Does anyone own a buick enclave?? Or a truck with 3 rows?

[andychris14]

We are thinking about getting a new car and would love a third row. I really love the buick enclave and would like to know if you have one and how you like it-want to hear all -the good, bad and ugly,lol.
We were also looking at the toyota hylander or the honda pilot.
Wouldn't mind getting a 2011 since the "12's" are out so we can save a little money.
Any thoughts?

 

[luvavacation]

I own an '08 Highlander Hybrid. I also really liked the Buick Enclave, but for me, the deciding factor was that the rear glass does not open independently on the Enclave, whereas on the Highlander, it does. I occasionally find a beautiful tree or bush at the nursery that I have to have, so having that independent rear glass is a must!

We also find it very handy when loading long items, like 2x4's, boxes, mattresses, etc. We tend to be do-it-yourselfers, but if you aren't that rear glass may not be a priority.

I will say that I really like my Highlander, even 3 years later. I believe the 2012 Highlanders now have the split third row - my '08 does not. If I recall correctly, the Buick did have that feature. I wish I had the split third row, so if that is important and you find yourself leaning towards the independent glass on the Highlander, you may need to look at a 2012.

Forgive me if I am wrong on the model dates for the vehicle features, it has been awhile since we looked at cars!

 

[MomtoGKC]

We have a Toyota Sequoia and love it. It has three rows and holds 8 people. I like the Highlander, but the third row was way too small for us. The third row in the Sequoia is almost as big as a normal row. On ours - a 2005 - the third row of seats come out. On the new ones I think that the seats just fold into the floor - I would love to have that feature.

 

[d1sneyf4n]

We have a Honda Pilot. This is our second one. I really like it but would love to have a Ford Expedition. The Pilot is pretty good on gas and roomy up front. I have a convertible car seat and 2 booster seats in the second row and I will tell you it is a pain to buckle seat belts. The third row is nice. Not the most easiest to get to but not really hard either. The seat fold down so you do not need to take them out. If the third row is up you basically have no cargo room. Can't stand that but it does have the split where you could only put up one side if need be.

 

[tweedlemom]

Great thread, OP! We are also looking at purchasing a vehicle (preferably an SUV-type instead of a van) with a 3rd row. Keep the recommendations coming!

 

[andychris14]

Thank you all for your help/advice. My kids are getting bigger (son is almost 6 feet and still growing), so a roomier back is needed plus if we take my parents in the car, that I can hop in the back.
I would love the sequoia but I think it may be a little too pricey for me. Hey, maybe a great deal may come up.
Thank you again

 

[eeyore81]

We have a Suburban and love it. Tons of room and goes great in the snow. I'll never drive anything else.

 

[woodkins]

We have a 2010 Pilot and love it. I think the 3rd row seat has plenty of room to sit in it and I love that it is a split seat, so one side can be down for extra storage. I personally think you still have a decent size "trunk" with the 3rd row seat up . We had also looked at the Highlander and Acadia but felt that the interior of the Pilot was much roomier, especially in the driver compartment.

 

[dis-happy]

My mom has the Enclave and I drive it quite often, epscially on long trips when the whole family heads to FL. It's wonderful, and comfortable and lots of bells and whistles. Way more comfy for 3 rows of seats than my Landcruiser (although the Landcruiser can seat up to 8, the Enclave only 7).

The main negative: the window out the back is small with some reduced visibility. Also, while it is leather and all, the other finishes aren't as nice as some other cars we own and I'm not sure how well they will stand up in the long term (especially if it's a car with lots of kids---you'll notice wear and tear).

 

[*love*2*shop]

We have a GMC ACADIA( the sister to the Buick Enclave) we chose to only get the 7 seats so that there is the spot to walk through ....we got the SLT version with all the extras....LOVE IT!!

they didnt have the Denali version in 2008 , or i would have bought that.

http://www.gmc.com/acadia-family-crossover-vehicle.html

 

[mpls_mm]

We have the Ford Flex that seats 7, it's super versatile, gets better than 25 MPG on long trips and 22 MPG in the city and we love it but with a baby on the way we have been looking too. We almost decided on the Suburban, but we already have a Ford F250 to drive in the snow and tow with and to have 2 vehicles that get 15MPG if we are lucky doesn't seem like such a good idea. We looked at the Highlander, the Town and Country and everything out there. We are really leaning towards the Honda Odyssey. It's about 20k less than the Suburban and the seat configuration is nice, it really seats 8. There is less room behind the third row than the Suburban has, but we will use the luggage rack. I drove my Flex 30k miles last year and the MPG is more important than room.

 

[kaywoody]

I have an Enclave and LOVE it. It is way more comfortable to drive than anything else I test drove. I love all the bells and whistles!

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

I love my GMC Yukon XL (basically a suburban). Seats 7, big 3rd row & plenty of trunk space! Gas mileage isn't great, but the thing drives like a dream!

 

[chiefdragon]

We have a 2011 Dodge Durango Crew and we can not believe how much room there is in this SUV. My husband is over 6 feet adn he says that he has tons of room in all 3 sections of the SUV. Can not tell you how much I love love love this new car.

 

[dis-happy]

A pp reminded me: LOVE that it takes regular gas, gets great mileage, and the tank is big enough that you can easily go 400 miles in one shot.

 

[andychris14]

wow- love all of the great responses. It is good to hear all good things.
This is making our decisions even tougher,lol.
Keep them coming

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

I have an Acura MDX that I love! It is the best car I have ever owned. It has almost 150,000 miles on it and has only had regular maintenance. I plan on buying a new one someday... But not anytime soon!

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

I just got a Chevy Traverse two weeks ago and I love it, so far. I used to have a Ford Freestyle. Both seat 7 but the Traverse has captain's chairs in the middle with a pass through to 3 back seats. My Freestyle was 3 in the middle and two in the third row, which was kind of a pain the butt! We didn't use the third row very often but when we did, you'de have to fold up one of the middle seats to let the third row in or out. Major pain sometimes!

 

[disprincessatheart]

We have a 2011 ford explorer that seats 7. We are only a family of three but needed more space for out of town guests, drives to disney with lots of baby gear and just a car to use for large purchases. The third row folds down into the floor which is great, but you have to fold down one side of the second row to get back there, which is a pain. And I got a bit claustrophobic back there on just a short drive (but it's not t he first time that's happened to me in smaller spaces. There are cupholders, vents and decent legroom, it was just the psychological feeling of being trapped I would say it's not a good choice if you need that third row on a regular basis, but nice to have for the odd occasional extra passenger. Oh, and there isn't much luggage room (less than a minivan) if the third row is up, but it is split, so you can have just one of the back two seats up. In hindsight that might have added to my claustrophobia....

 

[CarrieR]

I have an '06 Pilot. It was not my first choice, but I absolutely needed something that seated 8, and it was my best option at the time. My use has been a little non-traditional, since I was the nanny for three families concurrently, which meant I had six or seven car seats in there (not an easy task, let me tell you.)

With all three rows in use, the trunk is minimal. Depending upon what you'd like to haul, there's not a ton of room... I could get a nice umbrella stroller in there, or some groceries, but that's about it. Flip the third row down, though, and there is TONS of space! So if you only need the third row for occasional use, it will be fine. Both the second and third row fold down, quite easily, although the headrests do have to come off of the third row in order for it to fold flat. (They stow under the floor of the trunk.) Gobs of room with both rows folded down. Both rows are 60/40 split, although good luck getting two adults on the 60 portion of the third row!

I did take a trip about two hours with seven adults -- two up front, three in the middle row, and two in the third row. The two in the back reported it to be uncomfortable for that length of trip, but it is the perfect size for upper-elementary aged children.

One very nice feature is that there are headrests and lap-shoulder belts in all positions. This is common in brand-new cars, but even a few years ago one or both of those elements was missing. With those features, you can actually safely transport eight adults. (There are also tether anchors in all rear seating positions, very unusual but very handy, in case you have carseat-aged kids, but since your son is 6ft that's probably not likely!)

MPG-wise, I drive a combination of city and highway and get about 320 miles on my tank, which is 18-19 gals to fill it. If I drive exclusively highway, I can get 24mpg or a smidge better. Adding in any city driving at all absolutely kills that, though.

I really like the drive, radio/climate/etc is very nice, the stereo controls are in the steering wheel (important to me, personally.)

Hope that helps