Best Mid-Size SUV's (for a family of 5)
This post is sponsored by Kelley Blue Book on behalf of Everywhere Agency; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I swear I’ve been pregnant for like 30 years now. Okay, that’s unrealistic because I’m only 29 years old but this pregnancy just seems to be going so slow. To think I’ve still got three months left is crazy to me but with the holidays and the baby prep and the shopping that needs to get done before he gets here, I am sure it will fly by.
So one-by-one, I’m checking things off of my list and here’s what’s next:
Car shopping.
So this is totally not a 100% necessity. I guess at this point, it’s more of a “want to have” rather than a “need to have” as we prep for baby. And I’ll tell you why.
We road trip a decent amount. My family lives in Northern California and since we like to bring Baxter with us as much as possible, we typically end up driving (instead of flying) up to my dad’s house for quick weekends, holidays and such. My husband and I in the front, Ava in her car seat on the side in the back and Baxter lays next to her on the two remaining seats. Oh yeah, and of course the trunk is filled to the brim with gifts and luggage and baby gear (you get it). But with another baby and another car seat, that leaves Baxter with a very minuscule amount of space, in between two car seats. (Mind you, Baxter is an 80lb Boxer pup.)
Not fun for him. Not fun at all.
Moral of the story: We would love to upgrade my current 5-seater Ford Edge to something with a third row. That way, we’ve got more space for everyone.
Our Car Must-Haves:
safety (of course we want a safe car)
size (we don’t want massive but we want that third row so I think a mid-size SUV is perfect for us)
style (of course we want to love the look)
dependability (we purchase all of our cars and never lease so long-lasting and dependable is definitely on our list of must-haves)
price (of course, we have a budget for this)
So I had no clue where to start on this car research. So many cars and so many models and styles and it’s just an overwhelming task, to say the least. So I did a little Googling to start out and came across the Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards for 2019. And these lists are such a lifesaver! They are separated into category and size (compact, mid-size, minivan, truck, SUV’s of all sizes) and browsing through these lists, I discovered so many things I wouldn’t have even thought of on my own — cargo space, driving ease, foldable seats, width of seats.
The Kelley Blue Book awards are the culmination of a year-long regimen of expert vehicle evaluation and testing of nearly every new vehicle available in America, along with analysis of a broad swath of vehicle-related data, including vehicle pricing/transaction prices, 5-Year Cost to Own data (which includes depreciation, insurance, maintenance, financing, fuel, fees and taxes for new cars), consumer reviews and ratings, and vehicle sales/retail sales information. Of more than 300 new-car models available for 2019, Kelley Blue Book’s expert editors initially narrowed the field to a few dozen Best Buy Award contenders in 15 categories, and then spent several weeks testing and evaluating all the finalists head-to-head to ultimately determine the winners.
Kelley Blue Book was the perfect place to start our “Best Mid-Size SUV” research and to get me thinking about all of the wants and needs that are best for our family. And if you want to find the perfect car for your family, find out the value of your car for a trade-in or personal sale or to explore car comparisons and features, Kelley Blue Book has got us all covered.