mazada? - Tris Hussey from twhirl

my ex wife has a mazada 7. - Tris Hussey from twhirl

Toyota Camry Hybrid, maybe? Not as trendy as the Prius, but uses the same drivetrain. The Prius is pretty much sold out until next year, anyway. There's a hybrid Highlander if you really must ... - Chris Baskind

The goal here is to fit four people in, including 2 car seats, plus dragging along stroller, diaper bag, and groceries on occasion. That might rule out the Camry. - Louis Gray

minivans are tangible evidence of evil. - Hao Chen

leave the kids at home, i will babysit - Allen Stern

Allen, given one already works for you, I think I'm looking for someone who wouldn't already be around the kids 8 or so hours a day. But thanks! - Louis Gray

The Camry is roomy for a midsize sedan, and gas prices at the end of a 3 to 5 year note could be pretty shocking. But if you're really hankering for big, you might want to watch the Chevy Tahoe hybrid. GM only sold about a thousand of them in May, and I'd expect discounts soon on the order of $4500 plus plum financing. - Chris Baskind

I have been in love with my Honda CR-V since the day I got it 3 1/2 yrs ago. Hondas rock the family transport thing - as they tend to rank highest in child safety year after year. They were the first with curtain side-airbags standard. Nice to drive w/ great gas mileage and fantastic handling. Converted me away from Saturns. Definitely check out the CR-V. (geez, I sound like a cult member...sorry - but I love that car.) - Lucretia Pruitt

unfortunately, size does matter when it comes to MPG, hence increasing family is inevitably means longer gas bill and more CO2 into common air - A.T.

I'd recommend Pilot over CRV; the new CRV is so sporty, it goes down on utility. - Parth Awasthi

I have three children so if we have anymore we are going to have to upgrade as well! - Joe Dawson

Whatever you pic, I recommend that it be very gas efficient. I predict a rise in gas prices ;) - Dustin McLaughlin

Ford S-Max (7 seats one)? - kukoo

No idea if you have them in the US but for our kids (18 mo boy/girl twins, 3 week old boy) we bought a Kia Carens. Room enough to bring along helpful relatives too! - Edd Dumbill from twhirl

Edd, the Carens is called the Rondo in the states. Thanks for the tip. - Louis Gray

The mileage isn't as good as a Civic, but the Toyota Sienna is quite nice. (assuming you're secure enough to drive a minivan :) We used to have a Subaru Forester, which was nice, but babies have a lot of accessories, so it's good to have the extra space. - Paul Buchheit

I am not sure if it is available in the USA, but we are very happy with our Honda FR-V (goes under the name EDIX in Japan), a 6 seater with a reasonably large trunk. With two car seats installed in the back there is enough space left on the third seat for an adult, so when the kids were small one of us could sit next to them on long trips. And with the folding middle front seat, grandma and grandpa can fit onboard too. The 2.2l diesel iCDT has average fuel economy but gives daddy a bit of sporty feeling ;) - Vlado Handziski

Honda have about the most fuel-efficient engines (fact). Now that they also do Diesel engines, maybe something like the Honda CR-V [perspective from a Europe person] - john conroy

Happy Toyota Highlander Hybrid owner here. Handles our two kids and their stuff very well and offers AWD (which we need in our climate / area). Not sure if there's still a tax incentive. Smart driving techniques are getting me 35 mpg. If too expensive, maybe a Ford Escape Hybrid? - Kevin C. Tofel

Yet another recommendation for the Honda CRV. It feels really big and doesn't kill you with MPGs. Minivans typically do not have good MPG, so I can't recommend any. - Rob Diana

I would go with a Ford Explorer. This is my Schwag wagon. - Mike Fruchter

Have you checked out the Honda Fit? It's surprisingly roomy for getting 30mpg (and costs $14k). - Gabe

we got both our boys honda cr-v's due to 4wd, safety, small yet roomy, good mpg for suv, honda quality/durability - been very happy with them - mike "glemak" dunn

second the Honda fit suggestion - I test drove a 2008 and liked it - the 2009 due in early fall is supposed to have lots of improvements too - mike "glemak" dunn

I like the fit too; if I were in the market for a car right now it would be near the top of my list. It is definitely roomy but I don't know if it's big enough for Louis's needs. To get a lot of stuff in it you need to pull down the back seats; which wouldn't work to well when you have to transport 2 adults and 2 babies. - Benjamin Golub

What about a Prius? We have friends with small kids that love that combo! - Susan Beebe

We have Honda CRV and Chrysler Town and Country (rated high on safety and has awesome storage) CRV perfect for around town with the kiddos but our cross country trips require the T&C. - Tanya

subaru - clarke thomas

You might consider a Mercury Mariner hybrid, the Ford Escape hybrid or the Ford Taurus X - Scott Monty

Our 2005 Honda Odyssey gets 16MPG city, 23 highway (real numbers, not sticker). - Bruce Lewis

I highly recommend the Toyota Highlander...wonderful vehicle. - Chris Rossini

Check out the Saturn Vue. I believe they still use Honda engines - which means you get a great engine at a far better price than actually buying a Honda. You could move up to their larger SUV if you need a bit more room ;) - AJ Kohn

Louis - the new Toyota RAV4 will have plenty of room for the twins and their gear. They added about 12" of length a year or two ago but it still gets around 25-28 mpg. My wife loves hers. - Barry Graubart from twhirl

You don't want a car. You need a minivan. Or a station wagon. Sorry to burst the bubble, but by the time you get two carseats in a sedan, that's it. Add in the double stroller and going grocery shopping is a horrible experience. Take the stroller out, put the stroller back in. Now if you are taking a trip somewhere... it all goes to hell quickly with the stroller, the pack 'n plays...I had an Odyssey and while I didn't love it, it was a nice vehicle. The MPG isn't the best, but sanity and convenience are... - Cyndy

SUVs... forget it. They just completely suck gas. Far worse than a minivan. Oh, and for cargo room, best bets are the Odyssey and the Dodge Caravan, with the Dodge winning with the Stow 'n Go. - Cyndy

Just downsized from a Suburban to a Toyota Sienna. Love it. With the 2nd row captain's chairs, much easier to move around for little ones, etc. Pretty inexpensive also, comparatively. - Steve Woodruff

Vue Hybrid: 25/32 mpg. - AJ Kohn

MY wife and I have a Honda CRV - we average around 27 MPG and it can handle us, a kid, a dog, and plenty of cargo space. Trip to Niagara, trips to grandma's, trips to the store are all pleasurable. - keif from twhirl

I agree with Cyndy. I have two kids and I LOVED my old Ford Windstar. That thing was the most comfortable and convenient vehicle to get the kids in and out of without killing my back! The new Ford van didn't impress me and I now have the gas guzzling Pacifica. My kids are past the stroller years or I'd be driving the Dodge Caravan. If your shopping price, check out the Kia Sedona... lots of features for less - kbourke

I'm surprised at how much I like my minivan (we've got a honda odyssey). I like that the kids can open the doors themselves without me worrying that they'll crash into the car next to us (think small school parking lots filled with large cars all close together), I like that we can bring as much stuff on vacation as we want, and I like that they can each bring home a friend for a playdate at the same time. It also lets me carpool etc when the opportunity arises. - Jane Manning

Jane, there is that, and that's why next car will be a full-size van. We can't take more than one playdate ever. But yes... there are a lot of things to think about with two toddlers, like getting them into the car in a parking lot when they are walking, etc. that you don't think about when they are infants. I'm not LOVING that I have a minivan, but I live with it. ;) - Cyndy

We're having our first child in January so I'm trading in my beloved Mark V GTI for the new Volkswagen Tiguan which is kind of a combination of a Golf and a Touareg. It's small enough that it gets good gas mileage (25-30 using the same sporty engine the GTI has) but big enough for car seats and other things. Of course, clearly I'm a very biased Volkswagen fan and pretty much won't buy anything not German. - Akiva Moskovitz

You want a minivan, trust me. It's designed for this and you'll be thankful for it over time. Toyota Sienna is very good. - Scott Ludwig

To piggyback on Paul Buchheit's comment: We actually went to the San Jose car show upon deciding that our Subaru Forrester wasn't enough in hauling Camilla (who was no heavier than 4lbs. soaking wet at the time) and her accessories (car seat, diaper bag and Bugaboo stroller). We decided that having to fold and unfold our stroller actually doubled the effort in the loading and unloading process. In all of the SUV's (large and compact) and most American made minivans, we found that we had to do that, but... - April Buchheit

with the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna, we could just lift our stroller and put it right into the trunk without any problems. For me, I was still recovering from my c-section, that was a major plus. Between the Odyssey and Sienna, it just came down to the stats and Paul found that Sienna had better fatalities than the Odyssey and so we went with the Sienna. - April Buchheit

Also, our friends, who had just had a baby as well, did some research on their own, but had refused to go into the minivan department, decided on the Infiniti FX (even made a special order on theirs since it wasn't out yet). When we let them test drive our brand spankin' new Toyota Sienna, they were converted, canceled their order, and bought their own Toyota Sienna, which they now refer to as their "sweet van." That was 2 years ago, and now with 2 toddlers and an au pair, they still love their sweet van. - April Buchheit

I have 2 boys myself. one is 3 and one is 1. Our vehicle of choice has been the VW Passat wagon. The 2.0 liter Turbo gets better than 32 MPG on the highway. It's pretty peppy because of the turbo and has ample space. We looked at the A4 wagon, the Odyssey and the Avalon before selecton the Passat. I also have a 2005 Ford FiveHundred which also is very big )probably bigger than the Passat) but lacks a little power for my taste. - Sean Scott

Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna - you'll wonder what you ever did without automatic sliding doors. It just makes sense in size and usage. - Joel

Louis, I regularly drive both the Sienna and Odyssey. The Sienna is definitely better for napping kids (quieter, gentler ride), plus it has AWD as an option. The odyssey drives nicer (feels less like a boat), gets better acceleration and better highway fuel economy if you get the version that disables cylinders at HW speed. Also, the Sienna's nav system disables input when the car is moving, a safety feature that's sometimes really annoying. - Sanjeev Singh

Something german and diesel powered... - Andy Davies

We have the Toyota Hybrid Highlander too. It's pricey but an awesome car with reasonable gas mileage. - Mike Cassidy

My obsessive husband researched the crap out of this question (we were about to buy something new the next day and I found out I was pregnant!) Subaru - if your wife has hips just forget it. Best vehicle for combo of space (Rav4 types too small for us with two kids and a dog), fuel efficiency, problems per hundred, resale value yada yada, the Honda Pilot. However, the second best and MUCH better deal was the Ford Explorer - got 2007, extended warranty, great financing rate..... - leigh himel

We have a 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. We got the optional third row of seating: the third row is too small for adults to comfortably fit, but when the kids are out of the bulky carseats they can go back there. We wanted to be able to haul the whole clan around (us, two kids, two grandparents). We routinely get 27 mpg in mostly city driving. I applaud the other commenter who manages 35 mpg, but we've never achieved that. - DGentry

Louis - Really depends on how long you intend on keeping the car. The older they get, the more 'stuff' you're gonna find yourself driving around with. Safety and mileage ratings have been going up on almost everything. Found the Jeep Liberty GREAT for space but horrid on gas and just traded it for a Nissan Sentra (with the continuously variable transmission). GREAT car, reasonable, super mileage. - Charlie Anzman

Coolest family car?: http://www.dad.info/lifesty... - Tom Beardshaw

Safest family car? http://www.dad.info/lifesty... - Tom Beardshaw

We just got a Kia Sedona (mini-van) and love it... it's probably the best of the 2nd tier (surprisingly) behind Sienna and Odyssey, plus it's way cheaper. - Jason Dettbarn

You will soon have some new friends - other parents of same age children. Plan for 7 in a car, not 4 :-). Toyota Sienna is the only choice IMHO. - Keith Teare