3 kids, no 3rd row vehicle

[JTBurns]

So my wonderful wife just gave birth to our 3rd (and final) child. I have the three seats set up in the back of the JT, and our other vehicle is a Mazda CX-5 that's just about paid off with 50k miles. We are not convinced that a three row vehicle is a must, so does that make us crazy? We feel between the bed of the truck and the roof rack on the CX-5, we could haul our kids and stuff without a problem. Understand it'll be a little tight, but outside of vacation, our trips are generally less than two hours at the furthest.

My wife doesn't really want to drive a bigger vehicle, but if we did get a 3rd row, it's narrowed down town Acura MDX or Mazda CX-9 and we'd want Captain's chairs in either.

So just wondering if anyone out there is toting three kids without a 3rd row and find it at least tolerable? We'd like to at least get the JT paid off (2 1/2 years) or the Mazda closer to 100k miles before trade. Appreciate the replies in advance!

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[Shackleton]

Congratulations is all I can add. I have one rug-rat and a dog. JT is fun for us. keep Us posted if you decide to get a third row vehicle.

 

[Dewyaw]

Hmmm, this is an interesting question. As a father of 4, with 1 girl at LSU (Geaux Tigers!) 1 girl in beauty school, one 8th grade boy and one 4th grade boy, three rows of seats are.....a must.
I’m only just now getting my Gladiator because two of the kids are in college, leaving just us 4, which we can do road trips in the truck in. Otherwise, we’d still have our Ford Flex, which I highly recommend btw.

 

[JTBurns]

Hmmm, this is an interesting question. As a father of 4, with 1 girl at LSU (Geaux Tigers!) 1 girl in beauty school, one 8th grade boy and one 4th grade boy, three rows of seats are.....a must.
I’m only just now getting my Gladiator because two of the kids are in college, leaving just us 4, which we can do road trips in the truck in. Otherwise, we’d still have our Ford Flex, which I highly recommend btw.

Thanks for the advice! Agreed we will have to pull the trigger eventually, just trying to put it off a couple years if possible. I like the Flex too, actually! I test drove one once at a fundraising event and really liked how it drove. I've been trying to convince the wife on that one...

 

[Moe_Fugga]

A buddy of mine with three kids just bought a Honda Odyssey. Say what you will about a minivan, but that thing is NICE! I wouldn’t want one, but how far would you go for comfort?

 

[DirkG]

Congrats on the new baby

We have 2 active boys (10 and 5) and we've had a 3-row SUV since 2006 when we got our first MDX. We used our 3rd row even before we had kids as we often drove friends and family. I honestly don't know what we'd do with not only the 3rd row, but the space that a mid-size SUV provides. Before we got our 2018 MDX (our 4th), we briefly looked at the RDX (just in case) and the "look" lasted 30 seconds. No way.

While a nice vehicle, I'd say you're going to want to expand on the CX-5. I think the JT will fit you fine, I think you're going to want a CX-9, Flex, MDX, etc. for not only the 3rd row, but the added space for all of the kids' shii, errrr, "gear".

 

[JTBurns]

A buddy of mine with three kids just bought a Honda Odyssey. Say what you will about a minivan, but that thing is NICE! I wouldn’t want one, but how far would you go for comfort?

Haha yea, we're currently trying to avoid a van like the plague, but you never know down the road, and agree the Odyssey is nice with a lot of kid friendly options in the interior. Plus people with vans love to talk about how the sliding doors are lifesavers, I don't know how it's that much more convenient, but maybe it is...

 

[JTBurns]

Congrats on the new baby

We have 2 active boys (10 and 5) and we've had a 3-row SUV since 2006 when we got our first MDX. We used our 3rd row even before we had kids as we often drove friends and family. I honestly don't know what we'd do with not only the 3rd row, but the space that a mid-size SUV provides. Before we got our 2018 MDX (our 4th), we briefly looked at the RDX (just in case) and the "look" lasted 30 seconds. No way.

While a nice vehicle, I'd say you're going to want to expand on the CX-5. I think the JT will fit you fine, I think you're going to want a CX-9, Flex, MDX, etc. for not only the 3rd row, but the added space for all of the kids' shii, errrr, "gear".

Thanks so much!! The MDX is definitely the front-runner for my wife, she really likes the look and how it's not overly big. Looks like you've enjoyed yours so appreciate the endorsement.

And yea with three kids, all this shii...stuff is really starting to multiply!

 

[PDiddy]

We have two girls and enjoyed a 3rd row for many years. I drove a Kia mini van for 5 years then a 4runner with a 3rd row for 6 years. Hard for o beat the convenience of the mini van, but I would have taken the 4Runner for the full 11 years over driving the mini van. Sliding doors are amazing and they should be stand on SUVs. No kids hitting other cars with the doors and they open like a sky diving plane’s door. Kids can pile in and out in seconds. Even with two kids we always use extra seats for grand parents and out kid’s friends.

Even now I pick up and drop off a neighbor kid everyday for school and bring home another kid once a week for youth group with my oldest daughter. So the gladiator fills up quickly. It’s hard to beat the extra row with a family.

side note, if you’re done having kids, go get fixed. I won’t regret it. Lol

 

[JTBurns]

We have two girls and enjoyed a 3rd row for many years. I drove a Kia mini van for 5 years then a 4runner with a 3rd row for 6 years. Hard for o beat the convenience of the mini van, but I would have taken the 4Runner for the full 11 years over driving the mini van. Sliding doors are amazing and they should be stand on SUVs. No kids hitting other cars with the doors and they open like a sky diving plane’s door. Kids can pile in and out in seconds. Even with two kids we always use extra seats for grand parents and out kid’s friends.

Even now I pick up and drop off a neighbor kid everyday for school and bring home another kid once a week for youth group with my oldest daughter. So the gladiator fills up quickly. It’s hard to beat the extra row with a family.

side note, if you’re done having kids, go get fixed. I won’t regret it. Lol

Thanks for sharing, and I have a consultation scheduled this week!

 

[BearSwampinJT]

I've got 3 kids, 2 still in boosters and we fit in the Jeep fine.
Having said that, our road trip car is a 2017 Pacifica. We had full sized SUVs when all the kids were in full size car seats, having made the switch to a van, we're not sure why we didn't do it sooner!

 

[Phljeeper]

Thanks so much!! The MDX is definitely the front-runner for my wife, she really likes the look and how it's not overly big. Looks like you've enjoyed yours so appreciate the endorsement.

And yea with three kids, all this shii...stuff is really starting to multiply!

We have had our MDX for about 7 years and it’s been a great 3 row vehicle. My wife wanted something that felt small but could handle 7 people. We only have 2 boys but we carpool a ton for sports and the MDX works great. We are looking at getting a new one as this one now has 100k on it and will likely get another MDX.

 

[PDiddy]

Thanks for sharing, and I have a consultation scheduled this week!

well worth it.

 

[DirkG]

We have had our MDX for about 7 years and it’s been a great 3 row vehicle. My wife wanted something that felt small but could handle 7 people. We only have 2 boys but we carpool a ton for sports and the MDX works great. We are looking at getting a new one as this one now has 100k on it and will likely get another MDX.

Another MDX/JT garage . I don't want to turn this thread into an MDX lovefest, but our 2006 MDX had 205K and was still going strong. We also had a 2010 ZDX (which is basically a fastback MDX), a 2016 MDX, and now a 2018 MDX. We're planning on sliding into the 2022 MDX Type S (there will be no 2021 model).

These suckers are bulletproof.

 

[JTBurns]

Another ringing endorsement for the MDX! If I show my wife this thread she'll be sold. I got my dream car, she might as well get hers!

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