Well, if you've ever seen the room in the 3rd row, and/or attempted to sit in the 3rd row, you'll understand why.

You really can't fit kids over say, 7 years old back there comfortably without getting complaints. And of course you care about the safety too, but then again, there are no airbags for the 3rd row occupants, not even curtain ones.

If you want 3 useable rows, get a minivan. There's nothing uncool about them.

we have small, hard to use 3rd row seats in our XC 90 as well, and while I agree comfort isn't the best in these 3rd rows, in a pinch, they come in handy. We put our 7 year old back there on road trips or when there are too many adults in the 2nd row.. but to be honest, we didn't use it often, but again, in a pinch it was nice to have.

I also was sold on the reclining feature to be honest.

As for minivans.. NEVER!

I didn't the reclining was that much of a difference but I thought the actual seat comfort was a bg difference. All personal preference.

I totally disagree personally. Our ten year old (and he is big for his age) can fit in the back with no problem at all. The middle row can slide backwards and forwards to increase the leg room in the 3rd row which means you could fit somebody up to 12-13yo or so in there if _really_ necessary. But for our family it is great. And although no airbags, this is a solid big strong car, and they are all very safe.

A minivan - seriously - just... no.

The 3rd row in the X5 is completely usable.