I’m on my 2nd Atlas - first had bench seats, now I have captains chairs in the 2nd row. I’ve sat in the back of both and there is a decent amount of space (I’m 5’5” with disproportionately long legs). DH is 5’10” with shorter legs than mine and he’s also fine back there.
My first atlas was great. My 2021 that I have now is less awesome and I’ve had a lot of issues with it. I’d recommend it if they’ve worked out the bugs.
Post by snipsnsnails on Oct 17, 2023 21:27:22 GMT -5
We drive a Chevy Traverse currently, and can comfortably fit in the 3rd row. Some assemblance of middle schoolers sit there pretty regularly, and I’ve sat back there, too.
Previously, we’ve driven a GMC Acadia and a Cadillac Escalade and both had lots of room in the 3rd row, too. The Acadia was a captain’s chair configuration, so that helped, too.
I’ve also been in friends’ Chevy Suburban’s 3rd rows and they’ve been roomy.
My husband is just over 6ft and we have no issues when he is in the back of our sienna. It’s not a common occurrence at all and for teens on short drives I wouldn’t let that deter you from the car.
If you can’t tell we LOVE our Sienna.
I think the hybrid Sienna puts the battery under the second row seats because DH's head was hitting the ceiling. And this is someone who regularly drives a Prius.
I have a regular highlander. My 5'5" 11 year old is uncomfortable sitting back there and only does it when necessary. However, I think it'd be a million times better if the middle seats were captain's chairs instead of bench seats.
I have a regular highlander. My 5'5" 11 year old is uncomfortable sitting back there and only does it when necessary. However, I think it'd be a million times better if the middle seats were captain's chairs instead of bench seats.
I do agree with this. I personally wouldn't get a car with a bench middle seat if I needed regular access to the third row.
Post by jennistarr1 on Oct 17, 2023 22:09:01 GMT -5
Well I have a Honda pilot but yes I can fit in 3rd row, husband cannot. Only times we need to are being a drunk bus or adding a grandparent to a drive so not long distances. I'm not tall...but not petite
I have a regular highlander. My 5'5" 11 year old is uncomfortable sitting back there and only does it when necessary. However, I think it'd be a million times better if the middle seats were captain's chairs instead of bench seats.
I do agree with this. I personally wouldn't get a car with a bench middle seat if I needed regular access to the third row.
I wish we didn't have middke bench seats. We got a good deal on a model that was a couple of years old when car prices were super insane, so it ended up being something we settled for. If I'd bought new, I would have gone that route.
I have a suburban and I sat in the 3rd row last week on a 2 hour car ride when my kid got car sick. It was completely comfortable. I absolutely love my suburban but hate the gas mileage.
My suburban does better than family members mid size SUV’s on long trips. If we are on state highways going 65 I swear it can go forever without the gas gauge moving at all.
Most of my driving is short distances but I do notice on longer trips where we take the freeway it does pretty well. Last week we had 6 people (4 kids 2 adults) and 2 full size hockey bags with 4 hockey sticks and we had room to spare. I really love my car!
Post by JayhawkGirl on Oct 17, 2023 23:05:44 GMT -5
We are tall people who love road trips and drive our cars for 10+ years. I hated riding in the 3rd row of ILs MDX. The Highlander wasn’t functional enough and we went with the Sequoia. I still love it (9.7 years and 170k+ miles, she just got new tires this week). DS is now 5’ 6” and just starting into his big growth spurts. I’m so glad we went with the bigger car. I haul 5 kids back there comfortably often.
We have an Infiniti QX80. The third row is not ideal for a long drive. It's ok for my kids. For us average-sized adults, it's not great. It's better than the QX60 I rented once. Still, the QX80 looks and feels massive in the first two rows. I didn't expect the third row to be a disappointment.
I may actually look at a minivan for when our other car (my car) finally dies and I'm forced to buy a replacement.
We have a hybrid Chrysler Pacifica and man do we live that thing. So much so that when our first one was unfortunately totaled a couple of months ago, we got another one. The 3rd row is huge and we only need to get gas about 4x/year.
My husband is just over 6ft and we have no issues when he is in the back of our sienna. It’s not a common occurrence at all and for teens on short drives I wouldn’t let that deter you from the car.
If you can’t tell we LOVE our Sienna.
I think the hybrid Sienna puts the battery under the second row seats because DH's head was hitting the ceiling. And this is someone who regularly drives a Prius.
Also - Hi snips! [waves]
Hiya Friend!!! Good to “see” you! I check in to see what’s going on around these parts. And try to chime in every now and then.
Can’t believe we’re hauling around young semi-adults on their ways to high school in a couple of years in our 3rd rows! ‘Time and tide wait for no man.’
I drive a Chrysler Pacifica and 3 of my kids are adult size. Third row absolutely holds adults comfortably. I get car sick in the third row though. So if anyone is prone to motion sickness, that does seem to be a really bad spot.
How many people are in your family that you need 3 rows?!
I don’t care if your kid plays sports or plays the tuba or is the school mascot-that’s what a trunk is for. This mindset is part of the problem with this American/Canadian obsession with gigantic redonkulous cars.
Tall people all over the world with large families manage in modest size vehicles. And yes I know they have better transportation infrastructure in other places but come on.
We have a Chevy Traverse. I just sat back there on Sunday to make sure an adult could sit comfortably for an hour. (I was driving a group to a hiking outing) I'm 5'8" and I was able to sit comfortably with my knees bent without them hitting the seat. I wouldn't want to sit back there for a long drive, though.
How many people are in your family that you need 3 rows?!
I don’t care if your kid plays sports or plays the tuba or is the school mascot-that’s what a trunk is for. This mindset is part of the problem with this American/Canadian obsession with gigantic redonkulous cars.
Tall people all over the world with large families manage in modest size vehicles. And yes I know they have better transportation infrastructure in other places but come on.
We have 5 people and our Atlas seats 6 including the 3rd row. We take several long road trips a year, one 16 hours, that extra room is nice compared to 5 of us in a sedan.
Eta Ours has 2nd row captain seats. Of course we could manage in a sedan, but it's for us an upgrade to have more space. There are lots of upgrades we can choose in life that aren't necessary, but we still do some because it's worth it.
We have a Kia Carnival. It’s like a mini van inside but more SUV like on the outside. We have the SX Prestige that has 8 seats. The middle comfortably fits 2 boosters and a 5”3’ teen. I’d say the back could easily fit 3 kids.
Post by midwestmama on Oct 18, 2023 8:49:50 GMT -5
I have a Hyundai Palisade, and as others have said, it is fine if you're not super tall and not great for long trips. However, you can borrow a little space from the middle row, as the seats move forward and back. For a travel baseball tournament last year, we brought with us another dad and son, and the dad sat in the 3rd row. He's about 6'0" and was ok for the 4 hours (although he is a very agreeable person) and we moved the seat in front of him forward an inch or two to give him a bit more room.
Post by jillybean222 on Oct 18, 2023 9:08:34 GMT -5
Buick Enclave. I tried almost every 3 row vehicle out there and this one fit 3 teens the best. Captains's chairs in the second row were also a requirement. If that doesn't bother you thee Volvo XC90 was roomy too.
We have a hybrid Chrysler Pacifica and man do we live that thing. So much so that when our first one was unfortunately totaled a couple of months ago, we got another one. The 3rd row is huge and we only need to get gas about 4x/year.
I was gonna say this. Caveat, I don't HAVE one. My SDs are in their 20s, so for every day driving it's usually just me and DS +H on weekends. We have no need for a third row on the daily.
But when we go on trips we rent a Pacifica and I love it so so much. I've tried to justify getting one so many times but I can't, we don't really need it unless we are on a trip with everyone. We are getting one for Thanksgiving to drive from Michigan to my ILs in Florida and I can't wait to have it back 🤣
Post by sunshineandpinot on Oct 18, 2023 9:21:52 GMT -5
I had an Acura MDX that I loved loved loved, but kids were really complaining when they had to sit in the third row. We carpool with 5 kids, all elementary age but they still have full backpacks and were feeling cramped in the third row. So I upgraded to a Tahoe-size suv (escalade but the shorter one, idk what it's called. Maybe just Escalade not XL.) The third row is great but they all still fight for the captain seats. But yes, an adult can comfortably fit in the third row.
I have a toyota highlander. I have sat in the backrow many times. I am ony 5'3" though. I am not sure I have shoved my husband or teen back there for long drives.
We use third row just for hauling kid's friends around. We do a good amount of shared driving to activities and social events. One parent does drop off and the other does pick up. So it is good enough for that. The seats are fine. The leg room is limited. But I wouldn't depend on it if say I had three kids and the third row was going to be used regularly. We have captain chairs in the 2nd row. Perhaps that makes it more comfortable.
I have an Atlas and I think the 3rd row is decent for adults. I have the captain chairs in the second row which I think helps it feel bigger too.
Same. One of my top requirements was 2nd-row captain seats to make the 3rd row easier to access. We're a family of 5 so the 3rd row isn't used incidentally.
I love the Atlas. We had a Tiguan with a third row before and there was no way an adult could fit in the back row of the Tiguan. But it certainly worked for the few years between when my kiddos were out of car seats but not huge tween/teens yet.
Post by sandandsea on Oct 18, 2023 15:44:47 GMT -5
This has probably been covered but I f you need a third row, why not just get a minivan? Huge third row suvs aren’t fooling anyone into being cooler than a minivan.
We’ve rented the Sienna and Pacifica and I was fine in the backseat of both.
Love my Atlas and when I did my research it supposedly has one of the biggest 3rd rows. I think it’s comfortable in the 3rd row and we have a 2nd row bench seat.