anyone test driven a car with a carseat? toyota highlander?

[Deleted]

my husband is getting a new car (his first NEW car ever).  can we bring L with us and then, if after a preliminary drive around, he likes the car, can we load up her carseat so we can all check it out?  is that super weird?


also, does anyone have a toyota highlander?  do you like it?  my husband is insane and has gone from wanting a civic or mazda 3 to a gigantic SUV.  whatever.  it's his first new car, and he wants a third row of seats for taking L and her friends to soccer and stuff when they're older.  probably by the time we buy it he'll either be obsessed with mini coopers or want a F250 with a second row of seats.

[Deleted]

I don't think it's weird.

[Deleted]

Stop talking about serious things.

[julez]

We did this. If you have a second car seat, bring it. I learned this the hard way - installing, uninstalling, reinstalling, uninstalling a car seat in 105 degree temps to test drive was NOT fun. You'll save at least a few steps if you don't have to uninstall/reinstall the seat she'll be riding in to/from the dealership.

[Deleted]

I don't think it's crazy. In fact, you're pregnant now? I'd bring an infant cars eat as well to make sure both fit and you two can still sit comfortably in the front.

[fuckyourcouch]

i haven't done this. but i'm only replying because you mentioned mini coopers. we went to test drive one on a whim a couple of weeks ago and loved it so much we drove 4 more for fun and ended up buying one (the countryman). lol. so be careful with that. they are so fucking fun to drive.

[AHappierHour]

I don't think it's weird. I brought my double stroller with me because I wanted to make sure it fit and I still had space when I got my car. I have a friend who needed 3 carseats and wanted to make sure they all fit in the car she wanted.

I think it's just being smart when making a huge purchase.

[starfish]

When we bought our car, the sales person suggested it. We ended up not buying the car because our youngest was, and is still rear facing and made the passenger seat so far forward my knees were pressed against the dash. With out trying it out we would of bought the car, and I would of be a very sad person.

[stephm0188]

We did. The sales guy was cool about it. He had small kids himself and said he did the same thing.

[beachwinescrewsandy]

This is how we ended up with a highlander. We've had ours for a few years. I never thought I'd be an SUV person, but I love it.

[Deleted]

Jun 3, 2013 12:04:16 GMT -5 @randomcdn said:

I don't think it's crazy. In fact, you're pregnant now? I'd bring an infant cars eat as well to make sure both fit and you two can still sit comfortably in the front.

This

[jinkies]

We did this too, when we were shopping for a new car when I was pregnant with #2. At least one of the dealerships actually had extra carseats that we could use so that we didn't have to uninstall ours. We also brought our infant seat to make sure it fit comfortably rear-facing while still allowing good legroom in the front seat (we're tall!)

[Deleted]

thanks guys (except @misoangry)! i figured this seemed sensible, but then i wasn't sure if they'd be all "liability!" or something.

[lolly]

We did it. It was the main reason we were buying a new car so we wanted to make sure it worked with 2 infant seats.

[Deleted]

Jun 3, 2013 12:12:16 GMT -5 beachwinescrewsandy said:

This is how we ended up with a highlander. We've had ours for a few years. I never thought I'd be an SUV person, but I love it.

tell me all about it, please!

[ijack]

we brought our carseat on all our test drives when we bought my car.

[keyslover]

Not sure how relevant this is, but we have a 10 year old Highlander (no third row seating) and love it.  It holds 2 car seats just fine.  It went from the Chicco infant seat and Britax Marathon, to two Marathons and now a Marathon and Frontier 90.

[nahoku]

We have an '08 Highlander and I love it. The option of having the third row is really great when we're at my family's cabin with my parents; we can all go into town (or wherever) in one vehicle. I liked that in the middle row, you could take a middle piece out so they're essentially captain's chairs or leave the piece in to use as another seat.

The third row isn't very big or comfortable though - I wouldn't want to be stuck in it for a longer drive, but it would work. Also, when the third row is up there is very little cargo space left to use. We have a rack on top but we've only had to use it a couple of times.

It gets decent gas mileage for an SUV and I like the way it drives. We've had it for a little over two years and have only had to have regular maintenance done on it.

[kirra]

It makes sense to me. People bring all sorts of things to see if they fit. My friend's husband never goes car shopping without his golf clubs, because he wants to make sure they fit in the trunk.

[tdk2]

Jun 3, 2013 12:12:20 GMT -5 @mrsmarlowe said:

Jun 3, 2013 12:04:16 GMT -5 @randomcdn said:

I don't think it's crazy. In fact, you're pregnant now? I'd bring an infant cars eat as well to make sure both fit and you two can still sit comfortably in the front.

This

When we were car shopping I found some website where they test various vehicles w car seats to rate how well they fit. I'll see if ican find the link later.

[Jalapeñomel]

sure, why not? They want to sell you the car, so I´m sure as long as it isn´t toking up in the backseat, they´ll let you test almost anything in them.

[thinkofthesoldiers]

Jun 3, 2013 13:02:24 GMT -5 tdk2 said:

Jun 3, 2013 12:12:20 GMT -5 @mrsmarlowe said:

This

When we were car shopping I found some website where they test various vehicles w car seats to rate how well they fit. I'll see if ican find the link later.

Eh, I suppose this might be a good place to start, but I still say to bring the seats with (both infant and convertible) because even though they may fit, it might not be comfortable with how a person actually drives a car. I HATE sitting up on the wheel, so even though a seat might technically fit, I might be uncomfortable because it forces me to sit too close to the wheel for comfort.

[EllieArroway]

I bought a new car while pregnant and installed both the infant and toddler seats in it on the lot. In several cars, actually. It was a pain but they didn't act like it was weird or anything.

[tdk2]

Jun 3, 2013 13:18:48 GMT -5 thinkofthesoldiers said:

Jun 3, 2013 13:02:24 GMT -5 tdk2 said:

When we were car shopping I found some website where they test various vehicles w car seats to rate how well they fit. I'll see if ican find the link later.

Eh, I suppose this might be a good place to start, but I still say to bring the seats with (both infant and convertible) because even though they may fit, it might not be comfortable with how a person actually drives a car. I HATE sitting up on the wheel, so even though a seat might technically fit, I might be uncomfortable because it forces me to sit too close to the wheel for comfort.

Yeah. It wouldn't negate actual experience but I liked it for reading their take on various models. They did it w several types of carseats. It helped me rule some out.

[piper]

We just bought a new car and brought ds once we had narrowed it down to three cars.

The Toyota dealer was by far the coolest about installing the carseat. 

We test drove the Highlander and the RAV4 and went with the RAV4.
I LOVED the Highlander but the gas mileage on the RAV4 was better and we really don't need the third row.

Good luck!

[formerlyak]

I put my carseat in the back of my CRV to test drive it with ds. The Honda dealer didn't even blink an eye when I asked and he pulled the one I wanted to test drive right around next to my car so I could easily put the car seat in without lugging across the lot.

[beachwinescrewsandy]

Jun 3, 2013 12:19:10 GMT -5 cville said:

Jun 3, 2013 12:12:16 GMT -5 beachwinescrewsandy said:

This is how we ended up with a highlander. We've had ours for a few years. I never thought I'd be an SUV person, but I love it.

tell me all about it, please!

Sorry, I didn't see this til now. I  think ours is an 09. I love this thing an irrational amount. Good amount of carrying crap space with the 3rd row down, can fit furniture with the other seats folded down. Love the dual climate control. Cargo space is tiny with third row up, but we can fit a couple carry on suitcases back there even with 3rd row up. The 3rd row is not all that comfortable as an adult, but kids haven't been bothered & it's fine for shirt trips. I was able to fit in the middle seat between a rear facing infant seat & a convertible front facing seat. Not ideal or totally comfortable, but it was doable to end crazy screaming baby. 

[cereal K]

I love my '10 Highlander. Decent gas mileage (22-ish mpg), comfortable (mostly commuting now, but we've used it for a couple 12+ hour drives), flexible for multiple passengers (we bought it for the third row option, knowing one seat would be devoted to a car seat), and great for grocery trips or hauling other stuff (we replaced all the doors and baseboards in the old house, hauling them in my highlander).

I have leather seats, a must. I wish I had a Limited for some of the techy features, but not enough to pay for it. Mine happened to come with the towing package and I LOVE the oversized mirrors.

I'm a little jealous that the '11 models started coming with a 60/40 split in the fold-down third row. That would be awesome!!

Full disclosure: I only like this body style of Highlander in gray (mine), white or black. I'm car-color boring.

[cereal K]

OH! I just reread your post. After having my Highlander for about two years, H paid off his Camry and wanted a new car. He was between a Subaru WRX and a truck. We now have a GMC Sierra 1500 Denali. Because my H has no self control.

[lizard]

We totally did it.