While there are very few midsized SUVs with a legitimate third-row seat, our test data show there are some standouts.
Shoppers should make a realistic assessment about how often they’ll use the third row. If it’s rarely going to be filled—and even then by children—it’s best to prioritize other aspects of the vehicle, such as how it drives.
Understanding that many families want the flexibility to carry seven or eight passengers, we dug into our extensive test results and road-test scores to find the SUVs with the best third-row seating.
We spotlight models below in three popular classes—midsized, luxury midsized, and luxury large—with standout Overall Scores, factoring in access, comfort, and seating capacity. Within each class we also list the next=best alternatives. All of these are recommended models, meaning they scored well in our road tests, have good reliability, have key active safety features, and performed well in crash tests. We don’t recommend any large non-luxury SUVs at this time because none of them have Overall Scores high enough to qualify, either because of below-average reliability and/or low road-test scores.
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