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Bored? Help us choose a car :)
We are trading in my Jeep Grand Cherokee for something more fuel efficient. I drive all city to work and I'm averaging 16 mpg in my Jeep. We aren't sure if we necessarily need an SUV. I think it would be nice to get another one for the winter driving (we live in IL) and if we have a baby in the next couple years the extra room would be nice. The fuel efficient SUV's we are looking at are 2013 Ford Escape & 2013 Mazda CX-5.
But, do we need all that room right now? Probably not. And people with kids drive cars all the time and I drove a Ford Focus in winter conditions for 7 years before we bought the Jeep. We like the Chevy Cruze, Mazda3 and possibly Ford Focus.
We are stumped and are probably going Saturday to test drive. What are your thoughts? Moms - do you feel you need a lot of cargo space with a little one/toddler? The car we purchase we will have for quite awhile.
Also, if you have any of the mentioned cars above, what are your opinions of them?
Sorry this was longer than I expected. 
Re: Bored? Help us choose a car :)
DH drives a Ford Escape and I drive a Mazda Tribute (which is basically the same car as the Escape- built on the same platform), and we really like them both. Size-wise, they're good because we can cram a lot of stuff in there, but we don't feel like we're driving a bus and they're a little more fuel efficient than a bigger SUV would be.
Overall, I'd say we've been happier with the Mazda than the Ford from a maintenance standpoint. The Mazda has more miles but has needed less maintenance (hardly anything besides routine stuff, and I've had it for almost 6 years with close to 100k miles on it). I drove a Ford Focus for 6 years before I got the Mazda, and had problem after problem with it, so I'm not big on Ford in general- but I know a lot of people love them.
I can't speak to the kids thing yet, but I feel like when this baby gets here, we will have plenty of room in either of our vehicles. We do plan on getting something with a 3rd row seat option for our next vehicle (I currently have my eye on the Mazda CX-9), but we're likely going to drive mine into the ground so hopefully it will be at least another year or two before we cross that bridge.
It's not on your list, but have you looked at the Ford Fusion? I really love mine. It's more roomy than the Focus without being a big car. I can fit TONS of junk in mine, and the back seat is big enough for 3 carseats.
Mine's almost 5 years old and gets an average of 25mpg. I've also never had an issue with it in the snow.
Kate's Recipe Box || Relatively Bookish
Ryan drives a 2004 Mazda6 and we haven't had any problems with it besides regular maintenance (knock on wood). When we bought the Jeep, we sold my Focus to my in-law's and they've had nothing but problems with it since although, it was worry free for me and I never had to do any maintenance other than the regular oil changes, etc.
I loved my Mazda 3, buy found it tough with the baby. Hard to get the carseat in and out and it would only fit in the middle seat with both front seats needing to be further forward than we liked. Love the car, but not the greatest fit for a family.
I drive a Kia Sorento now and I really like it. It's decent on gas.
As I Prius owner, it would work fine for older kids, but not more than one reverse-facing carseat. You could do one reverse and one forward convertible, but it would be tight. We know because of the dogs that once we go to two kids, we will need a different car. Thought we have done 5 adults and 3 kids in a Prius before - that was... interesting.
The Prius V might be a better carseat option, I have looked at it but just briefly and wasn't thinking about carseats at the time.
But you really can't beat the fuel economy on the Prius... we average 50 MPG, and can get it up to 100 MPG on flat stretches of highway. Yes, really.
While we love T's Mazda3 and my Corolla, I think it's going to be a pretty tight fit, even with just one baby, by the time #2 comes along, we will definitely be needing something bigger. The infant seat fits okay in my Corolla right now in the middle seat, but even just practicing getting it in and out of the car it's a bit of a pain, and the seats need to be further up than we would like, especially the passenger side. We haven't put the seat in the Mazda yet, but I'm sure it will be the same. Also, with my B-Agile in the trunk, there's not a whole lot of room left for other things like groceries or if we go on a road trip. The B-Agile isn't even a huge stroller either, it's pretty compact. No way can I get my BOB in the trunk without taking off the wheels.
Both cars have been great though, with no issues aside from regular maintenance, and both get great gas mileage.