SUV shopping

with another baby on the way my husband and i are shopping for an SUV with a 3rd row of seats. (we will have 2 carseats plus a few 13 year old girls in the car at times so we need the xtra space!) it also has to be small enough to park in an NYC parking garage so no lincoln navigators, cadi escalades, etc. any advice/tips about these cars or others you love ??

here are the top contenders so far:
toyota forerunner: (probably my favorite–we have had our current forerunner for 11 years!! although the sales lady tells me that the 3rd row of seats in the 2010 is not very nice and i am better off with the highlander)

toyota highlander: (i am going to look at this today!)

land rover: (more extravagant than i think i want)

Categories: Uncategorized

Posted by: spearmint baby

Comments (15)

4:18 pm December 7, 2009
Faith

We looked at the Chevy Traverse. It seats 7 or 8, has great gas mileage for the size, and it's pretty compact for the seating. With twins on the way, we went with an Equinox instead, and let me tell you, 32 mpg on an SUV made me drool a little.
4:32 pm December 7, 2009
Carin

We have Mazda CX7 and will consider the CX9 when we have a second kiddo as it has a 3rd row. Compact, yet stylish and comes with a lot of bells and whistles on the upper level models.
5:44 pm December 7, 2009
Jennifer Miller

My father drives the highlander hybrid. Its very nice and I am 6 feet tall and can sit in any of the back seats and not feel like I'm in a clown car. I have also driven it a lot and it handles very nice. I think your going to like it.
5:55 pm December 7, 2009
Roxanne

my hub & I have a saturn outlook that we LOVVVVE! we went out with the intention of buying a toyota, but stumbled across the saturn. there aren't too many of them out there, so they may be a bit harder to find but we are 100% in love. It's super roomy, drives like a car, they're BEAUTIFUL, and they are less expensive than the more popular crossovers bc they just aren't as popular. Really a high quality, dependable, and aweosme vehicle though. We plan to be driving this thing for a LONGGGG time.
You should check out info on it. It has great reviews and safety/performance ratings.
6:05 pm December 7, 2009
Lisa

I LOVE my Toyota Highlander!
6:39 pm December 7, 2009
SoBella Creations

I have the Honda Pilot and love it! It has the third row seat.
7:53 pm December 7, 2009
LeAnna

I have a Volvo XC90 and really like it. Though I would steer clear of the 02-06 models because they had transmission issues. It seats 7.
8:08 pm December 7, 2009
mandie lane

My input as another soon to be 2u2 mom- check out the Toyota Sequoia as well! I had the Highlander and it was great with one baby and a single stroller, but there was definitely not enough room for 2 babies and a double stroller IF I wanted to haul additional passengers or large grocery trips. We went with the Sequoia and I LOVE it. Tons of great features, tons of room, and pretty fun to drive for being a big mommy-mobile! The 4-Runners are nice as well (my dad's a Toyota dealer so I've driven them all) but with a 3rd row up, you won't have cargo space for a stroller.

Good luck with your search!
8:11 pm December 7, 2009
spearmint baby

mandie,
what does your dad think of the 3rd row of seats in the forerunner compared to the highlander of the 2010s? my toyota dealership cannot find me a 2010 forerunner with a 3rd row of seats! we will not be using the 3rd row much. i also like the sequoia, but it is too big for the NYC parking garage?
11:12 pm December 7, 2009
Becky & Cameron Wyatt

I drive a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica (3 rows) but since they don't make those anymore I'm eying a FORD EDGE.
3:59 am December 8, 2009
Some Lucky Dog

We love our Ford Explorer. It's easy to get in and out of the third row seats, even for adults. Plus, they fold down flat to give you a lot of cargo space when you need it! The mileage is pretty good, too…about 23-24 mpg on the highway.
4:42 pm December 8, 2009
hilary m

I just bought a Ford Flex to accomodate family and gear and we LOVE it. So comfy. Lots of extras for not too much $$$. Third row seat totally comfortable. Very easy to fold everything up and haul gear.
8:40 pm December 9, 2009
Alexa

I LOVE MY HONDA PILOT! I Looked at all the other's. Don't forget that you'll be going back to the dealer you buy from for oil changes and service(Free for me with my Honda). I love the service at my dealer, which is a big deal, I get free wifi and coffee, water, etc.
2:44 am December 10, 2009
Anonymous

We thought we were all set to buy a Highlander, but after more car shopping, we ended up loving the Chevy Traverse. (Had never heard of it until those ubiquitous ads started cropping up.) The thing with the Highlander and Pilot and other 3rd row optional SUVs is that the third row is not so comfortable (nor accessible). In the Traverse, we got it equipped with second row captains chairs, so grandparents can actually get back to the third row much more easily. I'm not sure about the NYC parking situation, though, because it is a BIG car. But that was the trade off–if you want the third row to be comfortable for adults and still have cargo space, the car needs to be bigger than a Highlander.
2:53 pm January 13, 2010
Jess

We were between a Honda Pilot and Jeep Commander and chose the commander– we LOVE it!!! It is so roomy and comfortable and has a lot of neat features like stadium styled seating, so that everyone can see out the front window. I also find it quite stylish. Leg room in the back is only so-so, but fine for the occasional 13 year old girls I'd love to know what you picked!