Hellobee Boards

@yellowbird: I can't think of any advantage other than hauling more people. We have a Kia Sorento which seats 7, but the only time the 3rd row is up is when my stepkids are staying with us. Otherwise there's virtually no storage room. If you see yourself only driving around the 4 of you I don't think it's necessary. Unless you think you're going to be driving around more kids once your LOs are in school/activities?

I'm not a big fan of SUVs but we have a Honda Odyssey - I LOVE it!!! The back row stows super easily so although we're only a family of 3 right now (4th on the way), we're already making good use of all the space. Love love love!

We tested an Acura MDX and Toyota Highlander, both of which have third rows. I didn't like that the second row felt tighter than the regular two row SUVs did. The passenger seat had to be further forward with the RF car seat. We plan on having two kids so once we do, we really won't be able to haul anyone else around, but it felt much more comfortable for now.

Fwiw I really love our new (used) Lexus RX 350. Getting the car seat in and out is so much easier than our sedan.

We should have gotten an Audi Q7, instead of Q5 when we first bought... but we were so sure we were only having two kids!

Trunk space is amazing!! We can fit so much more in our Pathfinder than our CRV. It's nice to have the extra seating but we don't use it often - the seats are folded down so it's the trunk space that I love!

I bought a Honda Pilot in 2013 and I love that thing. We have the seats folded 90% of the time but I like the extra space I get with that. My cargo area while being able to haul 5 is huge. I can put my gate up and have room for our dogs and luggage. I was insistent about getting something that seated 7 because my family comes over often and as the kids get bigger I wanted enough room for their friends.

we just bought a 3 row (7 seater) for the few times a year we have family visit. We keep our 3rd row folded and have lots of trunk space!

@Mrs. Jacks: I have a q7 and love it! Are you gonna trade the q5 for something bigger?

So what I have been wondering is if you get extra interior space with the 3 row SUVs. Some of you mention extra trunk space, but @Foodnerd81: mentions there is less legroom for the second row. Is this fairly typical of 3 row SUVs? We have been looking at the Volvo XC90 FWIW.

@raintreebee: I found the Volvo to be painful (You can see my review on the blog.) It actually gave me bruises on my shins.

@yellowbird: are you done at 2?

@raintreebee: to be fair we were only looking at smallish 3rd row SUVs. But comparing the Acura MDX and RDX, the rdx was smaller overall but had more legroom in the second row. I did not test out trunk space though. We were going up from a sedan and I hate driving a big car but needed the extra space.

@yellowbird: if you want a third, just get the third row now. It's too soon to buy another new car in four years!

@jetsa: @Mamaof2: Thanks!

@Mrs. Jacks: Oh that's so upsetting. I think they are completely redesigning it this year, so maybe it will be more comfortable. We are going to wait to test drive the new model.