Motor Trend - USA (2020-05)

MAZDA

CX-9

From rugged designs to modern

lines, today’s three-row SUVs bring

styles to suit divergent preferences

for a broad range of families.

SUBARU

ASCENT

HYUNDAI

PALISADE

FORD

EXPLORER

COVER STORY

MAY 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 29

3-ROW SUVs

driving from Mexico City to Acapulco and
Cuernavaca. We’d drive from Houston to
Mexico City during the summers, went to
New Mexico for a ski trip, and visited all of
Texas’ major cities several times.
A big family like ours needed a vehicle
with plenty of space for six and their gear,
and back then, a minivan was the only
option. Space, safety, and reliability were

at the top of my parents’ list of must-have

transportation features. SUVs were for

off-roading, not the road trip or morning

school run.

Fast-forward to today, and the automo-

tive consumer scene could not be more

different. Americans have largely ditched

minivans for three-row SUVs. In the past

decade and a half, about a dozen minivans

have been discontinued. And in the

past three years, new names like Atlas,

Ascent, Telluride, and Palisade have

joined the hyper-competitive three-row

SUV segment.

What caused the shift? Consumers’

preferences have changed. Features

like all-wheel drive are now seen as

essential. Gone are the choppy driving