Last Updated on September 20, 2023 by Victor A
When it comes to comfort and convenience, captain seats are one of the best features found in many SUVs. Most SUVs come standard with a regular second-row bench seat, and offer the captain chairs as an option, or are reserved as standard for the higher trims. The Toyota Highlander, the Dodge Durango, and the Honda Pilot are among those SUVs with captain seats.
These three SUVs are quite similar in terms of popularity and their seats offering as their entry-level trims come with bench seats, while some of the medium trims offer the captain chairs as an option, and for the higher-level trims, they all come with captain seats as standard.
Dodge Durango captain seats
The Dodge Durango is a three-row SUV that’s available in seven different versions. It’s important to understand, that for only 2021, Dodge is producing the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat model, one of the most powerful SUVs in the world.
The entry-level Dodge Durango SXT doesn’t come with captain chairs nor it’s offered as an option; for that, you will have to look for the SXT Plus, GT, GT Plus, and R/T versions, where you can spend $1,275 for the captain chairs option.
Then, there are the Dodge Durango Citadel, SRT, and the SRT HELLCAT, which come standard with captain seats. Just be mindful that these three versions cannot be specced with a bench seat.
| Dodge Durango | Starts at | Captain Seats |
| SXT | $26,340 | No |
| SXT Plus | $33,340 | Optional: $1,275 |
| GT | $36,345 | Optional: $1,275 |
| GT Plus | $40,345 | Optional: $1,275 |
| R/T | $45,595 | Optional: $1,275 |
| Citadel | $48,095 | Yes, as Standard |
| SRT | $64,245 | Yes, as Standard |
| SRT Hellcat | $80,995 | Yes, as Standard |
Toyota Highlander captain seats
If you’re looking for a hybrid three-row SUV with captain seats, the Toyota Highlander might be for you; however, Toyota also offers a petrol version for those who prefer traditional engines.
The Highlander is available in six trims for the petrol versions, and four trims for the hybrid ones.
The Toyota Highlander L and LE petrol versions come with a standard bench seat, and no captain seat option, while the XLE, XSE, Limited, and Platinum versions have captain chairs as standard.
For the hybrid Toyota Highlander, the XSE and the L versions are dropped, and the seat offering is the same as the petrol ones.
All the trims that came with captain chairs standard have an option to change them to bench seats for $0. When it comes to giving as many options to customers, the Toyota Highlander wins.
Petrol
| Toyota Highlander | Starts at | Captain Seats |
| L | $34,910 | No |
| LE | $37,110 | No |
| XLE | $39,910 | Yes, as Standard |
| XSE | $41,505 | Yes, as Standard |
| Limited | $43,865 | Yes, as Standard |
| Platinum | $47,065 | Yes, as Standard |
Hybrid
| Toyota Highlander | Starts at | Captain Seats |
| LE | $38,510 | No |
| XLE | $35,230 | Yes, as Standard |
| Limited | $45,265 | Yes, as Standard |
| Platinum | $48,465 | Yes, as Standard |
Honda Pilot captain seats
And lastly, there’s the Honda Pilot, available in seven versions, where the LX, EX, EX-L, and the Special Edition only come with bench seats and no options to upgrade to captain chairs.
The only trim that comes standard with bench seats and allows you to upgrade to captain chairs is the Honda Pilot Touring, where you will have to spend $300 for the captain seats.
Then, you have the range-topping Elite and the Black Edition which are available with captain chairs as standard.
| Honda Pilot | Starts at | Captain Seats |
| LX | $32,550 | No |
| EX | $35,230 | No |
| EX-L | $38,660 | No |
| Special Edition | $39,260 | No |
| Touring | $43,220 | Optional: $300 |
| Elite | $48,720 | Yes, as Standard |
| Black Edition | $50,220 | Yes, as Standard |
Toyota Highlander, Dodge Durango, & Honda Pilot captain seats
The fact that these SUVs give us the option to chose between those seats is indeed great; understandably, the entry-level trims don’t offer the captain seats, as they are made with low cost in mind, and by not offering them they push some customers to the mid and high-level versions.
If you were to look for the less costly trims of each SUV that has captain seats available, you will have to pay $33,340 for the Dodge Durango SXT Plus with a $1,275 addition for the captain chairs, which combined will set you back at $34,615.
Then, concerning the Toyota Highlander XLE hybrid, the minimum you will have to spend for the captain seats is $35,230.
And for the Honda Pilot Touring prepare to spend $43,220, plus $300 for the captain chairs. Costing $43,520 in total, which makes it the most expensive option out of the three.
Source: Stellantis, Toyota, Honda
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