Crossover/SUVs With 3Rd Row Seating

The Kia would probably be a good choice. The GMC Acadia is also very nice, it looks like an SUV but seats like a mini van and drives like a car.

M

We have a Kia Sorento with the 3rd row and I love it!
It was by far the most affordable of that group (mine is a 2011), and it's a really nice ride and car. I've had no service issues with it, despite recalls you may hear about, and it's quite roomy.

Highly recommend!

Suburban is the best. It has so much room in it PLUS the seats are fully wide seats. Not skinny seats for little kids. You can haul bikes in the back, camping gear, you can lay all the seats down and use it like a truck too.

It does use a lot of gas. But sometimes that's a trade off. Little SUV's are for skinny little people. Mostly for families with kids that don't want to look like families with kids.

We bought our kia sorento last year and really do like it. We have found it is really comfortable to travel in. Love some of the feature on it. We test drove the Honda Pilot which was great also however we thought it was on the larger side for our family (at the time there where 3 of us), we are adding to our family in October so there will be 4 but I still think with the 3rd row seats the car is still the perfect size.

We have a Toyota Highlander that has the 3rd row option when you're carrying more people etc. Love it!! Get's 21 mpg too which I think is good for it's size and capabilities.

Several years ago we were looking, and my vehicle of choice at that time was the Mazda CX-9. Actual full size 3rd row seats that adults could use. But, the gas mileage wasn't better than what I already drive (Nissan Xterra ____@____.com) so we waited.

My Nissan is still going strong (just turned 300k miles on Monday) so we are still waiting... Not sure where we will land when we finally decide to move on.

I love my Acadia! I would highly recommend this car!

After test driving a Toyota Sienna, Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, Honda Odyssey, Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse, we chose a Honda Pilot.

It was bigger than the Highlander and plenty roomy even for 13 hour family road trips back 'home'. The eco-mode made gas mileage better than most SUVs. The Toyota Sienna just felt like I was driving a bus, but the Honda Odyssey came in a close second. In the end we chose a Pilot because it seemed to have less road noise (probably due to more clearance) and a 4WD option. We bought it in 2012 and love it.

My sister has had a Kia for over 10 years...she first bought one because it was affordable...she's got a 2010 Kia Sorento and loves it.

I don't like the 3rd row for adults...kids might think it's great. But that's me in ALL 3rd row SUVs...with the exception of a Suburban. Why? Leg and head room. Get in the car and sit back there yourself. My husband won't drive my minivan (Odyssey) unless he HAS to...but he refused a Suburban (calls them a land yacht!)...he prefers his little CR-V!! LOL!!

Leg and head room matter. Get in and sit back there. It has to work for YOUR family...not mine! Minivan's are what work for me and my family since my husband won't consider a Suburban. I don't know how tall the bodies are that need to fit into this car...legs either....

Like I said - the ONLY 3rd row I can handle is the minivan or the Suburban...all the others are too short in leg room or if the leg room is right, the head room is too low. And the seat is NOT comfortable (FOR ME)...

Good luck!! finding a car is NEVER easy!!

I had a honda pilot and I LOVED it. When I traded it in for something smaller it had 139k miles on it and never had a problem at all. The pilot is a little wider than most smaller SUV's I averaged about 19/20 mpg and that is city and highway driving. If I had not wanted to get something smaller I would have definitly gotten another Pilot.

LOVE my Nissan Pathfinder but they changed the bodystyle in 2012 and it no longer looks like an SUV (which I prefer and need the higher ground clearance) to a crossover.
We looking at the Chevy Traverse now b/c my pathfinder is getting way up there on miles and I don't like the newer pathfinders...looking forward to reading all your answers.

We took a family vacation and rented a Kia Sorento and loved it. Never bought it, but I keep telling my husband that is the car for me when we buy our next one.

I have a Chevy traverse. I love it! I'm very happy with my purchase. We went from a mini van to this. With 5 kiddos I had to have the 3rd seat. And they all fit comfortably. I have even sat in the 3rd row and its comfy and I had enough room. There's only one thing I don't really like, and that is the fact that the rear air/heat controls are in the rear. I can still reach them but I would rather have controls up front. But that's my only issue. I had 2 different kias. I'll never buy another! Hopefully everyone that has one has had a better expierence with them than I did!

Kia Sorento 3rd row is really tiny. There is not a lot of room in it. I LOVE our Sorento but I wouldn't get one with the third row. My in lows have the Dodge durango which is awesome and a really nice car and and of the gmc subs are nice they had am envoy for years and the third row was a little roomier then the durango. But if this will be a long term car make sure that you and your husband both sit in the 3rd row to make sure it's comfortable for 2 adults. That will be your test.

We just got an Acura MDX and really love it. It's a bit pricey, but it has a lot of great safety features to it. Our kids were comfortable in the 3rd row when we used it. Acura is just plain pleasant to deal with ... no slimey salespeople and business practices. That's what got us to buy another Acura. We're big on the Honda family of products.

Our first SUV with a 3rd row was a Volvo XC90. I loved it! But, once #3 arrived, access to the 3rd row was limited. We had 1 car seat behind the driver and 1 behind the passenger. Our oldest (who was only 5) was having to climb into the 3rd row to get to his car seat. The only way to the 3rd row was to fold one of the sides of the 2nd row down--this was impossible with 2 car seats latched in. I mention this b/c my sis has the same problem with her Honda Pilot--and hates it!

We traded for a GMC Acadia. The Acadia has captain's chairs in the 2nd row. My oldest could easily walk to the 3rd row. I LOVED my Acadia!!! Last year hubby thought we needed more room, so we traded up to a Suburban. I love my suburban, but I really loved my Acadia.

Acadia's are similar to the Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave.

P.S. We totally agree with your hubby!

LOVE the look, feel, and comfort level of the GMC Acadia, but we bought it the first year it came out and started having problems with it--guess when--right after the warranty expired!!! Also a huge gas guzzler.

We went through this a few years ago and looked at just about every possible vehicle with a 3rd row. I wanted a Toyota Sequoia but decided against it since we didn't need THAT much room. MANY of the crossovers with a 3rd row have a VERY small 3rd row, that when in use takes away most, if not all, storage. I loved the look of the Acadia but the model years we were looking at were under the Do Not Buy category in Consumer reports because of maintenance issues. I believe newer models are much more reliable.

In the end, we ended up with a Mazda CX-9 and we like it.. the 3rd row is roomy enough and there is still some storage if we use it. It certainly isn't as big as a SUV with a 3rd row, but it works well for us. The gas mileage could be better, but isn't bad.

How old are your kiddos? I just got a new nissan pathfinder and I think it is great. Great gas mileage for a 3rd seat crossover and much better resale value than a dodge or chevy. My boys are 10 and 8 and it works great for us!

Hello,

We are in the same boat as you. Have tested Mazda CX-9, Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, and Chevy Traverse.

Liked driving all of them - but the Toyota Highlander's 3rd row is a joke! Really, my average sized 8 year old was squashed back there. We've been a Toyota family for years - we are trading in my husband's 2001 4 Runner with 205K on it for our new vehicle and I drive a Sienna which I love, previously drove a Solara!

Our mechanic warned us that both Kia and Hyundai only offer proprietary parts so if you plan to keep vehicle a long time it can become expensive to fix and you may have to use a dealership. That took both of them off the table for us.

I prefer the Traverse - super roomy and loved it but am concerned about some of the consumer reports on past model years. We are leaning Pilot but learned last night that the Ford Explorer now has a 3rd row so will test it this weekend.

Report back on which way you go. Thanks! C.