Is the third row as useable and easy to get into as in a minivan?
id say so, damn easy
I don't agree. When equipped with the 2nd-row bench, as was the Traverse we rented last summer, the folding/sliding seats are cumbersome to manoeuvre, esp. for children, and the high step-in / move around the seat combo is hard to accomplish.
The front buckets are adult-sized (and I'd say
American adult - I was lost in there), but the back rows are too low to the floor for adults to be comfy. Trunk is Yaris-sized unless you drop part of the 3rd row.
The lambdas are good as smaller Tahoes, but as minivans, they vaccum.
Oh, and while the Traverse I drove was a fine turnpike cruiser, I was relying on the parking sensors to park that beast. Summer travels netted 12.6 l/100km - I get 8.6 out of the much more spacious Ody.