Minivan or crossover SUV with third row

itsmevkb

We need a bigger car but are having trouble deciding what to get.  Ideally, we'd like maybe a two year old used car.  I have been lusting over the Chevy Traverse for a while now and like the idea of not driving a minivan.  My husband, amazingly, is the opposite and has really warmed up to the idea of a minivan.  So, which is better to haul three kids and tow a boat?

Do you get more storage space with the SUV?  Minivans never seem to have a whole lot of room behind the third row and we would always be using the third row.

charmcitygirl

I will tell you that I just got a Pilot and I love it!  HOWEVER, when you have 2 carseats in the second row (behind the driver and passenger), you have nearly no access to the 3rd row except to have it be split and get in from the back or climb over the 3rd row.  You could put them in the middle and side behind the driver and then have the 40% split behind the passenger to get to the 3rd row.

I've heard that in the Traverse you can get captains chairs in the second row, giving you access to the 3rd row.  In the Toyota Highlander, you can remove the middle seat, but you have to be anorexically skinny to fit through.

Good luck with your decision!  If we had 3 children, I think I would have to go with the minivan!

 

AlissaCell701

I have a Honda Pilot. That I LOVE it's a great car, not terrible on gas mileage (I don't drive to far just around town). It has the third row but we havn't used it much just a few times. But the trunk is still big even with the third row up. I could fit one of my dogs, a stroller and a few groceries..I love it and it's rated super safe in consumer reports.

My gf just got a GMC Acadia (same as the Traverse) she loved it. It has the two captin chairs in the back row so and then the third row, She needed a bigger car also but didn't want a suburban either. She really likes it!

I havn't found that there is alot in between those two SUV's and a mini Van. If you want a big SUV you have to get a Suburban which I just don't want to drive!

EastCoastBride

A mini-van has a ton of cargo space, even w/ the 3rd row being used.  I think you're going to have more cargo space w/ a van than w/ an SUV.  Sorry!

And here's a story for you.  DH sails.  At the start and end of the season, he takes the sails to/from the captains house.  For years, he borrowed the captain's Suburban to do so.  Once they were all loaded - he couldn't see out the back of the SUV.

Last year he used our mini-van instead.  Guess what? He was able to see out the back w/ no problem! 

We love our van, needless to say.  We also have a couple friends who tow campers w/ their vans and they are fine.  One couple was looking between the Odyssey and the Pilot.  They both had the same towing capacity. 

cara-n-steve

I've had both.  I had a 2007 Rav 4. I did like it, but the third row was basically useless.  Now I have a Honda Odessy Touring, and I LOVE it.  I was very anti minivan but I'm glad we decided to get one.  It's very comfortable to drive, has a ton of space, and it's easy to get the car seats in and out of the van.

LoveMyGirlz

I have an Odyssey, my sister has a Chevy Traverse. Her kids are older so it works for them to easily get in the third row. It would be more work with 3 carseats. Plus I think I have my cargo room in my van than she does. The van has a lot of conveniences like the sliding doors, and if you're lucky enough to get an automatic lift gate thing in the back ( I don't have that). But, I think my van is so ugly and I love the look of the acadias/traverses! For now though, with small kids, the van is just too practical (plus we sometimes have another adult passenger with us, and this wouldn't be possible without a minivan). GL with your decision!

ps- we don't tow anything but I do have a friend that has a camper and they bought a new Odyssey based on its towing ability.

schmoodle

We agonized over this decision for months (because we didn't want a minivan) and finally caved and ordered a minivan (we special ordered one to our specs b/c we didn't like the colors of the instock ones in the desired trim level at any local dealers). For us, every three row SUV we considered had an insufficient third row for adult seating (which is what we needed it for, as when my mom or DH's parents visit we need to be able to fit them, plus us, plus 2 carseats in the middle row, and still fit a large double stroller in back). We checked reviews on every one we liked and they all said the third row wasn't suitable for adults, was extremely difficult to get to, all but eliminated cargo room, etc.). All of our friends with minivans (specifically, Honda Odysseys) RAVE about the cargo room. We went to Wisconsin Dells with our friends this fall and they had both kids, the third row up, and still fit the stroller, pack and play, exersaucer, cooler full of food, etc.

Now, if you want it just for more room for you and your kids and don't need the third row regularly, probably a different story, but for us, that didn't work.

The SUVs we considered were the Buick Enclave/GMC Acadia, Lexus GX, Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander and Mercedes R350. The Mercedes actually was potentially doable b/c it's layed out more like a minivan except it doesn't have sliding doors, but after researching dealer support in our area I decided I didn't want to spend $10k more on a car and then have constant repairs and crappy/unreliable dealers to mess with so we still ended up back at the Honda Odyssey.

We also briefly considered bigger SUVs which would have addressed the cargo/seating issues (GMC Yukon, Lincoln Navigator, Toyota Sequoia, Infiniti QX) but they were all (a) more expensive than I wanted and (b) I didn't want to drive a giant SUV around.

Cajun_gal

We have a Nissan Armada (big SUV) but looked at minivans and crossovers when we were looking at cars.  I loved the minivans had power sliding doors and lots of space.  Also some have storage space in the floors which is nice.  The smaller SUVs had lots of space too but was a little more cramped between the first and second rows.  I think either will do what you need and would go test drive a few and see what feels best to you.  We could have gotten captain chairs in the second row to have easier access to the 3rd row with 2 car seats in the 2nd row (one behind driver and passenger seats) but during long trips, one of us needs to sit between them as they get restless so we needed a bench seat.  If you don't need that, I'd try to get captains chairs instead of a bench for the second row.

itsmevkb

schmoodle:

We agonized over this decision for months (because we didn't want a minivan) and finally caved and ordered a minivan (we special ordered one to our specs b/c we didn't like the colors of the instock ones in the desired trim level at any local dealers). For us, every three row SUV we considered had an insufficient third row for adult seating (which is what we needed it for, as when my mom or DH's parents visit we need to be able to fit them, plus us, plus 2 carseats in the middle row, and still fit a large double stroller in back). We checked reviews on every one we liked and they all said the third row wasn't suitable for adults, was extremely difficult to get to, all but eliminated cargo room, etc.). All of our friends with minivans (specifically, Honda Odysseys) RAVE about the cargo room. We went to Wisconsin Dells with our friends this fall and they had both kids, the third row up, and still fit the stroller, pack and play, exersaucer, cooler full of food, etc.

Now, if you want it just for more room for you and your kids and don't need the third row regularly, probably a different story, but for us, that didn't work.

The SUVs we considered were the Buick Enclave/GMC Acadia, Lexus GX, Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander and Mercedes R350. The Mercedes actually was potentially doable b/c it's layed out more like a minivan except it doesn't have sliding doors, but after researching dealer support in our area I decided I didn't want to spend $10k more on a car and then have constant repairs and crappy/unreliable dealers to mess with so we still ended up back at the Honda Odyssey.

We also briefly considered bigger SUVs which would have addressed the cargo/seating issues (GMC Yukon, Lincoln Navigator, Toyota Sequoia, Infiniti QX) but they were all (a) more expensive than I wanted and (b) I didn't want to drive a giant SUV around.

We want the third row for our children, not really for adults.  I'm thinking I would put my oldest in the third row and my two younger in the second row.

I definitely do not want something as large as a Suburban.

I think we're going to go car shopping this month and just test drive a million different things and see if we can agree on something.

talentedmomma

I really wanted a crossover but we ended up with a minivan (Kia) and I love it. I only have DS, but when I was babysitting I very often ended up with 3 kids in the van. I put two seats in the third row and removed one of the captains chairs in the middle. If is was raining or snowing, or even just for getting the kids organized, I could stick all 3 in the van and then climb in and get them all situated in their seats. Even when I just had DS it made it easy to do diaper changes or nurse him in the back row.  The storage space in the van is great, we do have a car top carrier because we have a massive dog in a kennel if we are going to my parents place. The 3rd row folds into the floor and when you take the middle seats out, you can haul full sheets of drywall. I even brought our play structure home from TRU in it, also our full size couch.

CMM05

Lots of experience here with this issue

We had to get a new car back in October (newly PG with #3.....). DH & I were not ready for a minivan, but we did look into them.

We ended up buying a great 2007 Suburban and we LOVE it.

We looked at all of the larger SUV's (ones where you can get captain's seats in the 2nd row....). Since you are like us and you will be using the 3rd row at all times, cargo space was a huge MUST for us. I wanted to be able to fit the double stroller in there, bags, etc.

We were hugely disappointed with the Acadia and Enclave because the cargo space is next to nothing with the 3rd row in use We both loved those cars and with 2 kids, it would have been great, but with 3, I personally don't think it is doable. We also travel a lot to my IL's (2.5 hour drive...), so we not only need room for the double stroller but bags as well.

We just couldn't do the minivan.......it wasn't our style currently. Plus, we have a very steep driveway and we need good 4WD. After the crazy winter we just had, there is no way a minivan would have made it up the driveway!

 Anyways, we LOVE the Suburban. I don't think we will ever go back to a "smaller" SUV. I cannot say enough great things about it, but then again, my dad always had larger cars, so driving the Suburban has never been an issue for me. My good friend who has 3 boys has the Yukon XL (built on the same platform as the Suburban) and she loves it as well. We were looking for either the Yukon or the Suburban, but the guy we were working with found the Suburban first, so we went with it.

And, yes, we obviously have captain's seats in the 2nd row.

 BTW......I was pretty hesitant to buy a used car because I have always had leases so I was spoiled with getting a new car every 2-3 years. But, we got a great deal. Just make sure you work with someone who finds nice cars. The guy we work with does not just pick up any used Suburban, he is very, very picky. You would never know that our car is 4 years old!

GL!

 

ETA: just read that you don't want a Suburban Whatever you do....take your double (or even single......) stroller with you when car shopping. The Traverse is just like the Acadia and Enclave......very LITTLE cargo room. You won't be able to fit a stroller and groceries, etc. back there. You are probably going to have to do the mini-van. Trust me, I was really disappointed Take the strollers so you can see the fit......

 

MBandBud

Before I saw your actual post and read the title I wanted to hit reply and say Traverse.  We have the Equinox and love it but if we wanted something bigger the Traverse was very cool b/c it was large and not a minivan and is the bigger style Equinox.  We love our Equinox. 

soccerwife

AlissaCell701:

My gf just got a GMC Acadia (same as the Traverse) she loved it. It has the two captin chairs in the back row so and then the third row, She needed a bigger car also but didn't want a suburban either. She really likes it!

 

 I love my Acadia. We have the captains chairs in the middle and it allows complete access to the 3rd row, which we ALWAYS use. There is some storage space behind the 3rd row, but not tons. It's great for my 2 kids and my mom who is ofter with us, but I don't know if it would be ideal for 3 kids. 

Mini vans tend to have stow & go seating with lots of storage  UNDER the floor which is awesome.

JessandJeremy

We have the Honda Pilot and I love it....although I did want to trade it in for the mini-van. The only reason we didn't is because my husband wanted to have a car with 4-wheel drive. Something else to think about.

sliz

I vote no on the Highlander - we are a toyota family but this is the first of their cars i am unhappy with - third row almost useless and little cargo room

queenbone

I don't know if this is helpful or not because I don't know about its towing capabilities, but we bought a Mazda 5 last fall so when/if we get to 3 children we can still fit everyone.  It is technically a micro van, it is only 2" longer than the Nissan Sentra I was driving, which is ideal for us because we don't have off street parking and I have to parallel park it everyday.

It seats 6 with a 3rd row, but admittedly when all the seats are in use there is a worthless amount of cargo space in the back.  But with one seat being used in the 3rd row I can still fit our double stroller in the space created form the other seat in the fold down position. 

We also bought a cargo box for the roof.  We just used it last weekend and got all our gear in it (and the rear section) for our camping trip. The cargo box was much less expensive than buying a bigger SUV, because frankly we don't need to haul around a lot of gear on a daily basis.