Every Small SUV With Third-Row Seating You Can Buy Today

If you're in the market for a new SUV in 2025, there is absolutely no shortage anywhere you look in the segment. Whether it's a mid-size crossover or a full-size luxury model you're looking for, there's at least one brand with a popular SUV that'll stand out from the crowd. One of the biggest selling points for these vehicles is their increased practicality over the likes of sedans and hatchbacks, providing more space to every passenger as well as the driver. The inclusion of a third row of seating can introduce massive benefits in this department, but the choice can become slim depending on various factors.

Generally, three-row SUVs fall into either the mid-size or full-size categories of the SUV segment, as their increased width and length can keep the passengers in the very back from feeling too cramped. However, certain manufacturers have still found a way to include a third row within their smaller SUVs, albeit some more successfully than others, to keep options open for buyers who want the compact nature of some SUVs that make the most of their space. The selection of compact SUVs with three rows of seating is much more limited, but the following six models manage to cover plenty of ground, from affordable to high-end luxury.

These are the current small SUVs that come with three rows of seating.

Being able to take your Land Rover off-road confidently has always been a fundamental element of the British Brand's philosophy. While this is still certainly the case in 2025, Land Rover has also been a leader in the luxury SUV segment for years. The Range Rover models lead the way when it comes to luxury, but the Discovery range bridges the gap between ultimate comfort and the off-road ruggedness of the Defenders. You have the choice between two Discovery models, with the 2025 Discovery Sport falling into the compact segment while still offering three rows of seating.

Starting at $48,900, the Discovery Sport is the cheapest model that Land Rover sells in 2025. As far as compact SUVs go, a price tag just below $50,000 is quite expensive, but the brand justifies the price through various features. The third row is among the standout features, being one of the only compact SUVs to offer one. Unfortunately, Land Rover hasn't provided specifications for the third row's dimensions, but the front row offers 39.1 inches of legroom and 39.5 inches of headroom, with 38.1 and 38.4 inches of legroom and headroom in the second row.

The 2025 Discovering Sport has a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine producing 246 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque, ranking it above plenty of the gas-powered compact SUVs on sale this year. However, the higher power output does affect the efficiency, with the Discovery Sport managing to achieve 20 MPG combined, according to the EPA.

Ever since the American manufacturer introduced its first car, the Tesla Roadster, Tesla has been one of the leading forces in the age of electrification. The Model S released in 2012 and laid the foundations for what the brand would become in 2025. It is a car that remains in the lineup, along with four additional models that have been introduced over the years. One of these is the Model Y SUV, which made its debut in 2020. The larger alternative to the affordable Model 3 sedan, the Model Y, still does a great job in terms of value-for-money, with the latest 2024 model having an MSRP of $46,630 and retaining that price on average on the used Tesla market, according to KBB. The rollout of the updated 2025 Model Y has only just begun, keeping last year's model close to its base price.

While the 2025 Model Y is cheaper with timely updates, a three-row variant isn't yet available for purchase with no confirmed release date either. Today, you can still buy a 2024 model with seven seats on the used market if you aren't worried about losing out on the refreshed model's styling updates and improved technology. On release, you would have had to spend $2,500 to add the third row to the compact electric SUV, which isn't the most spacious. The third row offers 26.5 inches of legroom and 34.6 inches of headroom, falling short of its closest rivals, such as the Mercedes-Benz EQB. 

Compared to many of the other major manufacturers on the U.S. market, Volkswagen has a relatively limited lineup in 2025. The conglomerate still manages to cover a lot of ground in the industry, but its in-house models certainly shouldn't be overlooked. The compact Tiguan is the best-selling out of the five available SUV models, selling 94,372 units throughout 2024. To keep the Tiguan competitive, Volkswagen is giving it a refresh for the 2025 model year that will introduce a host of improvements to horsepower and style, but lose its third row of seating.

However, as the official release date for the 2025 Tiguan is yet to be revealed at the time of writing, the 2024 model can still be bought brand new in the States. Priced at $28,880, the Tiguan is currently the second-cheapest SUV behind the Taos, another compact SUV. Due to the U.S. markets exclusively getting the long-wheelbase version of the Tiguan, the latter offers more interior space and the third row that will be missed. The third row offers just 27.9 inches of legroom and 33.8 inches of headroom, but the first and second rows get 40.2 inches and 38.7 inches of legroom, respectively.

Looking at the performance of the 2024 Volkswagen Tiguan, you get a 2.0-liter four-cylinder producing 184 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque. This isn't a tremendous amount of power, but it's still on par with some of its key rivals. Fuel economy ratings come in at 27 MPG for the base trim.

When it comes to the very best luxury vehicles on the market in 2025, only a handful of manufacturers can compete with Mercedes-Benz overall. For decades, the German brand competed at the top of multiple segments throughout the industry, currently offering one of the largest fleets of luxury vehicles this year. Like many of its rivals, Mercedes-Benz has expanded into electrification, with the entry point being the compact EQB SUV.

Introduced in the U.S. in 2022, the EQS is intended to offer the benefits that electric powertrains can bring to luxury vehicles at a much lower price point than the likes of the EQS, which debuted the same year. Starting at $53,050, the 2025 Mercedes-Benz EBQ is expensive, but still manages to stay competitive with rivals such as the Audi Q4 e-tron, which doesn't have a third row. In the EQB, the third row offers 29.1 inches of legroom and 34.8 inches of headroom, which is more than many of the other available three-row SUVs this year. To add on the third row to the EQB, it'll cost an extra $1,250. 

The electric EQB stands out as the only model in its class to offer this feature, even if it feels squeezed for taller people. As you'd expect with a modern Mercedes-Benz, the cabin is fitted with high-quality materials and no shortage of technology, with standard MB-Tex trim (the brand's leather alternative) and a 10.25-inch center touchscreen display and digital instrument cluster behind the wheel.

Despite the incredible selection of Asian-produced SUVs in 2025, Mitsubishi offers one of the most unique vehicles in the segment from the entire continent. With major automakers such as Toyota, Nissan, and Honda all offering a wide range of SUVs, it's certainly surprising to see only Mitsubishi offer a three-row compact SUV in the form of the Outlander, especially as the Japanese automaker only produces four SUVs, with the Outlander lineup (consisting of the gas-only and PHEV models) being two of them. The Outlander is also the biggest SUV on sale from Mitsubishi this year, leading to them making the most of the space provided by the compact model.

By being a compact SUV, the 2025 Outlander is also one of the most affordable SUVs on this list, with a starting price of $29,465. The 2024 Volkswagen Tiguan is slightly cheaper, but regarding brand-new compact SUVs with a third row, the Outlander takes the crown. To unlock the benefits of electrification, the Outlander PHEV starts at $40,445, pushing it towards the luxury end of the segment despite not quite ticking all the boxes when it comes to the standard trim. Unfortunately for the Outlander, its small size affects the third row's space considerably, only offering 18.7 inches of legroom and 34.5 inches of headroom.

There may not be a tremendous amount of space in the 2025 Outlander's third row, but for a sub-$30,000 price for the base model, its increased practicality can't be ignored.

Moving back to Mercedes-Benz, it's not only the brand's electric fleet that offers something rare within the industry. Typically, the electric vehicles from the German brand are based on an existing gas-powered model. This is also the case for the EQB, with the practical SUV being the electric counterpart of the GLB, which includes plenty of the positives that its electric counterpart offers while remaining its own model. The two are similar in size (the EQB measures 184.4 inches lengthways, and the GLB at 182.4 inches), allowing the gas-powered model to also offer a third row of seating in 2025.

The new Mercedes-Benz GLB starts at $45,800, which is a solid price when considering everything you get as standard with the compact luxury SUV. For the third row, you get 29.1 inches of legroom and 34.8 inches of headroom, which is identical to the EQB. To add the third row, you'll need to spend an extra $850, coming in as a slightly more affordable option compared to its electric counterpart. The overall interior design style is also the same, giving the GLB the same 10.25-inch center touchscreen display and equally-sized digital gauge cluster behind the wheel.

As expected, the powertrain is the key difference between the two models aside from their exterior designs, with the 2025 GLB SUV powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four assisted by a 48-volt mild hybrid system. Overall, this produces 221 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, also offering an efficiency rating of 28 MPG combined.

To compile this list, we included all the available compact/small SUVs you can buy brand-new with a third row of seating, at the time of writing. As some manufacturers, such as Volkswagen and Tesla, are changing the models covered here, we also included the most recent model year that offers three rows, to provide further choice in the relatively limited segment.