These Are The Three-Row SUVs Consumer Reports Says Have The Best Rear Seats

Here at Jalopnik, we’re big fans of minivans. They’re just so damn practical, it’s hard not to love them. Unless you’re the typical American family, apparently, because the typical buyer would much rather have a three-row SUV than a minivan. And that’s OK. Different people are allowed to like different things. The real problem comes when you actually try to put a person in the third row of said three-row SUVs. A lot of times, they’re meant for children to sit back there in an emergency, not for adults to sit back there comfortably.

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But that’s not necessarily the case across the board. There are definitely a few three-row crossovers that are roomy enough in the way-back for a normal-size person to sit. That’s Toyota’s whole pitch with the upcoming Grand Highlander. What about SUVs that are actually on sale right now, though? Which ones have the best rear seats?

Recently, our friends at Consumer Reports answered exactly that question. They chose three SUVs that performed well in CR’s independent testing that also come with third-row seating that scored well in terms of access, comfort, and seating capacity. After all, you want to make sure you’re going to enjoy owning the SUV you buy even when you’re not using its back seat.

As far as mainstream three-row SUVs go, Consumer Reports’ recommendation is the new Honda Pilot. In addition to praising it for generally being roomy and comfortable with a number of convenient family-friendly features, they praised how easy it is to get into the third row and were impressed with how much room there was considering the Pilot is technically still a midsize crossover.

If you want a midsize luxury crossover, Consumer Reports has a recommendation that you may not expect: the Buick Enclave. It may be a Buick, but it actually scored quite well in CR’s testing. Not just good for a Buick, either. Like, actually good overall. Adults may not want to spend multiple hours back there on road trips, but they definitely won’t mind hopping back there on the way to dinner.

Finally, if you want a larger luxury SUV, Consumer Reports says you should look at the BMW X7. It stands out largely because of its high test score and is CR’s top-rated SUV in the segment. Getting in and out may not be the easiest since the power second-row seats are slow to slide forward, but adults can definitely fit back there for shorter trips.

Finding the balance between a three-row SUV that you’ll enjoy owning and also has a usable third row, but if you go with one of these three crossovers, you’ll probably be happy. They’re certainly not the only crossovers with good third rows, but if you go with one of these, at least you know it’s a safe bet.