Looking for a small vehicle with 3rd row seat

Nancy Drew

New member
Hi everyone. I currently have a Honda CR-V which I LOVE but now that my kids are in school and doing activities and having playdates, I have realized that my car isn't carpool friendly. Is there a good, safe small SUV or crossover or wagon that has a 3rd row seat? I wouldn't need this for everyday use, nor would I use it with tethered seats, just with boosters and seatbelts. My kids are 5 and 6.5yo, as are most of their friends. While I do believe strongly in harnessing my kids, I am fine with boosters etc. for transporting in carpools etc. We wouldn't be on the highway at all, just driving a mile or two here and there in city traffic.

I do need a small vehicle, though, because we have a 1 car garage. We used to have a Honda Pilot which I absolutely loved, but we couldn't get in or out of it in the garage. The CR-V is the perfect width and gives us enough room in the garage.

I suppose the other option would be getting different car seats, which is obviously cheaper than getting a new car. We have 2 Nautiluses in there and there isn't enough room in the middle for another kiddo to sit. Is there a narrower seat that harnesses and converts to a booster? The other problem would be that we could then only transport one extra kid, instead of 2, which might be a problem.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!!
 
ADS

Guest

New member
RAV-4 is the only one that comes to mind, altho I don't recall it's a favorite in terms of ease of install. Other than that, it's small, safe, etc.
 

Pixels

New member
2006 and newer Rav4s truely only have two usable seats in the second row, due to the overlapping seatbelts.

The Mazda5 is a small vehicle but seats 6 (3 rows of 2).

For narrower seats, I think the Frontier is narrower, as is the Maestro, though the Maestro is outgrown as a booster just after it's outgrown as a harnessed seat. The Maestro would need a dedicated booster to follow it. I'm curious, though, you said you wouldn't be using the vehicle with harnessed seats, so why do you want recommendations for harnessed seats?
 

Nancy Drew

New member
Thanks for the input so far. I did find the RAV4, but it seems so cramped in there. I might have to go see it in person. The Highlander might work, but it would cost a whole lot more than I wanted to spend.

2006 and newer Rav4s truely only have two usable seats in the second row, due to the overlapping seatbelts.

The Mazda5 is a small vehicle but seats 6 (3 rows of 2).

For narrower seats, I think the Frontier is narrower, as is the Maestro, though the Maestro is outgrown as a booster just after it's outgrown as a harnessed seat. The Maestro would need a dedicated booster to follow it. I'm curious, though, you said you wouldn't be using the vehicle with harnessed seats, so why do you want recommendations for harnessed seats?

I don't necessarily need a new car. If I can get narrower harnessed seats in my existing car, I might be able to fit 3 of them in the 3nd row. I'm trying to sort through all of the options.
 

chay

New member
A few off the top of my head -

Small ones with 3rd row
- Mazda 5 (2 captains chairs, 2 3rd row, all 4 spots have top tether)
- Kia Rondo (older ones the 3rd row was optional but I think it's standard now - the 2nd row has 3 seats but I think it is really tight for 3 across, 3rd row has 2 seats - no top tethers 3rd row)

Some bigger options -
- Toyota Rav4 - optional 3rd row, no top tether 3rd row
- Subaru Tribeca - no top tethers 3rd row
- Mazda CX9
- Ford Flex
There are more domestic but we didn't look at them because they all seemed to be too big but maybe we missed something when we were looking.
 

Guest

New member
Ford Taurus X/Freestyle is another smaller crossover with a third row.

A few off the top of my head -

Small ones with 3rd row
- Mazda 5 (2 captains chairs, 2 3rd row, all 4 spots have top tether)
- Kia Rondo (older ones the 3rd row was optional but I think it's standard now - the 2nd row has 3 seats but I think it is really tight for 3 across, 3rd row has 2 seats - no top tethers 3rd row)

Some bigger options -
- Toyota Rav4 - optional 3rd row, no top tether 3rd row
- Subaru Tribeca - no top tethers 3rd row
- Mazda CX9
- Ford Flex
There are more domestic but we didn't look at them because they all seemed to be too big but maybe we missed something when we were looking.

I dunno, OP seems insisting on small.

The Freestyle and Flex can hardly be called "small". They're just a small step before Full Sized. Tribeca is the closest to be "smaller", but it's still a good 10 inches bigger than the RAV-4 and solidly in the mid-size category. The CX-9, well, any bigger and you'd basically get a Suburban.
 

cookie123

New member
I remember looking at the 3rd row of the Tribeca at the auto show last winter. It looked useless. There was no leg room. I don't know how a child could sit back there and I mean without a car seat.
 

momtoirs

Member
A few off the top of my head -

Small ones with 3rd row
- Mazda 5 (2 captains chairs, 2 3rd row, all 4 spots have top tether)
- Kia Rondo (older ones the 3rd row was optional but I think it's standard now - the 2nd row has 3 seats but I think it is really tight for 3 across, 3rd row has 2 seats - no top tethers 3rd row)

We looked at both the Mazda 5 and the Kia Rondo when we were looking this spring. We ended up with a Rondo.

You are correct that the third row was an option until the 2010 model year when it became standard. We have an 09 with three rows.

It would be a tight three across in the second row, but you might be able to do it with the right seats.

If DS was younger, the lack of tether anchors in the third row might have been a deal breaker for us. We knew he would be moving to a booster soon and that most, if not all, of his friends were in boosters, so we decided we were okay with it. We have had adults in the third row. Its tight, but doable in a pinch. I wouldn't recommend a long trip, though.

You have almost no cargo space with the third row up. (We can fit a folded Volo, but that's about it.

We wanted a vehicle that was big enough for our family of three, had room for our "stuff" when we travel, had room to haul other "stuff", and had room for the occasional, usually short, drives with family and friends. We didn't want a mini-van or SUV. We've been very happy with the Kia.

Tina
 

MarathonMama

New member
We have a Rondo with the third row - and we have a 3 across. I LOVE our Rondo but it really is difficult to get some 3 across combos in there. For us, we had to have 2 RF seats so that makes it more difficult than having 2FF. Of course, since it has no top tethers in the third row you can only put boosters back there as RF seats won't even fit (unless you're lucky enough to have a CCO). The darned plastic hinges for folding the seat down really do get in the way when installing carseats (esp the RNs). PM if you have specific questions ... there are a few of us here with Rondos. Ajtastad has done some 3 across in hers too and even had 5 carseats in her with the 3rd row up.
 

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