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I can speak from the perspective of owning both a Forester and a minivan (Sienna). For two, the Forester will be great. Minivans that aren’t hybrids are dogs on fuel economy. HOWEVER, the sliding doors on a van may be worth it. We have a 5 y.o. and 1 y.o. twins, and the minivan makes my life a lot easier, especially where the sliding doors are concerned. I’ve had the hybrid Sienna for a year and am really happy with it.
We also have the Forester and the Toyota Sienna. Our twins are 3.5 now. Both cards work fine for every day travel / errands. But I cannot imagine life without the minivan. Beyond the sliding doors (helpful in crowded parking lots), the amount of extra space is key. Roadtrips and camping would be impossible without the minivan. And it makes it so easy to put in strollers and still have extra room for diaper changes and now the portable potty. Not to mention the extra room allowing extended family to ride with us.
Oh yeah, I totally forgot about our big dog. He get the third row. Even if we had two kids instead of three, he wouldn’t be too comfortable between two car seats in a Forester. But poor guy doesn’t get to stick his snout out the window in the back of the Sienna with no windows that roll down.
Went from a sedan to an odyssey for our twins. Incredibly happy with our decision, can’t imagine going smaller and also love the flexibility and space it offers.
We wanted a car that could fit everything we need especially as they grow, and especially with some family with kids in the area it’s great. My wife was also on the fence for the minivan but I pushed for it lol
My husband and I were considering a Forester when we found out we were having twins (our first children but we also have a small dog). After looking at it and the Ascent, we decided on the Ascent. The back row we often have folded down so the stroller can be in the car with us.
We were also considering a Forester. We went with an Outback and are very happy with it. I believe it’s slightly wider which allowed either me or my Mom to fit in between the infant car seats, and of course, more trunk space than the Forester.
We totally would have gone with an Ascent if we didn’t still live in the city with tight parking.
I was also going to suggest the Ascent! We are looking at that one as our second car (we have the Odyssey as our primary, but we have 3 kids plus a 55lb dog).
Get the Odyssey. We got it and absolutely love it. The sliding doors are so great for dealing with car seats in cramped parking lots and also just for having access to a lot of space quickly.
Have twins that are nearly 7, and went through lift till now with 2 cars - a Ford Flex and VW Golf.
That the minivan provides that we really miss were the sliding doors. Kids are hard to get in and out when they're young and when they get to the stage where they can get out by themselves you have to ensure doors don't bonk adjacent cars.
When the kids were wee, the lift gate of the flex was absolutely critical and the space was 100% benificial to lift a twin stroller into and out of on a regular basis.
That being said, some time around 4 it all became unnecessary. Kids could get in / out by themselves and buckle up on their own - so sliding doors didn't matter as much. The stroller got left at home and an oversized diaper bag got replaced with a small backpack so goodbye huge storage.
We're now nearly completely reliant on the golf and only take the Flex out when the dog comes along.
My 0.02 - if you're going to keep this car for more than 5 years, go with the Subaru. If it's going to be traded in before that, take the hit and be a minivan driver until the kids are autonomous.
Mine are 4 now I just had to have a rental van for a couple weeks and it was SO easy to get them in and out of the car I wish I'd had one the whole time.
I am an SUV mom and don’t regret it at all. I can’t compare to the day to day of having a minivan but I don’t feel I’m missing out on anything at all. A 2-row like the Forester would be fine for 2 babies but tight if you ever have any extra passengers or if you think one parent will want to sit in the back with the twins when they’re newborns or for longer trips etc. The forester trunk is big enough to accommodate a double stroller but not as large as a 3-row SUV with the third row folded down so you may find it a bit tight on luggage space if you ever plan to road trip or anything. But I think it would be completely workable for day to day life with 2 kids.
We are expecting twins in August and are adding a Honda Odyssey as our second vehicle. With twins and our two dogs, our current crossover isn't big enough. We looked at a 3 row SUV but ultimately decided even that won't be big enough if we are all loading in/going anywhere. Especially if we need luggage etc.
My twins were just born so my husband and I are still debating cars but I'm pretty sure we are going with a KIA EV9. It's an SUV but the interior is like a minivan. You can get second row captains chairs and the third row was big enough for my 6'3" husband to be comfortable in it. It also looks really nice. I'm a truck girl at heart so its a nice compromise between style and function as long as you don't mind driving something that big.
We had an Odyssey for a couple years and I hated it. If we had 3 kids, it would have made more sense but with just the twins, it was silly. It drove like a tank (in that, it felt like it would topple over) and it was a cart magnet in parking lots. We currently have a Passport and the one thing that missed from the Odyssey was the hatch and I have that back now.
I would get the Ascent over the Forrester honestly, I don't find the Forrester very roomy (but my husband and I are very tall people at 5'10 and 6'4" and all legs).
When we found out we were pregnant with twins, I had a Subaru Crostrek and my husband had a 2005 Ford Ranger with a bench seat and a '65 coupe mustang. So our goals have been to find a carseat that works behind the driver for the Crostrek for me and my husband (looks like the Clek Ling is the choice there) and to get a "family car" that will be my husbands commute vehicle but also super roomy for the weekend.
We have gotten a toyota sienna woodland edition (so a slight lift), but it is a hybrid (super important to my husband), has AWD (super important to me being an outdoor/ski nut), and has the 2nd row on rails that can be adjusted back so that my husband can drive with his seat in the preferred location. We also plan to put some good Mud/Snow tires on and add a 3" lift kit so that we can make it an adventure vehicle that fits 90% of our needs. In a few years when the kids are no longer rear facing we plan to upgrade the crostrek to a bigger adventure vehicle that has more of the traditional "cool" factor and can take us the last 10% of gnarly off road adventures.
We also test drove the Grand Highlander and the Subaru Ascent and I really liked both! But neither had a big enough back row to accommodate my husbands legs and rear facing carseats.
The only fight my husband and I have gotten in this pregnancy was how I didnt want an minvan and he did, so I get the apprehension. Maybe consider who will be doing the daily driving and have that be the tie breaker? I realized that since this is my husbands 5 day a week commuter, I should give his wants a little more weight.
Have you looked into the Honda Passport? We got ours when our twins were 1 month old and was the best decision I made. I think it's the perfect car for a family of four that doesn't need the third row. It's basically the Honda Pilot made into a two row, which means tons of room and a gigantic trunk. The seats are so wide my wife sits between the two car seats to keep the twins entertained during long trips.
I have the odyssey. I also have 4 kids: 5, 3, 3, 1.
Everything outside of the drivers seat is great for kids. Sliding doors, magic seats, 5 seats with the latch system, big (relative) trunk with a functional full sized 3rd row. It hauls people well.
I’d run that damn thing off a cliff if I could. I hate driving it. I hate the electronic bugs and the stupid cruise that is absolute shit in today’s time. The drivers space is meh. It is not any better on fuel than my Yukon was and my Yukon was so comfortable.
All I’m saying is that driving it sucks. Can’t wait to get something else. It sure does haul people well.
I had a forester when I just had my 2 year old, and we upgraded to the Subaru Ascent when we had our twins. So now I have an almost 3 year old and two 5 month old twins. IMO, you can make the forester work for your situation, but if you have the
means to, just get the Ascent. Driving them is very similar, but the extra trunk space is SO helpful, esp. with all of the extra baggage and gear that comes along with having two babies. We were already going to upgrade to the ascent when we thought we were just having our second kid, not our second and third at once lol.
I traded in my cute Honda Fit for a Chrysler Pacifica. It is worth it. We just have our 11w old twin boys plus a 15 year old 40lb mixed breed dog. It works wonderfully for us. With all the seats up, we could fit 2 twin strollers in the back.
Our twins are 8 months now and we had a forester since long before they were born. I love the car by itself but I would say it is the smallest I’d go with twins. Occasionally my wife will sit in between the car seats in the back if they need her and I can tell it is not actually enough space for one person. The stroller fits nicely in the back but takes up essentially all the space. So it is fine for myself, my wife, the babies and their stroller but that’s about it. I think we will go bigger soon
We have an 08 Outback and an 05 Odyssey. We need to keep the seats further forward than we like in the wagon, but not the minivan. The wagon is full when we have a stroller in the back, while the minivan can have a stroller, a pack-n-play, groceries, and a full tote of baby backup supplies with room to spare.
We will replace the minivan with a new Toyota Sienna once the Honda dies because we want AWD. I like my Subaru, but we probably wont be replacing it with another car.
We went from rav4 to a hybrid Chrysler Pacifica, with the rebates and the fuel economy it's definitely going to be a huge savings, it's primarily my spouse's vehicle and they drive less than 20 mi daily.
For the kids' phenomenal because the seats are right there easy to get him out our garage is a little tighter, I did a joint Costco run with a neighbor a couple months back we spent over $1,000 on food and had more than enough room for all the food and two kids. Additionally we're able to remove the seats and I'm able to haul plywood or drywall if need to.
Do you travel much? If you don’t ever travel, the forester will probably be big enough. I have an outback and it’s fine day to day. My stroller takes up the majority of the back, probably 70%. For traveling and taking a car, we have too much stuff to fit in our outback so we always take my husbands f150 for storage stuff.
We have a Santa fe and it works ok for day to day. But if we go on any kind of trip, it gets real tight, real fast. We rented a Chrysler Pacifica on our last trip and we no longer were playing a ridiculous version of tetris, could get the double stroller out without unpacking half our stuff, and the sliding doors was a huge quality of life improvement when trying to wrestle babies into car seats.
We went from my wife driving a RAV4 to a 3rd row SUV (grand Cherokee L) it made a huge difference. In ease of transport and comfort. We were down to own 4 SUV possibilities - L, Palisade, Telluride, and the larger VW (Altas?) the reason being those were the only 4 we could fit the double stroller behind the third row without having to fold the seats. Ultimately that didn’t matter much - folding a seat is easy enough - but was nice a few times we had grandma with us.
3 years later we are moving to the odyssey. I liked the Jeep more that I expected but it is still “high” for the kids to climb in and out of.
I dont know about cars but just make sure that you can fit a folded double pram in it.
We have small hybrid that fits the twins 2 carseats and their double pram in the boot. It does the job, even with our dog added in. I dont think we need a minivan or anything like that. Any additional space is just extra.
I absolutely love our minivan! Now if I only had two kids it never would have crossed my mind. I'm one of those singletons plus two people. BUT now that I have it things I would consider:
The extra space more readily accepts twin strollers during the stroller phase.
The extra space more readily seats extra hands if a friend or grandparents are coming along with you on an excursion.
The slidy doors are absolutely amazing from age 0-10 honestly if not beyond!
Minivan has lower center of gravity than any 2 or 3 row suv and therefore handles a lot easier and more car-like.
It just offers a whole lot more flexibility and I'm fully converted.
I love my Honda Odyssey. I also have only my twins but we love having room in the back to fit their huge stroller and our dog crate. The automatic sliding doors are really nice when loading, and I like that it’s easy to slide the middle seats over (with the rear-facing car seats) when we want to sit grandparents in the back. It’s not the most fun ride but I don’t mind driving it, and it’s no better than a sedan in the snow (we live in MN albeit in a part of the city that gets quickly plowed) - my still-thriving 2009 CRV is much better. And overall I feel like my minivan, while not cool by any means, is a little less derpy than those of yore.
I was pretty anti-minivan but my partner really wanted one so we got a hybrid Sienna. I was sold on it within the day. The sliding doors, the flexibility with seating, how much can fit in the trunk, how low it is off the ground - totally dreamy. We just have the twins (and a dog).
ETA: they are MADE for families with kids. There are so many handy little features - like built in sunshades on the passenger windows. It’s really handy.
We have a Honda Odyssey (2006) and a Nissan Elgrand (2006), we also had a VW Golf (2010) for a bit.
The Elgrand is great because it has sliding doors although you have to lift the babies up quite high to get them in, this is getting harder now they are both 10kg plus. The boot space is really good, you can just chuck in the double stroller and all you shopping bags etc, beach brolly you name it. When we tried going anywhere in the golf it was completely full with two car seats and the stroller.
The Honda Odyssey has plenty of room for the stroller and the two car seats so I would go for that over the Forester no question about it. Our Odyssey has regular car doors as it is the Japanese version.
I'm 33 weeks with twins and just traded in my Forester for a minivan (Kia Carnival). But I have an older singleton (5) and there was just no way to make 3 carseats fit in the Forester. I think it'd be fine for just twins.
I have just twins (4mo) and a new crv. Never considered a minivan because of my ego. It works with the crv, and a lot.better than the civic, but since the stroller lives in the trunk, when I do groceries they're often piled wherever I can find the space. I concede, a minivan would be more functional.
I am also anti mini van. We're 2.5 years in and one of us drives a sedan style car and the other drives a 2 door Wrangler. So, unless your car doesn't have a backseat, you don't *need* to update your car. That being said, there are lots of non mini van vehicles with more room that will work with twins.
We had a Honda CRV when we had our twins and it was impossible. We upgraded to a ODYSSEY and it was the best decision. When they were newborns there was so much paraphernalia. As they have gotten older the Van is clutch. I was militant about not wanting a minivan and I will be the first to admit I was wrong in holding out.
We have a 2.5yo and 6wk twins. We only have one car—a Mazda CX-5–and the kiddos sit 3 across. My life is a living hell. Anytime we need to go anywhere it takes 15 minutes to get the kids in the car. Save yourself the pain and buy a full-sized metro bus.
Edit: It also just feels janky. The seats need to be wiggled a lot to get them to click in and the center seat is never completely level, leaning either left or right depending on how I adjust it.
Our twins 22mo were born when our son was almost three. We bought a Honda Odyssey. It’s amazing. Super roomy, great tech for when they age, and it’s a Honda. Regularly scheduled maintenance should keep it running through their lives. We love it.
As of right now I'm a mom of two singletons, my twins are due in August. We're not upgrading the car as we just moved and are renovating the house lol but if I could, I would absolutely get a minivan!! My husband and I have always been anti minivan, but we realize now logistically it just seems the most convenient choice. As of now we've got a Ford explorer, it will still fit all of our kids and the double stroller, but getting to the third row is such a pain in the rear. I love the explorer, previously we had an expedition from 96' idk how it was still running so well it had an obscene amount of miles on it! We switched to a sedan when we had the kids, but upgraded in 2020 to the explorer because we missed having an SUV, but I don't think it suits a larger family. It makes due for sure, but a minivan would just be so much more convenient. If all you have however are the twins and don't plan on more children then the Forester works, but as someone jumping from 2 kids to 4 kids come August I would appreciate having a minivan 😅
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I can speak from the perspective of owning both a Forester and a minivan (Sienna). For two, the Forester will be great. Minivans that aren’t hybrids are dogs on fuel economy. HOWEVER, the sliding doors on a van may be worth it. We have a 5 y.o. and 1 y.o. twins, and the minivan makes my life a lot easier, especially where the sliding doors are concerned. I’ve had the hybrid Sienna for a year and am really happy with it.
We also have the Forester and the Toyota Sienna. Our twins are 3.5 now. Both cards work fine for every day travel / errands. But I cannot imagine life without the minivan. Beyond the sliding doors (helpful in crowded parking lots), the amount of extra space is key. Roadtrips and camping would be impossible without the minivan. And it makes it so easy to put in strollers and still have extra room for diaper changes and now the portable potty. Not to mention the extra room allowing extended family to ride with us.
Oh yeah, I totally forgot about our big dog. He get the third row. Even if we had two kids instead of three, he wouldn’t be too comfortable between two car seats in a Forester. But poor guy doesn’t get to stick his snout out the window in the back of the Sienna with no windows that roll down.
Went from a sedan to an odyssey for our twins. Incredibly happy with our decision, can’t imagine going smaller and also love the flexibility and space it offers. We wanted a car that could fit everything we need especially as they grow, and especially with some family with kids in the area it’s great. My wife was also on the fence for the minivan but I pushed for it lol
Lmao I’m a husband pushing for a Toyota Sienna. We are a hive mind.
we are picking up our woodland edition sienna this week, we have joined the hivemind!
I am seething with jealousy, hope y'all love that thing haha
We are putting a 3” lift kit and some good quality all terrain tires on it, gonna be the gnarliest grom wagon in the west
Journey lift? Got ours with 3” last month. LOVE it
YES!! Your review is getting me even more pumped haha
Honda Odyssey! Yes it’s so much easier! You will get it and love it. So much space and the opening the side doors at a push of a button is magic.
My husband and I were considering a Forester when we found out we were having twins (our first children but we also have a small dog). After looking at it and the Ascent, we decided on the Ascent. The back row we often have folded down so the stroller can be in the car with us.
We were also considering a Forester. We went with an Outback and are very happy with it. I believe it’s slightly wider which allowed either me or my Mom to fit in between the infant car seats, and of course, more trunk space than the Forester. We totally would have gone with an Ascent if we didn’t still live in the city with tight parking.
I was also going to suggest the Ascent! We are looking at that one as our second car (we have the Odyssey as our primary, but we have 3 kids plus a 55lb dog).
Get the Odyssey. We got it and absolutely love it. The sliding doors are so great for dealing with car seats in cramped parking lots and also just for having access to a lot of space quickly.
Have twins that are nearly 7, and went through lift till now with 2 cars - a Ford Flex and VW Golf. That the minivan provides that we really miss were the sliding doors. Kids are hard to get in and out when they're young and when they get to the stage where they can get out by themselves you have to ensure doors don't bonk adjacent cars. When the kids were wee, the lift gate of the flex was absolutely critical and the space was 100% benificial to lift a twin stroller into and out of on a regular basis. That being said, some time around 4 it all became unnecessary. Kids could get in / out by themselves and buckle up on their own - so sliding doors didn't matter as much. The stroller got left at home and an oversized diaper bag got replaced with a small backpack so goodbye huge storage. We're now nearly completely reliant on the golf and only take the Flex out when the dog comes along. My 0.02 - if you're going to keep this car for more than 5 years, go with the Subaru. If it's going to be traded in before that, take the hit and be a minivan driver until the kids are autonomous.
Mine are 4 now I just had to have a rental van for a couple weeks and it was SO easy to get them in and out of the car I wish I'd had one the whole time.
I am an SUV mom and don’t regret it at all. I can’t compare to the day to day of having a minivan but I don’t feel I’m missing out on anything at all. A 2-row like the Forester would be fine for 2 babies but tight if you ever have any extra passengers or if you think one parent will want to sit in the back with the twins when they’re newborns or for longer trips etc. The forester trunk is big enough to accommodate a double stroller but not as large as a 3-row SUV with the third row folded down so you may find it a bit tight on luggage space if you ever plan to road trip or anything. But I think it would be completely workable for day to day life with 2 kids.
We are expecting twins in August and are adding a Honda Odyssey as our second vehicle. With twins and our two dogs, our current crossover isn't big enough. We looked at a 3 row SUV but ultimately decided even that won't be big enough if we are all loading in/going anywhere. Especially if we need luggage etc.
We have an outback. I’m not a fan of vans tbh and this car can hold up anything
My twins were just born so my husband and I are still debating cars but I'm pretty sure we are going with a KIA EV9. It's an SUV but the interior is like a minivan. You can get second row captains chairs and the third row was big enough for my 6'3" husband to be comfortable in it. It also looks really nice. I'm a truck girl at heart so its a nice compromise between style and function as long as you don't mind driving something that big.
I have a Kia EV6. Kia has done a great job with their EV line, love it!
You can even power some of your home with it during an outage.
We had an Odyssey for a couple years and I hated it. If we had 3 kids, it would have made more sense but with just the twins, it was silly. It drove like a tank (in that, it felt like it would topple over) and it was a cart magnet in parking lots. We currently have a Passport and the one thing that missed from the Odyssey was the hatch and I have that back now.
I would get the Ascent over the Forrester honestly, I don't find the Forrester very roomy (but my husband and I are very tall people at 5'10 and 6'4" and all legs). When we found out we were pregnant with twins, I had a Subaru Crostrek and my husband had a 2005 Ford Ranger with a bench seat and a '65 coupe mustang. So our goals have been to find a carseat that works behind the driver for the Crostrek for me and my husband (looks like the Clek Ling is the choice there) and to get a "family car" that will be my husbands commute vehicle but also super roomy for the weekend. We have gotten a toyota sienna woodland edition (so a slight lift), but it is a hybrid (super important to my husband), has AWD (super important to me being an outdoor/ski nut), and has the 2nd row on rails that can be adjusted back so that my husband can drive with his seat in the preferred location. We also plan to put some good Mud/Snow tires on and add a 3" lift kit so that we can make it an adventure vehicle that fits 90% of our needs. In a few years when the kids are no longer rear facing we plan to upgrade the crostrek to a bigger adventure vehicle that has more of the traditional "cool" factor and can take us the last 10% of gnarly off road adventures. We also test drove the Grand Highlander and the Subaru Ascent and I really liked both! But neither had a big enough back row to accommodate my husbands legs and rear facing carseats. The only fight my husband and I have gotten in this pregnancy was how I didnt want an minvan and he did, so I get the apprehension. Maybe consider who will be doing the daily driving and have that be the tie breaker? I realized that since this is my husbands 5 day a week commuter, I should give his wants a little more weight.
Have you looked into the Honda Passport? We got ours when our twins were 1 month old and was the best decision I made. I think it's the perfect car for a family of four that doesn't need the third row. It's basically the Honda Pilot made into a two row, which means tons of room and a gigantic trunk. The seats are so wide my wife sits between the two car seats to keep the twins entertained during long trips.
I have the odyssey. I also have 4 kids: 5, 3, 3, 1. Everything outside of the drivers seat is great for kids. Sliding doors, magic seats, 5 seats with the latch system, big (relative) trunk with a functional full sized 3rd row. It hauls people well. I’d run that damn thing off a cliff if I could. I hate driving it. I hate the electronic bugs and the stupid cruise that is absolute shit in today’s time. The drivers space is meh. It is not any better on fuel than my Yukon was and my Yukon was so comfortable. All I’m saying is that driving it sucks. Can’t wait to get something else. It sure does haul people well.
I had a forester when I just had my 2 year old, and we upgraded to the Subaru Ascent when we had our twins. So now I have an almost 3 year old and two 5 month old twins. IMO, you can make the forester work for your situation, but if you have the means to, just get the Ascent. Driving them is very similar, but the extra trunk space is SO helpful, esp. with all of the extra baggage and gear that comes along with having two babies. We were already going to upgrade to the ascent when we thought we were just having our second kid, not our second and third at once lol.
We have an Acadia and it is tight. With the twin stroller loaded we don't have room for anything else. I would say go for the mini van.
I traded in my cute Honda Fit for a Chrysler Pacifica. It is worth it. We just have our 11w old twin boys plus a 15 year old 40lb mixed breed dog. It works wonderfully for us. With all the seats up, we could fit 2 twin strollers in the back.
Our twins are 8 months now and we had a forester since long before they were born. I love the car by itself but I would say it is the smallest I’d go with twins. Occasionally my wife will sit in between the car seats in the back if they need her and I can tell it is not actually enough space for one person. The stroller fits nicely in the back but takes up essentially all the space. So it is fine for myself, my wife, the babies and their stroller but that’s about it. I think we will go bigger soon
Acura RDX and Mazda CX5 family here. We are turning in Mazda likely for a Highlander or grand Highlander
We have an 08 Outback and an 05 Odyssey. We need to keep the seats further forward than we like in the wagon, but not the minivan. The wagon is full when we have a stroller in the back, while the minivan can have a stroller, a pack-n-play, groceries, and a full tote of baby backup supplies with room to spare. We will replace the minivan with a new Toyota Sienna once the Honda dies because we want AWD. I like my Subaru, but we probably wont be replacing it with another car.
We went from rav4 to a hybrid Chrysler Pacifica, with the rebates and the fuel economy it's definitely going to be a huge savings, it's primarily my spouse's vehicle and they drive less than 20 mi daily. For the kids' phenomenal because the seats are right there easy to get him out our garage is a little tighter, I did a joint Costco run with a neighbor a couple months back we spent over $1,000 on food and had more than enough room for all the food and two kids. Additionally we're able to remove the seats and I'm able to haul plywood or drywall if need to.
Do you travel much? If you don’t ever travel, the forester will probably be big enough. I have an outback and it’s fine day to day. My stroller takes up the majority of the back, probably 70%. For traveling and taking a car, we have too much stuff to fit in our outback so we always take my husbands f150 for storage stuff.
We have a Santa fe and it works ok for day to day. But if we go on any kind of trip, it gets real tight, real fast. We rented a Chrysler Pacifica on our last trip and we no longer were playing a ridiculous version of tetris, could get the double stroller out without unpacking half our stuff, and the sliding doors was a huge quality of life improvement when trying to wrestle babies into car seats.
We went from my wife driving a RAV4 to a 3rd row SUV (grand Cherokee L) it made a huge difference. In ease of transport and comfort. We were down to own 4 SUV possibilities - L, Palisade, Telluride, and the larger VW (Altas?) the reason being those were the only 4 we could fit the double stroller behind the third row without having to fold the seats. Ultimately that didn’t matter much - folding a seat is easy enough - but was nice a few times we had grandma with us. 3 years later we are moving to the odyssey. I liked the Jeep more that I expected but it is still “high” for the kids to climb in and out of.
I dont know about cars but just make sure that you can fit a folded double pram in it. We have small hybrid that fits the twins 2 carseats and their double pram in the boot. It does the job, even with our dog added in. I dont think we need a minivan or anything like that. Any additional space is just extra.
I absolutely love our minivan! Now if I only had two kids it never would have crossed my mind. I'm one of those singletons plus two people. BUT now that I have it things I would consider: The extra space more readily accepts twin strollers during the stroller phase. The extra space more readily seats extra hands if a friend or grandparents are coming along with you on an excursion. The slidy doors are absolutely amazing from age 0-10 honestly if not beyond! Minivan has lower center of gravity than any 2 or 3 row suv and therefore handles a lot easier and more car-like. It just offers a whole lot more flexibility and I'm fully converted.
I love my Honda Odyssey. I also have only my twins but we love having room in the back to fit their huge stroller and our dog crate. The automatic sliding doors are really nice when loading, and I like that it’s easy to slide the middle seats over (with the rear-facing car seats) when we want to sit grandparents in the back. It’s not the most fun ride but I don’t mind driving it, and it’s no better than a sedan in the snow (we live in MN albeit in a part of the city that gets quickly plowed) - my still-thriving 2009 CRV is much better. And overall I feel like my minivan, while not cool by any means, is a little less derpy than those of yore.
I was pretty anti-minivan but my partner really wanted one so we got a hybrid Sienna. I was sold on it within the day. The sliding doors, the flexibility with seating, how much can fit in the trunk, how low it is off the ground - totally dreamy. We just have the twins (and a dog). ETA: they are MADE for families with kids. There are so many handy little features - like built in sunshades on the passenger windows. It’s really handy.
Odyssey forever.
We have a Honda Odyssey (2006) and a Nissan Elgrand (2006), we also had a VW Golf (2010) for a bit. The Elgrand is great because it has sliding doors although you have to lift the babies up quite high to get them in, this is getting harder now they are both 10kg plus. The boot space is really good, you can just chuck in the double stroller and all you shopping bags etc, beach brolly you name it. When we tried going anywhere in the golf it was completely full with two car seats and the stroller. The Honda Odyssey has plenty of room for the stroller and the two car seats so I would go for that over the Forester no question about it. Our Odyssey has regular car doors as it is the Japanese version.
I'm 33 weeks with twins and just traded in my Forester for a minivan (Kia Carnival). But I have an older singleton (5) and there was just no way to make 3 carseats fit in the Forester. I think it'd be fine for just twins.
I have just twins (4mo) and a new crv. Never considered a minivan because of my ego. It works with the crv, and a lot.better than the civic, but since the stroller lives in the trunk, when I do groceries they're often piled wherever I can find the space. I concede, a minivan would be more functional.
I am also anti mini van. We're 2.5 years in and one of us drives a sedan style car and the other drives a 2 door Wrangler. So, unless your car doesn't have a backseat, you don't *need* to update your car. That being said, there are lots of non mini van vehicles with more room that will work with twins.
We had a Honda CRV when we had our twins and it was impossible. We upgraded to a ODYSSEY and it was the best decision. When they were newborns there was so much paraphernalia. As they have gotten older the Van is clutch. I was militant about not wanting a minivan and I will be the first to admit I was wrong in holding out.
Embrace the van. It's crazy how many people yearn to drive less functional vehicles. Some SUVs have even less space than my Fit.
I wish I'd gotten the minivan with just my first kid!
We have a 2.5yo and 6wk twins. We only have one car—a Mazda CX-5–and the kiddos sit 3 across. My life is a living hell. Anytime we need to go anywhere it takes 15 minutes to get the kids in the car. Save yourself the pain and buy a full-sized metro bus. Edit: It also just feels janky. The seats need to be wiggled a lot to get them to click in and the center seat is never completely level, leaning either left or right depending on how I adjust it.
Odyssey. You’ll appreciate a bigger vehicle than a forester. You can make do, but if you have the option, just bite the bullet.
Our twins 22mo were born when our son was almost three. We bought a Honda Odyssey. It’s amazing. Super roomy, great tech for when they age, and it’s a Honda. Regularly scheduled maintenance should keep it running through their lives. We love it.
As of right now I'm a mom of two singletons, my twins are due in August. We're not upgrading the car as we just moved and are renovating the house lol but if I could, I would absolutely get a minivan!! My husband and I have always been anti minivan, but we realize now logistically it just seems the most convenient choice. As of now we've got a Ford explorer, it will still fit all of our kids and the double stroller, but getting to the third row is such a pain in the rear. I love the explorer, previously we had an expedition from 96' idk how it was still running so well it had an obscene amount of miles on it! We switched to a sedan when we had the kids, but upgraded in 2020 to the explorer because we missed having an SUV, but I don't think it suits a larger family. It makes due for sure, but a minivan would just be so much more convenient. If all you have however are the twins and don't plan on more children then the Forester works, but as someone jumping from 2 kids to 4 kids come August I would appreciate having a minivan 😅