Captain chairs or bench row

[hekter]

We are about to purchase a new larger family vehicle as we will be having our 4th child in September. We have a 8yr old, 2yr old, and 10mo old. We will have 3 car seats and have been contemplating what would be easier having a bench or captains chairs. I can see pros and cons with both… and keeping in mind the suv will have recline capabilities even with the car seat to be able to get into the third row easily. I’m only 5’4 and my husband is 6’4 so for him I already know both will be easier for him. Any suggestions?!

 

[makeitwork]

@hekter We have the Odyssey with captain chairs - but they have a portion in the middle that can be used as a seat. So for a while we had 3 kids in car seats three across. Now we have 2 in captain chairs (but the captain chairs slide so they can be moved to more easily access things) and one in back. Love it.

 

[notashamed116]

@hekter I'd just say don't try to make a mid size suv work. Definitely go full size or even better and cheaper, minivan.

 

[hekter]

@notashamed116 Yea we used to have a Tahoe and are looking for bigger, def needed

 

[infaith55]

@hekter I think it depends on your goals. Do you want it to be a little easier to move around or do you want that extra seat? I've got 4 in carseats, and I'd pick the bench for the additional seating. We just leave a third of the second row down to get access to third row.

On the other hand, there are some cars that have a little seat thing you can put in to convert from one to the other depending on your needs for that trip. We're thinking of something like that for next car.

 

[string_theory]

@hekter I had a Nissan pathfinder with a bench seat in the middle row and loved it. Then that car got totaled when a deer jumped up off the side of the road and smashed into the side. My replacement is a Hyundai Palisade with captain’s chairs in the middle row and I think it’s a huge upgrade! My little two sit in the back row with the limited leg room, and it’s easy to get them in and out since the captain’s chairs both fold flat. Then my bigger two have the middle row, with extra leg room and the ability to access the climate control. I didn’t think I wanted the chairs in the middle row but it turns out they’re a great feature.

 

[madrienne]

@hekter Our Sienna has captain chairs in the second row with a smaller middle seat that pops in to make it bench. It folds up and stores in the back. Right now with 3 in car seats we have the bench setup with third row folded down, allows us to assist all 3 during drives etc. The oldest is about ready to be independent in the car then will move her to the 3rd row and do captain in the 2nd.

The only down side of this setup I've found is the captain seats in the 2nd row of the sienna don't slide left/right like other vans, so can't do that nice extra space inside the door, but it hasn't really been a problem.

 

[jonahua]

@hekter Me and my husband are similar heights to you guys and we just got an SUV with captains chairs. My husband found it much easier to move inside the car with that extra space and can even comfortably sit in the middle of the 3rd row. On the flip side, my 3.5 year old can easily access the 3rd row so sometimes we have to coax him out and into his car seat

 

[tempo]

@hekter We chose a bench for an eventual fifth kid. The middle seat of the third row is often a joke so I don't want to rely on that.

 

[xaustinx]

@hekter We have 4 kids and all 4 were in car seats when 3 and 4 were born. We went with captains chairs then which made a lot of sense. Once they started to reach school age and not need boosters, we wanted the bench. It’s nice to be able to get 7 in the car - even with two still in boosters. We have one with captains chairs and one with the bench. Next replacement will have a bench too.