3rd Row SUV

[Emptyhanded]

I did a search and didn’t find anything pertaining to the family grocery getters, so I figured I’d ask. We currently have a CR-V that’s great, but we are needing more cargo space after having a kid and getting a second lab. We are undecided on new or pre owned, probably depending on what we can get out of the CR-V. Our main criteria is reliability and cargo space, but not wanting to get into the full size Tahoe/suburban class. What are your thoughts? I’ve been looking at highlanders, Chevy traverse (v6 and the new turbo 4 cylinder, curious on longevity of either?), used Audi q7 (unsure of increased maintenance cost) and Honda pilot. Open to other options and hoping to hear some first hand experiences. Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dhoey07]

We have a Subaru Ascent.  Zero issues so far, 40k miles. 

[fishngamereaper]

We have an '18 Highlander and love it... rarely use the third row for people but the cargo area is great for two big dogs..and still roomy enough for 5.

Sis in law has an Audi and anything that needs fixing is a PIA..$$$$$

[b23]

My wife's daily driver up until a year ago was a 2017 Explorer Platinum.  It was a 7 passenger and the 3rd row seat folded down completely flat when not in use which gives you a very large cargo space if you ever need it.  Had the 3.5 ecoboost motor so it had plenty of power yet still did well on fuel.  It was a great trouble free vehicle that served our family very well.  My wife and daughter ski all winter the last five vehicles she's had have all been AWD and my wife said it was the best vehicle she's ever driven in the snow.

[hughjorgan]

IMO the midsize is going to not offer you much cargo space if any. We have a honda pilot, compared it with the Toyota Highlander when we bought it. The highlander seemed more cramped compared to the pilot. At the time we had two kids and two dogs and if we loaded everyone and all the critters up there is very little room left to put anything in the cargo area. If you put up the third row up you’ll have about a foot of space between the hatch and seat. We ended up buying a second SUV this past year; a full size Ford Expedition. It has a ton more space even more so than the Honda, I can put my third row up in the ford and still has more cargo space than the Honda, way more power and gets almost the same fuel economy as our mid size SUV.

[BD1]

We love my wife's Durango RT...lots of room and it hauls ______ 

[brokenvet]

If you go with the Tahoe, look for one that has the 3.0L Turbo Diesel engine.

Have the same engine in my Silverado 1500 and I get 31 miles per gallon while fully loaded,(1K lbs load in the bed), but have to go 60-65mph.  Great low end torque for towing.

[jrebel]

We have a Toyota 4Runner with third row.  The third row is for kids only…we almost never use it.  When the third row is folded down it has quite a bit of cargos room. 67k and no problems.   Great rigs

[WSU]

I think you'll find that almost none of them have a useful amount of cargo space with the 3rd row up.  Many have lots of space with the 3rd row down.  Even the tahoe has very, very little space with the 3rd row up. 

We previously had a pilot and it was fine with two rows of seating.  We still put a roof rack on it if we were hauling kids and dogs.  We ended up getting a suburban, which still has cargo room with 3 rows up. 

Bottom line, if you want 3 rows of seating and cargo space, you are looking at a suburban or similar.

[Emptyhanded]

Thanks for the input guys. We are more interested in the cargo space with the 3rd row folded down. We’d be hauling 2 labs and a kid at this point, plus whatever baggage is needed. I’m almost thinking the smart move is to skip the midsize and look at a Tahoe, armada or sequoia. But I’m not positive any of them will fit in my garage haha!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Igor]

My wife has a 2020 GMC Acadia AT4, 3.6 V-6, 9-speed, AWD.  She loves it!

The 3rd row is usually folded down, and there is a lot of cargo space.  She has a friend who uses a wheel-chair, and there is plenty of room to carry it when folded up.  The leg room in the second row is great.....unlike many of the newer SUVs.  Even larger-sized adults often comment on how roomy it is.

We test-drove many SUVs before we bought it, and the Acadia has the most cargo space of all that we looked at.

My advice would be to stay away from any SUV that has a turbo.

[BeWitty]

I did this entire comparison a few years ago for my wife’s vehicle. Compared 4Runner, traverse, Acadia, pilot, and Highlander. I wanted to stay away from German made cars because of maintenance costs and I like to work on them when I need to.

Ruled out Acadia, 4Runner, Highlander because of space. Either the 3rd row was very small or basically no cargo space when 3rd row was up.

We ended up going with the new 2019 Traverse and it has served us well. 45k miles and just replaced tires and alternator. Pilots are also very nice but not quite as much cargo space IMO.

The traverse is nearly as long as the Tahoe and my wife liked it way more cause it’s not as wide and easier for her to park.

[highside74]

We bought a 2018 v6 Highlander new and love it. My wife has put 100k miles on it without issue. I'm 6'4 and can sit in the 2nd row with lots of legroom. We've had 6 adults in it and everyone was impressed about the space. Rear seat folds flat when not needed. We originally were looking at a Tahoe or 4 runner with 3rd row. My wife felt the Tahoe was to big and we were set on the 4runner until I had her drive the Highlander. She picked the Highlander hands down.

[HikerHunter]

Most or all of the smaller 3rd Row SUVs will fold the back seats down separately or at least in two parts, so you could still have a passenger or two in the back row and have some room for cargo. We used out Pilot that way a few times.

[Ghost Hunter]

If you happen to see a clean, low mileage 2013 - 2016 FJ Cruiser while you are looking.      Might work for you.

[brew]

My wife's daily driver is a Buick Enclave.  She loves it.  We realized after we bought it the "old person's car" (Buick) finally fits us

[kball4]

I want a Durango Hellcat  , but the wife is looking at Grand Highlander hybrid that gets 34 mpg.

[Mtnwalker]

No complaints with the Highlander its been a great rig. Still gets cramped in a hurry with 2 dogs and 2 kids though

[pianoman9701]

I traded in my Grand Cherokee Laredo, son, and Dobernam for a Toyota Tacoma. The back seat and bed are length of room for a cat carrier and groceries. No Regerts!

[HntnFsh]

My wife's daily driver is a Buick Enclave.  She loves it.  We realized after we bought it the "old person's car" (Buick) finally fits us

Buick makes a very reliable comfortable rig. We loved our Lacrosse. Looked at the SUVs last time we shopped and didnt like the mpg.

[HntnFsh]

We bought a new Kia Sorrento SX prestige hybrid last May. I looked at and rode in all of the brands. Didnt like the comfort of the Honda CRv or the Toyota Highlander or Venza. They are  great rigs but we got way more bang for the buck buying the Kia. Way more comfortable, more quiet. Great smooth ride. 36 mpg all summer. A little over 32 right now. Its hard for me to dis on Toyota because we have had several. Including a 2020 Avalon Limited Hybrid that was extremely reliable and got 42mpg all of the time. But within a half hour of sitting in the passenger seat I was squirming trying to get comfortable. The Kia is way more comfy. Even the highest level Highlanders and Venzas had limited adjustability on the passenger seat. Even the electric ones. Which was surprisingly hard to find. Our Sorrento has 3rd row seats but we leave them down all of the time. We also found that cars south of us were running $3000-$7000 cheaper than the same cars to the north of us.

The only thing is, you may still want more room than the Sorrento has. I would say its close to the Highlander that I wanted so badly. Also the high end Highlander was running 8-10,000 dollars more than the top of the line Sorrento we bought.

[mountainman]

Take a hard look at the new 2024 Grand Highlander. More cargo than the standard Highlander. Gas or Hybrid (36mpg) and a Max Hybrid model at 340 hp👍

[Emptyhanded]

Thanks for the info guys! That grand Highlander would probably be the ticket, but I’m curious the see what the street price will be.
Any experience with VW atlas or Nissan Armada? I’m seeing mostly negatives on Audi, safe to assume VW is in the same boat?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[blackveltbowhunter]

Several friends have had highlanders, decent mileage and reliable. I always thought they were fine in the comfort department, but was in the minority. I would get one if it suited my family needs for sure.  Complaints seemed to be the lack of comfort and the room overall ie...lots of seating but tight seats.

In-laws had a traverse. Was very smooth, and comfortable. Spent a lot of time at the dealership/shop.

Personally, would shy away from audi, VW. Comfortable but expensive to maintain seems to be the consenus and feed back.

I have a bigger family and more dogs, LOL. So a bigger SUV is needed. If more kids are in the plan save yourself the time and just get a 4runner now. 

[ipkus]

Wife is in her second Atlas, I think there’s been two little recall items in 6 years between the two.  Other than that, change the oil/rotate and buy tires.

I don’t drive it much but she loves it.  I will say there is more storage room in the back with the third row seat up than anything else we looked at, including a Tahoe.

[BIGINNER]

X2 on the Atlas   has ours for 5 years  no issues at all. Tons of cargo space and 3rd row space.  We ended up getting a suburban recently just because we outgrew the atlas

[andersonjk4]

I am Ford biased.  I have only owned Fords except one Nissan Rogue, but I have owned all of the various sizes of SUVs.  Had an Escape pre-kids and with 2 dogs and it was a great fit.  Had a kid and added a dog, so went to an Explorer with the 3rd row and that fit the bill nicely.  Added a couple more kids and still had a dog, so the Explorer was getting too cramped having the 3rd row up all the time, so we went up to an Expedition Max.  I think the Explorer was my wifes favorite of the three and sounds like that size range would be a good fit for your situation.     

[steeleywhopper]

The only thing I can offer in this conversation is please don't make the same mistake we did and buy a GMC Acadia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is one of GMC's cars that should have been aborted!!!

[dutchmanaz]

We bought an Audi Q7 AWD last march and have been thoroughly enjoying it.  We only have about 9K miles on it, with no troubles yet.  We've used the back row seats once or twice, but usually leave them folded down.  Good enough for kids, but I wouldn't want to sit back there.  Beautiful machine, quiet,  lots of fun to drive and that thing flat MOVES.  Have to be careful because you'll get going much faster than it seems. 
I'm hopeful it will hold up and not give us problems. We did buy the extended Audi care warranty as a precaution.  Might take a look at Costco if you're a member.  I've heard good things about it.  Good luck in your choice!

[IslandHunter]

Volvo xc90 has been great for me and my family. Even towed a utility trailer and dirt bikes on a few occasions while my truck was down.

The 2008 (I think) to 2013 uses a 3.2 liter inline six that is known to go well over 200K with minimal issues. I bought mine with 110K on it for a pretty reasonable price and refreshed the suspension and breaks and it has been perfect otherwise. Super safe and enjoyable to drive.

Stay away from the v8 it is known to break timing belts and destroy the engine. I remember there being some electrical issues with the 2014 and newer but never looking into it much since I found a nice 2013 before I considered something newer.