SUV's with 3 row seating...

orchid8407 · August 2012

Anybody have one? WHat is your experience and your thoughts on the one you have. Any recommendations?

I know I could always look into a mini van, but want to explore SUVs for more seating first!

stbMrsDowning · August 2012

I saw a show a while back about the safety of the third row, and the crumple zone between the rear glass and the last seat in case of being rear ended. It's not something I would have thought of as being a hazard, but they did a crash test on a SUV in the UK and the dummies in the third row had major injuries...I'm not sure if they have ratings for the rear crumple zone in the US...I'd thought about getting a large SUV with the third row, but it gives me something else to think about while making the decision for a new car.

orchid8407 · August 2012

Wow, the new Nissan Pathfinder is nice! Infiniti might be a stretch for us, but we're definitley considering all options!

orchid8407 · August 2012

stbMrsDowning:

I saw a show a while back about the safety of the third row, and the crumple zone between the rear glass and the last seat in case of being rear ended. It's not something I would have thought of as being a hazard, but they did a crash test on a SUV in the UK and the dummies in the third row had major injuries...I'm not sure if they have ratings for the rear crumple zone in the US...I'd thought about getting a large SUV with the third row, but it gives me something else to think about while making the decision for a new car.

Oh, wow that is something to think about! thanks

MyBeanieBaby · August 2012

We're getting a 2013 Ford Explorer... but mainly because it's Sexy and it knows it. Smile

Mrs.MLR04 · August 2012

We have a Honda Pilot and love it. We don't use the 3rd row often, but it is nice to have the extra seating just in case.

sucredee · August 2012

I have an Acura MDX. We really don't use the 3rd row much but it nice to have it as an option when all the kids are here (I have to older SD and we are raising DH's nieces). There is not a ton of room in the third row and unless you are a small adult or a kid you wouldn't want to sit their for prolonged periods of time. When the third row is up it leaves about 1-1.5 feet of luggage room so not really good if you have to travel with luggage with a bunch of people. S for us it really works out well, it just depends on what your needs are as far as the third row seating.

sarahbear · August 2012

We really like the Traverse, but aren't ready just yet for the purchase. It drives great though and getting into the 3 rd row is easy because the 2nd row has captain chairs. Sooooo nice!

Used Ford Explorers are great options because they are much cheaper and hold up well. Only down side is getting into the back is hard because it's the flip down method of crawling over the 2nd row. We'll probably still end up going this route though because of how little we'll use the 3rd row (not daily).

Jamaicanlove · August 2012

Hi,

I've been looking ito this as well and here are the ones that you may want to look into: Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, Toyota Highlander (smaller 3rd row), Honda Pilot, Infiniti JX, Acura MDX (smaller 3rd row), Saturn Outlook (may be able to find a great deal on this b/c saturn is out of business. My friend got a great deal on hers). I've reviewed all of them so let me know if you need further info. I currently drive an Infiniti G35 sedan and will need to get a bigger vehicle whenever we decide to have another baby.

Kadyra · August 2012

Once DH and I are back working (he's a SAHD and I'm on bedrest), we'll be getting a 3 row SUV. Our two favorites are the Buick Enclave and Toyota Sequioia. I can't bring myself to get a minivan, even though they're like $10,000+ cheaper.

LSU628 · August 2012

I have had my Mazda CX-9 for a year now and still love it. I can fit 3 car seats across if necessary, but also have the 3rd row option. Like PP mentioned there isn't a whole lot of leg room in the 3rd seat, but a kid would be OK back there. I also get pretty decent gas mileage (22 on the interstate which is where I primarily drive) and felt like I was getting a lot more bang for my buck than some of the other SUVs I researched.

saturdaynightdoubletree · August 2012

We have a 2011 Toyota Highlander Limited and love it. The middle seat in the center isle is narrow and not super comfy, but can be removed to make 2 captains chairs with a walkway to the 3rd row. The 3rd row is not comfy for adults, and is pretty tight, but nice to have. With the 3rd row down the trunk space is amazing. The vehicle is built on a car frame instead of a truck frame (all SUVs are different), so it drives easy. We got in a terrible accident with this car when it was just 3 months old and it saved our lives, I'd never drive anything else.

Also, as far as car seats go... the Highlander does not have LATCH or tether in the third row, so only a booster can be installed back there (stupid Toyota wasn't thinking of us!). The second row only has LATCH on the outboard seats, but does have three tether anchors.

stdldb29 · August 2012

sarahbear:
We really like the Traverse, but aren't ready just yet for the purchase. It drives great though and getting into the 3 rd row is easy because the 2nd row has captain chairs. Sooooo nice!
Used Ford Explorers are great options because they are much cheaper and hold up well. Only down side is getting into the back is hard because it's the flip down method of crawling over the 2nd row. We'll probably still end up going this route though because of how little we'll use the 3rd row (not daily).

Explorers have the option of the captain seats as well. We can't decide between the explorer, traverse, or acadia.

groovygrl · August 2012

saturdaynightdoubletree:
We have a 2011 Toyota Highlander Limited and love it. The middle seat in the center isle is narrow and not super comfy, but can be removed to make 2 captains chairs with a walkway to the 3rd row. The 3rd row is not comfy for adults, and is pretty tight, but nice to have. With the 3rd row down the trunk space is amazing. The vehicle is built on a car frame instead of a truck frame (all SUVs are different), so it drives easy. We got in a terrible accident with this car when it was just 3 months old and it saved our lives, I'd never drive anything else.
Also, as far as car seats go... the Highlander does not have LATCH or tether in the third row, so only a booster can be installed back there (stupid Toyota wasn't thinking of us!). The second row only has LATCH on the outboard seats, but does have three tether anchors.

We have a highlander also (2012 but it is pretty much exactly the same as 2011). We like it but do not use the 3rd row regularly. With 2 convertible seats in the backseat the middle seat is SUPER narrow (I'm 5'0 and just barely can sit between them) and ditto that the 3rd row is not especially comfy for an adult but not horrible if the adult is small & for a short ride, my mom has ridden back there a few times but she is my size. I think if you want a really roomy 3rd row you need to go with the really large SUVs. I really wanted the 2 captain chair style option & there are only a limited number of SUVs that do that. A lot of the 3rd row ones require you to fold down a side seat to access it (our Acura MDX is like that, though it is a 2004 & not sure if it has changed since then though i'm pretty sure it is not a captain chair style), so if you have carseats in both sides of the 2nd row then you can't access the 3rd row.

We also looked at the Sequoia which was way too big for me, too truck-like overall though a nice car. I felt the same way about the Nissan Armada. Also drove the Enclave which is nice but my blind spots were really bad and I think (?) the trunk space might be smaller than the Highlander. I was going to test drive the Acadia but as we were looking at the new one in the lot, there were 2 pieces of plastic on the sides of the trunk area that fell off & even the dealer guy couldn't get them to snap back on, I didn't even bother to test drive it after that b/c I had very little faith in its durability & we have always liked Toyotas so I was leaning toward that anyway.

GL!

AmericanInOz · August 2012

I have a Mazda CX9

I LOVE it!!!!

I keep the 3rd row folded down unless I need it, but I love that while it's folded down it has a great plastic protector with high sides - so the seats underneath don't get dirty

I think it's a great 7 seater SUV without being too gigantic!

penguingrrl · August 2012

I really want a Honda Pilot. We would generally keep our 3 in the middle row and the third row down for storage, but if any of the kids wants to bring a friend home from school we could put them in the third row or if my sister wanted to ride somewhere with us (which happens frequently) I can bump my booster rider to the back and my sister can sit in the middle row. And the Pilot has 6 full sets of LATCH, which is rare! It's the perfect balance of having extra seating when you need without having a suburban-sized vehicle when you don't need that every day. Currently our only car is a beetle, so the storage space even with the 3rd row up looks amazing to us lol!

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