I know you're new here but to others I sound like a broken record when it comes time to the Highlander and car seats.

A) The 3rd row is useless for every day driving. So assume you've got the front 2 seats and either 2 seats in the 2nd row or 3 (if you get the bench seat).

B) Toyota had a great opportunity to make the middle seat LATCH car seat compatible and equivalent to the Honda Pilot, instead the 2 LATCH car seat compatible seats are the outboard seats, just like in our 2009 Highlander. So when you have 2 car seats in the back, the only extra seat will be the one in the middle, not the most convenient.

C) Although we've owned Toyota's exclusively since 1984, if I knew what I do now we would have went with the Pilot over the Highlander.

Just my .02 cents.

 

Thank you! I think in my case (1 kid) captains look good.

 

I used both the captain seats for the baby car seats. I think it's better than the bench one if you plan on installing them there instead of 3rd row. This way you can access the 3rd row through the middle of the captain seats since you can't access them through the normal route. And I disagree that the 3rd row is useless. I think it's very roomy back there for anyone under 5'7, if you move the middle row forward. The captain seats will only lock half way forward, but not when you move them all the way forward to the point where they touch the 1st row. The saleman said the bench one will lock at all position though I can't confirm.

 

Take a look at the pictures:
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/333-3rd-generation-2014/689601-my-2014-xle-hl.html
Mine is the captainchair second row. I knew from my Acura MDX (it's even bigger) that it's not possiple to have 2 big carseats + one more person on the second row (too tight), so I opt for the captain chair (i use 2 Britax Pinnacle 90 boosters, or 2 Britax Bowlevard Convertible carseats). I can access the third row without having to move the second captain chair(can't say if the person is too big though).
If you move the secon row up a little, there is lot of room for the third row for 2 big persons.

 

I knew from my Acura MDX (it's even bigger) that it's not possible to have 2 big carseats + one more person on the second row (too tight), so I opt for the captain chair (i use 2 Britax Pinnacle 90 boosters, or 2 Britax Boulevard Convertible carseats).

We have the Diono Radian RXT's in our vehicles. With 2 of those you could easily fit a person in the center or even 3 Diono's across the 2nd bench row.

 

You've gotten a lot of good feedback. Here's my view...

The bench in the second row makes it a convenient, everyday five-seater. Yes, the captain's chairs do provide easier access to the back row, which is nice, but those 3rd row seats are pretty tight and I foresaw the need to haul five (conveniently) on a regular basis. And there will definitely be times when we need to haul five + more stuff than you could ever fit behind the 3rd row.

Even if you're only talking about 1-2 kids, don't forget that they'll frequently want a friend (or two) to tag along as they get older. Imho, that's much easier to accommodate with the bench.

On the downside, if you have a couple of car seats strapped in, I would think that access to the 3rd row would be greatly restricted with the bench seat b/c you wouldn't be able to slide the 2nd row forward while the car seats are buckled in. At the same time, if you went with captain's chairs and then you strapped in rear-facing car seats, you'd probably have to crawl under (or over?) to get to the pass-through b/t the 2nd row seats.

Also worth considering: With the gap between the 2nd row captains chairs, I could easily imagine stuff flying up from the cargo area during a (really) hard stop or head-on crash. The bench would provide some additional protection in that scenario. That's probably a minor consideration, but it's true.

Ultimately, it comes down to your own personal needs. Just be sure to project forward throughout the expected life of your vehicle. Circumstances change, while it's important to think about your current needs, you should also try to anticipate what things will be like when your kids are a few years older.

Good luck.

 

At the same time, if you went with captain's chairs and then you strapped in rear-facing car seats, you'd probably have to crawl under (or over?) to get to the pass-through b/t the 2nd row seats.

Even with front facing car seats, for an adult to get to the center seat the front seats need to be moved up in order to get by.

If Toyota made the 2nd row bench of the 2014 all LATCH I would figure out a way to retrofit it into my 2009. It's a full size seat just like the Pilot, I don't understand why Toyota dropped the ball by not making it 3 LATCH across.

 

If you have a family of five, then captains chairs can actually be ideal. Two kids there, and the third (oldest) kid in the 3rd row center seat - plenty of leg room since there's no bench. You don't want three young kids to be able to touch each other - especially on long trips!

I refuse to slide a 2nd row bench forward/back every time I want to load/unload a kid back there. More important things to do with my life. Captains chairs gives you a walk-through isle, and the seats themselves are set far back to give room for entry/exit. Not all three rows are this easy, another good example is the GM Enclave/Traverse/Acadia.

However, where Toyota (and GM) missed the mark - that 3rd row center position lacks a full set of Latch anchors - only has the teather anchor. Our Sienna has a full set in that position. Our oldest will not outgrow a booster for another 4-6 years, and using Latch to anchor it way back in 3rd row is a good idea.

So we're not planning to car shop for another 4-6 years...

 

If you have a family of five, then captains chairs can actually be ideal.

I disagree. With a family of five and captain's chairs, you're forced to have the 3rd row up and there's so little cargo space in that case that it's hard to travel. The bench is quite spacious, so three kids across isn't a problem at all (can't speak to car seats, though).

Of course, this all depends on how you use your HL. If you're not traveling with it then I can see where you're coming from.

 

Below are some pictures of of the captain chair with Britax Boulevard Convertible Carseats

Back tether (I always use tether)

For comparision with a bench, I have 2 Britax Pinnacle 90 boosters on an Acura MDX,
my wife can not seat in between since the carseats i have is kind of wide.

 

Let me ask those with the 2nd row bench. If you have 2-3 carsets installed in 2nd row, how can you access the 3rd row without removing the carseats?

 

Not a chance.

 

As far as I know, you can't access 3rd row with multiple car seats installed on 2nd row bench. At least not easily. That's the primary drawback and could be a deal breaker for some.

 

Exactly - one big reason for the captains chairs. Which makes it even more puzzling that Toyota didn't put a full set of Latch anchors in the 3rd row middle seat. Otherwise would have been the perfect solution for families with three kids in child seats (like ours). So we'll continue with our Sienna AWD for the foreseeable future...

 

Bench versus Captain's chairs

In terms of versatility, there really is no question as to which seating arrangement is better. The center bench will always be more versatile, especially if you have more than one car seat. You can put one car seat in each outboard position (as if you had captain's chairs), which is (in my opinion) the least desirable option for several reasons -- which are also the reasons Captain's chairs are a worse choice.

When you have two car seats in outboard position, each child is next to the door and in the most vulnerable position to a side-impact collision. Second, you have just eliminated all adult seating besides the driver's and passenger seats. Alleviating this problem would require placing each car seat in the back, which is the crumple zone of the vehicle and although allowed by the manufacturer, is clearly less desirable in my opinion.

The bench offers a better option to outboard car seats or captains chairs in that it allows positioning of 2 car seats in the second row 60 position and preserving easy access to the third row, as well as adding another adult seating position in the 40 position of the middle row.

For me, the versatility of the bench is clear. Not sure what the Toyota focus groups were thinking when they eliminated the bench seat option on the Limited model. This was most certainly a focus group decision with input from (ill-informed) consumer opinion, and not a decision an engineer would have made. I'd like to see them fix this for 2015 -- not too late, Toyota!

 

In terms of versatility, there really is no question as to which seating arrangement is better. The center bench will always be more versatile, especially if you have more than one car seat. You can put one car seat in each outboard position (as if you had captain's chairs), which is (in my opinion) the least desirable option for several reasons -- which are also the reasons Captain's chairs are a worse choice.

When you have two car seats in outboard position, each child is next to the door and in the most vulnerable position to a side-impact collision. Second, you have just eliminated all adult seating besides the driver's and passenger seats. Alleviating this problem would require placing each car seat in the back, which is the crumple zone of the vehicle and although allowed by the manufacturer, is clearly less desirable in my opinion.

The bench offers a better option to outboard car seats or captains chairs in that it allows positioning of 2 car seats in the second row 60 position and preserving easy access to the third row, as well as adding another adult seating position in the 40 position of the middle row.

For me, the versatility of the bench is clear. Not sure what the Toyota focus groups were thinking when they eliminated the bench seat option on the Limited model. This was most certainly a focus group decision with input from (ill-informed) consumer opinion, and not a decision an engineer would have made. I'd like to see them fix this for 2015 -- not too late, Toyota!

Great post and all true, however don't hold your breath for any changes in 2015 in regards to this. If someone is truly hung up on a Limited model I'd wait to find some 2014's that get in car accidents and switch the Captain Chairs to a bench seat. If Toyota was smart they'd have made all 3 positions LATCH in the 2nd row as well. We've owned Toyota's excusively since 1984, there's never been an indication that Toyota uses focus groups or comes to the forums to gather opinions, complaints, suggestions from current owners.

 

I don't have car seats (or kids), but I'd also prefer a second row bench in the Limited. Why? I occasionally need to carry five people with four large suitcases. No problem in my 4Runner, but might be trickier with a Highlander Limited, as I'll need to have one person in the third row. Not a deal-breaker for me, but something I need to consider.

 

In our case, we want all the gizmos of the Limited Platinum with the *practicality* of the 2nd row bench seat, but of course that's not available. It's a missed opportunity.

 

I feel the same way exactly. Usually one kid brings a friend when going on vacation. So seating for 5 in 1st 2 rows is mandatory. No other way to carry all the suitcases, beach chairs and boogey boards.

Just wish I could get the limited wheels and technology package on the XLE....I think I would be happy.

 

Once you outgrow car seats, which is not that long of an ordeal unless you have 3new borns!, and likely until 5 to 6yo, you might have car seats, which makes a difference....

...If you have triples!
Space your intended copulations about a year or 2 apart and you wont have such issues!

One of your kids is gonna give up the car seat sooner than the other, and the split bench is a great feature.

 

I’m still looking for Captains Chairs in Ash Gray for my 2019 HL Limited. Thanks