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Best 3rd Row SUVs of 2024

If you plan on using a vehicle's third row a lot, let us at least make the suggestion that a minivan would be a smarter bet than anything you're going to see on this list of best three-row SUVs. Their third rows are bigger, more comfortable and easier to get to. The kids will definitely be happier. Here are our two top choices.  OK, now that that's out of the way, we totally get why minivans are totally depressing and that if the kids want to be happier, they can buy their own darn vehicle. You're buying, you're driving, you're being seen in it and you'd rather have a three-row SUV. Fair enough. Luckily, there are more choices than ever and they're really good. The best do a particularly good job of being family friendly without looking like a drab transportation appliance, although really, you can't go wrong with any of the mainstream three-row SUVs. Now, some of the luxury choices are a bit suspect, including those that are otherwise very appealing but have cramped third-row seats (the Genesis GV80 comes to mind). We're focusing on three-row SUVs here, so having a usable third row is a must.   In this list, we have broken things down into four sub-categories: Best Three-Row Crossover |  Best Full-size Three-Row SUV Best Luxury Three-Row SUV |  Best Flagship Luxury Three-Row SUV Note that we define crossovers as SUVs since most buyers use the terms interchangeably, but acknowledge that "crossover" is literally a vehicle with a car-like unibody structure as opposed to the truck-like, body-on-frame construction that traditionally has defined "SUV." In other words, we consider all crossovers SUVs, but not all SUVs are crossovers (specifically those in the full-size segment and some in the flagship luxury segment). Best Three-Row Crossover SUVs of 2024 2024 Honda Pilot Why it stands out: Exceptional storage and cargo space; unique second-row functionality; refined ride; versatile and capable TrailSport; advanced AWDCould be better: Subpar acceleration with lackadaisical transmission and engine response; so-so driver assistance tech Read our full 2024 Honda Pilot Review The Honda Pilot was completely redesigned for 2023. It maintains its predecessor's family friendly packaging and overall focus, but it has injected a welcome sense of style (especially in the TrailSport pictured above) that makes it stand out much better from the big crossover crowd.

Toyota Sienna Swagger Wagon rides again with Busta Rhymes

Let's face it: there are few things less "gangsta" than a minivan (which goes a long way towards explaining why crossovers have been gradually taking their place as the family-hauler of choice across America, but we digress). The point here is not lost on Toyota, which has embraced the uncool image of the minivan with the Swagger Wagon campaign.
We first saw the suburban-goes-urban campaign pop up with the introduction of the new Sienna back in 2010. And now that the Sienna's been updated for 2015, the campaign is back again, featuring none other than Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr. himself... better known to most as Busta Rhymes. The decidedly white-bread video spot that follows may make you cringe, but you've got to admit that it's well done, even if it doesn't have the charm and freshness of the original.

China's largest dealer body pushes back against foreign automakers over huge inventories

Do not think for a second that automakers forcing inventory on dealers in order to pad the numbers is a ruse known only in the US. Stories of individual brands have hinted at the trouble Chinese dealerships are having trying to move units as the country's economic growth remains hot but comes off the boil, like the one revealing that 95 percent of Toyota-FAW showrooms are losing money. Yet Toyota isn't the only culprit, and the issue has become so dire that the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), the largest dealer body in the country, has written to the government to complain. Chinese car sales are expected to close out the year with an annualized growth of six-percent, down from last year's 14 percent when targets were set, while in the background the pace of overall economic expansion is the slowest its been since the early nineties. Automakers, shipping cars on schedule to make their earlier targets, have blown up inventories such that they are an average of 1.8 times monthly sales, when the preferred multiplier is from 0.9 to 1.2. According to the CADA, the price wars and necessary incentives mean that only 30 percent of dealers are operating in the black. That number is down a whopping forty percent since 2010. In response, Toyota has already said it will not make its 2014 target of 1.1 million cars sold. We're a long way from 2012, when Toyota planned on selling 1.8 million cars in China in 2015, a target that's now as realistic as a manticore. BMW, Honda and Nissan have erased numbers on their spreadsheets, too; BMW growth dropped from 20 percent to 8 percent midyear after it began "reducing wholesale supplies," and Honda has been reworking its plans as sales have decreased each of the past six months. It's a big deal for Chinese dealers to begin protesting publicly, the CADA saying, "In the past, dealers were angry, but dared not speak out. But now, they have to shout because the situation is getting so unbearable." With six-percent growth forecast for next year and dealers unwilling to remain underwater, The Year of the Sheep coming in 2015 could portend meaning beyond the zodiac. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong BMW Honda Nissan Toyota Car Buying Car Dealers