The best five-seat medium SUVs with generous rear legroom for families with lanky teenagers are the Geely Starray, Honda CR-V, Audi Q5, Volvo XC60 and Subaru Forester. If you want an electric option, our EV list is coming soon! Every car on this list has been tested by BabyDrive with real families and real measurements.
Kids big and small take up A LOT of space in the car! Having emerged from the child seat years, you’re soon a teenagers’ taxi driver and suddenly space in the back gets tight again — which is why rear legroom should be high on your shopping list. Those ever-growing adolescents need serious space for their long legs.
It’s easy to assume all medium SUVs will be equally spacious, but it’s not always the case. In some instances, you’d be better off with one of the roomier small hatchbacks! Some medium SUVs do legroom much better than others, allowing three passengers to sit comfortably without having their knees up around their ears or poking into the driver’s seatback. Some like the Geely Starray even have headrest pillows like an aeroplane!
Good rear legroom also makes getting in and out so much easier for tall teens. And a squishy back seat is a fast track to those familiar sibling squabbles: ‘Stop touching me!’ and ‘They’re in my space!’ Please, let’s not go back there.
What rear legroom features to look for in a medium SUV
When shopping for a medium SUV with good rear legroom, a nice wide rear seat, plenty of kick room under the front seats, and adjustable seats that can slide forward and back to distribute legroom are what you’re after. A flat central footwell is a bonus too, because it means the middle passenger doesn’t have to sit with their feet straddling a hump or with their knees around their ears.
When a car has good internal space and legroom, some do compromise on boot space, which can become a problem during the teen years because you’ve often swapped the bulky pram taking up the boot space for needing to carry sports equipment, musical instruments or the family dog. The good news is that every car on this list manages a decent boot alongside generous rear legroom.
I don’t know a teenager that doesn’t have their phone out at every opportunity so charging sockets in the back are another great advantage.
Every car here has been tested with my family over the last ten years.
Best petrol and hybrid medium SUVs for rear legroom
Honda CR-V – fantastic for tall families front and back
The Honda CR-V is a fantastic car for tall families. Interior space is very generous, giving great legroom in the back for tall teenagers and equally for parents up front. A 186cm driver can sit comfortably in front of a 186cm rear passenger, which is a great result.
Kick room is excellent in the two outer seating positions. The central rear footwell isn’t totally flat, so if you have three teenagers in the back the middle passenger will have to straddle a small hump. Large windows all around give rear passengers great visibility out.
Thirteen shopping bags fit in the boot, leaving plenty of room for sports bags, instruments, or a medium-to-large family dog.
Rear air vents keep your passengers comfortable and there are two USB-C sockets in the back of the central console box for charging devices.
It’s one of the standout medium SUVs for rear legroom. The CR-V has a four-star ANCAP rating, scoring 88% for child occupancy and 88% for adult occupancy, with nine airbags as standard and seat belt pre-tensioners for both of the outer second-row seats. Available as a five-seat hybrid or five/seven-seat petrol versions, the CR-V is priced from around $44,000. Read the full BabyDrive review of the Honda CR-V here.
Geely Starray PHEV – spacious throughout
The five-seat Geely Starray Plug-in-Hybrid has lots of interior space throughout that makes family travel very comfortable.
The rear footwell is flat, so if you have tall teenagers in the back there’s plenty of kick room for their enormous feet. Two rear charging sockets and vents in the back of the central console box keep your teens comfortable too.
Three passengers fit across the rear seats, a 186cm driver can sit in front of a same sized rear passenger. And space hasn’t been taken from the boot! Which holds 13 shopping bags, so families can fit their dog or instruments in the back. The full BabyDrive review is coming soon!
The Starray scored a five star ANCAP safety rating of 87% for child occupancy and 90% for adult occupancy, has seven airbags as standard and seat belt pre-tensioners for both of the outer rear seats. The Geely Starray starts from $37,490. Find the highest-scoring vehicles on our safest family car list.
Volvo XC60 – premium pick with built-in boosters
The Volvo XC60 has very good legroom and can comfortably accommodate 186cm passengers behind an equally tall driver. It’s the premium pick on this list and it earns that price with a luxe feel and some clever family touches.
In the base of the two outer rear seats are built-in booster seats. You simply press a button and pull them out. I found these fantastic to use with my eldest daughter, giving you the flexibility to switch between siblings without having to install and uninstall child seats. There are two heights of cushion depending on your child’s height, clearly labelled for easy use.
Kick room is good in the outer seats, though the central passenger has to straddle a hump in the footwell. There are air vents in the back of the central console box and climate controls as well as charging sockets for devices. The back seats are generous in size and the rear doors open wide for easy access, which your teens will appreciate.
Fourteen shopping bags fit in the boot, just pipping the CR-V and H6 by one. Still plenty of space for a medium-to-large family dog, or all the teenagers’ gear. The XC60 is priced from around $72,000 plus on-road costs and is available as a plug-in hybrid or petrol. Read our full Volvo XC60 review here.
The Volvo XC60 has seven airbags and is currently unrated with an ANCAP safety rating as it was tested too long ago. However, before it expired it did have a five-star ANCAP rating.
Audi Q5 – luxury space for growing families
The 2026 Audi Q5 ticks a lot of boxes for growing families with a bigger budget.
Legroom and headroom for outer rear passengers of 186cm is great, though there is a hump in the central footwell that long legs will have to straddle. There are climate controls, vents and charging sockets in the back of the central console box.
The Q5’s boot carries 15 shopping bags, which is one of the better results in this group. You can easily fit a medium-to-large family dog or larger instruments and sports equipment.
The Audi Q5 scored a five star ANCAP safety rating of 86% for child occupancy and 85% for adult occupancy and has seven airbags as standard and seat belt pre-tensioners for both of the outer rear seats. Find the highest-scoring vehicles on our safest family car list.
Priced from around $81,000 plus on-road costs, it’s a step up in price but you’re getting a refined, luxurious car that tall families will appreciate. Read the full BabyDrive review of the 2026 Audi Q5 here.
Subaru Forester – best all-rounder for tall families
Subarus as a whole have good legroom and I point adventurous tall families in that direction. The new 2025 Subaru Forester is no exception, comfortably accommodating 184cm passengers behind an equally tall driver.
Rear passengers have good kick room in the outer seats. The central passenger does have to straddle a small hump in the footwell, but the back of the central console box is slightly cut away to give more toe room, which is a thoughtful touch.
The back seats are generous in size and comfortable for three passengers to sit across, with good visibility out of the big side windows. Vents and charging sockets in the back of the central console box keep those rear-seated teens content.
The Forester’s boot is one of the largest here too, holding 16 shopping bags. That’s enough for the teenager’s sports bags, camping gear, or a medium-to-large family dog with room to spare.
ANCAP awarded the Forester Hybrid five stars scoring 91% child occupant protection and 81% for adult occupants. It has eight airbags as standard and seat belt pre-tensioners for both of the outer rear seats. Priced from $43,490 plus on-road costs, the Forester is good value for the rear legroom you get. Read the full BabyDrive review of the 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid here.
GWM Haval H6 – affordable option for tall teens
If budget is a priority, the GWM Haval H6 is an affordable option for families that need to play taxi to their tall teenagers. It’s available as a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, petrol and even a sporty GT version (pictured) that doesn’t reduce space as much as you’d expect.
The H6 is very spacious throughout, with excellent legroom for 184cm rear and front passengers. Kick room is great for all rear passengers, and while the central passenger has a small hump in the footwell, the back of the central console box is cut away to give equally good kick room as the outer passengers.
A wide seat base makes it comfortable to fit three adults across.
The boot holds 13 shopping bags or a large family dog, so the kids’ sports or musical equipment fits easily. The Haval H6 is priced from around $33,000 plus on-road costs, making it one of the most affordable medium SUVs in Australia. Read our full GWM Haval H6 Hybrid review here.
The GWM Haval H6 has been given a five-star ANCAP safety rating, scoring 90% for adult occupancy testing and 88% for child occupancy crash testing. It has seven airbags as standard and seat belt pre-tensioners for both of the outer rear seats. Find the highest-scoring vehicles on our safest family car list.
Nissan X-Trail – sliding seats and rear window blinds
Also available as a five-seat hybrid (the E-Power) and petrol with five and seven seat versions, the Nissan X-Trail is a medium SUV that ticks a lot of boxes for families, including the lanky teenager requirement.
The rear seats are split 60:40 and can slide to distribute legroom, which is handy when one teen is taller than the other and can help you overlap passengers’ shoulders for a bit of a roomier feel. They also sit slightly higher than the front seats, giving rear passengers good forward visibility. Kick room and legroom for outer rear passengers of 184cm is great, and the central footwell has only a slight hump. There are rear air vents and charging sockets too.
In higher-spec trim levels, the X-Trail is one of very few cars of its size to have built-in rear window blinds, providing shade for rear passengers without needing stick-on shades.
The boot holds 13 shopping bags, or a medium-to-large family dog, with room for sports gear too. Priced from around $38,140 plus on-road costs. Read the full BabyDrive X-Trail review here.
The Nissan X-Trail gained a five-star ANCAP Safety Rating, scoring a very high 90% for child occupancy and 91% for adult occupancy, putting it amongst the highest-scoring vehicles on our safest family car list.
How we chose this list
Every medium SUV on this list has been physically tested by BabyDrive with real passengers and real measurements. I test rear legroom by seating passengers of measured height in front and rear positions and recording whether a 180–186cm adult can sit comfortably behind an equally tall driver (I also test legroom in front of forward and rear facing child seats in a similar way). Kick room, footwell flatness, seat width, and visibility are all assessed in person. Boot space is measured using our standard shopping bag test rather than litres, because bags give you an easier impression about space.
I’ve only included five-seat medium SUVs here. If you need seven seats, check our reviews of the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid and 2025 Mazda CX-80, both of which offer good legroom too.
Common questions
Which medium SUV has the most rear legroom for tall passengers?
The Geely Starray and Honda CR-V measured 186cm+ in BabyDrive’s rear-facing child seat clearance test, making them the roomiest on this list. The Audi Q5, Subaru Forester Hybrid, GWM Haval H6 and Nissan X-Trail all fit a 184cm passenger behind a 184cm driver.
Do electric SUVs have more rear legroom than petrol SUVs?
Not necessarily more legroom, but EVs tend to have a flat rear footwell because there’s no transmission tunnel. This makes a real difference for the middle passenger and for getting in and out of the back seat. The Geely EX5, Kia EV6, Leap Motor C10 and Ford Mustang Mach-E all have completely flat rear floors. Come back soon if you are looking for electric medium SUVs with the best legroom.
Which medium SUV has the biggest boot and good rear legroom?
The Subaru Forester Hybrid and Kia Sportage both hold 16 shopping bags in the boot while still offering generous rear legroom. The Audi Q5 manages 15 bags.
Can three teenagers fit across the back of a medium SUV?
Yes, in most of the cars on this list, though comfort varies. Electric cars with a flat rear footwell, like the Geely EX5 and Audi Q4 E-Tron, are the most comfortable for three across because the middle passenger doesn’t have to straddle a hump. For our full list of cars that fit three child seats across, see our dedicated guide.
What is the most affordable medium SUV with good rear legroom?
The GWM Haval H6 is the most affordable option, starting from around $33,000 plus on-road costs. It fits 184cm passengers front and back and holds 13 shopping bags in the boot. For an electric option, the Geely EX5 starts from $42,707 plus on-road costs.
Does good rear legroom mean the boot is smaller?
Not always, but there can be a trade-off. The Leapmotor C10 has excellent legroom (186cm fit) but its boot only holds 10 shopping bags. By contrast, the Subaru Forester Hybrid manages both 184cm legroom and 16 shopping bags, which is very impressive for a medium SUV.
