For smaller families who only use the rear seats for taking your children's friends to soccer games, skiing, school and the like, a great

A total of 1,030-litres (36.4 cubic feet) of storage space can be had when the third row of seats is folded flat, especially useful if you're hauling taller items thanks to the vehicle's overall height and large liftgate opening. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

deal more room can be had if the third row is folded flat. A total of 1,030-litres (36.4 cubic feet) of storage space can be had, especially useful if you're hauling taller items thanks to the vehicle's overall height and large liftgate opening. For taking loads to the dump or picking up furniture from Ikea the second row folds completely flat as well, a process that creates a sizable 1,950 litres (68.7 cubic feet) of stowage space.

Now this is where I commend Jeep highly for delivering a vehicle with a proper liftgate, instead of a side swinging door. Or maybe I should rephrase that, because I don't mind the rear swinging door on Jeep's Liberty, which opens up so that cargo can be loaded aboard safely while parallel parked, but every Japanese and British brand that offers a swinging rear door has designed them to be safe in their domestic market, which in case you weren't aware, drive on the opposite side of the road. The liftgate is the ideal answer to such a problem, allowing Jeep to sell the vehicle

One negative, however, involves those slick flat-folding second row seats, in that an average child seat doesn't fit under the "fixed" headrests at all. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

in multiple markets if it chooses to, while providing a protective shield against the elements when loading or unloading.

One negative, however, involves those slick flat-folding second row seats, in that an average child seat doesn't fit under the "fixed" headrests at all - they're not actually fixed but fold down into the seat when folding it flat, although you can't raise or remove them. And it wasn't due to having oddly shaped child safety seats either. I have two different models made by reputable mainstream brands that would not fit in properly. The fixed headrest forced the seats out and away from the seatback, making them unstable during turns. The only way to resolve the issue is to fit a pillow in behind the child seats, and strap them down extra hard. Of course, this shouldn't be too much of a problem as most families leave their children's booster seats in a given car most of the time.