seats.