Family of 5: 6 Seats or 7 Seats

[Kan-O-Z]

Have you seen the back of the pedestal seats? They are curved like the back of the front seats. Seems to me like that would have some effect on legroom. Another problem with the folding seats in their rearmost position is getting your feet down there, yeah, they'll fit once there, but getting them in and out becomes problematic (the back sticks down much further than the pedestal back so that it can close the gap when they are folded). Beyond that is the fact that this thread is arguably about the 6 with pedestal vs 7 with fold-flat based on when it was created. Differences in seats notwithstanding, having a seat not there provides ample legroom in comparison with having a seat there.

It comes down to if you think you will need to have passengers in the 3rd row very often v. being able to fold flat. If you have 3 or more kids the 6 seater makes sense as you will use that 3rd row all the time.

If you have 1 or 2 kids then I think the 7 seater probably makes more sense. Not having fold flat seats is pretty much a deal breaker for me. I put things like dog crates, and sometimes larger objects which need to go in deeper because of that rear sloping roof. This is absolutely not even possible with the 6 seater.

At least the 7 seater gives you both, ability to put people in the 3rd row when needed and ability to put in larger objects. I've also heard from a friend with the 6 seater that the second row seats with no arm rests actually make them a little uncomfortable. He has another SUV with a bench seat and he says it gives you a spot to rest your arm and put things down (bags, purses, phone, etc). Too bad they didn't put in the pull out arm rest on the bench seat like they did with the S which would make it even nicer.

 

[mxnym]

Too bad they didn't put in the pull out arm rest on the bench seat like they did with the S which would make it even nicer.

There have been way better middle row bench seats than what Tesla uses available for longer than Tesla has made the Model X. Too bad, indeed.

 

[Kan-O-Z]

There have been way better middle row bench seats than what Tesla uses available for longer than Tesla has made the Model X. Too bad, indeed.

I agree. They could make both the 6 seater and 7 seater nicer. 6 seater could be made with built in arm rests + fold flat like it is in most SUVs. 7 seater could be made more comfortable with the pull out arm rest.

Last but not least, Plaid should be offered with all seat configurations. I had to go LR because of it. Still very fast

 

[maxiam]

i have only 1 kid so my opinion doesn't really apply here, but 7 seater is great for both carrying human and carrying cargo.

 

[mxnym]

i have only 1 kid so my opinion doesn't really apply here, but 7 seater is great for both carrying human and carrying cargo.

Number of kids doesn't matter as much as location of passengers. Either you have had children or adults in the third row or you haven't. If you haven't, then you can't really say the 7 seater is great for carrying humans, because you've practicall only carried humans in a 5 seater. Also, re: cargo, wouldn't the 5 seater be even better for cargo? My understanding is that there is quite a bit more space available for cargo when you don't have that third row of folded seats occupying it...

 

[Kan-O-Z]

Number of kids doesn't matter as much as location of passengers. Either you have had children or adults in the third row or you haven't. If you haven't, then you can't really say the 7 seater is great for carrying humans, because you've practicall only carried humans in a 5 seater. Also, re: cargo, wouldn't the 5 seater be even better for cargo? My understanding is that there is quite a bit more space available for cargo when you don't have that third row of folded seats occupying it...

Both 5 and 7 seater fold completely flat. You’re right that the 5 seater has a sub-floor compartment where that third row folds into but in my opinion it’s not super useful. Maybe can put some blankets or some less used items in there.

The point I was making is if you only put someone in the 3rd row a few times a year for short trips you may be better off with the 7 seater. In the 7 seater with 5 people you still don’t need to use the 3rd row and still have a lot of storage with 3rd row folded. 3 people in the 2nd row bench seat is surprisingly not bad at all.

If you put someone in the 3rd row fairly often or for long trips then 6 seater is better.

 

[maxiam]

^ this.

 

[Richbot]

It's a wide car with a back bench, that's one thing I'd say the X back seat does better than most in the 5 and 7 seater, the center seat is a proper seat with good leg and head and hip room and isn't an afterthought hump in the middle between two nicer seats