What cars are best for the parents of newborn twins?

It's somewhat of a far reach to mount child seats in the back of an Element. You'll probably find yourself kneeling on the floor. Eventually, the clamshell doors may also become a nuisance. On the plus side, the seats are relatively "puke friendly".

If you don't need AWD, take a look at a second generation Scion xB. Like the Element, it's big on the inside, small on the outside very well equipped and a tremendous value (also a couple of thousand $$ cheaper). It has a conventional door arrangement, is quieter, gets better mileage and with a lower profile is less likely to get blown around on windy days.

The original Scion box design didn't do much for me, but the current model is a completely different vehicle. I recently switched from an Element to a Gen2 xB and am delighted.

A small SUV is fine for casual use, but I would encourage you to get a minivan because it offers much more flexibility. My specific recommendation is the Honda Odyssey, but I'm more interested in simply convincing you to simply get a minivan.

If you go the route of a small SUV, I'm confident you will wish you had more storage.

We usually have all three of our kids (toddler and twin babies) in the second row and the third row is collapsed. This provides us with ample storage for our two strollers (side by side and front/back), a plastic bin which holds our standard assortment of around-town baby needs, diaper bag, and groceries or other indicidental items.

When needed, we can raise the back row and carry friends or family with us in the same car.

The automatic sliding doors (on most vans) are a very nice to have... simpler in and out with car seats.

It's not a HUGE difference, but for us the extra storage is a lifesaver. You carry a lot more with twins than you do with a single child.

Ideally I think a Dodge Caravan would be a great option if you get one that has rear facing seats. I know that they are in a different price range than the cars you're looking at, plus they're huge, but they have the potential of being a whole lot safer in the long run, plus room for everything if you travel with your twins.

Here's a picture showing the front row of passenger seats turned around. This allows you to keep your children rear facing long after they have out grown rear facing seats.

http://www.autobytel.com/images/2008/Dodge/Grand_C...

If that's just too unrealistic, any small suv should work great for you. Make sure it has plenty of cargo space to support everything that you'll travel with and you'll be great. We don't have twins, but we've been able to put two car seats plus everything else in our Ford Escort, so you'll do fine.

definitely the element! i love it and with twins you need space but you also don't want to drive a box on wheels

you guys should get a van, Honda Odessy or Nissan Quest (my mom has a new nissan quest for like $15,000)