luxury suv/minivan with 3 carseats in 2nd row?

We are in a market for another new suv or minivan that has a full third row and still would fit 3 car seats in the second row. We currently have a 2006 Lexus 400h with a Radian 80 for dd 4y/o 36 lbs, Britax Roundabout for ds 2y/o 28 lbs, and Peg Prego infant seat for baby on the way. We need a third row of seats for grandparents. We will most likely use the same combination of seats for this new vehicle, but will buy something else to accommodate. We love our luxury cars but also would like something with at least 20 mpg (good luck, right?) We liked the 2008 Honda Odyssey Touring, but according to another thread, only the rf infant seat is appropriate for the 'jump'seat between the captain chairs. Placing the infant seat carrier between the two huge car seats every day seems logistically painful. Also, a Honda salesman told us that the jumpseat is only good for booster seats. We would like to have the infant seat on the outboard, the radian in the middle and one of the Britax on the other outboard seat. Right now, we think our best bet is the 2008 Toyota Sienna Limited or XLE. Are there any other suggestions?

I can't help you with a minivan, but I can say that I don't think a luxury SUV will meet your needs if you want all 3 kids in the 2nd row. With all 3 kids in the 2nd row, you won't have a way to get into the 3rd row unless you have the grandparents climb in through the back cargo area.

We've got an Acura MDX (and love it), but with 3 kids in the 2nd row, like I said, there's no way to get to the 3rd row. That doesn't change for most all of the luxury SUV's.

If you're not wanting to move to a minivan, I'd consider the Buick Enclave if I were you. It's the luxury version of the Saturn Outlook/GMC Acadia. You could get the 7 seater version, and put 2 kids in the captain's chairs in the 2nd row, and one child in the centre in the 3rd row. Grandparents could get to the 3rd row by going between the 2 captain's chairs, and could sit on either side of the child in the 3rd row. I think it's the only luxury SUV that would give you decent access to the 3rd row with 3 kids.

How is the Sienna better for your purposes than the Odyssey? My mom has an 8 seater Sienna and I can't see how it's better than the Honda for your purposes.

I like the Honda better. It's the little stuff. Our friend has a 2007 Oddy. I like it better than the Siennas. I only had my mom get the Sienna cuz I'm related by marriage to two Toyota techs. Free service and minor parts is a tough thing to trump.

we test drove the Toyota Hylander Hybrid last Sat. and you cant put a car seat in teh jumper seat (as far as i know..i dont think i would).

have you looked at the Mercedes R320CDI? We are seriously considering this b/c its has both 2nd row seats and 3d row seats with LATCH...and is sooo much nicer than the Toyota Higlander (I don't know how they are getting so much for those cars after you drive the Mercedes..you will see what I mean).

I really want the R320 b/c it gets around 28 mpg (i think its 21/28 or something like that). Its diesel and we are hoping to convert it to biodiesel when that becomes available.

good luck! post what you decide (oh, and the Mercedes gas mileage is better than the Toyota Highlander Hybrid).

aisraeltax said:

we test drove the Toyota Hylander Hybrid last Sat. and you cant put a car seat in teh jumper seat (as far as i know..i dont think i would).

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The Highlander has 3 tether anchors in the middle row, so yes 3 kids could go in the 2nd row. But, you'd run into the issue I mentioned, you then have no access to the 3rd row. Additionally, the Highlander is not a luxury SUV. Lexus is Toyota's luxury line and unfortunately the RX doesn't come with a 3rd row, else I bet the OP would keep theirs!

That Mercedes R320 looks like a nice vehicle!

I looked at the Highlander Hybrid. im not sure if its the same but ill take your word for it if it is...i was just not comfortable with the idea of a car seat being in that seat....but thats just me I guess. It was so small and the salesmen didnt even know which carseats had LATCH.

the only reason i mentioned that car was b/c it was only a few thousand LESS than the 320CDI that we are considering....i think you can get a LEXUS for less than some of the HH's out there (which is crazy). Also, the OP mentioned the Honda, so i thought i would throw the HH in b/c Honda is not a luxury vehicle either.

i was very impressed w/ the 320CDI LATCH systems (not that any are not great..but the way these are designed seem to take into consideration child safety and seat preservation.

aisraeltax said:

I looked at the Highlander Hybrid. im not sure if its the same but ill take your word for it if it is...i was just not comfortable with the idea of a car seat being in that seat....but thats just me I guess. It was so small and the salesmen didnt even know which carseats had LATCH.

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We looked at both the hybrid and the regular and they are the same with respect to the seating. The main difference is the engines, and a few other trim bits.

the only reason i mentioned that car was b/c it was only a few thousand LESS than the 320CDI that we are considering....i think you can get a LEXUS for less than some of the HH's out there (which is crazy). Also, the OP mentioned the Honda, so i thought i would throw the HH in b/c Honda is not a luxury vehicle either.

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Ya the overlap with vehicles is sometimes crazy. You either choose a lower model with all the bells and whistles, or go up a step but don't get all the features. You are right though, a top of the line Highlander is higher priced than a base Lexus RX.

As for the Honda, I think she was looking at the minivan? As far as I know, there aren't any luxury minivans. or are there?

i was very impressed w/ the 320CDI LATCH systems (not that any are not great..but the way these are designed seem to take into consideration child safety and seat preservation.

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Good to hear that more manufacturers are considering kids. It seems to me that the luxury vehicles lines seem to do a better job at it. Our Acura has LATCH in all 3 seating position in the 2nd row and the centre position is actually a width that can hold an adult (and thus a child seat). We also have tether anchors in both seating positions in the 3rd row, so great if you have to haul a full load of people and need to swap the kids around to make everyone comfortable.

sounds like the Acura has a better seating system in the 2nd row/?? what year do you have? what kind of gas mileage are you getting? would you recommend that car? im getting nervous b/c i think my partner is about to jump on a deal we found last weekend...i would hate for him to go get that car (which i do love) and find out there is something out there i would have loved more.

oh...and the HH??? the R320 CDI that was only $2k more?? fully loaded (2 DVD's in headrest....nav system, etc. etc. HH....had the same kind of stuff...but still.....kind of crazy b/c wasnt a difference in what was in the cars).

pls. let me know whether i should look at the Acura. if i dont do that today, i probably wont get another chance too. a full size 3d seat in the 2nd row is a nice idea...i will have 2 carseats and a 10 year old and i hate to put the 10 year old in the jump seat.

I have a friend who has an 8 passenger Sienna. She has a Husky and a Regent outboard w/ a rear facing Marathon in the center. My friend has all three seats even w/ each other, but when she needs to turn the Marathon forward facing, I think she may need to pull the middle seat forward a bit. The Sienna allows that center seat to be offset (pulled forward, not behind) from the two outboard seats in the second row.

We've been looking at minivans and from what I've researched, the Honda's 2nd row center seat is significantly smaller than the one in the Sienna.

Oh and you can only get the 8 passenger Sienna in a LE... the XLE only comes as a 7 passenger. At least according to Toyota's website.

aisraeltax said:

sounds like the Acura has a better seating system in the 2nd row/?? what year do you have? what kind of gas mileage are you getting? would you recommend that car? im getting nervous b/c i think my partner is about to jump on a deal we found last weekend...i would hate for him to go get that car (which i do love) and find out there is something out there i would have loved more.

oh...and the HH??? the R320 CDI that was only $2k more?? fully loaded (2 DVD's in headrest....nav system, etc. etc. HH....had the same kind of stuff...but still.....kind of crazy b/c wasnt a difference in what was in the cars).

pls. let me know whether i should look at the Acura. if i dont do that today, i probably wont get another chance too. a full size 3d seat in the 2nd row is a nice idea...i will have 2 carseats and a 10 year old and i hate to put the 10 year old in the jump seat.

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We have an '08 MDX Elite. The Elite is like the sport/entertainment package in the U.S. We love it. We looked at EVERY mid-size sporty SUV except for the Audi Q7 (wasn't one to look at in our city) and the Mercedes GL (more than we wanted to spend). The MDX has such a great feel to it for driving, it handles amazingly. It's also gets tops ratings at the NHTSA, IISH and informedforlife.org for safety.

The cool thing about the MDX is that you could put one car seat on the driver's side, one in the centre, and your 10 year old could sit on the passenger side, and you would still have access to the 3rd row! They've designed the centre LATCH so that it's slightly off centre which means the passenger seat can still be folded for 3rd row access. The 2nd row also has HEATED seats in the outboard positions (my 10 year old LOVES this now that she passes the 5 step test and sits directly on the leather). If you don't need 3rd row access, you could have your 10 year old sit in the centre, but no heated seat then! (won't matter if in booster seat). The 2nd row outboard seat positions are also just like front seat, they have nice side bolsters and really good headrests, you feel like you're sitting in the front, not like a typical back seat at all.

I wouldn't say the 3rd row is quite full size as legroom is limited, BUT there is headrests in the 3rd row and smaller adults can fit comfortably for a long ride. Larger adults might feel a bit squishy on a long trip, but I'm sure could handle it for a ride in the city. The seat width is decent though, so they wouldn't be squished sideways. The 3rd row has nicer seating than the Highlander (with close to the same room) and WAY nicer seating then the BMW X5 which has a 3rd row that's like a rumble seat and when you're in it you can't even see over the 2nd row. It was TERRIBLE!

The MDX has a DVD player that drops down from the ceiling which we thought we might not like at first. But, it is situated so that it is NOT in your rearview mirror for the driver, and all 5 rear seating positions can watch it. You can plug in 3 sets of headphones for the 2nd row, and use 2 wireless headsets for the 3rd row, or you can use the wireless in the 2nd row. There is also a removable remote control for the DVD player/XM radio/CD player that stows in the ceiling. Your 10 year old would love this for controlling things back there!

Tons of great luxury features, heated seats in front and 2nd row (as I mentioned), rear back-up camera, navigation system, heated side mirrors, auto-dimming rear view mirror, tilting side mirrors for parking, manual shift mode, VERY nice leather seating, memory seats for TWO drivers and key fobs that are specific to the driver so you get your seating position, audio controls and heating controls specific to the driver (very nice!). I could go on. It's tows 5000 pounds and comes with a trailer stability assist.

The '07 MDX should be the same with the exception of auto-dimming rearview mirror I believe (although that can be added as an option). In '07 they put the MDX on its own platform so it no longer shared one with the Pilot and Odyssey.

Gas mileage I would have to calculate. I just know that it's been no worse than our Ford Escape V6, and the tank is way bigger so we fill much less often. We originally wanted the Highlander Hybrid for gas mileage, but unfortunately the hybrid only towed 3500#, so it was out. So, we were happy to get a larger, more powerful vehicle that the gas mileage didn't get worse than our smaller Escape. If you go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ you can compare vehicles side by side or compare by class to get an idea of fuel economy with the new ratings (which should hopefully be more accurate than prior years).

If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask!

To the OP, if you would prefer not to have a minivan and want to stick with a luxury SUV, then you could consider finding one with LATCH in the 3rd row and put 2 kids in the 2nd row and one in the 3rd row. That way you could still have access to the 3rd row and one grandparent would sit there and one in the 2nd row. I already mentioned how this would work in the Buick Enclave and this would work in the MDX as well as the centre LATCH position is slightly off centre to ensure you can still fold down the passenger seat for 3rd row access. You'd have to test this in others to see if it works as not all of them have things set up the same way.

wow! thanks for the review! im going to check that car out..i hadnt even considered it. i think perhaps the gas mileage is why.....the R320 is a diesel and is getting up to 28 mpg. Gas mileage is definitely most important to us but i really want to see that 3d seat in teh middle.

the DVD system in the R320 is in the back of the headrests....i think i would prefer it from the ceiling b/c i would rather have to 2 younger ones in the 2nd row (i dont know why..its not like im going to be turnign around and doing anythign to them while im driving....hahahha!). but having a DVD in the ceiling would prob. be easier for the 10 yo to watch from teh 3d row.

i did confirm with Mercedes today that the 3d seat in the 2nd row does NOT have LATCH. but the back 2 seats do and they are pretty cool. I really loved the R320's 3d row seats compared to the Highlander's. and the 2nd row seats were soo much easier to slid up and down (we have never had such a large vehicle before, so this is all new to us...we have a truck for towing and both our cars are simply 5 passenger....my partner loves BMW's (well i do too i guess) but many, the X5 is a gas hog...they are releasign an X7 next year that is supposed to be diesel and get better mileage but we cant wait....we need a car this year.

i hope all this has helped the OP a bit. lol! i for one am so confused about where everyone is going to sit! lol!

i should start my own thread.

Is there even an SUV that will seat 3 in the middle row and still have access to the 3rd row? (without moving the seats)
THAT would be my dream car.

ProudMomof5 said:

Is there even an SUV that will seat 3 in the middle row and still have access to the 3rd row? (without moving the seats)
THAT would be my dream car.

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I suppose that all depends on just how agile your kids are

I have an '05 Sienna. I could put just about any combination of seats along my second row, and have. You could put an infant seat base in the centre and it will easily clear a Regent, or you could use the infant seat without the base outboard (if your PV is newer/allows) and have easy access to the back row. Another thing I like to do is stand on the side of the van and reach over an outboard seat to buckle up anyone in the back row. It's dead simple. I'm an SUV girl, but I love my Sienna. I am going to be getting an '08 Ody, however, because my older two kids are out of boosters, so the PlusOne seat is actually functional for us now. I don't think I would use it for anything but a child not in a booster or perhaps a Starriser/Comfy...

-Nicole.

ProudMomof5 said:

Is there even an SUV that will seat 3 in the middle row and still have access to the 3rd row? (without moving the seats)
THAT would be my dream car.

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in spending the last few weeks looking for an SUV w/ good gas mileage, I havent found. As tech. said, the ACURA will fit the 3 fseats in teh middle and thats a NICE setup....darn it!! the gas mileage is not as good as the R320. im going to start a new thread. lol!

QuassEE said:

I suppose that all depends on just how agile your kids are

I have an '05 Sienna.

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Oh so with the door all the way open a child could squeeze behind the middle row's outboard seat into the back row, without actually moving the seat?
I wasn't sure if that was what you meant.