Third Row Comfort/Spaciousness

[MiddKid]

The rear facing seats are great to have, don't get me wrong, but they're not a long term solution. Hence my Model X order earlier this month.

Same boat here. Three kids. When I got the Model S they all fought over who got to sit in the back. Now...never. We only bust them out when we need the extra seating.

Speaking of which, today was an amazing example of their utility...we were watching our two young nieces who are both still in 5-point car seats. Instead of transferring car seats we simply put them into rear-facing...very convenient! Not to mention we were able to drive all 7 of us around.

All that said, my Model X deposit is in to replace the Model S now that my two youngest are quickly approaching the weight limit of the jump seats.

 

[mikevbf]

After the kids no longer fit in the S jump seats, other than large SUVs and minivans with poor gas milage, the only alternative I see on the horizon is Chrysler's 30 mile electric range PHEV, the Pacifica.

 

[MrBoylan]

After the kids no longer fit in the S jump seats, other than large SUVs and minivans with poor gas milage, the only alternative I see on the horizon is Chrysler's 30 mile electric range PHEV, the Pacifica.

Wow. That looks pretty cool from a fuel economy and space standpoint. Seats up to 8 and 80 MPGe. Not too shabby. Still has an ICE engine though...

 

[mikevbf]

Wow. That looks pretty cool from a fuel economy and space standpoint. Seats up to 8 and 80 MPGe. Not too shabby. Still has an ICE engine though...

I think the PHEV version is a 7 seater and the middle row is removable :biggrin: But yeah, will not hold a candle to true EV especially one of Tesla's caliber. Still at maybe half the price, I expect it will be tempting to certain segment of potential Tesla buyers. More importantly, it will hopefully open a whole new segment to using less gas.

 

[AnOutsider]

Last night my wife sat in the rear set with the 3 middle rows in default position. Was super cramped for her (6'2"). Bonnie however let me know about the little circle button on the middle site that tilts it forward and back. We tried that and it turns out the middle seat was fully reclined. Once she did that she said the space was fine. Her biggest concern at that point was the hard backs of the second row and feeling like she had no easy out (so I guess a bit claustrophic, even if uncomfortable).

 

[napabill]

I'm 71, 6'2" and about 230 lbs, and just had an oportunity to sit in the 3rd row of 6 passenger SigX. Wouldn't try it in a 7 passenger version, but the 6 passenger was fine. A bit of a challenge getting in/out as the threshold is rather wide, but doable.

 

[Superloud]

Thanks to all who responded thus far.

I had a chance to test drive the X in Sunnyvale yesterday, and I was able to answer my question for myself...well, sort of.

I'm 6'2", about 195lbs. My height is more in my legs. My brother is about the same height as me and he always complains
about headroom in cars, while I always complain about leg room.

We test drove the 7 seat version. But I was also able to sit in the 6 seat version for some time back at the store.
It's good that we drove the 7 seat version, cuz I drove for about 10-15min, and then I let my guest drive,
while I sat in the 3rd row. I got to ride back there for probably another 10-15min.

Sitting in the 3rd row wasn't what I'd call "comfortable". It wasn't horrible. I've sat in worse (3rd row of a highlander!).
But it wasn't too much fun. I felt like there was only one position I could sit in, and I had to kind of hold that position for
optimum discomfort. It's like, I wanted to keep my butt firmly in the back of my seat, and not slouch but rather sit up
straight to avoid my knees banging around on the hard seat backs of the 2nd row. But, that put my forehead pretty close
to the roof, and if I leaned forward I could brush my head against the roof. So it was kind of that competing feeling of
wanting to strike a balance between not being too close to the roof and not banging my knees too much. I should note
that directly above my head was mostly the glass of the rear hatch. So directly above my head I did have some breathing
room. And if I sat with the back of my head on the headrest, it kept my head kind of in that little bubble of space.
But, you just naturally want to lean forward, especially if you're trying to talk to the people in the 1st row.
Another important point is that when I sat in the 3rd row, at first I was like, this is awesome! But, that's because the 2nd
row wasn't in the correct position. Once my guest went to drive, the X first stowed the whole 2nd row in the proper
position before it would allow him to drive. That part felt something like an Indiana Jones movie as the wall of 3 seats
started moving back towards me and I had to find the little gaps between the 2nd row seats to get my knees into or
else it really wouldn't have felt good. I understand the 2nd row seats have to be in this position for safety.
Oh, and another thing, the foot room in the 3rd row isn't great. The floor of the 3rd row kind of slopes forward from the
bottom of the 3rd row seat cushion. It's not like it drops straight toward the earth, and then flattens out. What this does
is it forces your heels a little forward, and if you have big feet (like me), then it doesn't leave much option of where to put
your feet. They can kind of slide side to side but not much front to back.

So, it all just amounted to a not great experience. Again, by "not great", I just mean, not great. It wasn't horrible.
One good thing is the seat cushion is decently high off the ground. In some 3rd rows (highlander/pilot), you sometimes
feel like your just sitting on a 6 inch high cusion on top of a flat bed so your knees are way up high. The 3rd row in the
X isn't like that.

So, all in all, what's my verdict? I could ride in the back of a 7 seat X for a while (like over 20min for sure) - alone.
If I was with another adult...eek, not that long for sure without feeling like I really wanted to get out.
Personally, since I only have 2 kids, I would for sure choose the 6 seat option over the 7 seat.
Sitting in the 6 seat version seems to give the legs enough options to stretch that I could slouch a little and not feel
too close to the roof. I could even see sitting with another adult for a while like that (we tried that for a minute or so).
The extra cargo space also seemed pretty good in the 6 seat version. That open center aisle looked like it could
hold just about any box you could buy at Ikea.

I still haven't decided if on overall I prefer it over a cheaper CPO Model S with rear facing seats.
But if I did, I'd buy the 6 seat version over the 7 seat version.

 

[flar]

The position of the second row is adjustable in addition to the "slide forward for rear seat access" positions. It isn't "the forward position and the back position", it's more like "the access position and a whole range of seating positions".

Is there any chance that the "wall of seats moving toward you" were moving to the last adjusted position - which happened to be pretty far back because the cars had only had 2nd row passengers to that point and so they had generally migrated to their rear-most position and then the car moved them to that rear-most position when the car was started? Typically when you are in the 3rd row, though, it is because there is someone in the 2nd row with whom you can negotiate combined legroom...

 

[goneskiian]

The position of the second row is adjustable in addition to the "slide forward for rear seat access" positions. It isn't "the forward position and the back position", it's more like "the access position and a whole range of seating positions".

Is there any chance that the "wall of seats moving toward you" were moving to the last adjusted position - which happened to be pretty far back because the cars had only had 2nd row passengers to that point and so they had generally migrated to their rear-most position and then the car moved them to that rear-most position when the car was started? Typically when you are in the 3rd row, though, it is because there is someone in the 2nd row with whom you can negotiate combined legroom...

It would be great if they did return to the last position rather than having to go all the way back first. Maybe a Sig owner could test this for us?

If this isn't how it currently works, it certainly sounds like something they could implement with a SW update.

 

[flar]

It would be great if they did return to the last position rather than having to go all the way back first. Maybe a Sig owner could test this for us?

If this isn't how it currently works, it certainly sounds like something they could implement with a SW update.

I would hope that it is either one of:

- returns to the last used position
- returns to the most forward (nearest) allowed "comfort" position

And I would hope that the behavior is not:

- returns to the furthest, most toe/knee-crunchiest, rearward position

Also, how does this interact with "cargo mode" where you'd want the second row seats to stay all the way forward even while driving?

 

[goneskiian]

I would hope that it is either one of:

- returns to the last used position
- returns to the most forward (nearest) allowed "comfort" position

And I would hope that the behavior is not:

- returns to the furthest, most toe/knee-crunchiest, rearward position

Also, how does this interact with "cargo mode" where you'd want the second row seats to stay all the way forward even while driving?

Exactly.

 

[Superloud]

Certainly my apologies if I spread any misinformation.

What I can say is, when I sat in the 3rd row, and the driver went to drive, the 2nd row seats came back at me.
And when I asked, the Tesla representative definitely didn't offer up the option to give me more space.
He knew I was back there specifically to see how bad it was, and I did even ask him if we could move
the seats more forward, but he said something like the 2nd row has to lock in place.

Once we started driving, I even reached up and pressed the forward button on the 2nd row outside seat shoulder.
I half expected an alarm to sound but it simply did nothing. And I wondered what about the adjustment
buttons on the under side of the front of the middle 2nd row seat - what if someone tried to slide that forward?
I obviously couldn't reach those...

But yeah, it does bring up the question of what's the point of having those controls if you can't make adjustments!?

A few more inches definitely would have helped comfort.

 

[flar]

The control you reached on the seatback is intended for ingress. In particular, it is the only control that can access the fully tilted forward position that makes it easier to get in and out of the back. You can't do that from the "comfort" controls on the side of the seat that the occupant can reach easily. So, I'm not surprised that that control was disabled while in motion. But, if someone had been in that seat, or if your arms/hands were small enough to reach forward and use the "comfort" controls, then you should have had some leeway on how far back the 2nd row seat was positioned.

 

[Red Sage]

I'm 6'2", about 195lbs. My height is more in my legs. My brother is about the same height as me and he always complains
about headroom in cars, while I always complain about leg room.

Ha! Seems like a similar situation as between me and my younger Brother. I'm 6'-1" and he is 5'-11". I have a 36" inseam, while he has a 30" inseam. So he sits higher in the saddle than I do, in just about any vehicle. I typically only have headroom issues in the smallest and tightest of 2+2 vehicles... He has headroom problems in just about anything other than a full sized pickup truck or van. So, to me, legroom is of pivotal importance.

Worst cross-country experience for me as an adult was anytime I had to sit in the back seat of a rented 2004 Lincoln LS. God, it was horrible. Absolutely nowhere to put Size 13 feet. That was made even worse by the fact that the footwells were uneven and lumpy, in addition to being rather small.

Thanks for your impressions!