Trade Tacoma for Highlander?

I have one forward and one rear facing in my double cab. The rear facing is behind the passenger. No way would I have it behind the driver’s seat.

I’m baffled why you wouldn’t consider the 4Runner. Hands down the better choice.

 

Wife has a 16 T4R and I fucking love that thing. Go T4R you won’t regret it!

 

The Sienna xle looks interesting. Don’t know shit about it, though

 

Current Sienna has been around since 2010. Its due for a redesign.

 

Guy won't buy a 4Runner due to MPG, and you are suggesting TUNDRA? LOL

 

I regularly have had 3 full car seats in mine. They were all front facing. The kids have all graduated into booster seats now though. When I traded my 16 for my 17, the first thing I did was the pool noodle mod on the seat belt buckles to hold them up. I did the same thing on my 16. It makes it a lot easier for the kids to buckle and not have to dig in the seats for the buckles underneath the booster seats.

 

Having forward facing is waaaaay different than rear facing in a Taco.

 

Congrats! I haven't tried to put a car seat in the Taco and I can only imagine how tight two would be. My mom had a highlander years ago. She liked it and it seemed like a good mix of ride quality, space, and fuel economy. Not the best in any of those categories but good enough.

Good luck

 

99.9% rear facing will have to go in the middle of back seat, or hope either you or your wife is reeaaaallly short

 

I vote 4runner. Yes, the gas mileage is worse than the highlander, but not terrible. The runner is capable off road, like the Tacoma. It is body on frame with good ground clearance, so it rides more trucky and good tow capacity. The highlander is more car like and unibody. Test drive both to see which vehicle suits you better. The runner can have 3rd row seats too.

 

My wife averages 19mpg in her T4R 4wd SR5 Premium. I can assure you she ain’t easy on the throttle either.

 

Yup, I’m getting that too and drive it pretty aggressive sometimes.

 

You don't buy a Tacoma or a 4Runner for gas mileage but because they are awesome.

 

I can honestly say when it comes time to upgrade the wife to a new vehicle, I don’t give a damn we are keeping her T4R and my Tundra.

 

Right decision is a Land Cruiser or to wear a condom

 

Ha Ha Ha I actually lol'ed when I read this comment.

On a more serious note, I have a 5 year old and a 7month old and we fit in the dcsb really well. Infact we sometimes take the tacoma instead of my wife's 2014 dodge durango(3 rows) on longer trips when we know we will have alot of stuff to take with us. I put the rear facing in the middle and the booster on one of the sides.

Also, have you considered other options such as an F150 or Tundra? The back seats have so much room you could easily put 3 rear facing seats, and you still get to have a truck.

 

Rear-facing is rough in any vehicle. We had a Chrysler Town and country when the kids were younger and the seat in the middle row on the passenger side made the front passenger eat the dash.

 

We had an '05 4Runner--loved it but sold it to go overseas. When we came back ready to buy another SUV I really wanted another 4Runner but it was going to be the wife's daily so we test drove them both and she hated the truck-like bounce of the 4Runner and we got the highlander and since had a baby.

Some nice things about the Highlander: we lived in AZ (and now in CO) so the extra HVAC vents/rear climate zone is a huge bonus to keep the kiddo comfortable, and he has overhead vents too (my T4R didn't have). The nav system is a lot bigger/better but the glare on at passenger-side sunsets sucks. The third row was a help when the in-laws were visiting. The leg room on the Highlander is ridiculously good--we have the car seat and store all of his diaper bag, baby backpack, etc on the floor in front of him. The middle row seats recline or move fore/aft which is something else the 4runner didn't do. We have the retractable mesh window shades to help with the sun (small bonus) and you can have 2nd row captains chairs if that's your thing. I haven't compared them side-by-side but test a baby carrier in and out of both to see about seat-height and door opening size--after 1000x cycles that might make a difference to you or your wife.

I still have an emotional response every time I see a 4Runner but the Highlander makes a lot more sense as our family car...which is why I'm looking at a Tacoma right now to replace my WRX...sigh...

 

My last company car was a 16 highlander xle awd. I really liked it, tons of room and very comfortable. It only averaged 18mpgs but I drive very aggressive. I am thinking about buying my wife a highlander hybrid next year. It seemed much more roomy and comfortable than the 4runner but if you ever have to go off-road the 4runner would be the much better choice.