7-8 seater vehicles (not vans)

Is there anywhere I can find a list of vehicles that seat 7 or 8? I've looked a little, but haven't found much. I really don't want a minivan... I really like the Ford Flex, but I'm open to other options as well We have 5 kids...right now all of them are in car seats/booster seats (siggy info is pretty much correct...seats are all correct). DD#1 will be in a booster for at least another year or so. In newer vehicles are head rests and lap and shoulder belts required in all seating positions? If not, I know we'll need a vehicle that has them. So, we need at least 7 seats, but I'd prefer 8 (DH and I are discussing the possibility of looking into adoption in a few years, plus we occasionally have another person with us...not to mention when my mom keeps the girls (a few times a year) she uses my vehicle (none of theirs will fit everyone) and my brother (almost 11) rides with them). So...suggestions?

I can't help with a list, but can start with categories. The non-van options w/ 3 rows and seating up to 7+ are:

Large, body-on-frame SUV's (tahoe, suburban, expedition...) I think some Tahoe's & Suburbans even seat 9.

Large, unibody SUV's (pilot, highlander, ...)

Large crossovers (traverse, flex, XC90, ...)


The body-on-frame SUV's will generally give the most room and worst fuel economy. The line between unibody SUV's and crossovers is pretty fuzzy to me. Crossovers tend to be the more recently developed vehicles that might have a few more safety features, but I'm sure there's exceptions.

I don't know if this helps any, but this is my thread from when I was looking for an 8 passenger vehicle. My preference was for a van, but many of the responses I recieved were for non-van vehicles. I ended up with a Pilot, in which you *can* fit eight but MUST have the right combo of seats. (I'm trying to re-work a combo for this summer right now, since my kids are changing... mess of seats in the driveway lol!)

Are you willing to buy new seats if need-be? That will widen your options a lot.

Yes, we would be willing to buy new seats. I'm always looking for excuses for new seats . I currently drive a ford excursion and want something smaller (which I know is almost everything.. ).

Thanks.

You *don't* want something smaller? Then I'd say you're looking at an Expedition or Suburban, maybe an Armada...

I DO want something smaller. The girls were distracting me when I typed that and I don't know what I was thinking...lol. I fixed it. .

Not only is the excursion a gas hog but it's too darn big for my liking. I feel like a bus driver and will not park beside other vehicles if I can help it. Plus I really don't like driving the big beasty thing into uptown Charlotte and in parking garages for the many dr appointments the girls have there.

LOL, okay. I type distracted all the time, I totally understand. I was like, geez, she wants a honkin' big vehicle...

Coming down from my Safari, the Pilot feels small. Most people would disagree that it's small, though. For perspective, what I think I'm trying to say is that 'most anything will feel small to you at this point.

I really, really loved the Saturn Outlook when I looked. They were just out of my price range. If yours is more than mine, you might take a peek at that. I forget what the third row looked like, though.

Thanks to Carrie I just bought a 2008 Honda Pilot. Great Safety Ratings and reliability ratings. And Carrie's pics show just what you can do in there. (Or what she can do at least).

During my shopping I didn't look at the HUGE vehicles (suburban, expedition, excursion, armada, sequoia, etc). Just because I knew they get terrible gas mileage and they were more expensive.

Instead of telling you what I looked at and drove I'll just give you a list of 7-8 seaters that I ran across. Chevy Traverse (which is the same car as GMC acadia and I think the Saturn Outlook), Nissan Pathfinder, Honda Pilot/Acura MDX, Volvo XC90, Subaru Tribeca, Ford Explorer, Hyundai Veracruz, Toyota Highlander, Some models of the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Toyota Rav4 have 3rd row seating albeit very small ones. Those mainly fall in the midsized crossover catagory which is what I was looking for. Good luck in your search. If you have any specific questions PM me.

We're also looking for an 8 passenger SUV to fit our 5 younger kids (3 in seats, our oldest now lives on her own and has her own vehicle). So far we've only looked at the Escalade. DH loves it, but I don't like how small the back seat is and that the floor is up higher, leaving alot less leg room for our teens.

Some time this week I'm heading to the dealerships to do some measurements on the Dodge Durango, Tahoe, Suburban and Expedition.

We might end up having to search down a 9 seater.

I know I sound like a broken record here, but I love my Armada. 20mpg and DOES NOT drive like a big beast. It has darn near the same turning radius and DH's Corolla.

MatrixMomof6 said:

We're also looking for an 8 passenger SUV to fit our 5 younger kids (3 in seats, our oldest now lives on her own and has her own vehicle). So far we've only looked at the Escalade. DH loves it, but I don't like how small the back seat is and that the floor is up higher, leaving alot less leg room for our teens.

Some time this week I'm heading to the dealerships to do some measurements on the Dodge Durango, Tahoe, Suburban and Expedition.

We might end up having to search down a 9 seater.

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The Escalade, Tahoe and Suburban all essentially have the same interior (Yukon versions, too). The back seat measurements shouldn't change at all.

We took a suburban on a 2000 mile roadtrip, and I was somewhat surprised at the fuel economy. Granted, it was mostly hwy, but we averaged about 17. Dismal compared to our much smaller car, but better than I would have expected.

I drive a 6 passenger Ford Flex and love it but another vehicle which seats 7 is the 2011 Kia Sorento. From my little bit of reading the third row is not overly large though but taking a look at it couldn't hurt.

BudgieStew said:

I drive a 6 passenger Ford Flex and love it but another vehicle which seats 7 is the 2011 Kia Sorento. From my little bit of reading the third row is not overly large though but taking a look at it couldn't hurt.

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I think the Hyundai Veracruz is built on the same platform as the Sorento and they were first made in 2007. Not sure whether you are looking for used or not!

Kia Rondo technically seats 7 if it has the third row (optional through 09, standard starting with 10). The third row is pretty tight and the three across in the middle would be tight and you'd need the right seats. . . .

Tina

I recently got the Pilot, I would say definitely check it out, my middle row I can fit a rf truefit, rf radian and ss1 across so pretty roomy(properly installed as well, all independently).

We looked at several different ones and found the 3rd row of the pilot had more room than the acura mdx.

Ford Flex's are nice my SM has one, however they are very low to the ground.

I just bought a Ford Freestyle. It's a great option if you like the Flex, but can't afford it. (Like us!) It's a 7 passenger, and gets great gas mileage, 28 on the hwy (70-75mph & a/c). I'm not sure 2 nautis will fit, but they might. There are TA in all rear seats but 1 in the 3rd row. It's got a good bit of cargo space even with the third row up. I keep the third up to help contain cargo, and can fit a Mac Techno, diaper bag, purse, groceries, etc without problem.

I just bought a Ford Flex. We were replacing a minivan and needed 7/8 passenger capability. We'd narrowed it down to the Flex and the Honda Pilot. We had a hard time deciding. In the end, I liked that the Flex felt more car like vs more truck like. The Flex also comes with neat tech-y gadgets in the low end model that are only available in the higher end Pilot models. The low end model Flex interior felt nice and luxurious where the low end Pilot felt plasticey and cheap. Ours is a 7 passenger (3 seat bench 2nd row and 2 seats in third row). We looked into and drove a lot of vehicles in our search. One thing I found is that several vehicles didn't have any top tethers in the third row. This was a deal breaker for me.

Ford Flex - low entry like a car. It feels like driving a car with a big truck hood. We just did a 1000 mile trip in it. It isn't quite as smooth as an actual car, but it rode much smoother than my 04 Kia Van or dad's Honda Ridgeline (truck similar to the Pilot). The cargo area has a well like a mini van so it holds quite a bit considering. I love that the 40 portion of the second row electronically flips with the push of a button. Full LATCH 2nd row outboard and 3rd row passenger side. Top tethers for all three 2nd row spots and top tether in only 1 third row spot (so 4 total). Head rests and shoulder belts for all. The head rests slide down and don't have to be removed to fold the seats. They can also be put on backwards for easier car seat installs. The 2nd row middle shoulder belt is odd because it comes out of the vehicle seat instead of the ceiling. The seatbelt comes from below an adults shoulder. 2nd row middle is odd for car seats. There is a plastic piece that interferes with some RF car seats. RF Radian seems tight, but it could be false feeling due to the plastic. The seats are very squishy. RF Radian wants to recline a lot, but we've been able to do the tricks and tighten after a few days and it's stayed fine now. I've installed these seats: RF Radian outboard 2nd row with LATCH. FF MA 2nd row middle with seatbelt, FF Frontier outboard 2nd row LATCH or LBP. Harnessed Frontier won't work middle 2nd row. SBP doesn't work and seatbelt isn't long enough for LBP. Frontier 3rd row with LATCH. Vivo 2nd row middle and outboard and third row. I've had 4 car seats and 3 adults and everyone was comfortable. My 6'3" hubby fits fine in the 2nd row with a Vivo and Radian.

Pilot 09 & newer - seats 8, really seats 7 comfortably. Top tethers in all rear seating positions. Full LATCH all three 2nd row spots and 1 outboard spot third row. The second row is a bit wider than the Flex, but I'm not sure if it's more usable because the cup holders in the doors seem to encroach into the seating area.

Chevy Traverse and clones. They don't have headrests for the middle 2nd row or 3rd row. That's a huge peeve for me. It was bigger and had a decent amount of cargo room.

Mazda 9 - no top tethers for the third row.

Hyundai Veracruz - no top tethers for the third row.

Armada was out of our price range, but they did have big rebates. I couldn't get over the gas mileage.

If you are considering a Ford, request a brochure from Ford's online site. Mine came with a $750 coupon. I was able to use it on top of the other rebates. I tried it for the Pilot, but that brochure didn't come with anything.

I needed the AC fixed in my minivan and had a Saturn Outlook as a rental. I personally didn't like it at all. The driver head rests were really annoying the thirs row had no latch on the outboard positions, iI cant remember if the middle did. The third row was teeny tiny.

I loved my Expedition. The explorer is a 7 seater but the cargo space is ridiculusly small.