Third-Row SUV Recommendations🔥

This seems to come up monthly—or at least yearly.

Basic needs: support five people (one kid plus occasional visits from parents) for one- to two-hour short trips, so the third row can't be too uncomfortable, though it doesn't need to be as comfortable as a full-size SUV or minivan.

Must-haves: 360 camera and AWD.

Budget: hoping to keep it around $50k, flexible.

Since it's for family use, safety comes first, and reliability as much as possible. If reliability isn't great, leasing could be an option—say, a full-size SUV.

The usual models discussed here have all been considered, as follows.

Traverse: sat in one and felt the third row was very cramped when the second row was set comfortably—different from reviews I'd seen before, not sure if it just wasn't adjusted right.

Telluride: third row has a raised floor, so it's quite uncomfortable. Not sure if the Palisade is the same—if so, I won't bother going to see it, since the Hyundai dealer is a bit far. Upside: both are Top Safety Pick+.

Pilot: second and third rows look like they can be reasonably comfortable at the same time, price and availability are okay, but it's not rated Top Safety Pick.

EV9: space in the second and third rows is okay, but it's $70K+, so value isn't as good as the Model YL.

Tahoe: third row is genuinely usable—the others above are only barely—but it's at least $70K+ and has no safety rating.

Haven't looked at these yet—any other recommendations?

Atlas: supposedly has the best space?

Grand Highlander: should be top choice, but the safety rating is a concern, and you may only be able to buy at MSRP, so value isn't great, plus there's a wait.

Tesla Model YL: still a bit biased against pure EVs, and there's probably a wait? Price is likely $60K+ too.

CX-90: tried the third row before and it was very cramped—not sure if the '26 model has changed.

Expedition: probably similar to the Tahoe.

Sienna: still a bit prejudiced against minivans, and it's probably $60K+ with a wait?