If you drive a 3rd row vehicle, come in please.

SGC29

We need to buy something with a 3rd row. We are open to mini vans and SUV's. Preferably something that is not terrible on gas and has a good bit of room behind the third row when that seat is up. I'm finding that a lot of things I am looking at have little to no room when the third row is up. Something reliable that will need very little maintenance. If you have a vehicle like this can you recommend it?

Please and thanks!

missyishere

I have a Dodge Journey, and I love it as a third row vehicle. The third row also folds down for more storage.

SGC29

missyishere said:

I have a Dodge Journey, and I love it as a third row vehicle. The third row also folds down for more storage.

What is the trunk space like on that with the 3rd seat up? We would have to leave that seat up permanently as it would be DD's spot. Could I fit a double stroller and groceries in the back?

NotSharknado

We have an expedition and love it. I feel with all the seats up, there's still a lot of room but it eats gas like a mofo.

I do like that the third row seats go up and down individually.

SGC29

NotSharknado said:

We have an expedition and love it. I feel with all the seats up, there's still a lot of room but it eats gas like a mofo. I do like that the third row seats go up and down individually.

I like those a lot but we just can't do the gas. We will use this as our family vehicle so it will be driven quite a bit. 

missyishere

Oh definitely, yes! Also, it has a giant compartment under the trunk for extra storage, compartments at the feet of passenger seats, and a tiny cooler above the glove box.

SGC29

missyishere said:

Oh definitely, yes! Also, it has a giant compartment under the trunk for extra storage, compartments at the feet of passenger seats, and a tiny cooler above the glove box.

That is a lot of storage! Thanks!

missyishere

The Journey gets about 20-22 mpg on avg.

SGC29

FTWR said:

I have a Ford Explorer. It's pretty decent on gas but when the third row is up, there's not much room for storage. I can fit an umbrella stroller and a couple of bags.

I found one of these local (an Eddie Bauer addition) and I fell in LOVE. But yes, the no storage was what made that a no go. It had leather interior and a DVD player too. Sadz. 

SGC29

IamInigoMontoya said:

I love my Chevy Traverse. We bought it specifically because everything we read said it was one of the most spacious third row SUVs. It's not great on gas but honestly you're not going to find an SUV that is.

 

I have been looking into these. The photos online show a good bit of space behind the 3rd row and I was wondering if that was true or misleading. I really like they way these look and we own a Chevy now so I'm wondering if we could maybe get a small discount for being brand loyal or something. I like those! 

Eleventy11

We have a suburban. It was the only thing, besides an Expedition, that would fit our double side by side stroller with any additional room. It actually gets better gas mileage than my truck. My truck does have a larger engine, but I was still surprised. It has tons of room with the seats down, if your DD is ever not with you or if you decide to get one with a bench 2nd seat. Here's an example from a recent trip we took with the babies, with the 3rd seat down. That's an extra large suitcase, two pack n plays, several big bags, a toddler rocker and our double stroller.

ETA: The pic didn't post...I'll have to try again later.

missyishere

That's what a Dodge Journey does @hilarityensued. I'm really sad now, because my vehicle is out of commish after being hit. Now I probably have to get a different vehicle.

Eleventy11

Here it is...I don't know why it's sideways or how to fix it on mobile.

SGC29

HilarityEnsued said:

Why not one of the cars/trucks where you don't have to put the ENTIRE back row up?  Like just one side of the back row.  I don't know if this is an issue with projectiles or whatever.

Ultimately, if you are talking about having a full size trunk AND a third row, you are really looking at getting a Suburban.  Everything else is pretty standard in trunk size.  Yes, it will vary some, but nothing will give you the trunk size of an SUV with a permanent third row and not be a gas guzzler.

I do like the ones that have the separate fold downs for the 3rd row. I think several of the options we have looked at have that. We are open to having (maximum) one more child though, so likely the third row at some point would be permanently up as a whole. We are hoping to make this our last vehicle purchase for awhile. But yes, the ones where it is not one giant bench in the back are a great option!

I like suburbans but like you said those are a major gas guzzler. My mother drove those throughout our childhood and I remember even back then she complained about how insane the gas was. I'm okay with paying more for the gas but I want to try and avoid the vehicles that seem to drain the most (suburbans, expeditions). I'm open to mini vans too which seem to do quite a bit better on gas and still have trunk space but I'm having a hard time deciding on what to get. The biggest factor in that is finding one that is reliable. 

Sorry, that was really long winded. 

Eleventy11

@SGC29 Our suburban really does not get that bad of gas mileage. It is very comparable to a truck. I think we are averaging around 18 mpg. Though that's not as good as a car, it's pretty good for a large SUV. The 3rd row does fold down in two sections, which gives you a little more storage. The Traverse is a joke, or at least it was to us with our double stroller.

LaurelBee

Love my Honda Pilot.

missymo

I feel weird about how much I love my mini van. And I only have one child.

The stow and go rocks. I can also just fold down part of the back row, if desired. I like that the seats store in the floor (down into the trunk for the 3rd row), so you don't lose any space between the floor and ceiling when the seats are down.

When the back row is up, the trunk is quite deep and allows for lots of storage. I have no idea about mileage, as I stupidly never pay attention to that.

It's just a simple Dodge Grand Caravan, but after 4 years we are still digging it. We regularly take weekend trips, and it gets a lot of use.

SGC29

LaurelBee said:

Love my Honda Pilot.

I like the HP but it just doesn't have the space behind the 3rd row we need. With that row up it is so close to the back glass and we just can't fit what we need behind it. 

SGC29

missymo said:

I feel weird about how much I love my mini van. And I only have one child. The stow and go rocks. I can also just fold down part of the back row, if desired. I like that the seats store in the floor (down into the trunk for the 3rd row), so you don't lose any space between the floor and ceiling when the seats are down. When the back row is up, the trunk is quite deep and allows for lots of storage. I have no idea about mileage, as I stupidly never pay attention to that. It's just a simple Dodge Grand Caravan, but after 4 years we are still digging it. We regularly take weekend trips, and it gets a lot of use.

DH texted me this morning about these. We are looking into them now!

ILoveBoys

We have a Honda Odessey too and it's great!! We took out one of the seats in the second row so more storage/space for stuff. DD and one of the boys sit in the back. Another kid in 2nd row. LOVE.IT. Trunk is deep bc stow and go for 3rd row.

ILoveBoys

We went with nothing electric except the locks/windows bc on our last van everything started breaking.

LoveActually4

I love my Toyota Sienna. The gas bill isn't the best though.

SGC29

HilarityEnsued said:

The Honda Odyssey has a BUILT-IN vacuum.

This speaks to my soul.

Word. That is a real treasure. Especially when you have insanely messy kids.

ILoveBoys

HilarityEnsued said:

The Honda Odyssey has a BUILT-IN vacuum.

This speaks to my soul.

Only the newest model. I'm jealous.

Rach7170

We also have a Town and Country minivan. It's awesome. The stow and go is great and even with the seat up there is room in the trunk. It get 20-22 mpg. I love it so much.

thetheisens

I have a giant Yukon XL now(same size as a Suburban). We started out looking at smaller SUVs, but there wasn't enough room behind the third row and I didn't lik the idea of having to have the third row half folded down all the time for my double stroller to fit. So we ended up with a mommy train. Man, I love that thing though. It's used and we went a few years older than we were going to at first, but it was in great condition and had all the extras(dvd, leather, moon roof, second row bucket seats, etc). I also wanted an extended Yukon because we want to put the car seats in the bucket seats in the second row and my 11 year in the third row, but in regular say Yukon or Tahoo the third row seat sits really low and his legs were cramped up by his chest, since the third row sits over the wheel base in an XL the third row sits higher like a regular seat height. Now everyone is happy. It is not good on gas though. I still love it though, SO much room.

thetheisens

HilarityEnsued said:

@thetheisens I LOVE that car.  I spent some time earlier today just building one online.

That is the top contender for my next car.

I love it so much. It is big though and I would say it get 18-20 mpg. You can get them with the flex fuel option though. If we had bought one knew we would have done flex fuel.

azzyberry

Honda Odyssey. We bought ours in August and it is awesome. Before deciding on the Odyssey we did a ton of research for several months and test drove them and none of the SUVs came close to the space, features, comfort, and convenience of the Odyssey. The third row in every SUV was a PITA to climb into and it wasn't very roomy or comfortable. They also had very little trunk space when the 3rd row was up.

I vote minivan. I love my car

lollitots

I have a Toyota Highlander. It is 7 years old now and is reliable as it gets. I've only had to change the oil. However, the third row sucks. It is only for kids and you loose most of your trunk space when it is up. I like it though for when we have to haul friends of the kiddos around. Good thing they have short legs.

FrickandFrack

I love my 2013 Ford Explorer.

flyingsaucer

I have a Mercedes GL 450. I farking love it! My 11 yo SS fits comfortably in the back

nanabanana06

I'm getting a Honda Odyssey next. I've driven it, played with it, ect. It's awesome! I decided on it since the second row (not captains chairs) is designed for 3 across car seats. This way I could easily have the seats be in the second row with plenty of space. The room is nice, the features are awesome, and the gas mileage is better than my current car (and it doesn't take mid grade! :P). I'm excited for when I finally get my next car!

wino2006

Have you looked into the Mazda5? It's a small minivan that seats 6. The 2nd row is 2 captain's chairs and the 3rd row seats 2 more and is collapsable. It's about the size of my Honda CRV, but has more seating. We test drove one and really liked it. It handles really well-like car and is small enough to squeeze into small parking spots and has good gas mileage. I am strongly considering trading in my CRV for one but I am not sure I want to give up my AWD that comes in handy during our WI winters. It's also MUCH cheaper than a full sized mini-van. 

MelCfromMN

I also have a vote for the Traverse, I love mine. However, one thing that I didn't see was mentioned is where you live. If you don't really have a winter or live in town where everything is plowed right away, I would just get a minivan, better on gas, probably roomier. But I live on the edge of a town (probably what most of you consider the country), and I commute to another "town" daily for work. I have to go through some pretty crazy snow drifts in the winter, and when I had my car, I would have to use vacation quite a bit as I could usually no get out until everything was plowed. My Traverse cuts through it like nothing.

I got a good deal on a program car (like an old rental, so it's kind of stripped down, but that doesn't bother me), otherwise I probably would have looked at the Tahoe or a Suburban. I think you really have to consider your lifestyle, will you have to lug around hockey bags, or just the occasional road trip and groceries? If it's just smaller stuff, I would go with a Traverse, if it's more, go with a Tahoe/Suburban or minivan.  Just for a reference, when our 3rd seat is up in the Traverse, we can fit a big cooler behind it (so you get an idea of width), so I would say you are safe getting a weeks worth of groceries, but probably not a "stock up" spree. But you can always put more amongst the kids on the floors, there is quite a bit of room there.