Best American 3rd-Row SUVs

oliviaik · Jul 14, 2014

Right now I have two kids, one in a FF Radian and another in a RF Britax Marathon. We will likely have another child in the next 2-3 years. Right now, we have a Jeep Commander and are just beginning to look into options for our next vehicle. My husband insists that we get an American-made vehicle, so that has helped us limit it to the following options: Ford Explorer, Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia, Dodge Durango, and Buick Enclave. We will likely get something between a 2011 and 2013 model year. The Explorer is by far my husband's preference, though I am leaning towards the Traverse. We haven't really had a chance to go look at any yet, though.

So, here are my questions.

1. I heard that the headrests were immovable for the Traverse and (maybe) the Explorer. Is that a problem for a forward-facing Radian or will it install just fine?

2. Which of these SUVs has easiest access to the third row?

3. Which SUV is all-around your favorite for carseats and why?

sarahknavy · Jul 14, 2014

The inside of the traverse, acadia, enclave are the same. I hated ! The install of the RF radian in an explorer and could not comfortable sit with a RF radian behind the driver like I can with my acadia. I can try to install my radian FF and take a pic if you are interested. The Durango was also nice but I didn't like driving it. I felt like it wouldn't go and wS really dragging.

Kegracin · Jul 14, 2014

I have a current generation which I love but I'm not sure how I would love it with rear facers (I've got two frontiers in mine) the leg room is tight for a ford. (Normally they make great use of space but I don't feel that way about the explorer, we went with it because of the price headrests and tether anchor locations). There is a great review of the explorer on carseatblog.

kathysr98 · Jul 14, 2014

You also have the Flex as an option. I like my Flex a lot, and find the third row easy to access with a little planning. I have had a Frontier 85 second row center and driver's side, a True Fit FF in both third row positions and second row passenger side, and a Radian FF in both third row positions and second row passenger side. I haven't done any RF installs, but the Flex has more second row leg room than the Explorer, Expedition, or Freestyle. I had a Radian RF center in the Freestyle I had before my Flex. Let me know if you have any other questions. I'll be happy to answer them.

bubbaray · Jul 14, 2014

Unless I needed something like a Suburban in terms of size, of the domestics SUVs id definitely look at the Flex. We rented a Flex for 2 weeks two years ago and were really impressed.

aeormsby · Jul 14, 2014

We have a Saturn Outlook which is a Acadia/Traverse/Enclave twin. I don't think they've changed the interior much (ours is an '07). I can remove the headrests in the 2nd row, it just involved pulling a wire clip off of the stem. But that means they don't lock in if you have an adult using the seat. The 3rd row headrests don't really come out (they do, but they just come off the stems which angle forward). I never really had much of an issue with any installed seat (RF or FF). The headrests became more of an issue with boosters.

Are you looking at 2nd row bench or captain's chairs? I wouldn't really want to deal with the 3rd row on a permanent basis unless most of the kids were in boosters (we have the 8 passenger), I just like having more cargo room also.

Overall I really like ours (we've had it for almost 7 years now), it's comfy and drives great. The gas mileage is terrible though, especially compared with what they were advertising when we got ours, not sure if they've modified that or not.

sarahknavy · Jul 14, 2014

aeormsby said:
We have a Saturn Outlook which is a Acadia/Traverse/Enclave twin. I don't think they've changed the interior much (ours is an '07). I can remove the headrests in the 2nd row, it just involved pulling a wire clip off of the stem. But that means they don't lock in if you have an adult using the seat. The 3rd row headrests don't really come out (they do, but they just come off the stems which angle forward). I never really had much of an issue with any installed seat (RF or FF). The headrests became more of an issue with boosters.

Are you looking at 2nd row bench or captain's chairs? I wouldn't really want to deal with the 3rd row on a permanent basis unless most of the kids were in boosters (we have the 8 passenger), I just like having more cargo room also.

Overall I really like ours (we've had it for almost 7 years now), it's comfy and drives great. The gas mileage is terrible though, especially compared with what they were advertising when we got ours, not sure if they've modified that or not.

I need to figure out how to do this. My radians hit the Headrest and I can slip my hand behind. I just realized they recline though. I wonder if it will install better with the seat reclined? I have a lot to learn about FF installs

We get about 18/19 mpg on our '14

SafeDad · Jul 15, 2014

I'm partial to the Durango, but I don't think it qualifies as American made much more than a Pilot, Pathfinder or Highlander. We have reviews of many of these at Carseatblog.com with an emphasis on safety and carseats. The Flex has a cargo advantage when all three seats are in use. Beware of some issues for carsests in models with inflatable seatbelts, though. It is essentially the same in that regard to the Explorer we reviewed. If you opt for one of the GM trio, be sure it has any seat belt and other safety recalls resolved!

Jackie010307 · Jul 15, 2014

I recently went from an 06 odyssey to an 11 traverse and I love it. I don't have any seats that need installed though so I'm not much help there. Dd is in a britax parkway and it works fine in the middle row. We have two seats in the middle instead of the bench. The middle row headrests are not adjustable, and neither is the third row, but this hasn't been an issue for us. The middle row comfortably fits adults. We are 6' and over and have no problem with head or leg room. The third row is small, but fits my 11 year old well with some growing room. We tried dd in a backless booster and she had a lot of growing room before losing head support. Definitely make sure you think towards the future when test driving and try now rear facing seats forward facing and if you have boosters try them in all positions and backless to check out growing room!

Edited to add that my 5'11 13 year old does not fit in the third row. He does not have enough head support or leg room.

kathysr98 · Jul 15, 2014

The Flex has adjustable & removable headrests in the second row. The third row headrests fold down flat & you can install seats in front of the folded headrests. The extended headrests are very tall, so I imagine they would provide plenty of head support.

VoodooChile · Jul 19, 2014

I have a 2014 Durango but only 1seat in it (Kiddy Cruiserfix). I haven't tried to install anything other than booster in there (I've only had a few hbb in there but they've all worked fine).
It has the walk-through 2nd row (but you can also get a 2nd row bench). Mine is a 6 seater.

Best American 3rd-Row SUVs

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