My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Get updates on how your baby develops, your body changes, and what you can expect during each week of your pregnancy by signing up to the Mumsnet Pregnancy Newsletters.

Pregnancy

Car Query for bigger family

7 replies

ScarletTiger · 02/10/2008 15:56

Any suggestions on this - I have one son aged 3, another aged 18 months and due in two weeks with number 3. So I need to find out what sort of cars can fit two forward facing child seats (they are both Mamas & Papas) and a rear facing child seat.
I really don't want a mini van, we tested a second hand Zafira - but my husband at 6foot2 found getting behind the wheel a hassle.
Any suggestions as you can imagine I also need one with lots of boot space.

OP posts:
Report
Peachy · 02/10/2008 15:58

Our mitsibishi space wagon is more car like than van like, but you'd need second hand or a Grandis now.

We did manage to fit ur 3 into a proton mind which you wuldn't expect (no 4 forcd enlargement LOL) so worth trying saloons too

Report
snorris · 02/10/2008 16:02

Seat Alhambra/Ford Galaxy/VW Sharan (same car,different badges ). All the rear seats slide backwards & forwards independently and can be removed or folded to give more boot space. I can't comment on the drivers leg room,but when I drive dh's Golf it's like getting into a pedal car so probably pretty roomy?

Report
Pontypine · 02/10/2008 16:06

We have the same problem! We have a 7yr old on a booster, a 4yr old on a booster and a baby due in a few weeks

There was a good discussion on here a few months back and the general conclusion was (depending on budgets):
Zafira - although 3 seats won't fit on the middle row and 1 child will be in the boot area, meaning a smaller boot
Renault Scenic - very plasticy, quite small and very expensive to repair when it goes wrong
Citreon Picasso - fits 3 car seats in perfectly, big boot, lots of storage compartments
Ford Focus C max and S max - nice new cars, lots of room, expensive though

We opted for a picasso, we got an X reg for £1800 which was a bargain as it had low mileage. I love driving it (only been driving 7months) and the kids love it because of the little tables, the storage and the chargers in the back. HUGE boot too and it's easy to get in and out of. Has 3 isofix seat points (one on front seat, 2 in back) and you can turn the airbag on and off in the front yourself if you put baby in front.

The only bit of advice/downside i would say if you get a picasso is - go for the diesel engine not the 1.6 if you can and also check the clutch - ours is very high and needs replacing soon which is a common problem with Picassos

Report
SaintRiven · 02/10/2008 16:07

Kangoo. I get 2 car seats plus a wheelchair between the 2 rear seats. Thats plenty wide enough.

Report
WendyWeber · 02/10/2008 16:26

I'm 6', with long legs, & I can get into my Zafira easily! Mine is a 2.0dti (2002, so only a lap belt in the middle seat), I've had it 5 years & it's been great so-far-touch-wood.

With just one of the rear seats up you still get decent luggage space, we love ours

Report
WendyWeber · 02/10/2008 16:29

Oh, and it's the same wheelbase as an Astra so is the size of a normal car, easy to park, nice high seats, lots of headroom, fairly good on fuel (about 45mpg overall) but it accelerates really well when you need it to.

Have another go in one

Report
ELB1 · 03/10/2008 10:26

Part of my job involves running a company car fleet, so I get this come my way from time to time. I can tell you in our fleet that the Ford S-Max is very popular in the circumstances - and good if you then ever have to deal with an extra passenger (or DC4)!
Smaller and cheaper is the C-Max which is also good, and you can get forward facing car seats with specially designed narrow bases for the "separated" seats that cars like the C Max, Scenic etc have.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.