Cars/SUVs With Third Row Seat Options

Before you buy anything, actually take a ride sitting in the 3rd row. I really liked the Honda Pilot until I was trapped in the 3rd row of a friends with carseats up front. As far as I'm concerned the 3rd row was worthless.

Recently I rode in the 3rd row of a flex fuel Tahoe. That was a great ride, very comfortable. I also drive a GMC Sierra so it is similar to the Tahoe. I have had no problems with it and with towing and everything I have over 100K miles. I love sitting up higher too.

I did do research and if my GMC kicks the bucket I will also look into the Mazda MX7 or 9. Great safety ratings and better gas mileage. I have never riden in one however.

We borrowed a friends Town and Country for a drive to Disneyland. Although the van was super plush, minivans are just not for me.

I have a Volvo XC 90. Yesterday I drove 5 teens on a field trip for summer school. There are 7 seat belts. The middle seat sits 3 across and works well for chidren, a little tight for teens. Usually I keep all 3 rows of seats up and a large camping cooler in the space behind, to give you an idea of the storage space. Recently, I folded the back 2 rows of seats down in order to haul a stack of 6' long folding tables.

What I like about my car: comfort, safety, space, versatility, handling in snow and bad weather.

What I don't like: gas mileage, about 18 mpg on average.

I have to say I LOVE my Honda Pilot, but just wanted to let you know that for 3 car seats it would not work. It is not easy getting in and out of the back seat with car seats in the front. I imagine you will have to go bigger. Good Luck!

I'm with Cheryl O. I was a sports car girl for a long time. If it was sexy, two doors, fast and expensive to insure (and fire-engine red) - that was my kind of car. My last cool car was a Dodge Viper. I drove it until my son was 2! Then I became a mini-van convert. We were working on baby #2 and I could see the value of a mini-van - but was very against the idea of driving a bus. Believe it or not, the Sienna drives just like the Solara (that my sister had at the time). I don't realize that I'm driving the mini-van until I get out.

Also, the sliding doors are the best feature out there. I will drive a mini-van until my kids go to college. It is awesome - and so comfortable for long driving vacations. We've been up and down the East coast, carrying virtually everything (two strollers, pack 'n play, swing, tons of toys for 5 year old, suitcases, breastpump, lots of food, etc) and had plenty of room.

Try driving some before you rule them out. And the gas mileage is much, much better than my husband's 4 Runner.

C.

I have an answer for all price points. We really liked the GM models - Chevy Traverse, GMC-something and Buick Enclave. We couldn't agree Chevy or GMC but we both liked the Buick. Then as it turns out, we found a Mercedes R350 (used) that was cheaper than the used Buicks! So we ended up with the Mercedes but I have friends at school with the Buick and Chevy that love it and really they all seem very similar inside. What I like in all of these models mentioned is that the 3rd row is a true 3rd row and not a seat 6" off the ground. If you get captains chairs in the middle, kids can get the back with no problem. Also with captains chairs it seems the kids can buckle up themselves easier - our other vehicle is a "car," and it's harder for them b/c their booster will scoot over the buckle latch. I can't remember how the 3rd row collapsed in the GM models, but in mine it is really easy, just pull a loop and they bounce forward and back. I did have a power 3rd seat before in a car I would not endorse, and would not recommend. I am much, much happier with a manual 3rd row that's easy to use...power took way too long to wait for! Also most of these you can split the 3rd row with seat or flat, so you could always put a kid in one 3rd seat and stick the stroller thru the other side. We do this often and it's of no inconvenience to my 6 year old. Only negative of my car is that the back doors are wide, but the tradeoff is very easy access to the inside. I would get this car again in a heartbeat, or any of the GM models.

I'm with you, Jen, not going to try to convert you to a mini-van mom....I will go ahead and say it out loud:

"I'm Denise, and I will NEVER drive a mini-van!" haha

That said, we have a Ford Explorer with 3rd row seating and it works out great for us when we need 'extra' seating! (Actually, this is our 3rd Explorer, so that says something for reliability!)

Look at the Excursions if you want even bigger.

We just recently purchased a 2008 Ford Expedition Eddie Baur EL. It's the extended length one so it has more cargo room in the back with the third row up. If needed a part of the 3rd row can lay flat as well. So you can still have the third carseat in the back. So far we like it. It has plenty of room on the inside. We have the one with bucket seats as the 2nd row. However you could get the one with a bench seat and I'm sure all three car seats would fit there as well. I had three car seats in my back seat in the Chevy Silverado I had. It was a tight fit but it worked. The only draw back of course with the expedition is the gas. But other than that we love it! I also like the Chevy Traverse. It's a crossover. It seats like 7. Not sure about the cargo room though. The GMC Acadia's are nice too. Good luck!!

I absolutely love my Acura MDX. It can fit 3 car seats across, or you can use the third row. There is plenty of room for everyone.

I love love love my Mazda5. It's got 3 rows, 2 seats in each. The back seat is kinda small, but my 10yo son is comfortable in it, and I have sat back there myself and been reasonably comfortable. It has a small trunk, but the back seats fold down individually, so you can have the 5 passengers and have 1 seat still down for trunk space. I don't know how big a double stroller is, but with the back seats both up, I can only fit an umbrella stroller in the trunk. Don't know about with a seat down though -- you'd have to try it. My youngest is 2 1/2 and is just about done with strollers at this point.

I have a Honday Pilot and have fit my son's full-sized stroller in the trunk even with the third row up (on it's side). I love it! Great SUV! My father recently bought an Expedition b/c it easily fits all three car seats and all of the grandchildren's "stuff"- they like to do day trips with the kiddos when we're all in town. It's a gas guzzler, but a really smooth ride and I think my sister (preggers w/ #3) will be getting an Expedition as well!

Before moving overseas, I had a GMA Acadia and LOVED it. You can get captain's seats or a bench seat in the center and the third row was roomy enough for my 6ft+ hubby to sit in. The cargo area is decent but not huge. Would have to fold down the smaller part of the third row to fit that. I did have up to 5 kids in the car, 2 in convertible seats and 3 boosters in the 3rd row.

jen:

CONGTRAULATIONS!!!

I never pictured myself as a mini van mom - but man - I'm totally sold!!!

My boys are now 9 and 11 and trust me - my '01 Grand Caravan will be traded in soon and we will be getting either a Suburban (husband cringes!!) or another mini van...even my best friend gives me a ration for a mini van...but they work like WOW!!!!

I have a friend who has twins and has a Tahoe and hates it as the third row seat then takes up the space in the back....

if you are dead set against a mini van - look into Suburbans - yeah - they are gas hogs but space is unlimited....no worries about kids "touching" each other....

I love my Toyota Highlander. The third row is fold down and only seats two though... Well mine is an '04. After 2008 they started to make them a little different. I love mine, although I do only have the two carseats, but I have put both seats in the third row and used the middle row to seat adults.

We enjoy our Chevy Traverse.

We have 5 kids and have owned an Excursion (plenty of room in the back...LOL), a Chrysler Aspen (3 row seat and we fit a full size stroller in back), and now we have a Suburban which is of course very roomy. We don't do minivans either. ;)

We have three kids (7, 4, 1) and we have a Chevy Traverse. We absolutely love it! It has two captain's chair in the second row with an aisle to walk between them and a bench seat with three seats in the back. We put two car seats in the captain's seats and the booster in the way back. I can also fit a double stroller in the trunk. I would highly recommend it!

I have to agree with Cheryl O - I, too, am a die-hard minivan convert.

LOVE LOVE LOVE my 2004 Honday Odyssey with 104,000 miles and still going strong! DVD system and lots of space . . . we've gone everywhere in it. Best of all, IT'S PAID FOR! :)

My sister drives a suburban (5 kids in their family) and she loves it.

Good luck.

I don't have one myself, but would if I could afford to replace my current vehicle... Check out the Mazda CX-9. It is a crossover vehicle that has a 3rd row and STILL has room behind the third row. It is very nice inside and the 3rd row is smooth to use/operate and roomy enough for an adult to actually sit there. The most recent model has a slight improvement in the mpg rating... still not fabulous, but not horrid either.... I think it is around 24?

I have an Xterra, which I LOVE, but they don't have a 3rd row. The Pathfinder does, but if I were buying the Pathfinder, for the same money you could have the CX-9.

Gas Guzzler, but LOVED my suburban! The key to third rows is to make sure the second row are captain's chairs so you can easily access the third row.
In terms of trunk space - I looked at Tahoe's when my transmission finally went out on my "white whale" and I was not as impressed with the trunk space because I got used to the suburban's space.

However, now I am driving a sport wagon for gas reasons and the fact my kids are moving out of the car seats (woo hoo!).

Good luck!

Sorry, but you can't beat a mini-van. I have had 3 and still have one even though my kids are grown and gone. Have 6 grandkids and they LOVE my Sienna! You can't beat the sliding door. It's a pain getting the kids in and out in a parking lot with those big doors sticking out on those SUVs. Gas mileage is better and the price is better on a van. Take the money you save and put it in the kids college fund!

When we found out we were pregnant with twins (and had 4 other kids) we searched for a car that would comfortably fit 4 car seats. We were driving a mini-van and hated it! The only cars that we found that worked were the Fords. We originally bought an Expedition (it was cheaper), but the cargo space was very small. We now have an Excursion. It seats all 8 of us comfortably. We just took a road trip with all of us AND our luggage for 6 days and no storage issues. They are gas guzzlers, but we found that they are also cheaper used because people are not buying them b/c of the gas prices. We also don't really travel much in the BIG car, so it isn't too much of a hassle for us. Hope this helps. Congrats and good luck finding a car :)

Hi Jen,

I have a Nissan Pathfinder with the 3rd row and I love it! It is a mid-size SUV so the leg room in the 3rd row isn't meant for adults, but my kids do fine. The Nissan Armada is larger and has more leg room in the 3rd row. The middle row of my Pathfinder folds up so there is easy access to the back row. There are only 2 seats in the back row and they fold up individually so if only one person is back there you still have some extra storage space. If both seats are up the storage is limited but you can fit a stroller, diaper bag, etc.
Being in the PNW I need the room but I also need the 4wd otherwise I wouldn't be able to get up my driveway in the winter!
My gas mileage averages 16-18 in town and 20 hwy.

We have a Kia Sorrento with the 3rd row. It's small, so it wouldn't fit an infant carrier back there, but a regular carseat would be just fine. Hard to get into, though. You have to flip up the second row to get them in (or just leave 1 seat down in the back and have them crawl in that way, which is what we do.)

I love the Mitzubishi Endevor, but my sister just bought a CRV with third row seating and loves it! I bought my Endevor because my requirement of fitting both a double stroller and a wagon at the same time. Lot's of trunk space if need be! Also, I like the the fact that is plenty of arm room, a pull down cup holder in the center of the bench seat and the gas mileage is pretty good. PS. Not a mini-van mom either;)

We have a Nissan Armada...big and not-so-gas-efficient, but MAN, it gets the job done! I have two kids of my own (one in a large, full-back booster, the other in a Britax Marathon) and I watch my 5-mo old niece during the day, so we have her carseat base in there, too. All 3 carseats fit very nicely in the middle row of the truck. I was thinking of having my oldest sit in the 3rd row, but the logistics of him getting in and out of there were unreasonable on a daily basis for school and such.

I have been eyeing the Chevy Traverse to replace our other car when it goes to car heaven. They're like a minivan without the minivan sliding door and stigma (I'm NOT a minivan person either!). However, the middle row does have the option of coming with captain's chairs instead of a bench, so the access to the 3rd row would be really convenient. Don't know much about storage space since I've only seen the car at a Chevy display and my husband got to drive one as a rental while traveling, but it looks like there'd be enough room for whatever you'd need to stick back there.

Good luck!!

If you get anything with a third row it has to have the tumble forward feature not just the move forward tilt to get into the back row you will hate it if it did with 3 kids,second row split bench seating you'll see what I mean when you begin to car shop. I have 3 myself & had a 99 Olds Intrigue would still have but mother nature decided to take it away now 2 months later i'm still looking for that perfect family vehicle,where I live they are selling like hot cakes no matter the condition or mileage i'm the opposite I just won't accept whatever.The mini van will not work for me me being short I can't do alot of things 1 being getting the kids buckled without actually getting into the mini van itself,it feels like i'm drivng a bus,& others.
My sis has the Dodge Journey she has 3 kids all in booster now & really likes it she had a mini van before but hated it this was when they were all babies & thought that it would be great but decided to go with a cross over.
Just curious to why the mini van won't happen for happen you?If it is cost of gas your better off with a mini van the cross overs are expensive to fill up depedning on the size of motor anything beyond a 3.5L they drink it up but the huge SUVs are the worst,trunk space in 3rd row vehicles are limited you have the height & depth just like the mini van unless you fold down the 3rd row or have a split bench to fold down,so the double stoller only pack it in when you need to otherwise you'll have no room for anything else.Take a look at these see what you like & dislike about them you'll soon narrow your choices down.
Chrysler Pacifica has 3rd row but very close seating
Dodge Journey are newer Dodge Durango
Ford Tarus X
GMC SUV's or crossovers
Honda Pilot
Ford SUV's
Mazda5 they are small but a huge gas saver,no room to pack extra
A lady told me that she decided to buy a Toyota Sienna she had a Durango but getting all her kids in & out was a hassle she would open the back & let the kiddos climb in that sat in the third row in that way funny I can see that happening,you wouldn't run into that issue with mini van sliding doors that is where the second row tumble feature comes in.

I just bought a Chevy Traverse a few months ago and I now prefer it over my husbands Infiniti. Its great on gas and was the roomiest of all the 3rd row mid size suv. Both of the back rows can lay completely down and you wouldn't even believe the items we have already packed in there to move or bring home from the store.