hey everyone, my wife is pregnant with twins which are due in 2 months and we are looking to buy another car. i have an 05 corolla which i thought we could use till i tried putting the infant car seats in the back. my wife really likes the volvo v70 and is also considering a subaru legacy wagon. we are looking at 05 models. we do a lot of highway driving since the family is spread out all over. i like the volvo also but have read that they have a lot of problems and are very expensive to fix. i can do a lot of repairs myself but am not sure if i will have the time with the kids arriving. we live in the hudson valley of new york so snow can be a factor. any input would be greatly appreciated.
We love our Subaru Legacy wagon (2005) for our two kids. However if you plan on any more when you have two in child seats you really should be looking at a 7-8 passenger minivan.
I tend to agree, though I am a great believer in personal preferences. Still, with a car full of babies, there isn’t much flexibility left. There is a reason so many families are running around in mini-vans, after they have some experience. I am a Toyota man, but for low mileage drivers one can sure save a lot of money on a Caravan if you don’t intend to drive it 300,000 miles.
I second the suggestion for a minivan. However, a Hyundai Sonata would be a good, cheap, reliable choice as well. You can get an 05 for a good deal less than a Volvo or a Subaru, and the Hyundai will be more reliable and easy and cheaper to repair.
Also, a Chevy Impala wouldn’t be a bad choice either. It gets around 30mpg on the highway, and has plenty of room. It, too, is reliable, cheap, and easy to fix.
C’mon guys. The choice is between the Subie and the Volvo. Let’s not introduce complications.
You’ll not go wrong with either model. Personally, I’m partial to the wagon. But if you like the Volvo, get the Volvo. You can’t rely on having expensive car problems. They don’t happen to everyone. You may or may not be unlucky, but the same can be true for the used Legacy. Get the car you really want.
Of those 2 choices I’d go with the Subaru. I’ve always been partial to Subies, and wagons. I kind of like Volvos, but upkeep will be more expensive, and Volvo’s vaunted safety reputation is a thing of the past. They are still plenty safe, but everything else has become so much safer that it’s no longer a big advantage for the Volvo. 20 or 30 years ago Volvo was ahead of the curve.
With all that said, I’d also look at larger FWD sedans of the Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai makes. They will tend to get better mileage than the Subaru on highway trips and FWD is almost as good as 4WD in snow. If conditions require 4WD, you probably aren’t going out anyway.
Keep the Corolla until the kids get bigger; there is room in the Corolla for 2 car seats.
Stay away from ANY Volvo and also the Subaru Legacy, unless you live in the backwoods and realy need that AWD. Both cars will be expensive to maintain and keep tires on. Two babies will gobbble up a lot of money, which you don’t want to waste on cars.
When you need more space much later a front wheel drive midsize car will do just fine. A 4 cyl. Camry, Honda Accord, Mazda 6 or Hyunda Soanta will take you anywhere economically and reliably! All have large trunks.
Do you sit so far back that you can’t fit the seats in the Corolla? It seems like infant seats would fit. If yours don’t, see if there are some that do. Car seats are a lot less expensive than cars.
Make your first purchase a Consumer Reports New Car Preview from the local bookstore. That’ll give you lots of reliability information about both choices as well as others if you remain undecided.