NFT: SUVs with 2nd row Captain Chairs.

=)

for the exact same reasons.

My wife just replaced her minivan with the new Honda Pilot. I like it a lot.

They have an option with 2nd row captains chairs.

We didn't get that option because we have three kids and wanted the three seats across the 2nd row (plus the third row).

but it looked nice.

you have a Pilot.

my only advice is avoid Ford. We had an explorer and it's a piece of shit and they're a piece of shit dealership.

around 100k miles shit just breaks down on the Explorers. And probably just our specific dealer we brought it to acts this way, maybe not all, but the head mechanic came out and literally said to me "if I had kids I wouldn't drive them in that vehicle, we have a lot of nice incentives on the new models, fixing that will cost you more than you'd get in a trade".

I brought it to my mechanic and he said maybe one thing was critical to be done for around 800, but the sleaziness of the dealership and the crappiness of the vehicle (it was my 2nd Ford) made me never willing to buy a Ford again.

Second row Captain's chairs. I'm betting the dealerships are looking to dump the 2016 models because the 2017 is a new one.

With Second row captains chairs. Have you thought about and Infiniti QX 56? Those are, arguably, just a bit smaller than Tahoe and Yukon, but bigger than 4-Runner/Highlander. Nowhere near the size of a suburban. A bit on the pricey side, though.

I'm on my 2nd one. It gets the job done.

I'm also a fan of the Durango

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https://www.cars.com/articles/which-2016-three-row-suvs-offer-second-row-captains-chairs-1420683375332/ - ( New Window )

except vehicles. My first 3 or 4 were american and they hit 100,000 miles if you are lucky then you are on your own. My last few have been Nissan and Toyota and they were much better. I commute 70 miles round trip to work every day and the Rav 4 made this trip for 11 years and 200,000 miles until last week when this wonderful driver rear ended me full speed from behind while I was stopped to make a left onto the Taconic and knocked me into oncoming traffic where I got knocked into a spin and was hit again. Unfortunately it crushed it but it was going strong at 200,000 and I bet it had another 20-30,000 in it at least as there was none of that small crap that goes wrong with cars at that mileage. I went with the Prius-V wagon for my new one to get better mileage. I'd say look into the Rav 4 if you are going the SUV route. The new ones are longer than my '05 so it wouldn't have fit well in my Townhouse garage otherwise I may have went with a hybrid one.

Absolutely love it! It has the second row captains with center console very spacious for longer trips. It also has third row seating that has come in handy when having family visiting with seating of seven.

All rear seating reverse reclines to have an open rear compartment which has been huge being a relatively new home owner and regular trips to Lowes & home depot a lot of room for items.

Good luck

Kind of a love/hate. It's a nice vehicle, drives well, had a ton of features. Very comfortable for the kids in the middle and even far back rows, even on long trips. Put about 100k on it. But we replaced a LOT of parts on that thing. Basically every part of the front suspension and steering. Also I think we replaced the passenger side headlight at least 6x. Had an issue with cooling as well. Luckily I bought it slightly used and bought the ext warranty with it so it was fully covered until 100k. The service at my dealership was(is) fantastic so that made it easier, the service staff is on a first name basis with my wife at this point. After the warranty ran out I traded it in, because literally another ($1500) part on the front end was starting to fail.

I've heard/read that the Chevy Traverse is a pretty good and affordable option. Buick Enclave/GMC Acadia are pretty much the same too. I was at a CarMax lot the other weekend just to browse and compare everything, trunk space in all these options is more limited than I expected.

I have a 2013 Dodge Durango and I love it. Had it for two years now. I have the V8, so love the power it comes with. I also have the captain seats and they are awesome. People don't mind riding in the back, because of the comfort of the captain seats. I recommend the Dodge Durango!

I loved ours but CENTCOM (wife) demanded the added space of a minivan. Had it 3 years and not a lick of trouble. You can get the captain chairs, heated seats, leather, 4WD vs. 2WD, etc. Honestly, felt like I was floating on air in the lap of luxury (granted I'd had mostly small cars and beaters till then).

We had it down to Traverse, Acadia, or Enclave, and went with Traverse because of ride and price.

You're definitely on the right track to get something now if you're willing to go with an "old" ('16) model. We got the Traverse around T'giving and they were throwing option after option at us for the previous year's model just to "move iron," as they say, and make room for the models that had just come out.

Wouldn't do it again. Looked at Traverse but it felt cheap and minivany. Went Explorer and have been very happy with it. Don't know if there will be problems at 100,000 miles, but they won't be my problem.

Then you probably would like the Pilot even less. I just bought an XC 90. Doesn't have Capt chairs though, which did bin me out especially with 2 kid car seats... It's really hard to get to the wayback seats.

I needed the bench seat (3 kids), but we absolutely love it.

I use it as a tow vehicle so I need the V8, but honestly I wouldn't go for that car without the V8 upgrade, it's just too much fun.

If you can swing it - their LIDAR based cruise control, which basically follows the car in front of you (accelerating and braking as traffic flows) is worth the extra grand or so that it costs.

Note - the older Durango comparisons don't really apply as they switched over to the Jeep platform in 2014.

isn't close to the Highlander from a min-van-ish standpoint.

while the Pilot is definitely not truck-like, it's still bulky and not sedan-ish like the Highlander.

I'm amazed at how quiet the ride is with the new Pilot, but it handles more like a truck than a car, which is the opposite of the Highlander.

Note, however, that for whatever reason, GM is downsizing the 2017 Acadia's cargo space. We have a 2014 Acadia that we really like but which is coming to the end of the lease, and were disappointed in the new model's cargo space reduction. The Enclave, however, which is basically a slightly upgraded Acadia, is keeping the same amount of cargo space, so that's where we're leaning now. The 2nd-row captains chairs are key for us, and why we like this line of SUVs. Good luck.

Looks nice to me
VOLVO - ( New Window )

So I've been doing some research to make a move while the gettings are good with model year end / holiday programs.

Seems like the programs on Enclaves are really aggressive right now.

Anyone here lease or own one?

Wife loved the 2d row Captain seats for the kiddies.

In comment 13182360 Brown Recluse said:

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=)

+1

2nd row captains chairs, 3rd row has enough room and it is reliable. It is a great vehicle for road trips and the city.

love the look but how are they on durability?

my next car will be between the durango and the pilot.

Durango rentals for a couple of weeks each. Great car...loved it.

Hyundai Santa Fe with the tech package and I absolutely love it. We went with the captains chars in the 2nd row.

then test drive the 2016 Mazda CX-9, the Signature goes for over 40K but rivals the high end SUVs going for over 60K. If that is out of budget then go for one of cheaper trims....Sport, Touring, Grand Touring...all have the same engine, 4 cyl. turbo which puts out 310 lb of torque, about as fast as my Mustang, this thing fly's and still will pull off over 25 mpg's on hghway.

In comment 13182510 lester said:

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Hyundai Santa Fe with the tech package and I absolutely love it. We went with the captains chars in the 2nd row.

Is the 3rd row big enough for normal sized adults? Easy to get into/out of with child seats in the 2nd row?

In comment 13182556 Joe in CT said:

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then test drive the 2016 Mazda CX-9, the Signature goes for over 40K but rivals the high end SUVs going for over 60K. If that is out of budget then go for one of cheaper trims....Sport, Touring, Grand Touring...all have the same engine, 4 cyl. turbo which puts out 310 lb of torque, about as fast as my Mustang, this thing fly's and still will pull off over 25 mpg's on hghway.

Also have a CX-9 (albeit older). Highly recommend it - if you're into luxury amenities on the inside, not as nice as some of it's competitors, but it's a blast to drive.

Take a look at the CX-9

One of these looks like a mini van and the other one doesn't? Ok. They look pretty similar.

Mazda CX9


Honda Pilot

You should take a look at that.

Pretty sporty for a bigger SUV. I actually love what Mazda has been doing overall the last couple of years.

CX-9 is a nice vehicle..also look at the 2017 MDX, the second row seats in leather are fanatstic. Went with the NX200 but both thsoe cars were very nice.

In comment 13182584 pjcas18 said:

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One of these looks like a mini van and the other one doesn't? Ok. They look pretty similar. Mazda CX9 Honda Pilot

similar as in they're both 3rd row SUV's...agreed.

In comment 13182573 jcn56 said:

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In comment 13182556 Joe in CT said: Quote: then test drive the 2016 Mazda CX-9, the Signature goes for over 40K but rivals the high end SUVs going for over 60K. If that is out of budget then go for one of cheaper trims....Sport, Touring, Grand Touring...all have the same engine, 4 cyl. turbo which puts out 310 lb of torque, about as fast as my Mustang, this thing fly's and still will pull off over 25 mpg's on hghway. Also have a CX-9 (albeit older). Highly recommend it - if you're into luxury amenities on the inside, not as nice as some of it's competitors, but it's a blast to drive.

I'm sure you must love your CX-9, the newer engine is downright nasty as really fun to drive! And in that price range not going to find many car companies able to compete with what Mazda is offering.

In comment 13182660 Jonald said:

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In comment 13182584 pjcas18 said: Quote: One of these looks like a mini van and the other one doesn't? Ok. They look pretty similar. Mazda CX9 Honda Pilot similar as in they're both 3rd row SUV's...agreed.

But one of those two pictures looks like a mini-van to you and the other one looks like something completely different?

this isn't a Rorschach test, those are actual pictures of the vehicles.

the cx-9 is much sportier looking. The hood, roof lines. doors, back quarter panel are all very non-minivan like. the opposite is true for the pilot imo. The rear of the Pilot os almost identical to the Odyssey.

looks a lot like the Acura MDX.

the odyssey looks like a hearse.

to the Durango and the CX-9. I've driven the Durango a few times on rentals and it's a nice vehicle with plenty of power and a lot of tech upgrades. The new GT model replaces the Limited I believe and offers the 2nd row Captains chairs which is something i really want. I don't tow anything so the V8 isn't a necessity.

The CX-9 is a really sharp looking SUV but a little more mini-vanish to me and I see a ton of soccer moms driving these around. The 4-C Turbo is supposed to be great though and some of the interior finishes are really sharp.

My favorite truck is probably the GMC Yukon but I can't fit that and my wife's car in our garage without some real tinkering.

plenty of nice options, it was back at the dealership constantly. Thank God the repairs were covered by warranty because they were major issues. They replaced the timing chain twice, which is a costly repair if you had to pay for it. And although repairs were covered, it was a big inconvenience to have it in the shop all the time.

I like Mazdas in general -- I drive a MazdaSpeed6, which was limited production, and I owned 2 Mazdas before this -- but my next car won't be a Mazda unless they come out with something new, as there's no "aspirational" vehicle; there's no upscale sedan (like the 929/Millennia) or sports car (like the RX8). But with the way I put (or don't put) miles on a car, I'll probably be driving the MazdaSpeed6 for the next 20 years, anyway...

In comment 13182702 B in ALB said:

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to the Durango and the CX-9. I've driven the Durango a few times on rentals and it's a nice vehicle with plenty of power and a lot of tech upgrades. The new GT model replaces the Limited I believe and offers the 2nd row Captains chairs which is something i really want. I don't tow anything so the V8 isn't a necessity. The CX-9 is a really sharp looking SUV but a little more mini-vanish to me and I see a ton of soccer moms driving these around. The 4-C Turbo is supposed to be great though and some of the interior finishes are really sharp. My favorite truck is probably the GMC Yukon but I can't fit that and my wife's car in our garage without some real tinkering.

I have a Explorer 2007 that I really like. But 10 model years is old even though less than 90k on the odo. So looking for similar size with better gas mileage - gas isn't going to be $2.25 for ever.
I expect the Mazda CX-9 is quite reliable, but I'm very suspicious of anything from Chrysler. I saw a couple posters that said they've enjoy their Durangos, so may have to look into them. I like the idea of 2nd row captain's chairs. Just want something I can throw bags of mulch or 2 x 4s into the back.

comparison, focusing mostly on internal dimensions, fwiw
here - ( New Window )

So I'm starting to watch incentives and deals pretty closely. Some of the model year end ones right now look pretty good. I keep debating myself about whether to pull the trigger on something or to wait for the holiday season programs.

Thoughts on that?

In comment 13183566 davek3698 said:

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comparison, focusing mostly on internal dimensions, fwiw here - ( New Window )

thanks dave. interesting comparison. actually pretty doggone close.

and as posted above will never buy a Ford again (but I should have caveated that, unless it's a pick up truck, love the Ford F150).

My Honda last 250,000 miles and still had trade in value.

Neither Ford I had (Explorer and my first car an Escort) were drivable much after 100,000 miles).

and consider re-sale value unless you hold your cars for 10 years (like I plan to), but then again, Ford is not your vehicle.