Looking for a 3rd row SUV

[nygbrad]

Well we bought the wife a 2013 Escape last year thinking it would be enough room with a child. Well after we had our boy April 2014, this car is SMALL!! We are looking to upgrade to a bigger SUV. I had an 05 Explorer and not drive a 11 Fusion. We are looking a 3 options so far - Explorer, Durango and Santa Fe.

For all you 2011+ Explorer owners how do you like yours? I have been a Ford gut for awhile but just looking for a reliable SUV with decent mpg. I love the 2014 Durango Limited but it's but pricey, so we are looking at a 2013.

Let me know your thoughts!

Thanks!!

 

[sobsmb]

I've only had my 13 Exp for a couple months now, but so far we love it, We have 2 kids one in a car seat, and a teenager, so we only use the 3rd row for bringing friends along. We bought it mainly for our vacation to Disney this coming June and our 09 Escape does not provide enough room anymore.

It has some minor issues, but overall I don't see it being much different then any other SUV (I've had Fords for over 10 years now, so I'm a little bias.)

I'm getting 18.3 mpg (mostly city, some highway) so its not terribly bad either.

 

[mprtech]

I own a 2011 limited and am a Chrysler master tech, enough said? Durango's a nice vehicle but the tech in the Ex blows away even the newest 8.4 Uconnect by a mile

 

[wifes2011xlt]

Not just specific to Ford but in the Ex, they have a lot to learn in the ease of use department when it comes to installing car seats. There was a time when we thought we could use my wife's XLT as the family hauler (3 kids all in carseats) but no more. When installing with the LATCHes, a bit of a PITA, but install is fine. Note, however, that there is no middle position LATCH so you have to use seat belts, which is not an easy task. It is darn nearly impossible to get a good tight fit in the middle position so off to the third row, my oldest goes. Not only does that eat up a lot of cargo space but getting her back there is like an acrobatic circus act. With the two carseats installed in the second row bench seat, the seats can't flip forward, so she has to climb over the top of the seat or enter through the trunk area. We can put two of our kids in the third row to be able to flip one of the second row seats up but then we are really hurting for cargo space.

My advice would be (and this probably applies to other third-row SUVs as well), if you only plan on having one or one more child and only plan to use the third row sparingly, the Ex may work just fine for you. If you plan to have 3+ kids, may want to consider second row buckets (at the price of losing 1 on the seating capacity department) to allow for easier third row access.

As a side note, we also have a minivan and a suburban, both of which pose no problems with getting 3 carseats in with a nice tight snug fit in the bench (third) row and offer much more cargo space behind the third row. We also have second-row buckets in both vehicles, which helps quite a bit with getting the kids buckled up.

 

[nygbrad]

Thanks for the responses so far. I also just realized I posted this in the Modified section and not the Stock. I'll see about getting that moved haha.

The car seats today take up so much room! We have a 9 month old and finally put him in a convertible car seat, so it helped a little but nobody can sit in the passenger seat because it's just about all the way forward to accommodate the car seat.

There might be one more child in the next couple years so I'm not looking for a super large SUV like an Expedition or Tahoe. I think we are going to get a closer look at the Ex's this weekend.

I have heard the Durango's having transmission issues with the V6 8-speed buts that's typically expected in all manufacturer's that change something major on a new model.

Also wanted to mention on the wife's Escape the gas mileage sucks and it's only the 1.6L turbo. We drove from Orlando to St. Louis and the best I got was 25 on the highway. On average with mostly city she averages 23-25, so going to an average 18-19 in an Ex won't be that big of a deal.

I am leaning toward the Explorer because I do like the look and no being 3-4 years in production most of the kinks are worked out. Maybe I can even find a deal on a Sport instead of a Limited haha.

Again thanks for your responses and look forward to more!!

 

[ObsceneJesster]

I have one child so the 3rd row seats stay down.

The only thing I can help out with is that even with a car seat installed, the passenger seat is still able to move all the way back so you won't have a problem in that regard.

 

[ieee_raider]

I'd take a look at the new expedition coming out.
I also read, I think it's the Infiniti QX60 maybe, that the 2nd row buckets will slide forward WITH a car seat in place. That's pretty impressive.

 

[tmg19103]

No kids and love my Ex, but I have a buddy with two teens who just got a Santa Fe and am impressed. Not something I would ever buy, but well priced, well optioned, quite functional and reliable.

 

[nygbrad]

Well a neighbor of ours is going to let us drive their Santa Fe this week and we'll go look at the Explorer over the weekend. We've already drove our friends Durango Citadel and it was damn nice but had a 5-speed.

 

[wifes2011xlt]

IMO, if I'm looking for a roomy SUV, the Santa Fe would not be on the list. The Durango will give you the most space and the Explorer a close second. From experience, the Honda Pilot was plenty roomy with one child. Also the Acadia is cavernous compared to your Escape. Stay away from the early generations though. They were horrible. we had an '08 for six months and it was in the shop at least once a month.

 

[Halwg]

Three words...Minivan, Minivan, Minivan. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet!

 

[nygbrad]

Three words...Minivan, Minivan, Minivan. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet!

Noooooo NEVER even if it is my wife's vehicle haha.

 

[ieee_raider]

Well a neighbor of ours is going to let us drive their Santa Fe this week and we'll go look at the Explorer over the weekend. We've already drove our friends Durango Citadel and it was damn nice but had a 5-speed.

Pretty sure the new Durango's have 8 speeds.
I was considering that but didn't want to wait for the 8-speed that was still in question at the time.

 

[LukerDooker]

Noooooo NEVER even if it is my wife's vehicle haha.

Naw cman Tahoe or Suberban...?

 

[nygbrad]

Pretty sure the new Durango's have 8 speeds.
I was considering that but didn't want to wait for the 8-speed that was still in question at the time.

Yes they did in 2014 but this one was a 2012.