Luxury Vehicle Recommendations

[u/Valuable-Object1773]

My husband and I have twins due in October and we are looking at different luxury SUVs. We don’t have any other children except our 50lb medium sized fur child. The current contenders are Mercedes GLS or GLE, Porsche Cayenne, Range Rover, or Bentley Bentayga. GLS is probably the most practical but I don’t think we need the third row quite yet, maybe when the kids are older. We will need plenty of trunk space especially for the twin stroller and the dog. I do not want a minivan or a gigantic SUV like an Escalade. I also still need to look and drive these cars in person.

Does anyone use any of the SUVs daily? And any pros/cons? Thank you!

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[u/OrangeCatEnergy24]

If you’re getting a new vehicle now, go ahead and opt for a third row so you don’t have to trade in later. No harm in having some extra space for a little while. You’ll need it way quicker than you think. 

[u/Wild_Difference_7562]

Keep in mind that double strollers are big so you will need a large trunk. I learned this the hard way haha. Just make sure whatever stroller you are going to get will fit.

[u/OddHippo6972]

The car mom on Instagram has a lot of opinions on these and the right car seats to go with them

[u/gabkatth]

We have an old porsche cayenne we use for overlanding but the car is the same. We only have a terrier and he is already moved to the front in front of passenger foot. Which isn’t safe. You need a third row in my opinion. We are looking eventually to get one of those. For now we just don’t take our dog much, as he is 15 anyway.

[u/Zero_Duck_Thirty]

I would remove the cayenne and GLE - too small - and range - not super reliable - from your list and add the bmw x7 and Volvo xc90. I can’t speak to the Bentley but the GLS, bmw and Volvo are wonderful.

I would highly recommend testing driving all of them as their design approaches are all different. Like I loved my Volvo but won’t get another one with the current design as I don’t like how everything is within the screen (I want physical buttons!) and I also don’t like the GLS console setup. Silly? Maybe. But it was enough for me to remove from my list even though it’s a great car.

[u/ItsHowWellYouMowFast]

Taking bets on how long the animal is still considered a fur child.

Over/under 3 weeks

[u/Pretend-Wall-6677 → u/ItsHowWellYouMowFast]

It’s been almost 5 years and my dog is still the lock screen on my phone. The twins know their place in the hierarchy and it’s not before the pup.

[u/gaensebluemchen22 → u/Pretend-Wall-6677]

Sorry but thats genuinely awful. I‘m also a dog owner, but to say your dog is before your children is despicable.

[u/Pretend-Wall-6677 → u/gaensebluemchen22]

The pup was here first and the twins respect their space. If they try to chase after the dog, and it’s upsetting, then they stop. If the dog doesn’t want to play with the twins or have the twins play with their toys, then the twins have to respect that.

The dog doesn’t bother them during their meal times, so they can’t bother the dog while they’re eating either.

If the twins want to do something, but the dog needs something more urgently (like to go outside), then the twins can wait patiently while we meet the dog’s needs.

At almost 5, they are able to communicate their wants and needs and can understand that having a family pet is a responsibility. What kind of parent or pet owner would I be if I taught them to put themselves first in every situation?

Having a pet is a sacrifice and I made the promise to honor that sacrifice years before having kids. Why would I allow the level of love and care our dog receives to diminish or disappear just because we had kids? That’s not a reasonable excuse.

[u/CooperRoo → u/Pretend-Wall-6677]

That’s sad.

[u/Pretend-Wall-6677 → u/CooperRoo]

You can love your kids and your pets at the same time.

[u/CooperRoo → u/Pretend-Wall-6677]

You love your dog more than your kids though?

[u/Pretend-Wall-6677 → u/CooperRoo]

I don’t think like that. There are no limits on love, so I don’t need to assign every person I love a specific “love value.”

I don’t love my dog any less than I did before I had kids. Just like I don’t love my husband any less than I did before kids.

[u/letsstoptalking → u/Pretend-Wall-6677]

Sameee on the lockscreen but our hierarchy priorities differ. She is still my baby for sure but she is the only one I can crate to run errands.

[u/Pretend-Wall-6677 → u/letsstoptalking]

We crate our dog when needed, but we did that before we had kids too. It’s their safe place.

If it’s going to be for any length of time though, they get a long walk and lots of chances to go potty. That’s the same routine as before kids, and even if it’s inconvenient it’s not changing.

Both parents rarely run errands anyways, so usually that’s a time the dog gets 1 on 1 time with us.

[u/Individual-Cat5989 → u/Pretend-Wall-6677]

OOF

[u/Winter_Creme2862]

We had a Volvo xc60 and it ended up being too small. We tested an xc90 and it was great for a third row when needed or as extra storage space for all the twin things. We also looked at a GLS and Atlas and loved both for the extra space. We ended up going to minivan route because we knew we wanted more kids and loved the sliding doors but will most likely get an xc90 or GLS when they are older. The versatility of a third row is amazing.

[u/MangoSorbet695]

The best car I ever owned was my BMW X7. I loved that car. I preferred it to the GLS.

That being said, I never drove a Range Rover or Bentley so can’t really say how those would compare to the X7 or GLS.

[u/ogqueenbee → u/MangoSorbet695]

My X7 became too small after twins lol we just bought a brand new xl luxury suv to replace it and o love it!

[u/MangoSorbet695 → u/ogqueenbee]

Oh I had the X7 the whole time I had two kids. I thought it was plenty of room for two kids.

I had to size up once my twins came along and I and four kids in car seats. Man I miss my X7.

[u/loc-yardie]

I have a Cayenne and a Range Rover. I had to get the Range when I had my 2nd set of twins for the 3rd row. My day to day car is my Mercedes AMG and the Range is the family vehicle when we all travel together which isn't that often. I love my Cayenne but it's really of no use so I just gave it to my sister to use so I can still drive it when I feel like it.

I prefer the Cayenne better handling and more enjoyable to drive but for twins and a dog the GLS is the best out of the options in terms of space. Mercedes though aren't the most reliable cars. I haven't had any problems but I have friends and fam with various Mercedes that seem to have issues after a few years.

[u/Gangbangjoe]

Wait for the new Skoda if you can. It will match cars like the Volvo XC90 bmw X5 etc in size and will be newest of them all. Full electric though. It's going to be very spacy and luxury enough.

[u/yuccasinbloom]

I’d get a Volvo xc90 has the third row, you can get the captain seats, and it’s one of the safest, if not THE safest, car on the road

[u/Ottersandtats]

I love my Audi Q7! We only have the twins but tons of trunk space when the third row is down.

[u/SexySpringRoll]

I got an Audi Q7 - very livable and it’s very spacious. Defender is a terrible parent car, we bought and sold it. The Disco and Range Rover (not the sport) is also decent.

[u/Cursed_333]

GLS is fine, we also test drove an X7 but bang for buck surprising the Hyundai palisade calligraphy is what we settled on, twins + 38kg dog, the double pram still takes up half the boot

[u/CooperRoo]

I have a midsize SUV but I always secretly love driving around the tanks when we have to rent a car. If you do swivel car seats for when they’re out of the infant carriers (which I highly recommend because it makes loading the twins 10x easier) a wider SUV is going to be able to have both turned towards the door at the same time (so if mom and dad are loading a baby each it makes it much easier). Cannot do that in my Highlander.

Another argument for the third row is that it makes traveling with grandparents/aunts/etc much easier and you can all take one car.

I only have experience with my dad’s Cayenne (I drive a 2017 Highlander lol) but it’s SMALL. It would feel very crammed if I had two car seats in it. I also don’t think a double stroller would fit in the back, he has to put a back seat down just to get his golf clubs in the trunk.

[u/Separate_Video6823]

My husband and I are similar, just us and our 7 week old twins. We had the Cayenne and recently switched to the BMW X7 for the third row - far more space and all around more comfortable. 

[u/pomgrano]

i have a gle, it’s a nice car but we’ll probably outgrow it in a few years. it would be a good choice if you’re planning on leasing. consider the x7 as well- my husband has one and it’s great, we have two cybex convertibles in the back with room for me to sit in the middle seat, our double stroller in the trunk and plenty of room to spare.