It’s funny, I remember my friends and myself packing into Volkswagon Rabbits, Honda Civics, and Toyota Corollas. Two adults in front. Three kids in the back.

Those cars have all ballooned in size, but are now considered too small for a family.

There are lots of wonderful fuel-efficient safety-conscious hatchbacks with ample storage space, four doors, and multiple safety seat attachment points.

Thanks for these- I agree that the Highlander redesign is sweet! I also agree about there being minivan mom stigma, but think it’s important to point out that after checking out every possible option to seat 7 or more, I’ve sadly decided that there just aint nothing like a minivan if family hauling is #1 on your list. Much to my chagrin and embarasment, we are the proud owners of a new Odyssey, which I have to admit I secretly love (despite having to wear dark glasses while driving it).

I think these reviews overlook some key features for parents of younger children, such as number of seating positions with carseat LATCH anchors (and/or number of seats where you can put a carseat, with or without LATCH), closer sliding seats for access to small children in the second row, and hands-free doors and ease of entrance for wee ones with short legs. For example, despite it’s awesome new profile, expanded third row, and greener hybrid option, Highlander has no LATCH in the 3rd row, and even with seatbelts it’s doubtful you could fit more than one car seat back there (probably a forward facing one). That row also doesnt split, like most good minivan 3rd rows do, so if you have a carseat back there, (which is necessary if you have 3 or more kids in carseats or boosters) you’ll have to take it out every time you need even a little extra cargo room. There’s also no way in hades that my toddler could climb up into that SUV by himself, which sounds minor but is key when I’ve got a newborn in my arms too. Maybe I’m just focused on this because my kiddos are younger and will be in carseats for the foreseeable future, but I’d add those kinds of considerations when determining how “family friendly” a vehicle is for my family!