My wife and I are expecting twins and i love how the srt8 jeep looks and am thinking of pulling the trigger on one as our family vehicle.....good idea or not? please state why. (room between second row and front seats seems a bit tight IMO)
Jeep SRT8=Ideal for family?
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There's quite a few guys on here who have a couple baby seats. I think they've said some seats offer more room than others. Hopefully they will chime in with some details for you.
thanks for the input. We havent had a chance to test fit two baby seats in one, however if anyone does have experiance with that scenario (two baby seats in the second row of your jeep srt8), please let me know if there is decent room between the baby seats for your spouse to sit in.
Honestly....it's tough.
My wife drives ours with my 18 month old. But it's because she's forward facing. When she was rear racing it was a PITA because the only place we could fit the seat was in the middle. With twins coming i don't know how you're going to fit two rear facing baby seats without the people in the front being pretty cramped. Also, the trunk while adequite is not large at all. I couldn't imagine going away for a night w the kids with that small a trunk.
When we have our next kid my wife will be taking back the 4runner because it's just bigger. Then i get the jeep back :-D
My wife drives ours with my 18 month old. But it's because she's forward facing. When she was rear racing it was a PITA because the only place we could fit the seat was in the middle. With twins coming i don't know how you're going to fit two rear facing baby seats without the people in the front being pretty cramped. Also, the trunk while adequite is not large at all. I couldn't imagine going away for a night w the kids with that small a trunk.
When we have our next kid my wife will be taking back the 4runner because it's just bigger. Then i get the jeep back :-D
I'm assuming wk1... IMO they are to small of a suv to be considered family friendly. Its the actually the only gripe I have with the jeep. I didn't realize how small the back seat room was until I got home and buckled in my 5yr w/ booster seat. If i would have looked back the killer looks and aggresive stance and actually thought about it, I would have passed on it aand probably bought a magnum srt. We take the wifes suv when we go out with the family.
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I have two booster and one car seat and they just fit
If they are rear facing you might have a problem, I think they might make you have to push up the front seat too far but I never had any in the Jeep
I've taken plenty of long weekend trips with my wife & three kids with no problem as long as everyone packs a reasonable amount of stuff. No strollers though
If they are rear facing you might have a problem, I think they might make you have to push up the front seat too far but I never had any in the Jeep
I've taken plenty of long weekend trips with my wife & three kids with no problem as long as everyone packs a reasonable amount of stuff. No strollers though
Haven't been in mine terribly long, but i'll make a general comment on safety.... this thing handles so well in rain and various road conditions. Recently I had a guy run me off the interstate... if I was driving an avg SUV I would've probably flipped or blew out the tires. Truck brakes and handles better than anything. I run my 3 yr old around everyday and don't think twice about it. It's not the biggest vehicle inside, but it suites me well.
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I have one rear facing car seat installed on the passenger side. The passenger seat has to be moved forward to what looks like an uncomfortably close distance to the dash. BUT I have had some big guys ride in the front passenger seat and they can fit. My wife has no problems. I never tried it behind me in the drivers side, but it is probably do-able.
One piece of advice: rear facing is way safer than forward facing for the kiddos. I plan to have mine rear facing until she is at least 2 years old and longer if her weight/height still support it. So if having the Jeep is going to make you flip the kids to forward facing earlier, you may want to look at something else. I can't stand the idea of my little daughter getting whiplash in an accident.
As for the rear cargo area. It is adequate but not huge. One of those big modular strollers that integrate with the baby seat eats up a big chunk of the room. Plus diaper bags, etc and it fills up fast and that is with one kid. You'll have double the stuff. The bottom line is that the Jeep will probably work, but won't necessarily be the optimum solution.
One piece of advice: rear facing is way safer than forward facing for the kiddos. I plan to have mine rear facing until she is at least 2 years old and longer if her weight/height still support it. So if having the Jeep is going to make you flip the kids to forward facing earlier, you may want to look at something else. I can't stand the idea of my little daughter getting whiplash in an accident.
As for the rear cargo area. It is adequate but not huge. One of those big modular strollers that integrate with the baby seat eats up a big chunk of the room. Plus diaper bags, etc and it fills up fast and that is with one kid. You'll have double the stuff. The bottom line is that the Jeep will probably work, but won't necessarily be the optimum solution.
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Here's OurZoo's Jeep with his little munchkin in the back
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Thanks for all the input guys, I appreciate your honesty in this matter. We drove a 08 jeep and were concerned with the room between the rear bench and fwd seats plus the trunk was a bit cramped if looking at a twin stroller. Darn! Lol
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Here are some picks from earlier this year when we still had an infant seat, toddler seat and a booster.
http://www.cherokeesrt8.com/forums/showpost.php?p=683431&postcount=29
I never took any pics when we moved to two boosters and one rear facing toddler seat. The rear facing toddler seat is the worst as it will only fit in the middle (no matter how far you try to move the passenger seat forward). Our little boy is bigger now and we have him forward facing and still in the middle.
I actually bought my Jeep last summer after our third child was born as I needed (wanted) a vehicle that met my high performance needs and could still fit three car seats (can't fit three safely in in most sedans, as a I traded my C32 for that reason). The Jeep is my version of the family car and I leave my wife to driving her van (RS 4 is for limited kid use - two or less at a time). So one baby car seat is not a problem and a combination of three baby/child seats are a fit as well. I have made several 500+ mile (each way) trips with the family of 5 and even one 1100+ mile (each way) trip.
I am sorry to say that I would think with twins this could be a problem as you have the potential for two rear facing toddler seats at some point.
http://www.cherokeesrt8.com/forums/showpost.php?p=683431&postcount=29
I never took any pics when we moved to two boosters and one rear facing toddler seat. The rear facing toddler seat is the worst as it will only fit in the middle (no matter how far you try to move the passenger seat forward). Our little boy is bigger now and we have him forward facing and still in the middle.
I actually bought my Jeep last summer after our third child was born as I needed (wanted) a vehicle that met my high performance needs and could still fit three car seats (can't fit three safely in in most sedans, as a I traded my C32 for that reason). The Jeep is my version of the family car and I leave my wife to driving her van (RS 4 is for limited kid use - two or less at a time). So one baby car seat is not a problem and a combination of three baby/child seats are a fit as well. I have made several 500+ mile (each way) trips with the family of 5 and even one 1100+ mile (each way) trip.
I am sorry to say that I would think with twins this could be a problem as you have the potential for two rear facing toddler seats at some point.
If you want room, get a Yukon or a Tahoe (maybe other brands, I don't know). We traded a Yukon (non XL) in on the Jeep and the Jeep is tiny inside. This became painfully obvious when packing for vacation. We wanted the Jeep performance and didn't absolutely need the Yukon room. The Yukon was really a much nicer vehicle than the Jeep but obviously the Jeep has it on performance and handling. When the time comes for the Jeep to go, it will be back to some other SUV as I'm not paying the WK2 price. If they made a performance version of the Yukon or Tahoe, I'd jump the Jeep ship in a second.
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Let me point out that some of this is specific to which kid seats you have. I currently have 1 toddler rear facing seat (the big mothers). Cobraz experience is his didn't fit anywhere but the middle. Mine DOES fit on the passenger side and I have had people over 6' and over 300 lbs ride in the front passenger seat with it installed. Would they probably want to do a 500 mile trip that way, I'd guess not, but it is doable and for my wife - she's got plenty of room (5' tall). Putting one behind my driver's seat would not be optimal, but if I really had to make it work, I'll bet it would (I'm 6'3").
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That is incredible that you have a 6' 300 lb guy with a rear facing seat. Please post a photo of that!
I have 6,3 and 1 month old. The rearward facing one fits perfect in the middle between the two booster seats.
That obviously won't work for you with the twins. I have the graco Metro Lite (Which I recommend to due lightweight) and unless you are under 6', you would be tight with one behind you. The easiest test is to bring the car seat to the dealer and check it out.
Remember, an airbag can kill you if you're too close, just cause you can "fit" doesn't mean it's safe.
Otherwise I think it's a great family car. Fits lots of cargo in the back compared to Camry or something like that. All weather handling and braking is amazing. And for all the other times you don't have the kids....You have a Jeep SRT8 damn it. If that doesn't answer the question...I don't know what does! LOL...
Good luck and Congrats on the new additions!
I have 6,3 and 1 month old. The rearward facing one fits perfect in the middle between the two booster seats.
That obviously won't work for you with the twins. I have the graco Metro Lite (Which I recommend to due lightweight) and unless you are under 6', you would be tight with one behind you. The easiest test is to bring the car seat to the dealer and check it out.
Remember, an airbag can kill you if you're too close, just cause you can "fit" doesn't mean it's safe.
Otherwise I think it's a great family car. Fits lots of cargo in the back compared to Camry or something like that. All weather handling and braking is amazing. And for all the other times you don't have the kids....You have a Jeep SRT8 damn it. If that doesn't answer the question...I don't know what does! LOL...
Good luck and Congrats on the new additions!
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The WK1 is too small for two rear facing infant seats. One fits fine in the middle.
When we had our 2nd I had to buy a new car seat, so that I could fit the infant seat in the middle.
I would buy a larger SUV with two infant car seats, i.e. Tahoe or Wk2.
When we had our 2nd I had to buy a new car seat, so that I could fit the infant seat in the middle.
I would buy a larger SUV with two infant car seats, i.e. Tahoe or Wk2.
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Now here's a question for me lol.
Bought my 08' in May. I have a 3 year old and a soon to be 7 month old. First I bought the jeep because I can only afford 1 vehicle and it has to be big/heavy enough to be safe for my family and of bourse it has to satisfy my need for performance. Easy decision for me. In all honesty the back seats are tight and fitting in a rear facing seat it very hard unless it's in the middle. Which btw is where the kids should be to be safest anyway. My son and daughter fit snugly with my daughter the 7 mo old in the middle, so it's not bad. We also have a double stroller and it fits no problem, get an inline one, it takes less room. But again, it's tight and it's a compromise but it still works for me. Besides, in no time both your kids will be forward facing anyway and it will be no problem.
As for the Yukon idea? Lol my wife drives an 04' Yukon SLT (not the XL) IMO JGC SRT8 is the only way to go and like I said once the kids are front facing (not a long wait btw) you are fine. Especially if you have another vehicle that will work in a pinch.
My 2 cents and I love my Jeep!
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Btw they make a performance version.... It's called the Trailblazer SS lol
I find our 04 SLT Yukon, bigger yes, nicer vehicle? Hell no. The Yukon steers like a boat and has a much softer bouncy ride, it's very slow of course but it can actually tow, handle more cargo and do a typical "SUV" job. If that's what you want then great but the performance is insane. I totally love my Jeep.
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