Gravity; SUV or Minivan

[Bobby]

Does anyone have any experience with 3-row vehicles that have a 2nd row bench instead of captains chairs? Do you prefer it? Does it feel claustrophobic to sit in the 3rd row behind what is essentially a wall? And those with kids...is it easier or harder to get them in and seated in that scenario?

I'm contemplating how useful a Gravity would be with 2 tiny ones in car seats and then moving the seats around to get other adults in. One issue I foresee if you have a car seat in the second row, you will not be able to tilt it forward to get an adult in the back row. At least with captains chairs someone can walk through the middle.

Anyway, would love to get some opinions from other parents! Thanks!

My Explorer has a 2nd row bench and third row behind. We have 2 rear-facing carseats in it. To use the third row, we must remove a carseat. That said, even if they were captain's chairs, the rear facing car seats take up so much room that nobody could squeeze by to get to the middle anyhow. No real claustrophobia issues.

 

[flarbear]

Does anyone have any experience with 3-row vehicles that have a 2nd row bench instead of captains chairs? Do you prefer it? Does it feel claustrophobic to sit in the 3rd row behind what is essentially a wall? And those with kids...is it easier or harder to get them in and seated in that scenario?

One issue with the Model X is that there is no place for the 2nd row passengers to put their arms in the 5/7 seat variants. They just rest on the middle seat because there are neither inner armrests or a fold down armrest. I know this because the car will identify unbelted passengers and it is constantly telling me that there is an unbelted passenger in the middle 2nd row seat when it's just the person back there leaning on it.

Worse yet, in the redesign they added a fold down armrest to the Model S, but didn't add the same feature to the redesigned Model X that shared similar design elements (face-palm).

It looks like the Gravity middle 2nd row seat folds down into an arm rest which I'm very happy about!

 

[hmp10]

What if the Gravity's market size includes all the overlapping capabilities of each? Station Wagons, Minivans, SUVs, 3-Row truck based SUVS that are all 80K+ and Crossovers/luxury sport SUVs...

That would assume buyers were making choices on actual capabilities. My concern is the predominance of looks and styling in so many buying decisions.

 

[hmp10]

Worse yet, in the redesign they added a fold down armrest to the Model S, but didn't add the same feature to the redesigned Model X that shared similar design elements (face-palm).

Funny you bring that up. It has been a big bugbear with me ever since the Model S update finally showed up with a rear center armrest and the Model X update didn't. I had test driven a Model X twice back in the days I would still consider a Tesla, and I was flabbergasted that Tesla was so sloppy in thinking through the interior update that it never occurred to them that an SUV (or what they call one) should have a rear center armrest. Or second-row storage pockets behind the front seats, which are also still missing (no storage pockets in the rear doors, of course, because of that byzantine falcon opening scheme). Or a place to store a cell phone, or sunglasses . . . .

Frankly, the Model X is just a hot mess as a family hauler.

 

[momo3605]

. To use the third row, we must remove a carseat. That said, even if they were captain's chairs, the rear facing car seats take up so much room that nobody could squeeze by to get to the middle anyhow.

Ughh that seems annoying. Getting all the tethers connected and tightened is such a pain. There are a couple 3-row vehicles i've seen like the X7 where the second row actually retains it's shape and tips forward to give access to the 3rd row.

I do understand rear facing car seats you cant get around, but i expect to have one forward facing and one rear facing

 

[Bobby]

Ughh that seems annoying. Getting all the tethers connected and tightened is such a pain. There are a couple 3-row vehicles i've seen like the X7 where the second row actually retains it's shape and tips forward to give access to the 3rd row.

I do understand rear facing car seats you cant get around, but i expect to have one forward facing and one rear facing

In that case, I would actually prefer a bench, put one of them in the middle and one in the outboard passenger side position and then allow third seat people to get into the third row by folding the other outboard seat

 

[hydbob]

In that case, I would actually prefer a bench, put one of them in the middle and one in the outboard passenger side position and then allow third seat people to get into the third row by folding the other outboard seat

This is how I run my setup in the minivan...lol. assume the same would work in the Gravity

 

[xponents]

This is how I run my setup in the minivan...lol. assume the same would work in the Gravity

Is the middle seat of the Gravity wide enough to accommodate a car seat? I know the middle of the Air was unusually wide for a sedan of its size, and I assume the Gravity is the same.

 

[momo3605]

In that case, I would actually prefer a bench, put one of them in the middle and one in the outboard passenger side position and then allow third seat people to get into the third row by folding the other outboard seat

Is there any issue with the two being able to touch each other doing this? I know in the odyssey you can put the two wide captains chairs together to accomplish this without them being able to hit each other

 

[Bobby]

Is there any issue with the two being able to touch each other doing this? I know in the odyssey you can put the two wide captains chairs together to accomplish this without them being able to hit each other

Mine are little angels (and they're my grandkids).

 

[xponents]

Is there any issue with the two being able to touch each other doing this? I know in the odyssey you can put the two wide captains chairs together to accomplish this without them being able to hit each other

Well, there is a very simple solution here: at the start of the road trip, say that the one who starts a fight will be sentenced to the frunk for the rest of the trip... I guarantee you they will be quiet. Thank me later!

 

[pjdcorp]

Mine are little angels (and they're my grandkids).

Where did you find such peaceful kids ??? My boys haven't produced the next generation yet, but when they were of an age where car seats were necessary, every car trip was a lengthy edition of The Friday Nite Fights. And my arms were never long enough to discourage them from torturing one another. My dad was my size, but I remember him having orangutan arms that could separate all 4 of us (yes, all boys) all while keeping 1 hand on the wheel and not driving off the road. Quite a skill I never quite mastered.

 

[pyle112]

Does anyone have any experience with 3-row vehicles that have a 2nd row bench instead of captains chairs? Do you prefer it? Does it feel claustrophobic to sit in the 3rd row behind what is essentially a wall? And those with kids...is it easier or harder to get them in and seated in that scenario?

I'm contemplating how useful a Gravity would be with 2 tiny ones in car seats and then moving the seats around to get other adults in. One issue I foresee if you have a car seat in the second row, you will not be able to tilt it forward to get an adult in the back row. At least with captains chairs someone can walk through the middle.

Anyway, would love to get some opinions from other parents! Thanks!

I personally about the third row in an SUV without captains and that includes Escalade Tahoe's and suburbans. My claustrophobia kicks in.

 

[hmp10]

Is the middle seat of the Gravity wide enough to accommodate a car seat? I know the middle of the Air was unusually wide for a sedan of its size, and I assume the Gravity is the same.

It might depend on the car seat. When we sat in the Gravity, the 2nd-row center armrest (which is the whole back of the middle seat) was so wide that we thought it might press a bit into the sides of larger outboard passengers.

 

[borski]

It might depend on the car seat. When we sat in the Gravity, the 2nd-row center armrest (which is the whole back of the middle seat) was so wide that we thought it might press a bit into the sides of larger outboard passengers.

I would be really surprised if it doesn’t.

 

[hmp10]

I would be really surprised if it doesn’t.

Fit a child carrier or impinge on side passengers?

 

[borski]

Fit a child carrier or impinge on side passengers?

Fit two carriers on the 60% bench

 

[Leftlane]

Kinda funny - we avoided getting a minivan and went with Tahoes, Suburbans, Expeditions, QX80s, etc - when all along a minivan would have been a much better choice for just about every reason. If there were any minivans that looked like the Gravity 25 years ago, I would have bought one immediately and not resisted. When we travel and rent cars, we usually get a minivan and wonder why the hell we didn’t buy one way back when - ego is a terrible thing.

 

[borski]

If there were any minivans that looked like the Gravity 25 years ago

But then they wouldn’t have been minivans

 

[hmp10]

Kinda funny - we avoided getting a minivan and went with Tahoes, Suburbans, Expeditions, QX80s, etc - when all along a minivan would have been a much better choice for just about every reason. If there were any minivans that looked like the Gravity 25 years ago, I would have bought one immediately and not resisted. When we travel and rent cars, we usually get a minivan and wonder why the hell we didn’t buy one way back when - ego is a terrible thing.

I bought our first minivan in 2011 shortly after my partner was diagnosed with a rare form of early-onset dementia that was soon going to impair his vision and motor skills. I wanted a vehicle that I could get him into and out of more easily.

I had never imagined I would ever get to the point of wanting a minivan. But I screwed up my resolve and bought a Honda Odyssey because it was widely acclaimed as having the most pep and best handling of any minivan.

I put 100,000 miles on it by the time I lost him in 2017, and I soon replaced it with . . . another minivan. I had become totally hooked on them as the most useful vehicle I had ever owned. I didn't give a damn how it looked or what anyone else thought of it. It drove surprisingly well, and I actually thought it looked pretty sharp for something so big and practical.