Compact SUV with third row

[Karen]

Hi! We have 3 kids and are trying for a 4th. We have a Sienna as our main vehicle. We are looking for a second car that would fit everyone if we had to, but would not regularly fit all the kids. I do NOT want a large SUV. I have been looking at the Outlander and the Rogue with the tiny third rows. Does anyone have any experience with seats and kids in these vehicles? Or another option with a tiny back row? My bigs are 9 and 11, both in backless boosters. The baby is RFing. Thanks for your help!

[lgenne]

Are you specifically looking for a new vehicle? I can’t directly answer your question, but you might want to look at the Mazda5. It’s no longer in production, but it’s so convenient to have rear facers in its 3rd row.

[Karen]

I traded my Mazda5 for my van!!!

My husband wants an SUV.

[lgenne]

I traded my Mazda5 for my van!!!

My husband wants an SUV.

Ha!

[MamaChirpy]

The new Pathfinder is fantastic. I put seats in its' third row with no problem

[jjordan]

2nd row of the Rogue has major seat belt overlap (at least whatever year I had as a rental in May, not sure exactly what model years are like that), so to fit 4 you’d have to do 2 in the third row and you’d need to move a car seat to access the third row (unless you have someone who 5-steps). I would be cautious about that one. We liked our Ford Freestyle for 5 kids, so maybe look into the Ford Flex, though it might be bigger than what you want.

ETA: should have read more carefully. It wouldn’t be too bad to move a backless booster to access the third row in a Rogue. But I don’t know what the third row is like so I’d still be cautious with that one.