Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:three kids in a three row doesn't really work.

Options include
1. jamming all three across in 2nd row. Does it work? I guess so.. but are your kids so close they continuously touch each other and therefore fight more? yes. It is also difficult to buckle in a booster because of the other two car seats.
2. Putting one of the kids in the third row. Does it work? I guess so... but then you have almost no trunk space for said family of 5. It is also very difficult to access the third row unless you opt for captains seats in the second row.. but by doing that it means you will ALWAYS have a kid in the third row and therefore never any truck space.

Minivans and full size SUVs have trunks that are functional when the third row is in use

Functional yes, but not family of 5 going to the beach functional.... Minivans are bigger then SUVs no matter how you slice it. Minivans have a deep trunk that sinks down and provides a ton of extra cargo. If you compare the Highlander to the Sienna -- the Sienna offers more passenger space, with a total passenger volume of 162.5 cu-ft, compared to 141.3 cu-ft for the Highlander and has a maximum cargo capacity of 101.0 cu-ft, compared to 84.3 cu-ft for the Highlander.

A highlander isn't a full size SUV. A Sequoia is Toyota's full size SUV.

Don't like the Kia or the Higlander. Forget the mini van!

I have a Buick Enclave. Luxury with lots of space on the back!

Having spent a decent amount of time in the 2 cars listed in the title, I don’t want either one of them. Neither has a viable 3rd row, and the finishes are cheap on the Kia for what it costs. Our family member has the tippy top trim and the seats are just not nice.

Anonymous wrote:We have the Ascent and love outside of the DMV so have crap roads and it’s held up great, no issues. We use the third row and it’s much better than Highlander. But having rented minivans I wish we had gone the captains chairs minivan round now that the kids are a bit older. Will drive the Ascent till it can’t drive anymore.

Just wait til your cvt crosses 80k. Kaboom.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:three kids in a three row doesn't really work.

Options include
1. jamming all three across in 2nd row. Does it work? I guess so.. but are your kids so close they continuously touch each other and therefore fight more? yes. It is also difficult to buckle in a booster because of the other two car seats.
2. Putting one of the kids in the third row. Does it work? I guess so... but then you have almost no trunk space for said family of 5. It is also very difficult to access the third row unless you opt for captains seats in the second row.. but by doing that it means you will ALWAYS have a kid in the third row and therefore never any truck space.

Minivans and full size SUVs have trunks that are functional when the third row is in use

Functional yes, but not family of 5 going to the beach functional.... Minivans are bigger then SUVs no matter how you slice it. Minivans have a deep trunk that sinks down and provides a ton of extra cargo. If you compare the Highlander to the Sienna -- the Sienna offers more passenger space, with a total passenger volume of 162.5 cu-ft, compared to 141.3 cu-ft for the Highlander and has a maximum cargo capacity of 101.0 cu-ft, compared to 84.3 cu-ft for the Highlander.

We just took our Siena to the beach for a family of 5. You can half fold the 3rd row seat to allow one person to sit there while using the rest for cargo. We had plenty of room without needing to use the roof rack. It would have been harder to fit everything if we had used both seats in the third row.

Subaru Ascent or VA Atlas. The Highlander hybrid is great for fuel economy but has a third row that is basically unusable by any average sized adult.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:three kids in a three row doesn't really work.

Options include
1. jamming all three across in 2nd row. Does it work? I guess so.. but are your kids so close they continuously touch each other and therefore fight more? yes. It is also difficult to buckle in a booster because of the other two car seats.
2. Putting one of the kids in the third row. Does it work? I guess so... but then you have almost no trunk space for said family of 5. It is also very difficult to access the third row unless you opt for captains seats in the second row.. but by doing that it means you will ALWAYS have a kid in the third row and therefore never any truck space.

Minivans and full size SUVs have trunks that are functional when the third row is in use

Functional yes, but not family of 5 going to the beach functional.... Minivans are bigger then SUVs no matter how you slice it. Minivans have a deep trunk that sinks down and provides a ton of extra cargo. If you compare the Highlander to the Sienna -- the Sienna offers more passenger space, with a total passenger volume of 162.5 cu-ft, compared to 141.3 cu-ft for the Highlander and has a maximum cargo capacity of 101.0 cu-ft, compared to 84.3 cu-ft for the Highlander.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:three kids in a three row doesn't really work.

Options include
1. jamming all three across in 2nd row. Does it work? I guess so.. but are your kids so close they continuously touch each other and therefore fight more? yes. It is also difficult to buckle in a booster because of the other two car seats.
2. Putting one of the kids in the third row. Does it work? I guess so... but then you have almost no trunk space for said family of 5. It is also very difficult to access the third row unless you opt for captains seats in the second row.. but by doing that it means you will ALWAYS have a kid in the third row and therefore never any truck space.

So what are we supposed to do??

Get a minivan haha.

never say never

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:three kids in a three row doesn't really work.

Options include
1. jamming all three across in 2nd row. Does it work? I guess so.. but are your kids so close they continuously touch each other and therefore fight more? yes. It is also difficult to buckle in a booster because of the other two car seats.
2. Putting one of the kids in the third row. Does it work? I guess so... but then you have almost no trunk space for said family of 5. It is also very difficult to access the third row unless you opt for captains seats in the second row.. but by doing that it means you will ALWAYS have a kid in the third row and therefore never any truck space.

So what are we supposed to do??

Get a minivan haha.

We were in the same boat. The Telluride is being marked up and you may have to wait for one. This is similar to vans, and possibly the Highlander (after looking at it, we didn’t bother inquiring because the third row seemed too small). Usually 3.5-5K markups and for most makes you will have to wait a minimum of a few months. The carnival you may be able to order more quickly but will still likely pay 5K over MRSP.
The Atlas is the largest mid-size SUV, has great car seat features and is available at almost all local dealers. There are discounts being offered in the lower trims, too. We would have gotten a van, if they were easier to buy right now, but the Atlas is a solid second choice. Go for the bench seat and if you need more cargo space, you can fit three across in the midrow (all 3 seats have LATCH) and there is a car seat tilt feature on both sides for third row access. The tilt feature will not work with fear facing car seats or with seatbelt installation for the 2 outboard seats, but usually you can make any setup work easily unless at some point all 3 will be in rear facing.

Anonymous wrote:three kids in a three row doesn't really work.

Options include
1. jamming all three across in 2nd row. Does it work? I guess so.. but are your kids so close they continuously touch each other and therefore fight more? yes. It is also difficult to buckle in a booster because of the other two car seats.
2. Putting one of the kids in the third row. Does it work? I guess so... but then you have almost no trunk space for said family of 5. It is also very difficult to access the third row unless you opt for captains seats in the second row.. but by doing that it means you will ALWAYS have a kid in the third row and therefore never any truck space.

Minivans and full size SUVs have trunks that are functional when the third row is in use

Anonymous wrote:three kids in a three row doesn't really work.

Options include
1. jamming all three across in 2nd row. Does it work? I guess so.. but are your kids so close they continuously touch each other and therefore fight more? yes. It is also difficult to buckle in a booster because of the other two car seats.
2. Putting one of the kids in the third row. Does it work? I guess so... but then you have almost no trunk space for said family of 5. It is also very difficult to access the third row unless you opt for captains seats in the second row.. but by doing that it means you will ALWAYS have a kid in the third row and therefore never any truck space.

So what are we supposed to do??

Absolutely love my KIA. I was stopped just today by someone who said their daughter wanted one. We bought a used one for our daughter at college. That went so well we bought a new one pre-covid. Cars have NEVER had an issue

three kids in a three row doesn't really work.

Options include
1. jamming all three across in 2nd row. Does it work? I guess so.. but are your kids so close they continuously touch each other and therefore fight more? yes. It is also difficult to buckle in a booster because of the other two car seats.
2. Putting one of the kids in the third row. Does it work? I guess so... but then you have almost no trunk space for said family of 5. It is also very difficult to access the third row unless you opt for captains seats in the second row.. but by doing that it means you will ALWAYS have a kid in the third row and therefore never any truck space.

Can we just say it one more time... MINIVAN.

You think you want a third row, what what you NEED is a minivan.