I have an '04 Pilot. It has 240hp, which is more than adequate if you aren't towing. The CX9 is bigger than the Pilot (old and current) on the outside, but not as boxy, so maybe the Pilot has more room inside? From what I've read, the CX9's 3rd row is more useable than the Pilot's.

I looked briefly at the 4Runner when I got my Pilot. The 4Runner was more expensive, built on a truck chasis (which I have no use for), had a 3rd row that does not fold flat, and the 4Runner, while it looked bigger, felt cramped inside.

 

Sorry--I didn't read "smaller" as meaning smaller than the RX--just relatively smaller.

How many 3 row CUV's are there smaller than the RX? Not many, And the Rav4 is already ruled out.

 

Honestly, I can recommend the Mazda CX-9 to anyone that wants quality, function (useable 3rd row) and power. A colleague recently got a CX-9 Sport (basically the base model) and it came with plenty of goodies and the dealer took $8K off MSRP without even a blink. She bit on the deal and has been happy since.

I've riden in there plenty of times and the 3rd row is enough for kids and even adults for short trips. Quality and style is very nice. I think better than the Pilot and Highlander.

The reason we (wife and I) don't want a Mazda are for "strange" personal reasons that we don't want to elaborate here. Dumb really, but it's something that would bother us if we bought it.

Honestly, the RX350 with a 3rd row, even if it's not for adults but for little children would have been PERFECT for us. I'm not looking for a 3rd row to use ALL THE TIME, just for once in a while when we have one or two adults more to haul around. Right now, with a 6, 4, and 2 year old, a five passenger is more than enough. My girls unfortunately are tall for their age, so the RAV4 3rd row is not sufficient and so totally bombs it out. Quality is bad too.

Honestly, worse comes to worse, I might have to trade my RX in for the 1st Gen. MDX, but that fake wood bothers me for being an Acura.

Thank you all for your feedback thus far.

 

I don't really think you have many options unless you move to midsize like the Pilot and Highlander. There is nothing smaller than your RX that has a usable third row.

My recommendation is the Highlander...it seems to win every one of these "we need a fuel efficient, dependable SUV with 3 rows" conversations.

 

The Highlander or the Pilot are your only choices, or the Hyundai Veracruz, which is a stretch Santa Fe more or less. The Ford Flex is more like a boxier and cooler Windstar - after all Ford created the Flex to fill in the gap between their sedans and SUVs, but I'm sure it's a great car unlike the Ford of yesteryears past.

However, I can only recommend the Pilot on a whim - Honda has completely dropped the ball on this one IMO. It looks like a H2 got beat with the ugly stick, and I do not know if I can trust Honda's word that they have fixed the tranny issues in these yet.

 

Actually, if I were replacing my RX, I would actually consider the Veracruz high on my list, above the Pilot and Highlander. The short list for me would be Veracruz or Tribeca, both are significantly better interior quality than Honda or Toyota. They were made to be higher competitors.

I'm still about three months from having to decide, so hopefully a "vision" comes to me.

 

RX350 with a 3rd row = Toyota Highlander.

 

The Tribecca has not had any positive review that I have read.

 

Nissan Pathfinder!

 

Anja have you been in the Highlander? Toyota has gotten some bad press for shoddy interiors in the Tundra and Camry but the Highlander is certainly one of their nicest and is up to the "old Toyota" standard if you ask me.

It could probably pass off for a Lexus in Limited trim.

 

Being a Pathfinder owner, as much as I love the Pathfinder the 3rd row in that thing is so useless, plus fuel efficiency is not that great which I think is a concern to the OP.

 

+1... Sienna... try as we might, just cannot bear to trade it and I SWORE I would NEVER drive one... LOVE it!!!! Can tow 3,500 lbs. easily!!!!

If you go SUV, Veracruz is best bang for buck, neighbor's on his 3rd, VERY nice interior

 

Go with a GL320 cdi, you'll have a car thats way more luxurious than an navigator or an escalade and it will have a more car like feal while the lincoln will feel like a f150 and escalade like a silverado. With gl you will probably be getting simaler mpg's as the v6 rav4

 

Sienna owner here also.

That's the problem with some of the bigger than an RX but smaller than large size SUVS: no useable trunk space with the 3rd row in place.

I was a GX owner before and as much as I love that thing, the trunk was still useless when you got to pack the strollers and all that crap while carrying the other 7 passengers.

(You want to talk about cheap, convenience and versatile, the minivan is the way to go.)
I know there's a mucho sense to getting an suv vs. the minivan but in everyday life, it's alot more convenient.

 

As others have stated, a non-large 3-row suv is practically non-existent. But how about something a little different, like the Ford Flex? It's not large in the same sense as a Escallade, Sequoia, or Navigator, but it has a roomy interior and 3 rows. The style may be a bit polarizing, but it's worth a look at.