Advise on a Vehicle with a 3Rd Row

I have a Ford Flex. It drives soo smooth. It seats 7 and has a third row. You can get a 6 seater with captain chairs for the second row if you prefer.

The body shape is a little retro and fun, like an old fashioned beach cruiser. the sync and sirius radio were great little perks as well.

We have a Cadillac SRX and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!

I needed the same thing with my 2 boys under the age of 6. It just seemed like with 2 car seats, I couldn’t take anybody else in my silly Trailblazer. I bought the Volvo XC90 and LOVE IT!!!!

I looked at the Toyoda Highlander, GMC Acadia, Buick Rendezvous, Tahoe and although I liked the idea of the Captain’s chairs… All of the above mentioned vehicles are actually as much if not more than a Volvo and they don’t have all of the safety features.

I am very happy with my truck and love the service that comes with the dealership and warranty. Let’s just say I was never catered to at the Chevrolet dealership!

It also sits kind of low so you get that sedan feel... not like in the Tahoe :) And... don't forget that it has the integrated booster in the middle, my 5 year old loves that!

Good Luck!
E.

I love my Buick Enclave. I've sat in the 3rd row myself (in between 2 kids in boosters) and I fit fine. Wouldn't want to ride for hours and hours like that but it was certainly more than ok for the 45 minutes I rode. The captains chairs in the middle row are very comfy. If you are using all 3 rows for seating the trunk space is not great. Plenty of room for groceries or soccer gear, etc. but you couldn't have a ton of stuff back there without putting the 3rd row seats down. Once you do that though there is a ton of room if you do need it. Also the 3rd row splits so you could have one person sit back there and still use the other half for other stuff if you need to.

Good luck!
K.

Like Heather, I have a 2007 Hyundai Veracruz and LOVE it. I just couldn't drive one more minivan! I am currently in the process of trading mine in and am stuck between the 2010 Veracruz and the 2010 Buick Enclave. Both seat 7, but the Buick has 2nd row captain's chairs, which would be sweet. Unfortunately, the price tag is not so sweet :(

I would check out the Hyundai Veracruz Limited if your budget is a little on the lower side and the Enclave if you can spring for a little more - I think you will love them both!

Good luck :)

I'm in your shoes and we are buying a Minivan. Odyssey Touring. We test drove some SUVs with third rows, and they are just so small.

If you want something sexy, how about a Land Rover? There isn't much storage, but the third row fits an actual adult comfortably.

Most of the 3rd rows are really for kids, but putting car seats in is a pain.

i personally like suv's we have 3 kids all in boosters, we had a tahoe for a few years until it broke and then went to a suburban we can fit 7 in it, has captains chairs in the middle and a full bench 3rd row, we can fit all 4 dogs in it with all 5 of us and every one has their room we had a kia sedona as a rental at one point and i actually liked it and we had a toyota highlander as a rental and i absolutly hated it no room at all i say test drive everything that you may like and see what seems to feel like it fits better, yes it is a bit pricy to fill up my beast but i average about 500 miles to each tank and alot of that well most is around town and i have a special needs kid that has tons of appointments so it doesnt do bad, we all love the suburban but its what you feel like fits within your means and what fits your family best that you go for good luck

I know several people who have a Toyota Highlander and love it. Standard size SUV with a 3rd row that goes down for more storage.

I have three kids and they are 3 and under so needless to say I needed something that would fit the car seats. We went the Infiniti QX56 and I love it. I've owned it for a year now and I have no regrets! It's big but that's what I was looking for. Good luck with you search!

Honda Odyssey...minivan of champions! With 3 kids, we have to have space. It handles pretty much like a car, but has plenty of cargo and passenger space. We wrecked our first one (not our fault), and none of us was hurt significantly although the car was totalled. The kids were 2 and 4 then. It did it's job of protecting us, and we got an almost identical one to replace it. It's about time for me to get a new one (108,000 miles on mine), and I'm not even considering anything other than a newer Odyssey.

We have 3 kids and also needed 3 rows. I drove a minvan for 10 years and it served us well but wanted something different. We purchased a Volvo XC90 and I love it. They are also offering 5 years of free bumper to bumper maintenance which was a huge incentive to me.

I have a 2007 Hyundai Vera Cruz - with all the bells and whistles. (Leather, dvd, 6 disc) This is the crossover. It looks a lot like the Lexus. It drives great, handling is smooth, it's quiet on the road. The downside with crossovers is most have NO cargo space when the third row is up. I can't even put a decent grocery shop in the back if the third row is up. I would guess I could fit 6 bags back there... maybe? So consider your needs -- will you want to be able to use all three rows AND have luggage behind you? What about grocery shopping? If you can throw the third row down.. then its no issue. Lots of room.

I also have a 2008 Town & Country Touring (Leather, dvd, automatic tailgate, power doors, harddrive for storing music, etc.) Minivans aren't sexy, but they really are the best for carrying around 3+ kids and having room to spare. The cargo space in the back is fantastic... add to that the "Stow and Go" and we have the Swivel n Go seats, so the middle row can turn backwards and there is a table.. great for long trips so the kids can play games. Though technically a 7 seater because of the captains seats I would warn, the town and country cannot fit three car seats across the back row, so if you have a very large family you may want to look at actual seat measurements. The T&C doesn't drive nearly as nice as the Hyundai Vera Cruz. It's night as tight on turns, not as car like.. but again, it is a minivan.

The other Crossover I really like is the Buick Enclave/Chevy Traverse. The reviews have been positive and it has more space then most crossovers.
It has 24 cubic feet of space with the third row in use. That's more then the Honda Pilot if memory serves correctly. (For a comparison) Cargo space is something you don't think about until you don't have it. Trying to save you from making my mistake :) I think my Hyundai has 13cu ft. So if thats a deal breaker for you - something to look for when you're shopping.

Edit: I saw someone mention the Cadillac SRX. My father is actually a salesman at Sewell Cadillac in Grapevine - so I just saw the new ones. They got redesigned for 2010 and don't have the third row this year :( They are VERY nice. My mother has one.. She has a 2007. So if you're looking at used it's a great buy for still getting the third row and getting the Cadillac brand.

One more thing I found VERY useful when I was car hunting was http://www.edmunds.com/ I read the customer reviews on cars I was interested in, it gave me an idea what kind of issues people had, what complaints they had. I also love their True Market Value (TMV) calculator. It gives you a fair market price on the vehicle you want, equipped as you want it. It basically tells you what others in your area are paying for that vehicle so you don't get taken. Love that site. :)

I LOVED my Dodge Durango! Mine sat 7 (2 up front, 3 in middle, folding rear seat sat 2), had tons of room for legs, heads, storage, etc. I miss it terribly since we downsized to a Hyundai Santa Fe for $ reasons.