Anonymous wrote:GMC Acadia or Ford Expedition if you want bigger.
I had a minivan for a while and really didn’t like driving it and the cargo area was awkward.

Expedition is way bigger - comparable to the Tahoe. The Explorer is equivalent to the Acadia and everything else in this thread.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Second the VW Atlas. It's been great. We found the trunk space (with the 3rd row in use) to be better than any other SUV or minivan we test drove. Our dog rides comfortably between the captain's chairs!

Yeah no, it's literally a fraction of the space a minivan would provide. It has 20 cubic feet of space behind the third row - vs. the Siena's 39 and Odyssey's 38.

Maybe but at least it isn't a minivan

VW Atlas

We bought a used Mercedes 2017 GLS 450 last year for $48, 25K miles still under warranty until 50K. No captains chairs and fuel economy isn't the best but overall its great. Third row has lots of space, we have had up to 8 people in it (4 adults & 4 kids) still some luggage space with 3rd row up. 360 view camera compensates for it being a beast and it has features up the wazoo. Middle row seats move up automatically for access to third row, I can send GPS address to it from my phone (spouse calls me all the time while driving somewhere can you send the blah, blah address to the car) 3rd row seats can be put up or down automatically from trunk space, for $350 for 3 years the car has its own WiFi hot spot with unlimited data (can be buggy sometimes though), free remote start, door lock\unlock from your phone, etc.

I am not a car person and probably shouldn't be making recommendations, but I was just in a Ford Flex (via Uber) and was impressed enough to write down the name. It had captain chairs and a back seat that folds down to be completely flat. It felt more like a station wagon than an SUV, which is what I liked about it.

GMC Acadia or Ford Expedition if you want bigger.
I had a minivan for a while and really didn’t like driving it and the cargo area was awkward.

We had a Chrysler minivan and I ove my Subaru ascent so much more. But we only have two kids and I hate carpooling

Rent a minivan on a vacation and try it. I did that and I was hooked. Unfortunately, that was 2 months after I bought a Subaru Ascent. Which is fine, but honestly drives like a minivan, so it's basically a cooler looking, but less convenient minivan.

Anonymous wrote:Second the VW Atlas. It's been great. We found the trunk space (with the 3rd row in use) to be better than any other SUV or minivan we test drove. Our dog rides comfortably between the captain's chairs!

Yeah no, it's literally a fraction of the space a minivan would provide. It has 20 cubic feet of space behind the third row - vs. the Siena's 39 and Odyssey's 38.

Minivan. Just accept it. You will be so happy.

Anonymous wrote:It's called a minivan.

This.

Minivan or Pilot, or Suburban/Expedition like some have said. But for the value, just get a minivan. A Honda Odyssey Elite is suprisingly nice, and will feel familiar to your MDX.

The newer MDXs have a captains chair option.

Anonymous wrote:The other issue with putting three kids across a bench seat and folding the third row down for traveling (like a beach vacation where you need the storage), is that the bigger your kids get, the less they fit all sitting in one row.

But I agree, Captains Chairs are even sillier than a woman with 3 kids and a dog who carpools who is too silly to buy a minivan for mysterious reasons.

This is true. My DH bought a smallish SUV and we can't all take it anywhere because the 11, 9, and 8 year olds are completely crushed back there.