3 row mid-sized SUV rec?

[DotAndBuzz]

1) I have a  2016 Honda Pilot. I.Hate.It. It has been nothing but a pain in my ass, and I'm DONE. So much stupid shit has broken that shouldn't break (a small sampling: lift-gate hydraulics, replaced the effing transmission, radio, breaks are making some sort of knocking sound when I back up in reverse, garage door button has broken, and today I got a keyless entry error message).  ALL DONE WITH YOU HONDA

2) I'm going to look for a car to trade it in for. Another Honda isn't an option. I'm never buying another one, ever. And the dealership here (where I go because I bought the extended warrantee) is full of patronizing, sexist assholes. Please don't suggest a different Honda.

3) 3rd row is a requirement. I run carpools for 2 school age kids and regularly have more than 3 kids in the car who need boosters and can't be in the front seat. 

4) I'm not really interested in a minivan or giant SUV's. I've driven a Yukon and Suburban on vacation as a rental car and was very uncomfortable with the size.

If you've made it this far into my rage-post, thank you, lol. What do you love/don't love about whatever 3 row mid-sized SUV you've got?

[Deleted]

I'm really surprised to see that you've had so many issues and would seriously consider pursuing a Lemon Law Claim. All of that is NOT normal for a Honda, they are generally very well made. My Pilot was amazing and I never had a single issue with it, let alone all of the issues that you've had. That's crazy.

That said, if you are done with Honda, would you consider an Acura? It's basically the Honda luxury line. I have a 2013 Acura MDX with over 125K and have never had an issue and the only money I've ever had to put in to it is for basic repairs like tires and brakes.

[trissie18]

My mother and MIL both have GMC Acadias with the third row and really like them. Our next vehicle will be the Chevy Traverse with a third row seat.

[Velar Fricative]

We love our 2018 Ford Explorer. There is nothing I dislike about it. However, several family members have the Chevy Traverse and the interior does seem more spacious, but the vehicle also seems longer which could be tricky for parking. Also, DH was adamant about 4WD instead of AWD and only the Ford Explorer has it within its class. But I think you should check out those two vehicles for sure.

[imojoebunny]

I have a 2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, knock on wood, it has not had issues, which is why I keep driving it. I love the set up, to be able to haul 7 people, or go out of town with 6 for a night or two. My kids are 10 and 13, and many days we have 5 kids, some of whom are now, as big as adults. I like being able to take another adult along, at times, and our two dogs. Mine has the option of folding down or removing the middle seat in the second row, which I love, but not sure that is still an option. If it isn't an option, I would definitely opt for the three across the middle, vs. captains chairs, since having more seats is a lot more useful for carpool, especially as kids get bigger. Even the biggest can get in the back using the lift gate, when we have a car full.

[Bernadine]

My mom has a Highlander, and I love driving it.

[waverly]

I am surprised to hear you have had so many issues as well.

We have a Subaru Ascent (they just came out so not a lot of used options), and we love it.

[DotAndBuzz]

Dec 4, 2019 9:47:03 GMT -5 @sameoldstory said:

I'm really surprised to see that you've had so many issues and would seriously consider pursuing a Lemon Law Claim. All of that is NOT normal for a Honda, they are generally very well made. My Pilot was amazing and I never had a single issue with it, let alone all of the issues that you've had. That's crazy.

That said, if you are done with Honda, would you consider an Acura? It's basically the Honda luxury line. I have a 2013 Acura MDX with over 125K and have never had an issue and the only money I've ever had to put in to it is for basic repairs like tires and brakes.

hard pass on anything associated with Honda, honestly.

Looking on the Piloteers forum, these are mostly known problems that Honda just keeps dicking around with. My thought is they don't want to acknowledge the problem, and just give the green light for dealerships to fix at a discount as they come up. Like with the transmission, TONS of cars from my line have had their transmission replaced within 3-4 years of ownership. Honda ended up doing it for free (because they know it's a problem), but only after they hold your car forever to run diagnostics (which they may or may not charge you for, depending on how much you push back). It's apparently not been designated as a true safety issue (even though my car jerked and would downshift randomly, including on the highway), so they just wait for them to fail and then quietly replace them.

ETA: I just looked up the lemon law requirements for my state. Unfortunately my car/issues don't qualify, but I do appreciate the suggestion.

[gaudi]

I have been very happy with my QX60. It's the same body as the Nissan Pathfinder. It has enough room for car pool, but I don't feel like I am driving a school bus. There is still room for groceries/golf clubs/luggage even with the third row occupied.

[marvine]

I have a Chevy Traverse and I LOVE it. The Explorer felt huge to me, but I"m very comfortable driving my Traverse.

[liverandonions]

I have an Acadia and I'm happy with it. Ours is an SLT limited so we have bench seats with 3 seatbelts in both back rows, but a lot of them have captains chairs in the middle just fyi. My sister has a Ford explorer and it's really nice, and my stepmom has a highlander - i don't love the middle and backrows because the seatbelt buckles dig into the side of your butt/hips in my opinion.

[mmmomof2]

I bought a pre-owned Buick Enclave with captains chairs in the middle a few years ago. I love the layout of seats, the entertainment and AC system leaves something to be desired, but I think the newer models are better. It's the same layout as the GMC Acadia and Chevy Traverse. If I was going to buy new right now I would get the Chevy Traverse.

[Susie]

I have a 2018 VW Atlas SE.  We test drove Honda Pilots when we chose the Atlas, and found them fairly similar, although obviously we preferred the Atlas for a few reasons.  

Full disclosure:  we had a problem with the battery this summer, 18 months after buying it.  pandce.proboards.com/thread/611539/wwyd-vw-atlas-battery-problem

The battery was replaced in July, and we have not had a reoccurrence of the problem since.  I am hopeful that it was just a bad battery and not something with the car.  Aside from that issue, the car has been awesome.  Ours has a 60/40 bench seat for the 2nd row, which works with 2 car seats because the Atlas 2nd row swings forward to access the 3rd row even with FFing car seats installed:



but captain's chairs are an available option that would probably be nice.  I've ridden in the 3rd row when we were hauling a crew, and as a (petite) adult, I found it surprisingly comfortable.

[VillainV]

I’m so sorry about your Honda. I love my Pilot — it’s my 5th Honda, and they’ve all been amazing, but if i had the experience you’ve had, I’d be done too!

My SIL loves her Buick Enclave (it’s her second). My sister loves her Infiniti SUV. The Highlander could also be a good option.

[DotAndBuzz]

Dec 4, 2019 9:55:00 GMT -5 waverly said:

I am surprised to hear you have had so many issues as well.

We have a Subaru Ascent (they just came out so not a lot of used options), and we love it.

I am really intrigued buy the new Subaru, but having been burned by this Honda (it was the first release year of the re-design), I'm a little nervous about buying any first-year release again. But I may look at it as a lease option. Never leased anything before, but I'm starting to see the appeal, laugh/cry.

[tealblue]

I test drive several makes and models this summer. Some brands are “off limits” because DH works on cars and knows when makers keep putting shitty/problematic parts in their cars.

I drove the Subaru Ascent, and I really liked it. I also drove a 2019 Ford Explorer the new Kia Telluride and the Hyundai Palisade. The Palisade is seemingly harder to find in the mid and higher end trims. I liked the interior of the Palisade better than the Subaru and the Kia Telluride. The Hyundai has so many safety features even in the base model, I like Leather seats, so I drove the mid trim (SEL) with some extra packages but the Limited was a little more than I wanted to pay ($47-49k) I also liked the Explorer but they were revamped for 2020 and the price seemed $$$ for the options and features. You could easily find a used Explorer harder to find the used Ascent and probably impossible to find a used Telluride and Palisade and they aren’t any cheaper than new new.

I have a friend who bought a new Volkswagen Atlas and also loves it. My SIL has a 2019 Toyota Highlander and the backseat is super tiny, so may not work with larger kids in and out of the back.

I would suggest watching videos and looking at the pics online and narrowing it down to a few to test drive based on your budget. I wanted to get a new new car because of some issues with my last car that happened with the transmission just past the warranty.

[tommygirl03]

I’m on my 2nd Toyota 4Runner. Love it, and when I totaled the 1st one, it was the only thing we looked at for replacement. It has real 4WD, if that’s your thing. It drives more “truck-like”. But if you want something with more bells & whistles, i would recommend the Highlander. Also fantastic, just drives more like a sedan/minivan.

[atarianna]

I have a 14 Highlander and love it. I will drive it until it dies. We have 3 kids and do carpool sometimes. It’s tight since we have captains chairs and lose out on the extra seat a bench would provide but it’s perfect for us day to day.

If traveling, I would probably rent something bigger but again, that’s once a year and not a need for evertoday use.

I love the safety features, blind spot monitor, lane departure alert, dynamic cruise control, etc. they were extra when I bought but might be more standard now.

[docholly]

I have a Chevy Traverse (2019 with Captain's seats in the middle row). I love it, and I find it easy to drive despite its size.

[itsme]

We have a 2017 Explorer with bench seat. We chose the bench to maximize occupancy since we had one in a carseat and a teen. We hauled the teen's friends around until they started driving themselves. It has all the features except adaptive cruise control which I never even knew was an option until this year when we bought H's car and emergency breaking. I looked at the 2020 Explorers and those are $$$$ and I don't like the exterior look. You can get a used, low mileage, higher end little bit older Explorer for a lot less and I would definitely go that route if we had to redo it. Just looked up a 2019 Limited with 20k miles for $32k. We bought new in 2017 and paid a lot more *cries*.

[msmerymac]

I fucking hate Hondas. Unpopular opinion, I guess, but I have never driven one that was cute, comfortable, or at all nice to drive in literally any way. It's nice that some people get them to last for 20 years, but that is NOT the kind of life I want to live.

Anyway, Subaru Ascent. It's not TOO big, and it's a Subaru, which I have confidence you will like. Our Outback is rockin. They also came out in late 2017, so there's really 1.5 model years before this year. I think if you're going new, the 2020 models will have worked out any possible bugs (though I haven't heard of any).

[flygirl]

I love my Highlander also

[jinkies]

I drive a Mazda cx9. I've been really happy with it. The two things I would change (better gas mileage and more room in the 3rd row) were both fixed in a 2016 redesign (mine is a 2014), so the newer ones should be great. I drove a loaner 2018 for a few days and LOVED it. I had two different Mazda6 before this, including one that was totalled and I walked away without a scratch. They are easy to drive and feel sportier than my friends' Hondas.

Between my last mazda6 and my current mazda, I drove a Chevy equinox. It had a lot of problems and turned me off of Chevys permanently.

[BicycleBride]

Dec 4, 2019 10:03:25 GMT -5 Susie said:

I have a 2018 VW Atlas SE.  We test drove Honda Pilots when we chose the Atlas, and found them fairly similar, although obviously we preferred the Atlas for a few reasons.  

Full disclosure:  we had a problem with the battery this summer, 18 months after buying it.  pandce.proboards.com/thread/611539/wwyd-vw-atlas-battery-problem

The battery was replaced in July, and we have not had a reoccurrence of the problem since.  I am hopeful that it was just a bad battery and not something with the car.  Aside from that issue, the car has been awesome.  Ours has a 60/40 bench seat for the 2nd row, which works with 2 car seats because the Atlas 2nd row swings forward to access the 3rd row even with FFing car seats installed:



but captain's chairs are an available option that would probably be nice.  I've ridden in the 3rd row when we were hauling a crew, and as a (petite) adult, I found it surprisingly comfortable.

Are the seatbelts attached to the seat or the side of the car? I have a 2013 highlander and the seatbelts are attached to the side of the car so as soon as my kids maxed out the tether weight (basically as soon as I started forward facing them) and I had to use the seatbelt install, I couldn’t move the seat without uninstalling the car seat. It drives me crazy because the only way to get to the third row is to climb over the second row or get in through the trunk.

[KKD]

I chose a Honda Pilot because it’s one of the few SUVs that seats eight and still has trunk space without being a giant Suburban. I’ve been happy with it so I’m sorry you’ve had such a bad experience!

Before this, I had a GMC Acadia which I loved but the newer models are smaller and not available with seating for eight. I looked at the Chevy Traverse which is similar to the older model Acadia and would have gotten that over the Pilot but the eight seater was only available in the base model which meant no leather seats or power liftgate. I also considered the Toyota Highlander but my sister had one and complained about the lack of space (although she did have three car seats at the time and couldn’t wait to switch to a minivan).

[YahYahs]

Loved our old Acura MDX (but same company as Honda.... that said, we had zero issues and i'd buy again for sure).
Currently in LOVE with our Nissan Armada. Shocked how much i love it. We went to trade our MDX in for another MDX but there wasn't one on the lot (this was a limited-stock fleet dealership), so we ended up test driving a 2019 Armada and are so happy with it.
It might be too large for you though. We have 2 kids and 2 big dogs and often travel up the East Coast, so big was important for us.

[origami]

Dec 4, 2019 10:28:08 GMT -5 docholly said:

I have a Chevy Traverse (2019 with Captain's seats in the middle row). I love it, and I find it easy to drive despite its size.

Me too except mine is a 2018. It’s great.

[sugarbear]

I have a Subaru Ascent with captain's chairs and I LOVE it.

[fivechickens]

I know you said you are not interested in a minivan but I LOVE my Chrysler Pacifica.

[dock]

Dec 4, 2019 11:58:33 GMT -5 sugarbear said:

I have a Subaru Ascent with captain's chairs and I LOVE it.

Same.

My only issue is that I have both car seats in the captain’s chairs, so it’s a little challenging for normal adults to get into the 3rd row. But it’s doable, and car seats could definitely go in the back, too.