S/O Surburban Owners-9 Seats?

[RebeccaS]

We have three biological kiddos, one in the process of adoption and one fostered. We would like to adopt more in the future. So, for those of you with the Suburbans, how nice is the 9 seating? I'm looking at the Chevy website (of course, this would be for 2009 models) and it looks like the front middle seat is kinda crowded and the back row seats 3, but the middle person would be on a crack? What about the cargo room if you have all seats open? We go camping every summer and each year we have to bring more and more gear as we have added another child each year. Right now we have a Ford Freestar and that has been great until we got #5. It always seemed doable, but our kids are young and their legs are short. In a few years, our van is not going to be a comfy way to travel (for the kids, anyway;)). So, please, tell me more!

[Pamela H in Texas]

It's not REALLY 9 seats. We regularly have 8 or 9 teens and adults in my friend's Suburban but it's not terribly comfy. But obviously not uncomfy enough not to do it :)

 

ETA: my friend's suburban has bucket seats up front and is older (not sure how old).

Edited December 18, 2008 by 2J5M9K

[lllll]

So, for those of you with the Suburbans, how nice is the 9 seating? What about the cargo room if you have all seats open?

 

Well, there are 9 seatbelts (1999 Sub) and dd, who's sitting beside me here at the library, says there's no crack in the backseat. She also says it's comfortable; but it does look like less leg room in the very back seat. The middle seat is fine. Generally, our dd's sit in the back because they're shorter. They all generally have a bag of books beside them, too.

 

You can remove the very back seat and turn the middle seat completely down. This fall we hauled a load of siding for the house this way. (also piled a lot of other materials on top of the siding) However, only 3 people fit in the car this way (officially). Also, on the back, we have the doors that open down. The glass lifts up. This way you can leave the glass up if you're hauling something too long for the car. Let it stick out the back with an something orange tied to it.

 

The Sub's do seem to be shrinking though. Maybe you could find a used one ...

 

HTH

[Tracey in TX]

I drive an 8 seater Suburban. When I ride with a friend in her 9 passenger 'Burb, I'm a bit uncomfortable. The front seat has a bench in lieu of two bucket seats. The other rows are identical. While I would like to have an extra seat, the discomfort of being crowded while in the front is not worth it to me. Also, as the kids get older and bigger, leg room is becoming an issue whereas when they were smaller there was ample room. Not sure there will be an adequate solution unless we move to a 12-passenger van.

[KatieJ]

We are driving our 4th Suburban/Tahoe XL and I can say for sure, the older suburbans were much more comfrotable as far as leg room goes. I do realize my kiddoes were tots back then, but I could sit in the back and be comfortable too.

AS for the seats and cracks, not the middle row has more like a 60/40 split. The one seat behind the front passenger is much smaller so it can roll forward to let people into the 3rd row. The other side fits 2 people and no one sits on a crack. Front seats that have a bench are the same way. Driver has his own seat. The two passengers share the rest of the front seat and I agree with the poster who said it is a bit uncomfortable for the passenger in the front. I always used the arm rest if there was no one in the front seat with us. I much prefer the 2 seater front row, but I don't like the huge console thingy.

If you need 9 seat belts, that means who ever is in the front seat with you is out of a car seat and that would be a tad crowded to me for long car trips.

[Julie in CA]

Mine is an '07. I have 9 seats/seatbelts. In the very backseat, there is a crack in the middle, but it's not noticeable even when you're sitting on it. That very back seat will fit 3 people, but they are pretty squished in. We put the younger kids back there, and they've never complained (The older kids do).

 

The middle seat is a 60/40 split, and is very comfortable & roomy.

 

The front seat is also a 60/40 split, with 3 seatbelts, but I consider the middle seatbelt more of an "emergency use" seatbelt than one that we'd care to use every day. It would really only work with smaller kids, imo.

 

I've also had 2 other Suburbans in the past. I think one was a '94, and the other was an '02. If you compare the specs on the Suburban, you'll find that it's not your imagination--it really is getting smaller every year. Still, we have plenty of room in the back cargo area. The only time we've not had enough room was when we were going on a camping trip for a week, but also wanted to take all of our boogie boards. Even then, we could have tied them to the roof rack.

 

I've gotta say, the one I have now is my least favorite of the ones I've had. For a variety of petty reasons (like sunvisor logistics, for instance) I liked my old Burb better. I also had the 8-seater in my other ones, and it was better than the 9-seater imo.

 

In the front seat of my current Suburban, it has a seat-back part that folds down when no one is in that front middle seat. It has your cupholders, and a little cubby thing where you can set your french fries, etc. :D The problem with that is that they didn't put a cover on the cubby, so each time you want to flip the seat you have to take everything out. It's a really stupid flaw, imo, because my dh's Dodge pickup has the same type of seat, and they wisely put a cover on the cubby so he can leave his stuff in there even when he needs to flip the seat back up for a passenger. With the way mine is, I have nowhere to store the necessities of life. You know, the box of tissues, the hairbrush, the spare deodorant for the teen boys that forget until they're in the car, the *bulk size* bottle of Ibuprofen for the mom who deals with it all....:lol:.