So after many discussions with my wife and reading her all the posts, we are now to 60/40 on the RDX versus the G35. I can't tell you how much everyone's input has meant and all of your advice and well wishes. I have an appointment on Saturday to do a final drive on the RDX. (I wish I could get the FX35, but the price point is higher than my budget. And the Murano is nice, but we liked the RDX better). I'm hoping that I come to peace with the RDX, but I just can't seem to let go of the G!

The one thing that I probably didn't mention (and the thing that is nagging the back of my mind) is that neither my wife nor I use a car on a daily basis. We live in downtown Chicago and my wife walks a 1/2 block to the train and is three stops away from work. I'm a virtual worker and just go away to client sites to do consulting or work from home. So our current '97 Nissan gets about 2 trips a week. Once to run some errands, and maybe once to eat out or see my bro 20 miles away. But most times we walk or take public transportation. The supermarket is one block away, five blocks to the nicer supermarket. Whole Foods is coming this summer and will be five blocks away. Target is three blocks away, so we rarely drive anywhere. Weekend trips to Iowa/Michigan could be rental cars instead of driving the G. Or I could just suffer and pack everything in the trunk. We are city dwellers that are looking for some semblance of luxury and fun while having twins that will turn our lives upside down. Our daycare will be around the corner, or we are going with a nanny. I'm five blocks from Lake Michigan and three blocks from Grant Park, so there is plenty of places to walk and take the kids without ever driving anywhere.

Listen to me trying to justify this car! I must be a nut bag to think I can handle twins with this car. And, once I move out of the city and turn into a commuter...then what?

Once again, thank you for all your help, advice, and well wishes. I'll let you know my final decision, but I've gone from getting the G to being talked out of it, to 80/20 for the RDX and now back to 60/40 RDX. Hopefully I'll love the mini-SUV and never look back. This decision is harder than buying my damn home, changing jobs, and getting married!

This forum is great!

P.S. The 20 week ultra sound is on Friday. Hopefully the little brats cooperate and let us see the sexes.

 

Take the double stroller to the dealer and see how well it fits in the trunk/cargo area of anything you're considering. The RDX doesn't have the largest cargo area, either.

If you're inclined to the G at all, I'm not so sure an SUV is your best bet. Two cars you might want to consider are the Subaru Outback (or Legacy if you're not stuck on a stick) and the Mazda6 hatchback (wagon no longer available with a stick). You'll have more cargo room in either of those than in the RDX, and they handle better.

If you can find a dealer that has a leftover 2006 Mazda6 wagon with a stick, you'll be able to steal it.

I have three kids. We used to have an Olds Intrigue we used for travelling. We could fit the double stroller, pay-and-play inside that trunk without too much of a problem. But I think it's trunk was larger than the G's.

 

I see. If you don't mind the trouble of getting a rental car for weekend trips, then I suppose a G35 can work as long as you can make all the baby equipment fit in the trunk.

How soon do you need to get a new car? Would it help your decision if you wait until a couple of months after the twins are born? Then, you may have a different perspective or other factors to consider on what may or may not work for you.

Good luck in your choice of car and also on your upcoming twins!!

 

Good point. One popular car that friends of mine who don't like SUVs get, but want a good amount of room, is the Volv XC70. Nice car, plenty of room, though you want to review its reliability statistics. All the Volvo safety features might be more relatively important now that you'll be having kids...

 

Get the G. It is a great car.

My wife and I currently have an 07 G as our only car and have two children (3 yrs and 8 months). Yes, the trunk is not huge and at times fitting everything in can be tight, but it has worked alright for us. (Our previous car was an 03 Maxima - which was slightly larger (but not much).)

I know what it is like with the baby/kid paraphenalia - I think we have 5 strollers in the garage (single, double, jogger, umbrella, chariott/bike trailer), but unless you plan on using the car for regular, long family trips, I think it works OK. I am convinced that people generally right-size their lifestyle to what they've got - if we only had a Honda Civic - we would make it work - and if we had a Ford Excursion - we would probably find a way to use every bit of space inside.

I drove a couple of SUVs (including the RDX and FX) prior to buying and found that they just were not me. Furthermore, with the exception of the Volvo XC90 that I drove, most didn't really seem have that much extra room inside vs the G.

I was concerned about fitting the strollers in the car - my final trip to the dealership was with the stroller in tow to make sure that I could get it in. Again, while sometimes a bit tight - they do fit (including the massive double stoller). (The trick with these strollers is to put them in upside down - with the wheels facing up - they fit 100x easier that way - I can't believe it took me two years to figure that one out!) When we are headed somewhere for the weekend, I can fit a big hockey bag at the back of the trunk, the double stroller in the front and then fit other things in around the stroller. It has worked fine so far.

We will probably add a second vehicle sometime over the next year - a Mazda 6 wagon (or something similar) seems like a good second car (with a bit more utility that the G). If we take a long vacation where we are going to drive somewhere - I will probably rent a full size SUV for the week.

Good luck with your search.