Audi Q7, Mercedes GL450, Hummer H2, Jeep Cherokee SRT, Acura MDX

We have 3 kids under 3 and are trying to find what we consider to be an SUV that allows us some appearance of not driving a "mom mobile", sorry for how that may sound in advance. So we are looking at the following vehicles, some are gas killers and we know it and some are super expensive and we know that as well. What I am asking is...does anyone know or have experience with any of these vehicles and fitting three car seats across the second row ONLY? I understand about not accessing the third row on some of these and some of these like Jeep SRT don't even have a third row.

Audi Q7, Mercedes GL450, Hummer H2, Jeep Cherokee SRT, Acura MDX

Please let me know and thanks in advance for your help.

have you checked out the Mercedes diesels? we just bought one and its said to get between 26-28 mpg..which was a major selling factor.

i have 3 kids in carseats and will be putting 2 of them in the 3d row and one (baby) in 2nd row.

I know Tech. (another member) has the Acura MDX and she can fit 3 carseats across her 2nd row...we did consider that car and its a beauty but the gas mileage isnt great and we don't need towing capacity b/c we have a truck for that purpose.

Good luck! have fun!

I like the Acura MDX.

The Hummer H2 is just too much of a gas-guzzler for me. I also don't like the way it looks.

I love the Mercedes, but would also worry about the gas mileage.

I don't know anything about the Audi.

I moved this thread to car safety. I think you'll get more help with vehicle selection & which ones will fit 3 across the 2nd row in this forum. :thumbsup:

Patriot201 said:

I like the Acura MDX.

The Hummer H2 is just too much of a gas-guzzler for me. I also don't like the way it looks.

I love the Mercedes, but would also worry about the gas mileage.

I don't know anything about the Audi.

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the Hummer did HORRIBLE in the roof crash tests recently released.

did you see the gas mileage i posted above about the Benz? its reported between 26-28 mpg for a 6-7 seater (there is a 7th seat option but not appropriate for a carseat).

check out the mileage on the others. gas mileage was the MAJOR factor in our purchase and it came down to the R320CDI and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid (which i understand coudl actually fit 3 car seats in the middle row (2nd row). i didnt feel comfortable w/ that scenario but one of the techs here said that the middle seat did have LATCH. i just didnt like the way the Toyota drove compared to teh R320.

Thanks for the replies and the help so far.

However, not to sound like a non-caring person about gas, my main concern is just about fitting 3 car seats safely across the second row of the mentioned suv models. Gas is an issue, safety is an issue but I need to solve the first one which is can any of these fit 3 car seats safely across....

Please let me know what ya all know and I appreciate it.

well, i mentioned teh gas mileage b/c of what you stated about the Mercedes:

I love the Mercedes, but would also worry about the gas mileage.

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just trying to let you know that the Diesels get good mileage.

i didnt test drive the GL so dont know much about that car (we didnt need the towing capacity so the R was sufficient). however, there are 3 seats in that car. If I were you, I would go test drive each of those to see how your seats fit. the GL also has a diesel (the CDI) and even though gas milesgae is not one of your major issues, its nice to get good gas mileage as a bonus.

ill bow out now! good luck!

most of these brands also have message boards (BMW and Mercedes do) that you can also visit to get other ppl's perspectives on the individual cars.

pm TechnoGranola (i think i spelled that correctly) about the MDX. i know she can get 3 seats in her 2nd row.

If I had 3 kids and lived in a state that sold Mercedes diesels... I would hands down choose a GL diesel. We have an ML350 and R350 and love both of them. We have only one child but many out of town guests and road trips and we fill up the cars all the time.

Hummers in general are not car seat friendly. Is there a specific issue with the Suburban? I like ours, and I wouldn't consider it a "mom car." At our house it's the "dad-mobile" LOL

I'm totally with you on not wanting a mom car- it's why I keep telling dh "no station wagons"!

aisraeltax said:

the Toyota Highlander Hybrid (which i understand coudl actually fit 3 car seats in the middle row (2nd row). i didnt feel comfortable w/ that scenario but one of the techs here said that the middle seat did have LATCH. i just didnt like the way the Toyota drove compared to teh R320.

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It doesn't have LATCH in the centre of the 2nd row, only a top tether (NO lower anchors). LATCH is available in the 2 outboard seating positions in the 2nd row. The 3rd row doesn't have LATCH and it also does not have top tethers, so in Canada, you can't install a FF child restraint in the 3rd row of the Highlander. In the U.S. you could if you were willing to go without a top tether.

Are there specific seats you already own that you want to fit? or will you be buying new seats? Also, how many RF vs FF seats will you have currently?

If you give me some of this info, I can help you out with if it might work for you in the Acura MDX which we recently purchased and LOVE. It has LATCH in all 3 seating position in the 2nd row (so both lower anchors and tethers) and tether anchors in the two 3rd row seating positions.

I have the Acura MDX and you can pretty much fit anything three across the middle row. I have even done a Regent (a WIDE seat) in some of my three across combinations and it worked great.
I car shopped for a while before choosing the MDX and I will share what little information I remember from them. We didn't pay attention to gas mileage as that is not a concern of ours.
The Audi Q7 was not worth it for the money and there was nothing special about it to me. I like the looks on the outside but the inside just was too boring and VW-ish for me to drop that much coin on. Once I had it loaded with the same options that I was getting with the MDX it was A LOT more expensive.
The GL I love!!! I mean love! The reason I didn't get the GL is because the GL550 wasn't out yet they only had the GL450 and I am kind of weird about stuff like that. I knew that if I went ahead and bought the 450 that I would be kicking myself when the 550 came out. But then I didn't want to wait for the 550 because we really didn't plan on spending that much...or even close to it. Now that the 550 is out I am glad I don't have a 450 because I would cry everytime I saw a 550. I'll just keep this one on my dream car list...right next to my S65. Oh and since we weren't too seriously shopping this car I didn't try out any carseats in it.
The Hummer is a piece of crap inside. We weren't looking at them but my aunt has one and when she traded my hubby cars for a day when she needed his truck we both thought it was garbage. The inside is just cheap and funky. I just think people look like idiots driving them because they used to be SO trendy!!
The Jeep SRT we also didn't shop but my neighbor has one and if I were kid less it would be a hot car for sure! As far as I know they cause installation problems because of their fixed headrests.
We also looked at the BMW X5 and the Volvo XC90 and after all that we still chose the MDX because it offered the best options at the lowest price, reliability, awesome for carseat installs and it is a blast to drive.

Three Radians could fit three across in a compact car. I've seen it done in a Toyota Corolla.

ThreeBeans had three across in a Hyundai Santa Fe and as of the 2007 models there is an optional third row.

Toyota Highlander hasan optional three rows as does even the RAV-4.

You don't have to get a gas guzzler luxury car to fit three across.

I know you didnt ask specifically, but I have the volvo xc90 and can easily fit 3 across. I even had a Britax RA and a Britax MA both RF next to each other. It doesn't have latch in the middle though. The MDX has latch in all sitting positions but I believe the latch limit is 40lbs.
I my Volvo!!!
But like someone said, you can get 3 accross in much smaller cars with the right carseats!

A car (or smaller vehicle) might not suit her for various reasons. Some I can think of are, maybe she needs to tow a trailer, needs 4WD for the weather or locations she travels, has lots of cargo she needs to carry on a daily basis, keeps her vehicles for years so is thinking ahead for when the kids progress out of child restraints and she'll need to make sure an unrestrained child isn't uncomfortably crammed beside a child restraint...just throwing it out there that she may have numerous reasons for a larger SUV, and is ensuring what she buys fits 3 in the 2nd row (rather than buying because she thinks they are the only vehicles that fit 3 across).

As for the LATCH limit, it will depend on what country the original poster is in, since for example, in Canada you can use the top tether until the weight limit of your seat because it's the law here.

Have you looked at the Buick Enclave or GM Acadia? They are GM's new crossover and can easily get 3 across the back seat.

jen_nah said:

Have you looked at the Buick Enclave or GM Acadia? They are GM's new crossover and can easily get 3 across the back seat.

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Just so the original poster knows, this vehicle comes in an 8 seater and 7 seater version. If she wants 3 across the 2nd row, she'll need to look at the 8 seater. The 7 seater has access to the 3rd row between the seats and you get nicer seating for the two 2nd row passengers, but then you can only put 2 in the 2nd row obviously.

You can also put 3 passengers in the 3rd row in this vehicles, although only the centre seating position in the 3rd row has a tether anchor (I don't believe it had full LATCH in the centre of the 3rd row), so your 3 passengers can't necessarily be kids in child restraints.

It also comes in a 3rd version, and that's the Saturn Outlook. The Buick would be considered to be the luxury version of the three.

Another MDX owner here (2007 version) and like Fosters have had great luck with carseat configurations. We extensively shopped for a full year and my final 3 choices were MDX, Q7, and X5. The Q7 would be a serious consideration for me if I was looking for something just a tad bigger than the MDX, but really I was trying to downsize because I wanted something that could be parked more easily than my DH's Tahoe which I finally had talked him into getting rid off. The Q7 was very spacious, but one concern I had was the passenger outboard headrests which were NOT removable. When it comes to carseats, I like to have options because you just never know what type of situation you'll find yourself with. Hopefully they've changed that design with the 2008?

I love my MDX. I've had it just under a year and I really think its a lot of car for the money and its a great carseat configurer. My best suggestion is to take your seats with you (sans kids) and try them out.

Have fun shopping!

Forgot to mention our safety review!!

We were rear-ended at highway speeds shortly after purchasing the MDX. We actually had a loaner from the dealership so my vehicle is still accident free. My DS was ~15mo riding RFacing driver-side outboard in a BLVD and my 17yr old brother was passenger side outboard. All 3 of us fared very well considering the speeds involved. We were cruising to a stop. The driver that hit us probably upwards of 50mph.

The MDX barely looked damaged although I'm sure it suffered chassis damage. I was amazed at how well the headrest design protected me and my brother. I will not shop for vehicles again the same way in the future. Its amazing to me the lack of protection some manufacturers use when designed for the back row passengers.

jeno brought up safety and it reminded me, that if you're going to purchase one with a 3rd row, check out CPSDarren's info on SUVs with 3rd row http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=37243 (even if you won't be putting your kids in the 3rd row now, you may want to use it someday). The MDX meets all the criteria in the article, plus it gets tops ratings at http://www.informedforlife.org CPSDarren lists other SUVs with 3rd rows that meet the criteria. Besides the fact that the MDX is a blast to drive (as already mentioned), fits 3 adult size passengers in the 2nd row comfortably (or 3 car seats!), has a usable 3rd row (check out the X5's 3rd row, it's horrible!), has a ton of luxury features and conveniences for both the 1st and 2nd row passengers, bang for your buck and quality....add the safety of it to the mix and that's why we bought it.