The third row in the 4Runner is surprisingly usable

"Nothing" (nothingatalluseful) 12/12/2018 at 14:00 • Filed to: None

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One of the reasons why I traded in the Tacoma was an occasional need for a third row. It was not the main reason, but a viable reason nonetheless. I figured it would be an emergency use only , shove the kid(s) back there when family is visiting type of thing. There’s more room back there than I thought.

To be fair, it is not an easy row to get into. While it is accessible from the driver’s side, it’s far easier from the passenger side. The passenger side middle row seat can slide all of the way forward flush against the front seat (drivers side moves only half as far forward) , giving more room to step in. I’d recommend your third row passengers be limber, so no “fluffy” grandmas should ride back there.

There’s actually a decent amount of legroom. Even more so if you don’t move the second row all of the way back (that’s one of those neat features I’m sure I’ll seldom use, the adjustable fore/aft second row, but I think it’s kind of cool to have). I sat back there (6’4”) and my legs were actually fine.

Headroom, on the other hand...well, I’d need to be headless for me to fit there comfortably. My son (9) has plenty of room, as did my wife (5’2”). It was tight, but doable for the billet kid we have with us this year (5’10’). That should make the third row viable for my son well into his teen years. Looking at the stats, Toyota claims rear headroom at 34.3” for the third row, a little over 4” shy of front seat headroom.

When not in use, the seats fold flat. One compromise with the third row equipped 4Runner vs the standard 2 row, the second row seats fold forward (meaning not the typical tumble forward 2 rows where you flip up the seat bottom toward the front, and then fold the seat back down) thus not giving a completely flat cargo area. A bonus (other than having the third row), is that since the second row is adjustable, you can slide the seats forward if you need an extra 6-9” of linear cargo space, and still carry a passenger.

Of course, when in use, there’s basically zero cargo space. A handful of lightly packed grocery bags, laptop bag is all that’s fitting back there.

All in all, I’m glad we have the third row...I just wish Toyota offered it in the Off Road or Pro.

functionoverfashion > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 14:20

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This is good to know. I would love a Taco but would need to have dogs riding in the back which isn’t ideal (I would have a cap). This seems like the obvious solution, although, I can’t think of a time we’d go somewhere with more than 4 - 5 people and not also have more stuff than would fit behind that 3rd row....

Nothing > functionoverfashion 12/12/2018 at 14:30

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If we start using that space more often, it would most likely be for hockey. In that case, I’d have to get a rooftop cargo box to haul more stuff around. Although I can also see that being a need for our trips to the lake when we have family in town, too.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 14:43

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Roof rack and one or thems aerodynamic cargo pod thingies will remedy some of the space issues behind the third row.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 14:53

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We’ve got a nice hitch-mounted carrier that works really well (use it on my wife’s MDX when we have more gear than space on long trips - usually just once or twice per year). 

Nothing > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 12/12/2018 at 14:54

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Yep. I’ve got the roof rack, but no cargo pod thingy. I seldom expect to use the third row. I imagine when it is, it’ll be to shuttle my son and friends around somewhere local. We shouldn’t have a ton of cargo + 7 passenger days.

Although the other day, my son wanted to ride back there, then about halfway to our destination, he said he felt lonely being so far away from everyone. Ha.

Nothing > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 12/12/2018 at 14:59

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That’s a good option, too. Does your’s tilt or swing away from the rear hatch? Now that I say that, if I had one and was using it, I’d pretty much have no need to open the hatch given nothing would fit there anyway!

Manny05x > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 15:18

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Awesome i was unaware of the third row in the 4runner. This truck has definitely become a serious contender for my next vehicle.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 15:23

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Much easier access than a roof-top box, and takes less than a minute to attach/detach . Ours doesn’t tilt or swing away, but usually we can still open the back hatch with the cooler/tubs we have loaded on it.

Chariotoflove > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 15:25

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It’s really hard to have a vehicle that fits the maximum stuff you would carry in the most extreme use case and not be driving around a huge unused space most of the time.  This splits the difference nicely.

Textured Soy Protein > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 15:39

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Nothing > Chariotoflove 12/12/2018 at 15:39

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It really does. My choices were this or a Durango, and I decided I’d rather stil have some bit of off road potential of the 4Runner vs the Durango (I only wanted the R/T version). Since were usually either just three or four of us, this fits the bill perfectly.

Nothing > Textured Soy Protein 12/12/2018 at 15:41

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Seating for seven with no room for stuff, seating for five with good room for stuff, seating for 2 with gobs of room. But yeah, the third row in use means external cargo storage.

I chuckled at the Zoolander reference. Ha.

Nothing > Manny05x 12/12/2018 at 15:42

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It’s SR5, SR5 Premium, and Limited trim. The SR5P ticked all the boxes I wanted, and with a pretty decent discount.

M.T. Blake > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 17:28

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Hmmm my 2011 SR5 must be too old to have gotten the 3rd row.

StevieWelles > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 17:54

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My kids are younger and in car seats, but I’m curious about your thoughts on legroom with someone behind you. I'm 6'5" and have never considered 4runners simply because of concerns about legroom.

vicali > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 18:24

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When my inlaws were looking for a 3rd row SUV I tried to get them in a T4R pretty hard.. They ended up with a Pilot, partly because the rear seats were wider and easier to get into.

More 4Runners for me I guess..

Nothing > vicali 12/12/2018 at 19:26

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They definitely aren’t easy to get into! But I’m still happy I have it.

Nothing > StevieWelles 12/12/2018 at 19:31

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I’m 6’4” and can sit behind me. There was no chance of that happening in the Taco. I’m longer torso than legs. I sit fairly upright, and have headroom even with the sunroof, although just barely.

Nothing > M.T. Blake 12/12/2018 at 19:33

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It used to just be the Limited, then the SR5 Premium. I think ‘19 is the first year offered with the third row for the SR5. Fabric one is cheap, like a $300 option. The “soft-Tex” is more, I think $1k.

Tory Terzian > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 22:24

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3rd row is an option in any SR5 or Limited trims. Some just weren't optioned with it. 

Tory Terzian > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 22:30

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It’s my understanding that the side-curtain airbags are the same for all 4Runners forward of 2014. Meaning, that if you can obtain all of the parts for a rear seat install (including seatbelts and D-pillar trim), you can safely seat passengers in trucks that aren’t originally optioned this way.

A few folks on the forums have retrofitted a third row into their Off Road/Trail trucks, with minimal fuss. I might look into it for mine, as I like the idea of having  overflow capacity when needed. 

HammerheadFistpunch > Nothing 12/12/2018 at 23:08

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So different from the 120 platform.  I wish my second row slide fore/aft because my kids don’t need the AMPLE legroom but back seaters probably could but I like the rear seats in the GX.  Its a knees up affair but I can sit back there okay for a little while just fine.  I also like how much lighter the seats are and how much easier they go in and out compared to the 80 series.  I really like that they come out.  I guess it could be a problem if you took them out and you suddenly needed them but having them full out free’s aup a lot of room. 

Just Jeepin' > Nothing 12/13/2018 at 03:35

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Good timing. This question was asked about 5 hours later on FB, so I shared your post there.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Nothing 12/13/2018 at 08:54

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I never realized how close the Land Cruiser and 4Runner are in length (only 4" difference) . We looked at a LC before buying our Yukon XL and my wife said absolutely not due to there being no room behind the 3rd row much like this . The LC must have more leg room because there really didn’t look like there was anymore rear storage space than there  is here.

Nothing > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 12/13/2018 at 09:47

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Interestingly enough, the 4Runner has more third row legroom (29.9” vs 28.3”). However, the Cruiser has almost double the space behind that third row, 16.1 cu. ft. vs 9.1 cu. ft.. I found it interesting that other than space behind the third row, the 4Runner beats out the Cruiser in cargo capacity overall.

4Runner: 88.8/46.3/9.0

LC: 81.7/43/16.1

I’m guessing the side folding  seats eat up a ton of room, and with them removed, the Cruiser would best the 4Runner.

Nothing > Just Jeepin' 12/13/2018 at 10:12

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Cool, thanks! 

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Nothing 12/13/2018 at 10:25

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16.1 cu. ft. vs 9.1 cu. ft

both amounts are still rather pitiful for a fullsize SUV...especially when you consider the Odyssey again doubles the LC

J-Rod > functionoverfashion 12/13/2018 at 10:28

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I take my dogs back there and I like having the rear window rolled down partially to look out back and smell the world. Sometimes when our third row is up I just roll the window down when I make a quick grocery run. If I need to make room I'll collapse one of the seats but I like not having to open the rear hatch to grab groceries since there's no auto rear hatch option anyway. 

Nothing > HammerheadFistpunch 12/13/2018 at 10:33

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Despite losing the completely flat floor, I actually prefer this setup to the non third row 4Runner...even if  I never used the third row. The tumble forward seats always forced me to move the driver’s seat forward quite a bit.

Nothing > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 12/13/2018 at 10:36

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Completely agree. Third row usage in a 4Runner is definitely an either/or situation. Well, unless you only need 1 third row seat, then you could leave the other folded down. I guess if I truly needed both and wanted a Toyota, the Sequoia is the option, there,

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Nothing 12/13/2018 at 10:44

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You would think so, but all of the extra 10" of length in the Sequoia is dedicated to more leg room...the Sequoia’s cargo capacity with all the seats up is only 18.9 cu. ft.

Nothing > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 12/13/2018 at 10:47

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Yuck, disregard. I guess it’s either Suburban/Yukon XL or Expedition Max in the SUV space for any kind of third row + cargo.

Snowrydr01 > Nothing 12/13/2018 at 15:49

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B etter then my solution in the 100 series. I only ever keep one in the back and if someone needs it i make them climb in through the back.  Im not unbuckling car seats just to let someone back there.  In the RARE case i need both 3rd row seats they need to climb in the back and the OVER the seats.

Nothing > Snowrydr01 12/13/2018 at 15:56

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That’s how my son got out the other night. I only had one seat up, and he just climbed out, and out the back.

Gerry197 > Nothing 12/14/2018 at 00:17

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Back in the day, every pick-up truck and station wagon was a 7-seater.   

Miss the old days when we would throw the extra folks in the bed of the truck, and I personally loved riding in the back. That and la ying in the back of our old Chevy Cavalier Station Wagon watching and waving at cars behind us.

Of course that’s insanely dangerous by today standards.

Nothing > Gerry197 12/14/2018 at 10:10

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I used to love riding in the back of the truck. I’d fight with my brothers and sisters over who got to sit on the hump. Ha. Now, just driving my son to the end of the street and back in the Taco made me feel like a felon.

Thrifty Garage > Nothing 12/20/2018 at 13:13

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We love our SR5 with the 3rd row. Is recommend installing a Rai ngler tailgate net. Especially for those times when the 3rd row is in use. It prevents the cargo from falling out allowing you to more easily store more contents. Of course you can also keep the lift gate closed and open the rear window achieving  the same effect. Although I find the tailgate way more convenient.

Nothing > Thrifty Garage 12/20/2018 at 16:07

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I’ve been looking at the nets for that exact reason. Thanks for the suggestion!