I didn’t even think about a stroller. I was just thinking of the carseat! Oops.
Ok definitely lots to think about. Thank you again, everyone!
One or two of my nieces with now toddlers bought Nissan Rogues and their baby gear for nicely in it—stroller, 2 car seats and room to spare. Haven’t hear any complaints from them. Since it’s a SUV you sit up higher and can see better to drive among minivans, other suvs and high vehicles.
My work colleague has a Volvo SUV, I think the middle sized one and she complains that a rear facing car seat in the back makes the front passenger seat very uncomfortable because it has to be all the way up and upright.
Well that wouldn’t do since Mr R and I are both in the 6’ range.
The Prius V’s gas mileage is significantly lower than the other Prius models. The difference is the battery in the V is heavier and the V is about 4" taller, both of which take mpg down to ~42. (We have a Prius 3, and I get 60 mpg.) We had originally thought we’d get a Prius V, but the lower mileage on the 2017 was a dealbreaker. It’s not THAT much bigger, either.
My youngest brother had a 1989 Accord that had 623,000 miles on it when he SOLD it in 2013 for $1500 to someone else.
My son is a bit over 6 feet tall and the Prius has been fine for that. He also moved an impressive amount of stuff from our house to his apartment in Virginia!
The problem is that a rear facing infant seat commonly restricts the adjustment of the seat in front of it, so that it may not be comfortable for some people. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be an obviously findable list of lengths of rear facing infant seats, so that parents or prospective parents may have a hard time figuring out which ones will fit and restrict the adjustability of the front seat less than others.
@romanigypsyeyes – do you have any friends who have babies? You might just want to stop by to see just how much stuff they need to haul in the car and how much space it occupies. I would go larger than you think you need because you may want to go away for a weekend, and then have to add luggage to the baby gear. Good luck!
@CT1417 My SIL does! I talked to her last night about how much she usually brings after realizing that I know nothing about how much babies need lol.
My brother bought too small a car after his first. Not sure why he wasn’t thinking of a second child, but once she arrived, the family of four could no longer go anywhere together in that new car.
Honestly, you only need half the baby gear most choose to drag around. The big strollers are only needed for a very limited amount of time (and even then you can choose to wear your baby). We used umbrella strollers for a good portion of our kids’ stroller years which collapse very small. Bonus is they don’t run into the hundreds of dollars either. Marketing companies try to convince you that you need a lot of baby gadgets you just don’t need.
Of course, a car seat is needed. 
mathmom, S2 (6’4") prefers the Prius to the Outback because of the interior height. The lower seats on our Prius 3 give him the clearance he needs. Those aerodynamics also help the gas mileage.
We have the Prius V. We looked at the regular Prius, but it wouldn’t fit my mountain bike in the back, so we went for the V. Mr. Fang is 6’2" and fits. Fang Jr. is 6’4" and can easily ride in the back seat when we’re all in the car. We are a one car, one driver family, and the Prius V suits our needs. But it never snows here so I can’t say how the car drives in the snow.
Agree that babies can use as much or little gear as families prefer. Umbrella strollers are great, small, light and inexpensive. Car seats and later booster seats are important. Diaper bags are small enough.
Update: my rental car is a Subaru Impreza and so far, I’ve really liked it. It handles well in the snow and it’s roomier than I anticipated.
I drive a Subaru Impreza. Bought it used. You can fit a LOT in that hatch. I love it. It’s my second Subaru.
H is still loyal to Honda (as I was for many years until I made the switch).
Have you tested how an infant seat fits in it?
Don’t have a spare one laying around…
@romanigypsyeyes ask them when you return the car if they have a child seat you can try in the car. They rent them and they might have one around you can quickly pop in and see if it fits.
Different infant seats are different sizes. The ones newborns use tend to be the bulkiest. Try to be sure the seat is bigger than the you’d need for whatever car seat the rental company had. That said, we had much more trouble feeding carseats on airplane seats, not a problem fitting them in cars, all models we tried or rented.