Looking for an SUV that can fit 4 car seats

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We are having twins and already have 2 kids so we need to get an SUV that can fit 2 car seats in the 2nd row (a booster and a toddler seat) and 2 infant seats in the 3rd row. My primary concern is being able to get into the 3rd row to put the infants in their seats/car seat base. I've visited many websites (edmunds, consumer reports, etc) and am still uncertain as to what would work best. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

[Defrost]

I'm not sure about any specific vehicle that would work for you, but I do know one thing you can look for is an SUV that has three seats in the 2nd row, with the capability to fold down one of the outboard seats. With that seat folded down, you should be able to access the 3rd row, although you might need to get a narrow carseat like the Radian in order for it to fit in the center with the other one folded down.

Another option that works in some vans (and maybe SUVs? I'm not very familiar with them) is to put three carseats in the 3rd row (again, you'll probably need to get narrow carseats) and either remove or stow one of the 2nd-row captain's chairs for easy access to the 3rd row.

[wyomommyx3]

I know mine isn't the only one, but we have a Nissan Pathfinder and love it. All 3 seats in the 2nd row fold down independently, and there's 2 seats in the 3rd row.


The GMC Accadia, Saturn Outlook, and Chevy Traverse (probably others) all seat 7 or 8 as well, and have the option of Captain's chairs in the 2nd row & 3 seats in the back.

The thing I love about the Pathfinder... Outlook & Accadia is that you can fit a double stroller behind the 3rd row. (I know this isn't possible with a Ford Explorer)

[pippi2077]

We have 4 kids and moved from a minivan to a subraban about a year ago. It is great. In the 2nd row we have a rf behind the driver and ff in the middle. We have the passenger seat flipped forward. We have 2 boosters in the 3rd row.

We looked at tons of suvs. The full size ones were the only ones that gave us enough storage.

[FrogJuice]

I also have been in the same situation as you, we need something that can have 5 kiddos in the back, as much as a minivan would be most practical, I'm not a fan of them. so we have been doing searching around and have decided to go with a ford expedtion. we use to have a explorer, that had a third row, would have worked out great this time a round also, but lacks room in the back when the third row is up, an explorer being a smaller SUV, I can tell you that it did fit any seat we had ( youngsport,como,ss1,snugride,AOM,cosco combination booster,turbo booster, evenflo portabout) just great, I could get three across in the second row, and 2 just find in the 3rd. We are going with an expedtion, since we have been happy with our ford before, but will offer more storage. The one we are looking at has a bench seat in the 2nd row, but I know there are ones out there including other larger SUV's that offer bucket seats in the 2nd row. That might be something to look, also would it be easier to have the infant seat up on the 2nd row and the other kiddos in the 3rd? I'm think of what you used to do in the explorer, was have DD1 in a booster farthest away in the 3rd row, so she could have assist me in buckling her up, then DD2 in the closer spot so she could hop in the seat her self, then I could buckle her up, and placed my extra rear facing kiddos 1 behind driver, 1 in middle on 2nd row, so I had the seat on the passenger side to flip, just a suggestion. I honestly would just start looking at some, and bring car seats to try in them.

[monstah]

The SUV I have been looking at recently is the Ford Freestyle or TaurusX. It only seats 2 in the third row, then you have the option of a three seater bench in the 2nd row or two captains chairs.

[northwest_tn_mommy]

I have a friend that drives a surburban with captains chairs in the second row. She has two frontier seats in the third row and a booster in the second..

[pippi2077]

I posted earlier, but wanted to suggest not getting captains in a suv. If you put rf in them it is harder for the older kids to get in. I also would not want to have to put a bucket seat in the 3rd row all the time.

We looked at the expedition, durango, tahoe and many more. The only ones that gave us the cargo area we needed were the suburban, excursion and yukon xl. With anything else we were going to have to have a luggage carrier to go home for the holidays.

We have had 6 carseats with 2 adults in my truck.
3rd - turbo, scerena ff, turbo
2nd - turbo, evenflo infant, bv rf

Good luck

[BW1426]

Another option is to get a vehicle with captains chairs and do three across in the rear row and only use one of the captains chair. Remove the other captains chair so you have easy access to the third row.

The Toyota Sienna is worth looking at if you'll consider a van.

[amy919]

Originally Posted by 2mykids

The SUV I have been looking at recently is the Ford Freestyle or TaurusX. It only seats 2 in the third row, then you have the option of a three seater bench in the 2nd row or two captains chairs.

I have a Freestyle with the captains chairs in the 2nd row. It works well enough for my immediate family, but I'm actually considering a minivan because we use the 3rd row a lot and I really could use more space.

I do like my car/truck/SUV, call it want you want, but your VIN will identifiy it as a wagon. I like that it drives like a car, but has the space of an SUV. It was hard at first to move to the Freestyle from my Explorer - I liked being higher up and still do miss that.

I have 2 kids and find myself often wishing for more room. I will say that with the 3rd row in use, it still has a decent amount of cargo space. Not sure it's enough for more than 2 kids worth of stuff, though.

I'm not sure if the bench seat has more LATCH points, or if they've made any changes since mine (I have an '05), but in the 3rd row, only one of the seats has LATCH with top tether. I think 3 sets of LATCH are OK for a truck of its size, but I'd love to see at least a top tether in the other 3rd row seat.

I have a 4 year and 2 1/2 year. We just had twins. I'm in a mountaineer( sister to to an Exlorer). I was able to fit a Graco dual glider stroller behind the 3rd row. It doesn't go in easy but it fits. What we did is put the toddlers in the 3rd row and the twins in the middle a d directly behind the driver seat in the 2nd row. The seat behind the passenger in the 2nd row is left unoccupied. We fold that up so the 3rd row is easily accessible. After do research, the only vehicle that would fit us would be the Expedition EL. with the 3rd row up, theres plenty of room. Aslo The Suburban would work as well. These are big trucks. Very long. I may settle for an Expedition.