Best three row vehicle that is not a minivan

[Anonymous]

I vote for the Buick Enclave. We have had an Odyssey and an XC90 and by far, I love the Enclave the most. The Odyseey was great, don't get me wrong and it had great gas mileage. I only traded it in b/c we moved to the city and thought we were done at 2. Well fast forward 9 months and when #3 arrived, we researched and decided on the Enclave. We like to say it has the minivan feel, without being a minivan. We have the model with 2nd row captain chairs and it's very easy for our child who uses a booster to access the third row, it's roomy enough that if i have to, i can nurse our infant in the third row (car parked of course). Happy Car Searching!

[Anonymous]

We love our toyota sequoia. Very roomy, still lots of storage and is a great suv to drive. We have captains chairs in the second row but there is a bench option. The third row has a latch on one side and the safety belts are not too far away for a booster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:another vote for Mazda5. It is good as a small vehicle with the 3rd row option, for occasional use. We don't put grownups (aside from ourselves) in the 3rd row, but it is nice to have that extra seating at times. Also, the 3rd row is split, so you can make it fit 5 seats with one half of the third row still folded flat.

2nd row is captains seats, which I was not especially looking for, but turns out to be nice for 2 kids in the car -- they have some separation, easier to reach their seat belt straps. And there's a litte fold out table between them.

It has manual sliding back doors, a la a minivan, which turns out to be great for keeping my child from swinging his door into other parked cars in a parking lot.

Why do people keep suggesting this? It is a minivan and a bare bones one at that. Until the redesign it didn't even have power doors/gate.

As for the MDX, I know two people who reluctantly traded them for Odysseys when the reality of 2 kids set in. My traverse/Acadia friends seem the happiest of the non-minivan crowd.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for the MDX. I traded my trusty minivan for it 4 years ago and I still just love it! Third row is small but my mom and I can ride in it long enough to get to Ocean City.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When we bought our 3-row SUV a few years ago, the Volvo XC90 was the best option- middle of 2nd row folds down for access to 3rd row with carseats in outer seats of 2nd row, most cargo room even with 3rd row up, and airbags in 3rd row. The Highlander, Pilot, MDX, and others didn't have those features then, but it sounds like they may now. Anyway, we love ou
r XC90.

Thanks for the info. Went to carmax and tried pilot and xc90 today...both definitely had gpod third row access and beyter cargo space than other bramds i have tried evem the larger metcedes gl and lexus lx.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for typos ...typed on phone

[Anonymous]

I had a Volvo XC90 for 6 years and I LOVED that car. The third row is bare bones and tight, but I only had two kids so it worked for me.

Now I have 3 and an Enclave. The interior is great with the Captain's chairs. As a pp mentioned, my oldest can walk right to the 3rd row and buckle himself in. It's a true third row and Grandma and I sit there when they're in town. But I HATE the trunk. Shit falls out when I open it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we bought our 3-row SUV a few years ago, the Volvo XC90 was the best option- middle of 2nd row folds down for access to 3rd row with carseats in outer seats of 2nd row, most cargo room even with 3rd row up, and airbags in 3rd row. The Highlander, Pilot, MDX, and others didn't have those features then, but it sounds like they may now. Anyway, we love ou
r XC90.

Thanks for the info. Went to carmax and tried pilot and xc90 today...both definitely had gpod third row access and beyter cargo space than other bramds i have tried evem the larger metcedes gl and lexus lx.

Boy, did I ever HATE my Volvo... 34 service visits in 37 months at that point, I had ENOUGH and traded it on a minivan. Even the service advisors at Volvo felt sorry for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

As for the MDX, I know two people who reluctantly traded them for Odysseys when the reality of 2 kids set in. My traverse/Acadia friends seem the happiest of the non-minivan crowd.

I don't understand. What reality of 2 kids would lead you to trade in an MDX? The only reality I'm worried about is my kids trashing the car, and I'd care less with a minivan.

[Anonymous]

Any one with an enclave/Arcadia/etc able to comment on whether you could fit 2 kids, a double stroller and an 80 poud dog? We have a Lexus RX, which I LOVE, but it is tight already. I'm pregnant with #2. We're hoping to make this car work for a while, but will need to go bigger soon. We may have a 3rd kid as well, so should we just go straight to a minivan or giant SUV like a Tahoe or sequoia? We do a lot of weekend trips with the dog so we need the space!

[Anonymous]

I have an Enclave, PP, and I can easily fit my 3 kids, my dog, and luggage into the car. The back seat folds down into 2 parts, so you can always fit stuff in. With 2 kids you could put the whole backseat down which gives you tons of room. Even the regular cargo area was far larger than most of the other SUV's I drove. My only complaint about the car is its gas mileage. With my almost all city driving, I fill up at least once a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try Chevy tahoe..i LOVE LOVE LOVE mine.

But why do you hate clean air?

LOVE my Tahoe

[Anonymous]

have an mdx with three kids - love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we bought our 3-row SUV a few years ago, the Volvo XC90 was the best option- middle of 2nd row folds down for access to 3rd row with carseats in outer seats of 2nd row, most cargo room even with 3rd row up, and airbags in 3rd row. The Highlander, Pilot, MDX, and others didn't have those features then, but it sounds like they may now. Anyway, we love ou
r XC90.

Thanks for the info. Went to carmax and tried pilot and xc90 today...both definitely had gpod third row access and beyter cargo space than other bramds i have tried evem the larger metcedes gl and lexus lx.

Boy, did I ever HATE my Volvo... 34 service visits in 37 months at that point, I had ENOUGH and traded it on a minivan. Even the service advisors at Volvo felt sorry for me.

Same here!!! Did you have the early XC-90? The one that had the transmission blow because they used a Pontiac transmission on a truck? I also had a very expensive part go on the anti-rollover feature. UGH! I still have that beast (the AP drives it). God, do I hate it!!!!

[Anonymous]

we have 3 kids and so far love the 2011 subaru outback. it doesn't have 3 rows but we get 2 car seats and a kid in th emiddle and have lots of trunk space and good gas mileage. I don't understand 2 kid families who think they need a giant car.