Question 3 adults, 2-3 kids in car seats

Short and sweet version:
Will a 3-row SUV work for 3 adults and 2 kids RF?
Safety of RF seat in 3rd row is important as my 37", 30lb 33mo is still RF.
Is a minivan going to work better?

Long story...
So my FIL just moved in and we need to easily seat 3 adults in a non-3rd row seat, but be able to get my 6mo and nearly-3 yo (both still rear-facing in Britax Marathons right now) RF, and in and out fairly easily - and have it be SAFE.

We are spoiled right now with our Prius gas mileage, and DH would prefer something like the Highlander Hybrid. I am worried about getting kids in and out, and whether it's safe in the 3rd row for our 37", 30lb 33mo.

So... would something like the Highlander work for us? Is the Pilot a better option? When in the world is a Hybrid Minivan coming out? If not a hybrid minivan, which minivans?

I'm going to start my research, but knew coming here would be a helpful start.

The car would want to optimally be versatile enough for a few years, when we probably won't have FIL still with us, and we would most likely have a third child!

Thanks

The Pilot might be functional, but I can't say how comfortable. The downside to putting the little guys in the back (while convenient from a loading perspective) is that you would need to slide the second row seats forward, leaving your adult passengers with minimal leg room.

You could maybe put the baby in a CCO on the driver's side, allowing the "60" portion of the bench to be back all but one click, and the toddler's seat on the passenger side. Then, just that one independent seat would need to be moved forward, and the passenger front seat could be moved up a bit, too. That will probably be your best bet. Once your toddler turns FFing, you could switch the arrangement, and be good on room. But it sounds like you have a while before that.

I've never tried loading an infant seat via the hatch so I don't know how do-able it is.

So, silly question, but is a CCO a Combi Corocco? Similar in height to a Britax Roundabout, so more seat room for the 2nd row...

But does that mean that you'd load from the back hatch and buckle from there? interesting.... totally never thought of doing that! Is that a common thing to do? Do you remove the head rests or something to make it easier?

hybrid minivan: nothing here now, but there's a few in the works.

Ford Grand CMax
Toyota Prius v

Both of these are coming ~ 2012 IIRC are comparable in size to a Mazda 5.

Chrysler intends to have a hydraulic hybrid minivan testbed on the road next year. I have no idea if this will go anywhere.



Other options: Sounds like you want fuel efficient seating for 5 real people (i.e. seats don't count unless they're wide enough and have enough legroom for RF seats or adults). Here's the categories that might be worth a look:

Minivan
2011 Odyssey
4 cyl 2011 Sienna
Ody get's better fuel economy on the US EPA test, but the Sienna is rated slightly higher in Canada. Go figure.
Mazda 5 - I wouldn't want to do 2 kids & adult in the back on a regular basis, but I'm sure there are people who do.

Crew-cab truck. Don't laugh - you can sit 3 across in the back with plenty of room, and they've made great improvements in the latest generations for safety and fuel economy. My 3 favorites can all be spec'd to get fuel economy on par or better than most minivans.
New F150 w/ V6 or 3.5L ecoboost
2011 or newer Ford Superduty w/ the diesel
2011 or new GM HD w/ diesel
There is a hybrid Silverado, but it doesn't make my "favorite" list - to much $ and not enough mpg's

Car options? I'm out of my territory here, but there may be a car or two out there with a big enough back seat to get 2 kids plus FIL back there. I'm thinking the modern equivalent of a crown vic, but don't know what that is. Cars that big aren't fuel efficient as cars go, but they may still use less fuel than a SUV or minivan.

Any of these will burn roughly 2x the fuel of a Prius, give or take.