8 passenger, 4WD, 3 adults + 5 kids, 3 car seats

LC2003

New member
We are beginning to care for my elderly parents and our vehicles have become a problem. We live in a snowy area down a long and rough driveway, so true 4WD with high and low modes is required. Right now my parents have a 2008 Ford Explorer 7 passenger that goes great in the snow, but we cannot fit all my kids and my parents. We are considering trading my parents' sedan second car for another SUV that will be more useful.

Must seat 8, with 3 kids in the third row as grandma must be 2nd row outboard (I.e., she cannot climb into 3rd row or into 2nd row middle seat). My two older kids (9 and 11) don't need car seats or boosters, but I have a 6 year old in a booster, a 4 year old FFing in a harnessed seat (though he is a good boy in a booster, he usually cannot buckle it himself), and a newborn. I drive, and grandpa rides shotgun.

Does anything meet my criteria? New car seats can be purchased for this car to make it work.
 
ADS

Mommy!

Active member
What about a Suburban? Although they are expensive. Hopefully someone else can chime in to confirm this, but I'm picturing 2nd row, grandma, newborn and 4 yr old, 3rd row big kids and 6 yr old. Or maybe swap the 4 yr old and 6 yr old if the big kids can buckle the 4 yr old in the 3rd row?
 

LC2003

New member
I was just thinking Suburban or Yukon XL. They even make 9-passenger versions, so even DH could fit. But expensive. Does anyone know how car seats do in them? Do they have those annoying seat belts that come from the ceiling too far forward for kids to use?
 

kathysr98

Active member
The Ford Expedition comes in an eight passenger version, and also an EL model that is longer. The middle seats in each row lack a true headrest, but do have a tall 'bump' for head support.

ETA: It's very likely that your nine year old needs a booster, and possibly your eleven year old as well. Please check the Five Step Test to know for sure.
 

LC2003

New member
The Ford Expedition comes in an eight passenger version, and also an EL model that is longer. The middle seats in each row lack a true headrest, but do have a tall 'bump' for head support.

ETA: It's very likely that your nine year old needs a booster, and possibly your eleven year old as well. Please check the Five Step Test to know for sure.

11 year old always passes. 9 year old has incognito if need be. Depends on seat.
 

kathysr98

Active member
11 year old always passes. 9 year old has incognito if need be. Depends on seat.

Sounds like you're aware of proper fit, so that's good.
I've been looking at Expeditions lately, and it looks like a three across could be done without being a huge problem in the third row. I would probably put two in seats plus your eleven year old in the third row to make it easier to get three in that row and allow your eleven year old to help with buckling the littles. That would leave your infant, nine year old and Grandma in the second row. The center seat of the second row slides forward, so it's easy to check on the baby from the front and will give Grandma more elbow room as well.
 

LC2003

New member
Sounds like you're aware of proper fit, so that's good.
I've been looking at Expeditions lately, and it looks like a three across could be done without being a huge problem in the third row. I would probably put two in seats plus your eleven year old in the third row to make it easier to get three in that row and allow your eleven year old to help with buckling the littles. That would leave your infant, nine year old and Grandma in the second row. The center seat of the second row slides forward, so it's easy to check on the baby from the front and will give Grandma more elbow room as well.

The 7-passenger Explorer has that "bump" headrest in the middle of the 2nd row so I know what you are talking about. I also like how in the pics I have seen, the 3rd row seat belts come out of the seats, not the ceiling. (The center 3rd row of my Sienna minivan is basically useless because the seat belt comes out from the ceiling too far forward for even my huge 11 year old. You have to put a car seat there, but it is such a narrow spot that it's pretty useless.)
 

Peony

Member
I've had the Expedition EL and would highly recommend it for a true 8 seater with cargo room. I can not speak about the latest model of Suburbans and if they finally fixed the third row issue but we had the previous model and the third row was awful. We very often had 8 in my Expedition EL and the third row had almost as much room as the second row. My biggest complaint about that SUV was the dismal MPG but that is going to be common with an SUV of that size.
 

LC2003

New member
I've had the Expedition EL and would highly recommend it for a true 8 seater with cargo room. I can not speak about the latest model of Suburbans and if they finally fixed the third row issue but we had the previous model and the third row was awful. We very often had 8 in my Expedition EL and the third row had almost as much room as the second row. My biggest complaint about that SUV was the dismal MPG but that is going to be common with an SUV of that size.

Thank you so much. What was the problem with the suburban third row?
 

Peony

Member
Very small. Difficult to actually achieve three across. The leg room was minimal as well. The Burb's third row sits within the wheel well. Or at least prior to the new redesign, not sure about that model. The Expedition EL's third row sits farther back. They are the exact same length but the Expedition EL has less rear cargo room to compensate for the addition of the space in the third row. There is plenty of leg room in the third row.
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
A Nissan Armada might be an option for you. I had an 06 and it handled so well in the snow that I had to turn off the traction control to do donuts on the ice on purpose. Third row is wider than a Surburban. I'm not sure by how much, but I easily put a Frontier, a Radian, and myself back there. The down side of it vs a Burb would be considerably less cargo room with the 3rd row in use.
 

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