[KidsGalore]

Just curious if anyone has any experience with 3 kids under 3 (2 infants and 1 toddler) in the Acadia. We are currently driving an 07 Yukon with Captains and it is a real pain in the rear to get the kids in and out. We are contemplating trading it in for an Acadia, but would like to see if there are any opinions/experience with our situation.

2 of the kids are in infant seats and the toddler is in a toddler seat right now, but will be switching to a booster shortly.

Any advice/insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[clsuper]

We only have 2 at the present time, but we were originally looking at Yukons or Tahoes with the captains' chairs, or a Honda Odyssey. However, once we checked out the Acadia, we were hooked. There's no comparison between the third rows of a Yukon and Acadia.

I must admit though, we know two other families with exactly 3 children under the age of 5, and they have Odysseys and love em....But, when they saw our vehicle, I could see the envy in their eyes :

Check the Acadia out firsthand, I think you'll be impressed and surprised...

 

[kjf]

Just curious if anyone has any experience with 3 kids under 3 (2 infants and 1 toddler).

Oh, I remember those days. You'll blink, and suddenly you'll have three teenagers. Trust me, I know. :

I had two children in car seats in a 2-door Honda Prelude. Now that was a trick. Sold it when the third child was born. Ended up buying a minivan. Sure wish there had been something like the Acadia then.

Oh, well, at least I can have one now (if it ever comes).

Kelly

 

[KidsGalore]

We only have 2 at the present time, but we were originally looking at Yukons or Tahoes with the captains' chairs, or a Honda Odyssey. However, once we checked out the Acadia, we were hooked. There's no comparison between the third rows of a Yukon and Acadia.

I must admit though, we know two other families with exactly 3 children under the age of 5, and they have Odysseys and love em....But, when they saw our vehicle, I could see the envy in their eyes :

Check the Acadia out firsthand, I think you'll be impressed and surprised...

We are trying to stay away from the minivan, so the Acadia really has me intrigued. The Yukon XL is nice, but it is not the easiest to get 3 kids in and out of. I was thinking about getting the 2nd row bench and putting the 3 kids across there, and folding down the 3rd row to increase our storage.

I guess another logical question would be: does anyone put their young kids in the 3rd row and if so, how difficult is it to get them in/out?

Again, thanks for all the input!

 

[JohnFitz]

We have an 07 Yukon XL now, but had a 2002 XL when the kids were younger. Our kids are 7 5 and 3 so at one point they were newborn, 2, and 4. We were lucky in that the oldest could help us out by climbing into the back; we kept one part of the 2nd row bench down for access to the back, and put the 2 youngest in the second row. When needed, all 3 kids were in the second row but it was a little bit of a PITA trying to get all the car seats buckled in - they were pretty tight against each other. trust me, it does get easier as the kids get more mobile. I'd suggest that if the oldest can climb into his/her own seat in the third row, it's really not that bad to reach back to buckle the car seat.

Good luck!

 

[crash2864]

We currently own 2003 Denali with a second row bench seat. Our children are ages 3 1/2 and 1 1/2, with the third here in June..We found that with the child seats in the second row of the Denali we lost complete use of the third row of seats, and it would be to dificult to get the kids in and out of the third row of seats when the third child is here. We found the Acadia to have a better seating arrangement and easier access to the third row. It will make my wifes life much easier ...So we ordered one!!!

 

[Pelle31]

I guess another logical question would be: does anyone put their young kids in the 3rd row and if so, how difficult is it to get them in/out?

Again, thanks for all the input!

Our 4 year old luvs sitting back there. He's in a booster at this point so we're not fumbling with latching in a car seat but it's pretty easy. I wouldn't want to do it if it were a car seat.

With car seats in both captain's chairs, you'd have to slide back to buckle your 3 year old in or......do as I do and open up the back and reach around ;D

 

[coopermine]

Disclaimer: I don't own an Acadia yet.

Will it help (if possible and logical) to put all car seats in the 3rd row and leave the second row (bench) down? Since I dont own one yet, I dont know how easy it is to access 3rd row with 2nd row down.

Or

Get 2nd row bench and put all seats on the second row, you will have to remove one seat when any guests need access to the 3rd row.

 

[oicu812]

Will it help (if possible and logical) to put all car seats in the 3rd row and leave the second row (bench) down? Since I dont own one yet, I dont know how easy it is to access 3rd row with 2nd row down.

Or

Get 2nd row bench and put all seats on the second row, you will have to remove one seat when any guests need access to the 3rd row.

Our Acadia is on order, but we had one for a weekend test drive, specifically to test out loading & unloading the kids, the dog, and their gear. Our kids are 1.5, 5, and 7. The older two can buckle themselves in their boosters, so our situation is slightly different. We found that our kids, and us, could easily pass between the seats without needing to fold or slide the second row.

[edited, as I got the ages backwards]

Infant seats are usually pretty cumbersome, and I don't think you'd fit two of them on the 60% of a 60/40 bench seat. If you had them in captains, it'd be a PITA to navigate around them to pass between the seats. In either case, it'd be hard to fold or slode the seats on a regular basis. I'd put the 2 infants in the 3rd row and the toddler in the 2nd. When they're a little older, I'd swap 'em. Eventually the toddler will be able to walk in back and buckle themself, and the infants could move to (smaller) boosters in the 2nd row.

Either way, I'd ask the dealer to let you have one for 24hr trial period to work all this out.

Good Luck!

 

[Mister T]

I think I have you all beat with four kids (11, 9 5, 1.5). We currently drive an Odyssey, and have now test-driven Acadias with bench and capt chairs. We are in love with this vehicle, and can't wait to get ours. So we have one car seat, one booster and two that don't need anything. Our 11-year old and 9-year old boys can navigate the flip feature of the second row with no problems. We're leaning toward the bench, because as kjf said in an earlier post, before long these kids turn into teenagers and then we'll often have a friend or two back there and want the extra seat. But we've found that either way, it works well for us - we can put the boys in the back, and the car seat and booster seat can fit on the 60-portion of the middle, still allowing us to flip the 40-section (I know this couldn't be done with two car seats). If we had three under 3, with those teenage years still a long way off...we would still definitely buy this vehicle. No doubt about whether it's the right one, but we would go with the capt chairs versus the bench so that the two car seats could be on the second row. Anyway....that's my two cents worth.

 

[KidsGalore]

I think I have you all beat with four kids (11, 9 5, 1.5). We currently drive an Odyssey, and have now test-driven Acadias with bench and capt chairs. We are in love with this vehicle, and can't wait to get ours. So we have one car seat, one booster and two that don't need anything. Our 11-year old and 9-year old boys can navigate the flip feature of the second row with no problems. We're leaning toward the bench, because as kjf said in an earlier post, before long these kids turn into teenagers and then we'll often have a friend or two back there and want the extra seat. But we've found that either way, it works well for us - we can put the boys in the back, and the car seat and booster seat can fit on the 60-portion of the middle, still allowing us to flip the 40-section (I know this couldn't be done with two car seats). If we had three under 3, with those teenage years still a long way off...we would still definitely buy this vehicle. No doubt about whether it's the right one, but we would go with the capt chairs versus the bench so that the two car seats could be on the second row. Anyway....that's my two cents worth.

I'm just curious as to why you think the Captain's Chairs, occupying the two infant seats, and placing the toddler in his booster is the best option. I am having a hard time deciding if it would be easier having all 3 in the second row bench and just folding down the 3rd row for storage...

 

[Mister T]

I am having a hard time deciding if it would be easier having all 3 in the second row bench and just folding down the 3rd row for storage...

I've tried the different configurations now on two recent test-drives, and the three in the second row is a tight fit. Mind you, I was trying this with a car seat and a booster seat with my older son sandwiched in-between. Not saying it couldn't be done, but day after day and trips of any length I think that would seem very confining. Three traditional car seats in the same configuration would probably be possible, but equally as tight. Also, leaning in to that middle car seat might be a little awkward. On the flip side, all three would be within reach from the front seats.

 

[oicu812]

I am having a hard time deciding if it would be easier having all 3 in the second row bench and just folding down the 3rd row for storage...

It's do-able, but it's not a pleasant long-term solution. Until our Acadia arrives, we're still 3-wide in a 2nd row seat. Infant seat in the middle flanked by a pair of boosters. Normally my older two can buckle their own belts, but in this configuration the seats are so tight together that they can't. Even we have to squeeze our hands between the seats to buckle them.

 

[KidsGalore]

Thank you all for your input, unfortunately I still am not sure which route to go

 

[hedges1]

We have an infant seat in one Captains Chair.....a toddler seat in the other. That leaves the third row accessible for adults (and we've done it multiple times). If you've got a 4 year old that can buckle himself in then you could easily put the booster seat in the third row on the 40% half of the row. He/she can get back there no problem.

 

[tymj]

I have a six year old who struggles to buckle himself into a booster seat if he has a winter coat on. He's OK in warmer weather, though. It's an angle that some people may have never thought of...

 

[KidsGalore]

Well, after taking an Acadia home over the weekend, this is the configuration that seemed to work best:

2nd Row bench:
Placed both infant seats on the 60 side
Folded the 40 side down

3rd row:
Toddler seat on passenger side split
Fold other portion down

This provided us easy access to our toddler in back and gave us plenty of storage with the remainder of the 3rd row folded down.

As a note, we also tried the 3 across in the 2nd row bench. While they all fit, getting the child in the middle row was not the easiest of chores.

 

[JacsMommy]

Hey Kids, I asked the very question (in a different post ) if I could put two car seats on the 60% side of the second row bench and still fold the 40% side -- the consensus was no, but I'm glad to see you were able to do it with two infant seats. That gives me hope for an infant seat and a toddler seat in that configuration. I think I will have to just bring the seats with me to the dealer and see what configuration works best for us.

Thanks again for the very useful info.

 

[NY_Joe]

Hey Kids, I asked the very question (in a different post ) if I could put two car seats on the 60% side of the second row bench and still fold the 40% side -- the consensus was no, but I'm glad to see you were able to do it with two infant seats. That gives me hope for an infant seat and a toddler seat in that configuration. I think I will have to just bring the seats with me to the dealer and see what configuration works best for us.

Thanks again for the very useful info.

You just won;t be able to use the latch system for the middle(inside) seat unless you disconnect that latch each time.

I am sure it would work with the seatbelt.

 

[mkaresh]

One complaint I've read about the Acadia is that third row access is difficult with a kid seat in the second row.

In the Mazda CX-9 the seat doesn't move out of the way as well, but since it slides rather than tumbles you can access the third row without removing a child seat first.

On the three across, I currently do this in a Mazda Protege5, which is much narrower than an Acadia. I use a trick to make belt access easy, though.