Cars w/ 3rd row seat

RatLabGuy

RatLabGuy

You look like a monkey and smell like one too
Joined
May 18, 2005
Location
Churchville, MD
Wife wants to upgrade her car. She's had a '10 Mazda5 since new. It's been a good car but it's small... clearly made for Japanese families... even I have to push the front seat all the way back and I'm only 5'9".
Kids are bigger now (6 and 12) and at the age we often have friends. Adding a 60# dog was the final straw.

She's determined she needs a car w/ a 3rd row seat - but won't drive a van and historically doesn't like big SUVs.
What recommendations have ye? This is the classic family mom use. AWD etc is a bonus but not required, We don't really need 4wd but I certainly wouldn't complain. Don't want terrible gas mileage since it will also be the family trip and around-town car (mine is a POS). Probably looking in the 10-12k range.

she drove a friend's '10 Pathfinder and said she liked it, which surprised me b/c that IMO is pretty much an SUV. I know Pathys have changed a lot over the years and the newest gen is unibody but what else to look out for? Is the V8 even worth it?

What about Highlanders? They're a bit more expensive. Or Mazda CX-9? Honda Pilot?
 
E150 Club Wagon
 
Tahoe/Burban and dont look back.
Get her to drive one before she says no.
Just 1 test drive
 
Newer durango.

My wife was in the same boat. She didn't like the size of the Tahoe/burb, even though not much different.

Got the v6, 2wd. It averages ~20mpg, mixed driving. They have AWD & hemi, but i suspect either makes mileage worse.

It wasnt 10-12k however.

Have friends with a Pilot and they like it. Was actually riding in one this week, an adult was able to sit in with another in front, both ~6ft
 
Ron said:
Tahoe/Burban and dont look back.
Get her to drive one before she says no.
Just 1 test drive
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I absolutely loved my Tahoe & hate that I got rid of it. The size was perfect & it was a really comfortable ride...even for an adult sitting in the 3rd row. I've actually been eyeing them again (along with Excursions).
 
obullfish said:
Ford Flex. Very comfortable vehicle and plenty of power with the ecoboost and awd.
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unfortunately they are ugly as hell.

Wow after showing some pics of Tahoes she says "I'm not apposed to that", maybe this could work out.
Previously when I suggested a 4Runenr she immediately said NO but I think that's an automatic aversion after all the years of the '88 hunk of beat up rust thats still occupying the garage
 
We bought a Dodge journey. Wife likes it. Can fit 7 people. Has good power, plenty of comfort. Handles pretty good too. Not a suv..not a car. Dual climate front and rear, so 4 climate zones.
 
LBarr2002 said:
But there's no room behind the back seats. Go ahead and get a Suburban/Yukon XL :).
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I hear ya, but (1) now you're getting into serious money and (2) we have yet to ever have a scenario where we need both the 3rd row seats filled AND much space behind them.
Compared to a Mazda5 a Tahoe is huge lol

Plus I'm a bit scared of her trying to park a suburban. Not for her, but all the other stuff
 
It's hard to beat a Tahoe/Suburban. I'm not sure how often you go on trips with the fam+dog, but we do at least once a month with our twins and 90# mutt and can easily fill our suburban up.. Easily.
... I guess my case is a bit different though, two car seats, two pack and plays, two clip on dinner chair.. things, two exersaucers, etc.

My wife had never driven a car larger than her Hyundai Sonata before I bought her Suburban. She picked it up super quick!
Depending on the year they come standard with at least back up sensors, most have cameras with the screen in the rear view mirror, and the LTZ's have the big infotainment screen.
 
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RatLabGuy said:
I hear ya, but (1) now you're getting into serious money and (2) we have yet to ever have a scenario where we need both the 3rd row seats filled AND much space behind them.
Compared to a Mazda5 a Tahoe is huge lol

Plus I'm a bit scared of her trying to park a suburban. Not for her, but all the other stuff
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Depends on what year you're talking about. I don't really know the pricing of newer stuff, but a couple years ago when we were shopping for an '04-'06, Suburbans were same price or sometimes cheaper as tahoes. Probably for the same reason you just said, people are scared of them.
 
New burbans are cheaper than tahoes.
Proceed stays about same.
But Tahoe droves much more sporty than a burban. Burban is a big ass boat
 
I will second the Durango and the resell value is crap, which is a good thing for the 2nd (or 3rd) buyer! They also have a good tow rating, 3rd row, AWD, very pleased with ours. I get 25 mpg on all of our long trips, ours is the 6 cylinder version (2015 model, YMMV). Basically it is a Grand "Wagoneer" in that you get the third row config.
 
We have a 2010 CX9 AWD and love it. Fuel mileage isn't that good, but it doesn't change our opinion of the vehicle.
 
My wife and I both were "anti-van" for years but when we had a 2nd kid she needed something bigger. A friend got his wife a newer Town and Country and I was blown away how nice it was. It got the wife second guessing "mini van mom" stigma. We checked out tahoes, Burbs and many other things. The best bang for the buck was the van. Lots of room, on the dodges the seats go right into the floor, even the 2nd row. 25+ MPG and lots of power and reliability.
I got her a mint 14' caravan with the 3.6L for less than $13k. Never thought I'd be so happy about being a van owner.
To each their own, but vans have come a long way since back in the day. It may be worth at least one test drive before ruling it out.
 
X12 on Burban or XL. They keep getting better, stronger, and more fuel efficient every year. The newest 5.3 is around 355 HP and 23 mpg.
 
drkelly said:
Toyota Sienna. You can get them in AWD.
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We love ours. It's a 2013 model. I call it the Swiss Army van, because the seating can be arranged so many different ways to suit our family. We have three kids at home and two older girls that live elsewhere. At any given time, we may have all 7 of us riding in the van and one kid wants to bring a friend. No sweat, the Sienna has a jump seat that is stowed in the back area of the van (doesn't take up any cargo room when not needed). Pop it in place and you instantly have an 8 passenger van without going full size van. The Honda Odyssey also offers a 8 passenger jump seat, but it has to be stored outside the van when not in use. It alone was the deciding factor in our purchase. Usually when we need the 8th seat, it's when we are away from home and hadn't planned on needing it. Worst mileage we've seen out if it was 21 - and that was fully loaded heading to the beach with a car top carrier in heavy headwind.

On at least one occasion, we had the three kids with us and on a whim stopped at IKEA and bought a metric sh!t ton of furniture. We folded the rear seats down flat, installed the jump seat and had the three kids in the middle row with a BUNCH of room for all the boxes behind them. It was the equivalent of having a small pickup with a cap on it. Wish I had taken a picture.
 
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