6 vs 7 seats, 2nd row movement

[James K]

We currently own a Model 3 and are thinking about upgrading to the X to have more space. We're having a hard time deciding between 6 or 7 seat. We've seen the 6 seater many times, but have never seen the 7 seater in the 4 different show rooms we've been to. So we have some questions on the movement of the 2nd row seats that I hope someone can answer. For context, we have 2 kids in Diono car seats.

For the 7 seater, I know there's an entry button on the seatback that you can press to get into the 3rd row. I've read mixed things on whether this 2nd row is fully manual or semi-electrically assisted. From what I've gathered, the side handle bar to tilt is manual, and the bar at the front, under the seat is also manual to move forward and backwards. But how does the hidden entry button actually work? Is this something a 4 year old can do, or does an adult need to help them get into the 3rd row?

I know the 6 seater is best for ease of access and legroom in the 3rd row. We're leaning more towards 6 seater right now, but would actually have use for all 7 seats maybe once a month as it saves us from driving 2 cars with family. So looking to hear some thoughts on seat movement/access between the two. Thanks!

 

[BenP]

For us what convinced us to go with the 7 seat version was that all the seats are foldable so I can haul things like my bike. The 2nd row in the 6 seat configuration is not foldable which limits cargo space.

 

[HugoBoss]

I have four kids, 8,4,2 and 3 months. We have seven seater. Baby goes in middle row middle seat, 2 year old goes behind driver. 4 year old sits in the 3rd row behind passenger. 8 year old sits behind passenger. He can move seat for the 4 year old. She would not be able to do it on her own. There is a button that is a electronic latch with she can push , but you still have to manually push seats wich she cant do yet. The 8 year old jumps in halfway and uses his weight to push the seat.

If I was buying again I would get the same setup. It's a bit tight for the 4 year old at the back cause she is still in a car seat her feet don't reach under seat, but it's fine. I move second row forward a bit so both rows have decent space. eventually she gets to a booster like the 8 year old she will have tons of room.
I like having the extra seat just in case, but I can see how the 6 seater is nice having the extra space. I guess it depends if you plan on growing your family or not. Who knows I might need the fifth seat, a swimmer might slip by.... You never know
We bought the x when we had just three kids. I sat them all the the middle row and used it as a five seater. Like I said before my purchase wouldn't change, bonus too you can fold all seats flat to carry big things. The six seater centre seats are monopost they don't fold flat.

You also stated you would use 7 seater once a month... It's a no brainer

 

[Terthen]

We have the 6 seater and 2 kids in car seats. The extra space is great, and makes the 3rd row usable. We only need 2 extra seats on occasion, so 6 is perfect for us. If I was buying today though, I do think I’d get 7 seats. It’s cheaper and as BenP said the fold flat gives so that extra utility, although I’d admit given our lifestyles and what I am willing to haul on my own, I haven’t needed the extra space. I attach a bike rack for an occasional bike haul.

We did think for a few days a swimmer may have slipped by, and i got scared—not because of having a new baby but because I only bought 6 seats for the X!!

Either way you’ll enjoy the extra room. I feel cramped driving our whole family in the 3; the extra space in the X is definitely a nice luxury to have if you can get it and the 6 seater gives it the most room in this regard... but if you need to haul 3 extra occasionally you might have to get the 7 seater?

 

[Zaxxon]

We're in a similar situation. Have a 3, ordered an X to be our 2nd Tesla. We have 2 kids, ages 5 and 7, both still in car seats.

We got the 7 seater, for a few reasons: we want the flexibility to travel with 7 periodically, we want both rear rows to fold flat, and we liked saving $3k.

Our 7-year-old can slide the single 2nd-row seat to get to the third row on her own. It is a manual seat but it's not hard to move once you get the hang of it.

Are you ordering custom or grabbing one of the pre-Raven inventory free Supercharging deals?

Good luck!

 

[hallcp]

Sorry, I don't get the "swimmer" reference. Is this something all parents know about? Please explain!

 

[Saghost]

So it is mostly going to be four of you in the car?

If you don't have much need to carry stuff, I'd probably recommend the six seat.

With that configuration, you can put the kids in car seats in the middle row, and if they need something an adult can be between them helping either one and sitting in the third row in between.

As kids grow out of the car seats, they can easily get to the third row from the second without moving any seats through the middle.

For road trips, I put a portable fridge in the hole between the center row seats. Having that space really opens up the interior of the car.

The only real down side to the six seat is they don't fold - so anything more than fourteen inches wide and more than five feet long isn't going to fit in the car.

That's why I'm going to seven seats for the next car - I don't have folks in back that much and the extra flexibility will be useful.

 

[dknisely]

We struggled over 6 vs. 7, but settled on 7, and I'm quite happy. The 6-seat configuration is very cool and makes the best possible 4-seat configuration (although with constrained storage), and it is very comfortable with up to 5-6 people (assuming 2 people are small for the way-back). However, the 7-seat configuration is definitely the most functional. Mainly it provides a really excellent 5-seat configuration with a terrific rear storage (essentially a "station wagon" configuration), with the benefit of 60/40 split fold-down for either 3 + lots of space or 4 + slots of space. The 7-seat configuration also allows for center-mounting of a carseat (safest possible location) AND still leaves two usable seats (or fold-down of 1 of them).

The 60/40 parts of the middle row also have some tilt.

Drawbacks of 7-seat: You're not really going to put two people in the way-back unless they are pretty small (although one person can be very confortable). Also, it is definitely more awkward to get in/out from the way-back, which is no problem with kids, but makes squeezing adults in there harder.

Overall, I think the 7-seat configuration is amazing, especially with almost any configuration that includes some kids. We love the X for roadtrips way more than I expected.

 

[commasign]

Major points already covered in the above posts, but here’s a summary...

https://www.teslaadviceblog.com/blog/model-x-5-6-or-7-seats

 

[buttershrimp]

Sorry, I don't get the "swimmer" reference. Is this something all parents know about? Please explain!

Well, when a man loves a woman very very much..... and they are in a long committed monogamous relationship.... sometimes the man loves the woman so much that he hugs the woman really tight and vice versa.... this results in a magic swimmer being created.... which then goes a long journey.... down a boring tunnel of sorts.... sometimes the man intends to exit the boring tunnel before the magic swimmer is formed.... but occasionally, a miscalculation is made... and 9 months later.... well, that's how you got here son.

 

[platylover]

We ordered our 7 seat Model X without seeing a demo car with it. we had a difficult time finding any videos, only a couple of forum threads describing how hard it is to operate the 2nd row.

Overall we are satisfied with it, though i would say it's not as smooth operating as the Honda Odyssey we came from. However, our 8 and 10 year olds, who sit in the back are getting the hang of it in the week or so we have had the car. I made a video to share and just uploaded to youtube.

 

[Sparrow]

Do all 7 seat Model Xs slide forward by themselves when you push that button? When I push the button on my November build 2018 Model X the seat back flips forward, but the seat does not move on its own forward. I still have to muscle the seat forward. I use the term "muscle" because it takes a fair amount of force to slide it forward.

 

[platylover]

Do all 7 seat Model Xs slide forward by themselves when you push that button? When I push the button on my November build 2018 Model X the seat back flips forward, but the seat does not move on its own forward. I still have to muscle the seat forward. I use the term "muscle" because it takes a fair amount of force to slide it forward.

It might slide forward because we park on a downward sloping driveway. But my wife seems to think it will slide forward on level ground. I’ll have to check next time.

 

[Sparrow]

I doubt my second row would move after pushing the button on its own unless the car was on a very very steep incline. After pushing the button, I can push it with one hand, but it takes a significant effort. It is not like a couple of fingers pushing it would get it going, there is a lot of resistance to moving. Of course moving the bigger 2nd row driver's side double seat is even worse.

 

[platylover]

I doubt my second row would move after pushing the button on its own unless the car was on a very very steep incline. After pushing the button, I can push it with one hand, but it takes a significant effort. It is not like a couple of fingers pushing it would get it going, there is a lot of resistance to moving. Of course moving the bigger 2nd row driver's side double seat is even worse.

Yup agreed. Thanks the 40 section is less heavy and easier to move than the 60 section.

 

[Sparrow]

I parked my car on a significant hill on my driveway so the car was pointing down. Pushing the button still did not cause the seat to move forward. It was far easier to manually push the seat forward, probably about what I would have liked in my garage on flat land.

The next time my 7 year old and 4 year old granddaughters are at the house, I am going to see if they can move either or both seats when the X is in my garage. I suspect the 4 year old will not be able to move either. The 7 year old will probably struggle.

 

[dknisely]

Do all 7 seat Model Xs slide forward by themselves when you push that button? When I push the button on my November build 2018 Model X the seat back flips forward, but the seat does not move on its own forward. I still have to muscle the seat forward. I use the term "muscle" because it takes a fair amount of force to slide it forward.

Definitely, absolutely, positively NOT as smooth as in that video for our YE 2018 model X 7-seater. Pushing the button is random and hit-or-miss, and the seat doesn't slide forward elegantly like that. We have to figure out how to operate the other lever to slide the seat forward and back. The video looks like a dream.

I just keep pushing buttons and finding levers until something desirable happens. It can take a few minutes.

It would be WOW and amazing if you could just hit a button and the seat folds down and slides forward.

 

[BlueBlaze]

I know you've gotten a lot of replies, but I'll just add my 2¢.

First, all aspects of the 2nd row seats are, as you put it, semi-electrically assisted. There's a bar on the side for reclining and another on the bottom from for forward and backward sliding. These both sorta kinda act like manual mechanical releases, but they aren't. Activating the lever pulls a switch which signals the computer to actuate the release mechanism. Having an electronic release is what allows the hidden button to operate. It's fully electric and basically just releases both the sliding and the reclining locks.

In practice, it doesn't usually matter that the bars are electronic. As with the electronic door handles, they're meant to act like manual releases and you don't notice it most of the time. When I first got my X, I had one defective seat. This is how I realized they were electronic. The seat would lock with the back folded partway down and the two release bars became inoperable. I could pull them all I wanted, but the electronics in the seat were faulty and wouldn't respond to release the seat. Rebooting the car enabled me to use them again a couple of times. This probably isn't an issue anymore, I'm told they've switched to another manufacturer for the seats.

I've got a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old. She was 7 when we bought the X and she always sits in the third row. She has no problem sliding the seats in either direction. However, half the time she doesn't because the gap between the seats is actually wide enough for a small child to climb through without moving the seats (see attached image).

For us the 7-seater is a definite win. We don't often fill all 7 seats, but we do often use the full cargo area, something you don't get in the 6-seater. HIH.

 

[BlueBlaze]

Definitely, absolutely, positively NOT as smooth as in that video for our YE 2018 model X 7-seater. Pushing the button is random and hit-or-miss, and the seat doesn't slide forward elegantly like that. We have to figure out how to operate the other lever to slide the seat forward and back. The video looks like a dream.

I just keep pushing buttons and finding levers until something desirable happens. It can take a few minutes.

It would be WOW and amazing if you could just hit a button and the seat folds down and slides forward.

You might want to have it looked at. I gave more details above, but while the levers appear to be mechanical releases, they're actually computer controlled. We had defective seats that had to be replaced due to issues with the mechanisms. I'm told that they use a new manufacturer and that the issues are resolved.

 

[TCapri:)]

Well, when a man loves a woman very very much..... and they are in a long committed monogamous relationship.... sometimes the man loves the woman so much that he hugs the woman really tight and vice versa.... this results in a magic swimmer being created.... which then goes a long journey.... down a boring tunnel of sorts.... sometimes the man intends to exit the boring tunnel before the magic swimmer is formed.... but occasionally, a miscalculation is made... and 9 months later.... well, that's how you got here son.

Love it!!