Looking for 3 Row SUV

aseibel · January 3, 2018

47 minutes ago, Northman said:

Adults don't sit comfortably in the third row of a Tahoe or Suburban because of the raised floor.

Yea. I'd rather sit cross legged on the floor of the cargo area than in the 3rd row with my knees in the back of the 2nd row seat. And I'm only 5'10".

onecrazyfoo4u · January 4, 2018

9 hours ago, newdude said:

Check out the new 2018 Traverse. Much better than the older ones by a long shot.

Do the new ones still have the captain seats only in the second row? If so that's a no-go since you lose half the cargo space with a back seat up.

onecrazyfoo4u · January 4, 2018

6 hours ago, Northman said:

If it were me I'd be looking at a Ford Expedition. The third seat is actually usable due to the flat floor. Adults don't sit comfortably in the third row of a Tahoe or Suburban because of the raised floor.

Thanks I didn't realize the Tahoe and suburban had raised third rows. That kind of stinks.

martha3065 · January 4, 2018

Before 2015, the GM full size SUV 3rd row seats also take up a lot of room when folded. You can remove the third row, but then have to store them and throw them back in when needed. 2015+ have seats that fold flat. Huge difference in storage space and convenience. Unfortunately you are right, pricing on a 2015+ is over $30k unless you find a high mileage one.

newdude · January 4, 2018

14 hours ago, onecrazyfoo4u said:

Do the new ones still have the captain seats only in the second row? If so that's a no-go since you lose half the cargo space with a back seat up.

The old ones had 7 or 8 passenger seating. The new ones do as well.

gmcleer · January 4, 2018

Look at the Traverse. My wife loves hers, her favorite car so far. Great for hauling people with more interior space than a Tahoe. Only thing better is a minivan.

jogutier · January 6, 2018

On 1/2/2018 at 6:56 PM, onecrazyfoo4u said:

Wanted to get everyone's opinion. I'm hunting for our next SUV kid hauler. It has to have 3 rows and 4wd or awd for the snow. I have 3 kids, 7, 5, and 2. So I would need to fit all three car seats and boosters in the second row preferably. Third row is for when we have visitors and will be folded down majority of the time.

We've had a Dodge journey for the last five years and it's been great. Just want something bigger and not 2wd. I think we've narrowed it down to four options. Budget is $30k max, and no more than 2-3 years old. Trying to decide between a Tahoe, Ford Explorer, Dodge Journey, and Honda Pilot.

What would you all get for a kid hauler? Do you guys know of any problems with any of these vehicles from the last couple years? They all seem to be rated pretty well. The Tahoe's are priced quite a bit more than the other three for some reason. We don't need an SUV as huge as the suburbans or expeditions. Thanks for any help!

I just purchased a used 2006 Z71 tahoe and love it.

sk · January 8, 2018

On 1/4/2018 at 1:06 PM, gmcleer said:

Look at the Traverse. My wife loves hers, her favorite car so far. Great for hauling people with more interior space than a Tahoe. Only thing better is a minivan.

This. People don't believe it but they really are as large as a Tahoe inside but drive like a smaller vehicle and get better gas mileage. A Traverse would be good, or a pre-2017 Acadia (they shrunk in size starting in 2017). If you prefer more luxury go for a used Buick Enclave but most of them have 2nd-row captain's chairs (a bench was available -- they are just harder to find). All of those CUV's are available with a really good AWD system and ride better than the full-size SUV's.

onecrazyfoo4u · January 8, 2018

We looked at a few over the weekend and ruled out the Explorers. Those are just two small inside. The Tahoes are nice, just much more expensive than the others we are looking at. We liked the Acadia and we're surprised at how roomy they were. The Traverse was nice too, just didn't seem as nice as the Acadia or the Durango's. I think we are leaning towards the Durango, we really like the options those provide for the price. And they get the best mpg out of all of them.

becker87 · January 9, 2018

Wife has a new Pilot. We like it a lot and is very nice to drive. Get's around 25 driving 75-80. Can't say much about the back seats as we don't have kids yet.

Northman · January 9, 2018

17 hours ago, onecrazyfoo4u said:

We looked at a few over the weekend and ruled out the Explorers. Those are just two small inside. The Tahoes are nice, just much more expensive than the others we are looking at. We liked the Acadia and we're surprised at how roomy they were. The Traverse was nice too, just didn't seem as nice as the Acadia or the Durango's. I think we are leaning towards the Durango, we really like the options those provide for the price. And they get the best mpg out of all of them.

What about the Expedition? Did you look at those? Durango is way better looking but Expedition is bigger. I get it though. Expedition hasn't changed much since 2003 so its pretty dated.

onecrazyfoo4u · January 9, 2018

We went and looked at a couple new generation Pilots. While they were nice and roomy, I just couldn't stand the outdatedness of them. They seemed 20 years old inside with a touchscreen. Looked at a couple expeditions too (since the Explorers are way too small). They do have a nice price point compared to the Tahoes. But they are pretty ancient inside as well. And at least the third row is useable compared to the Tahoe's. Those third row seats were horrible (at least on the 2015 we saw). Are all recent year Tahoe rear seats like that?

Ah this is too hard. The Durango would be perfect if it was just a little bit bigger inside.

Question about towing capacity on the Tahoes...they claim around 8000lbs, which is actually more than my 05 1500 which is 7500 lb. Has anyone towed a big ~7k lb 30ft camper with a Tahoe before? That's what I lug around with my truck and I know that I'm at my limits. Would the Tahoe fair any better? It at least would have 50 more hp and torque compared to my older truck. But you never really see Tahoe's towing campers...

onecrazyfoo4u · January 9, 2018

Also, what did they change in the 2018 Traverse besides the looks? Are they bigger or smaller like the Acadia went? Thank goodness they finally updated it, that same bland style had been around for a decade almost...

sk · January 9, 2018

4 hours ago, onecrazyfoo4u said:

Also, what did they change in the 2018 Traverse besides the looks? Are they bigger or smaller like the Acadia went? Thank goodness they finally updated it, that same bland style had been around for a decade almost...

They are an all-new chassis so the ride is much better. They went a little larger than the current Traverse. The interiors are a huge improvement over the old model.

Spurshot · January 10, 2018

I have a couple friends that have had the Honda Pilots. Both have good things to say about them. If that suits your needs, I'd get one. You capped the $$ so you limit your options and style starts getting nudged out of the equation pretty quick with a tight budget. Put your "function and reliability hat" on.