Good morning - I’m looking for a 3rd row SUV, and have narrowed down to X5 and XC90. Both are “not great” as far as 3rd row seating is considered, but in our case, this will be primarily used by kids for local/highway trips. I’m curious to learn from LH members who went through a similar decision making process.
Many thanks!
I was looking at 3rd row cross overs as well and XC90 has the biggest 3rd row with cargo space. X5 3rd row is a joke and it is very hard to find the X5 equipped with 3rd row. Q7 might be a better comparison with XC90.
Thanks @KingKwon - did you go with the XC90?
No, I’m gonna go with a Lexus GX460. It has 3rd row and leases very well currently. I just like the rugged SUV and lexus reliability (if I decide to keep it for a while).
I couldn’t stand the Volvo’s 4 cylinder turbo/supercharger engine, it always felt like it was over working and wasn’t very smooth. The Q7 drove every nice. but there still is handful of problems that they have not fixed.
But if I was looking for luxury 3rd Row Crossover and was leasing it, I would probably go with XC90 since they leases for very cheap and has a good space.
Interesting choice! Good luck @KingKwon!
My sister and BIL have an X5 with the 3rd row and it’s a joke. If you absolutely need a third row I would recommend looking at something else other than an X5.
X5 3rd row makes your cargo space obsolete. Also extremely tight. If you need any kind of 3rd row space, look elsewhere.
I don’t believe the avg 6 year old can fit comfortable back there.
Actually, the Land Rover Discovery has the largest 3rd row in the segment and can accommodate a 6’2" passenger comfortably as it has a full foot well instead of a step up like most. It’s similarly priced as the X5 and XC90, but doesn’t lease as well due to the MF being ridiculously high.
The right decision depends on a lot of factors. How old are your kids, how much space do you need behind the third row, how long are you going to be driving with kids in third row. The unfortunate answer is if you really need a useable third row with some storage behind the third row a minivan is the best bet. Short of that, go up a class to a car like a QX80 or Toyota Sequoia.
How reliable is the LR Discovery?
Great points - our kids are little (7 & 1), and most of our 3rd row needs are to haul their friends locally in town. 1-2 times a year perhaps we have the need to accommodate adults.
I’d be curious to know what you decide. Problem is that most measurements are inconsistent due to there being multiple ways to measure leg room when the row ahead is moveable.
As a point of comparison, I have an MDX and the third row is widely reputed to be unusable - we bought it for the trunk space (wanted stroller to fit vertically) with no intention of ever using third row. But we ended up using it and found that if the second row is slid all the forward, the second row suffers no loss of comfort for people under 68 inches well third rows main limit, at least for shorter people, is cushion comfort rather than leg room.
It’s not a vehicle you want to purchase, imo. Most people are fine during their lease period, but long term reliability for LR is not good.
I was doing some 3rd row shopping last month and found that I liked the Buick Enclave Avenir, Audi Q7 2.0 and the Land Rover Discovery SE with 3 row seating. They are all very good in the 3rd row. Leasing, the Buick came out on top due to huge dealer discounts and low MF thru Ally.
The reason for my 3 row search was that I had smaller kids when I leased the Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE (smaller brother to the full sized Discovery) with 3 row seating option. The 3rd row in the smaller Sport is good for small kids but now they have grown and I was looking to replace it with the larger brother Discovery.
Being 70K cars, I have found some new 2017 Discovery on the lots of many dealers at a discount of $10K off but finance only (banks won’t lease last year’s car)…
What kind of price were you able to work on the Avenir? Curious how Buick is dealing on those.
My Buick dealer quoted a 2018 $59K Enclave Avenir with $5,000 dealer discount plus $4K incentives.
I think it will get even better as the 2019 starts arriving in the fall…
@EC99, I wouldn’t personally want to own any of these cars to be honest. I am close to leasing a new Volvo and it has a 50k warranty. Can you imagine the cost to fix the active bending headlights if they go out, for example? I feel like I was driving naked out of warranty on any of these!
@metalblaze, the truth is if you want legitimate 3rd row seating you need something massive like a minivan. I have one and the third row is completely usable as an adult, even for a long distance. But for your needs, with small kids now, and maybe driving their friends around from time to time I think the xc90 would be totally fine.
I’m not familiar with the X5, but the XC90 will, for your road trips, be very helpful with its adaptive cruise down to gridlock traffic speeds. I assume BMW has a full speed range adaptive cruise now (?).
Yeah but do all those rebates apply to leases?
Im with the King on this one, Either consider the Lexus GX460 or the Infiniti QX60. I think QX60 gives you the most value but can feel outdated on the inside sometimes (lackluster infotainment even with tech packages) that being said they lease phenomenally and drive really well. The Lexus is a truck with outstanding reliability. It outperforms the Infiniti in every category (comfort, looks, drive, handling) but also has a nicer price tag attached to it. The XC90 also beats the Infiniti in every category except third row seating. I think both cars you suggested kinda suck for third row seating.
If you want a BMW with a great third row seating the 7 series can easily fit two adult bodies in the trunk and with the individual package they will be gently tucked behind the finest seats money can buy.
So, my wife and I did try the XC90 today. Nice car inside and out. That said, the car felt sluggish (T6), and certainly the 3rd row didn’t seem “significantly” larger than X5’s 3rd row.
Both Lexus GX460 and Infiniti QX60 aren’t appealing to us…
Welcome additional insights.
Thanks!