? @ small SUV's with 3rd row seating

[mommyx4]

IIRC, station wagons stopped putting the extra seat out back b/c it was a crumple zone, right??? If that's the case, how is a 3rd row in a small SUV, any different?

[Maedze]

Actually, those seats fell out of favor because they were highly impractical. At their size, they only fit very small kids who still needed car seats or boosters, but you can't use a car seat or a booster on a rear facing vehicle seat.

However, I'll caution you against the small SUVs with the third rows, or at least suggest you do your research before buying. Those small SUVs/crossovers very rarely have top tether anchors in the third row, thus making it useless to people who want to put forward facing harnessed children back there. A minivan or full size SUV with top tethers in all rows would be a better choice for those families.

[APT]

There are similar issues with today's small SUVs/CUVs with 3rd row seats. The 3rd row cannot support many RF seats, or large FF seats or adults and they take away most usable cargo storage. I'd much rather do 3 across in a second row and keep a large cargo area than pay extra for a 3rd row seat. A nice alternative is the Mazda5 which has the same problem, except the 3rd row is split folding so you can have some decent cargo space with 3 kids. I wouldn't want it for a primary or vacation vehicle for a family of 6, though.

[capeKO71]

My saturn outlook gets the same gas mileage as many of the "smaller" SUV's.... but the third row is legit.

I looked at a bunch of small SUV's and there's no way I'd put a kid in some of them... some of them back up right to the back window.

[mommyx4]

My saturn outlook gets the same gas mileage as many of the "smaller" SUV's.... but the third row is legit.

I looked at a bunch of small SUV's and there's no way I'd put a kid in some of them... some of them back up right to the back window.

That's my though exactly. I would be afraid to let my kids ride in the back. We already have a full size SUV, a Expedition EL, which has a huge cargo area. My friend has a Durango and I could not believe how close the third row is to the hatch.

So, is it false that the third row in small SUVs are on the crumple zone?

[apsupermom]

I have a pathfinder with the third row and you couldn't put a car seat with a tether but a rf seat would fit fine as would a booster...my oldest sits back there all the time and is comfortable...I couldn't imagine having to get back there to put in a car seat or buckle

[SavsMom]

The Dodge Journey has a nice 3rd row seat...2 people can actually ride comfortably in it. I drove one yesterday (s/o works at a Dodge/Chry/Jeep store). It was an SXT model with 3rd row, navigation, rear DVD, Bluetooth (the only things it didn't have were leather and a moonroof) and it had a sticker price of $28k and change...not a bad price for all you get in the car...and it got decent/good gas mileage.

[natysr]

I have a pathfinder with the third row and you couldn't put a car seat with a tether but a rf seat would fit fine as would a booster...my oldest sits back there all the time and is comfortable...I couldn't imagine having to get back there to put in a car seat or buckle

I tried a RF marathon in the 3rd row once and I couldn't get the 2nd row seat back into position. I have the install pretty upright.

Granted, I didn't try as hard as I probably could have.