Tell me about your large SUV...

mom2ll · January 2012

I have a Volvo XC90 and really love the car, but we are quickly growing out of it. I need something I can have 2 car seats and put another full sized person in the middle. A real estate sign with top and bottom riders needs to lay flat in the back... I also need a 3rd row. I'm not interested in a suburban (yet). Anyone have a Toyota Sequia or Lexus GX470? We'd be looking at something 2 years old. What are the kid friendly features you like?

PAGAS · January 2012

We had an Acura MDX, it has a third row seat. You can fit three car seats easily in the back seat, there is latch in the middle seat. That way you could have the kids in the middle and side, there would be room for someone on the other side. The car had a power hatch, which was nice for loading stuff. Mine was 2.5 years old and it didn't have the keyless entry like my Volvo does. The rear a/c could be controlled from the back seat, which was nice to get F cooled down in the summer. It has cupholders everywhere, I can think of 10 places. The memory of the seats/steering wheel was stored in the key, so DH's key made the seat go to his settings, even the radio presets were saved.

charlotteL · January 2012

I have an Expedition Limited and love it is a 2010. Mine has the captains chairs in the middle row. I love that the third row has automatic fold down and an automatic lift gate in the back. The first two rows have seat heaters. Kid friendly is came with a TV and DVD. We only use it for long drives or while I nurse the baby and the big boys are with me.

mom2ll · January 2012

PAGAS:
We had an Acura MDX, it has a third row seat. You can fit three car seats easily in the back seat, there is latch in the middle seat. That way you could have the kids in the middle and side, there would be room for someone on the other side. The car had a power hatch, which was nice for loading stuff. Mine was 2.5 years old and it didn't have the keyless entry like my Volvo does. The rear a/c could be controlled from the back seat, which was nice to get F cooled down in the summer. It has cupholders everywhere, I can think of 10 places. The memory of the seats/steering wheel was stored in the key, so DH's key made the seat go to his settings, even the radio presets were saved.

My volvo has that. Drives me crazy when I borrow DH's keys!

TexasSmith · January 2012

I drive an old (2004) Honda Pilot. I have Julia's infant seat behind the passenger seat and Natalie's convertible in the middle, so an adult can sit comfortably behind the driver. I am switching Natalie from a Britax Roundabout to a Frontier and Julia from the infant seat to a Roundabout soon, and I'm not sure how they'll fit.

It does have a 3rd row, but we never use it. It is incredibly difficult to access with 2 car seats in the 2nd row. Sequoias and GX470 seem so huge to me, but if you need that much space I'd get the Sequoia.

ccc'swife · January 2012

You know I LOVE my Sequoia. Love it. It's got the third row seats (we have them stored right now since I'd rather have the trunk space for groceries/dogs/etc). It's a big car, but drives like a car and not a truck (DH has a Tahoe and I hate the way his drives...very unwieldy in my opinion). It's a great car and I'd highly recommend it. With the third row seats gone, I can fit three other people in the car. The back seat has two captain's chairs and the middle is a storage console. But, that would give you plenty of room for both Luca and Lila's carseats, plus another adult up front, and the back has way more than enough room for anything you need to haul around.

CareBear01 · January 2012

We have a Honda Pilot and love it. It will probably do everythign you listed, but since you are looking at somethign specific, then I won't give you another option to confuse things. ;-)

Mrs.JulesH-S · January 2012

I LOVE my Tahoe. It has a 3rd row but only gets used if I have a ton of kids with me since it is not the most comfortable 3rd row. If I really needed it, I would probably have gone with a suburban. Mine handles great and it has a really sharp turn radius. I have for the most part always driven sports cars and didn't think I would even like an SUV. The other SUVs I would have looked at is a Dodge Durango (love the new look) or a Nissan Armada.

sad5781 · January 2012

I have the new Durango. I'd think that with Radian carseats (or other narrow ones) you'd be able to fit an adult in the middle. Next to the Acadia, it was the biggest of the midsized SUV's we could find. If we were going to go a little bigger, I think we'd have gone with the Expedition with Bucket Seats. The Ford Technology is great. We looked at the Explorer but the leg room in the second seat was AWFUL and thats a big deal to us since DH is a giant. We loved EVERYTHING ELSE about the explorer so assume the Expedition would be similar.

The Durango has a third row but its inaccessible with 2 carseats. The Acadia has bucket seat option for 2nd row so you can get to the 3rd row and its a pretty comfortable 3rd row too. Overall, we really wanted to LOVE the it, but We were just disappointed with the technology of the Acadia and saw reports it would be getting new technology in 2013 and all new body in 2014 but could not wait that long to get a new vehicle for me.

The Durango really drives smooth and with the third wow down has TONS of storage space.

Have several friends with Armada's and they LOVE them.

jrose7131985 · January 2012

Mrs.JulesH-S:
I LOVE my Tahoe. It has a 3rd row but only gets used if I have a ton of kids with me since it is not the most comfortable 3rd row. If I really needed it, I would probably have gone with a suburban. Mine handles great and it has a really sharp turn radius. I have for the most part always driven sports cars and didn't think I would even like an SUV. The other SUVs I would have looked at is a Dodge Durango (love the new look) or a Nissan Armada.

I have a 2012 Durango and absolutely love it! It has the smoothes ride I have ever felt!

CareBear01 · January 2012

Also wanted to mention that the Houston Car Show is later this month. We went to it to check out all of the SUVs and their options when we were trying to decide what we wanted. We liked to sit in all of the different models (even in the back) to see the general layout of each brand. I have even seen people bring carseats to test them out in the back!

mom2ll · January 2012

Do you guys thing that the Pilot is bigger than the Volvo? I didn't even consider it because it doesn't look any bigger. I have 3rd row seats and all that jazz, but it's still a tight fit. A person can sit between the 2 car seats, but it's not comfortable and impossible to get into the 3rd row unless you climb through the back. DO NOT SAY THE WORDS MINIVAN. Not going to happen!

CareBear01 · January 2012

bpaullo:
Do you guys thing that the Pilot is bigger than the Volvo? I didn't even consider it because it doesn't look any bigger. I have 3rd row seats and all that jazz, but it's still a tight fit. A person can sit between the 2 car seats, but it's not comfortable and impossible to get into the 3rd row unless you climb through the back. DO NOT SAY THE WORDS MINIVAN. Not going to happen!

Yes, the 3rd row is hard to get to if you have 2 carseats. Well, it has a 1/3 / 2/3 split, so I haven't tried to get in the back with both carseats on the 2/3 - not sure if that 1/3 section will lift up with carseats beside it? Maybe someone else can answer that. I believe it is smaller than the Sequoia, though - if that is the size you are looking for.

ETA: We have a 2007. I have heard the newer models are roomier inside.

rayskit10 · January 2012

I have the Lexus GX460. It's the new version of the 470- same just a different engine, which changed the model number.

It's big, but not huge. It's the body of the Toyota 4Runner. I really love a lot of what the car has to offer. It gets great gas mileage. Storage is huge for us. You can fit 2 full sized suitcases, a smaller suitcase, AND a double BOB in the way back. I love that the 3rd row folds completely flat and that it's power, not manual.

If you buy used from a dealer like Westside Lexus, the customer service is amazing. I think DH will never drive anything but (he has a Lexus sedan) because he loves the level of service so much.

If you ever want to take mine for a spin, we can meet for lunch near you. Just lemme know.

junebride611 · January 2012

We LOVE our Nissan Armada. Its huge, yes, but it seriously drives like a sedan. Things I love about it: entertainment system, 3rd row seats FOLD FLAT and do not have to be removed, fits 8 adults comfortably, front and rear parking sensors, back up camera, tonnns of storage space and an automatic lift gate. It also has keyless entry/one touch entry so you don't have to paw through your bags to find the keys. So many things we love...and I could go on but I'll spare you. Whenever I'm ready to buy another SUV, it will probably be the latest version of this bad boy.

lilbitnmag · January 2012

rayskit10:

I have the Lexus GX460. It's the new version of the 470- same just a different engine, which changed the model number.

It's big, but not huge. It's the body of the Toyota 4Runner. I really love a lot of what the car has to offer. It gets great gas mileage. Storage is huge for us. You can fit 2 full sized suitcases, a smaller suitcase, AND a double BOB in the way back. I love that the 3rd row folds completely flat and that it's power, not manual.

If you buy used from a dealer like Westside Lexus, the customer service is amazing. I think DH will never drive anything but (he has a Lexus sedan) because he loves the level of service so much.

If you ever want to take mine for a spin, we can meet for lunch near you. Just lemme know.

Just want to 2nd the customer service of Westside Lexus! We bought my car there and they have been fantastic about everything we've ever needed!!!

Tell me about your large SUV...

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