Cars - 7 seater and 3 child seats. Help please!

[Didyeaye]

I’m going mad from googling...
Can anyone with a car that fits 3 car seats tell me all about them please? I thought we had decided on a grand Picasso but noticed today that they’ve got underfloor storage which is a big pain for isofix car seats with support legs.

When our surprise number 3 arrives we’ll have a newborn (obv), a 22 month old and a 5 year old. So will have 2 baby seats and a high back booster. Ideally would have had the oldest in the middle but actually that’s the only seat that can take a support leg. Or can it? The manuals and child seat advice has confused me.

Sooo would you move toddler to a seat without support leg or keep them rear facing in the middle and just belt the infant carrier in? I’m not overly bothered about the extended rear facing, I suppose by the time baby outgrows the infant carrier the toddler will be nearer 3.

Ahhhh and is it going to be a huge pain trying to buckle the toddler into the middle seat with the 5 year old and newborn on either side?

My brain is broken 🤯🤯

We have a grand picasso and have had 2 isofix with support leg in. I can't now remember why this turned out to be ok but we spent ages researching it last year and it's actually fine. I'll see if I can remember why when it's not the middle of the night...

PS we have tried with toddler in middle and with baby in the middle. Either is ok, depends on how independent toddler is and whether your older two fight! Don't put your 5 year old in the middle!

Thanks @Duckchick, that’s a good idea but it’s a clio I have just now. Even if we were able to squeeze all 3 in the back, we’d need more boot space for a double buggy.
I’m not sure why but I’m leaning towards side by side. I’m thinking folding for car might be easier. But then also wondering if an inline such as silver cross wave or cosatto wow XL might be more versatile for times I only have one of youngest with me?

@JohnLapsleyParlabane another one to add to my list, thank you. Do your isofix seats have support legs and if so did you have any issues with the storage boxes?

Thanks @MKmummy123, it certainly seems popular!

Please do @ACatCalledLola, great to get ideas from someone in the same position. I want to do the same when showrooms open. I’m in Scotland so that will be a bit later. I’m caught between doing it too early but also want it done and dusted early on as ideally don’t want to be out and about later in pregnancy and I’ll be having a section so logistically more difficult to sort afterwards. Plus DH doesn’t drive

Thanks @Gustavo1. The xc90 looks lovely but newer models beyond our budget.

@RandomMess thank you, seat Alhambra is on my list too! I like the sliding doors.

Re the galaxy, ideally I’d prefer Petrol as the kind of driving I’ll be doing, at least until I’m back in the office, doesn’t really fit with a diesel. I’ve noticed for most bigger/7 seat cars, it’s only the newer models that are petrol which obv bumps the price up. Since diesel is falling out of favour!

Thanks @MyNameHasBeenTaken, I’ll have a look at belt extenders if needed. Hadn’t heard of them! There are loads of second hand zafiras but are they not the cars that kept going on fire?

Thanks @FraterculaArctica! I’d be grateful to hear more about your research. Interestingly, the manuals I can find for the grand Picasso and space tourer suggest that support legs are fine. But then the car seat manufacturers seem to disagree! Out of interest, why not the 5 year old in the middle?

Thank you all so much for your suggestions and opinions! I was going mad with it yesterday and it doesn’t help knowing I can’t just go and see the cars just now! DH doesn’t drive and doesn’t think practically really so it was really getting to me yesterday!

@Didyeaye no problems with the storage. Back seats move so either leg in hole or seat back far enough to keep leg out of hole.
We get our child seats from rear facing toddlers. She'll be a bit far away from you as she's in London, but there will be someone near you who can give good advice. Halfords etc are variable IME.
Also, I drove it not long after my c section and the hardest bit was the handbrake!

Brilliant, thanks @JohnLapsleyParlabane! I’m gonna end up at so many car dealers with my new list. That’s good tho, I don’t want to rush the choice as I’ll have nursery, school, work etc after maternity leave so want to make sure it suits us for all that! Bonus if it looks good!

I have a Picasso and looks dat the Grand Picasso - the rear seats are so tiny and cramped I wouldn't bother!! Why do you need a 7 seater rather than a 5 seater roomy enough for 5 plus luggage?

Day to day a C4 Picasso would be fine and if needed for holidays etc get a roof box??

I had 4 DC but once they else's moved out downsized to the Picasso as you can 3 huge adults or car seats across the back safely.

Do you want to but mine 😂 not driven it since March as WFH for the foreseeable!!!!

Pram wise the Phil & Ted original is really small folded. I got all sorts in the back of my Alhambra! More about the shape when folded than anything else.

ERF can actually make it more roomy with 3 across and easier to buckle in. The middle spot in a decent car seat is actually the safest place... not like in the old days when it came with just a lap belt!

We had an old style galaxy when we had 3 babies/toddlers. Fab car. We then got a 2010 reg Alhambra as you still get the old style boot space (though no sliding door). The old style have bigger boots as you can take seats 6 and 7 out and based on the 2 I've had are very good cars. Also useful now the kids are teens as they have a good amount of space in the back.

We have a Toyota Verso too - lovely car to drive and we've had it 5 years and not had to spend anything on it other than tyres etc. It's a lot smaller though - I think strapping a small child in the middle seat would be tricky. And the seatbelt catches are quite low to the seats so it was hard to strap kids in with high back boosters.

I've got a Picasso with an isofix sat on the under floor cupboard. It's fine, I can't see a problem with it.

However, it has anchors behind the seats to use the other type of isofix.

I have the grand Picasso. The back seats move so sometimes you can get the leg to be in front of the box rather than on it. Or the seat can have a long enough leg to go to the bottom of the box.

I currently have an axkid minikid behind the passenger seat and a cybex sirona s i-size that either goes in the centre or behind drive or in the middle.

I don't have a third but often carry 2 elderly relatives so the seat them moves to centre. To be honest whilst the baby is little I'd move oldest to middle and then lean in to clip then put baby in with isofix base or seatbelt. Then by the time baby grows out of infant seat eldest will be 6 and help clip themselves in.

I’m going for an S-Max for this reason, my BF has one and I’ve seen 3 car seats in action in it, works really well and lovely comfy cars.

@RandomMess I don’t need a 7 seater really but my mum doesn’t drive and she’s nearby. Sometimes it would be nice for her to join us on days out etc.

Thanks @thewalrus, good to know! I wish I could try each one ty and been recommended for a few days to try them out for real.

Thanks @heatherIV. It might not be a problem but I’m finding the guidance from car seat advice places differs from the car manufacturers!

If you want a car that's a bit outside the box, take a look at the Ford Grand Tourneo Connect.
Sliding doors, all mod-cons, very big inside but because it's based on a van you get more for your money than a similar spec car.
I had 4 kids under 6, and the sliding doors and extra headroom were much better for my back when I was lifting kids in and out/doing up car seats. Also good when they start to open car doors by themselves as they are much less likely to bash the next door car .

If your OH isn't going to be in the car with you all the time, you could also consider putting the baby in the front seat next to you - I liked being able to see the baby's face/comfort them if they were crying, plus it meant I could have both car seats in the back next to the doors which made them easier to buckle.

Definitely go for a side by side double. Inline ones aren’t easy to push. Best in my opinion is the Nipper 360. It’s not small but it’s so easy to handle and that becomes important as they get bigger and heavier.

It's a big jump in price between a 5 and 7 seater so that's a tough one...

We ruled out the grand Picasso as at 5' I struggled in the rear seat it was so small and cramped!

We have a ford Cmax grand which I adore because it has sliding rear doors so you dont have to find a massive parking space to get kids out of both sides.
It has 2 flip up seats in the boot but if you had 2 isofix car seats installed, you wouldnt be able to get to the boot seats.

Seat Alhambra or Smax if you’ve got the money.

Ford galaxy is cheaper but same as above size wise. Massive boot for all your scooters, buggies, bikes. Also has the 2 extra seats if you need those.

I think our information on support legs in the Grand Picasso came from checking the Maxi Cosi instruction manuals (we have baby in a Pebble and 3 yo was in a 2 way Pearl, she's now in a HBB). We have a 2017 Grand Picasso - the previous generation model is less good for support legs, I think.

Children being as independent as possible is a necessity when you have 3, so you want 5 yo (my eldest was also 5 when DC3 born) to be able to climb into seat by themselves - it will be too tricky for them if there's an infant or toddler seat, with a support leg, on either side. Also middle position is the safest so better to have more vulnerable child there.

We had the Chrysler voyager as I have 4 kids I could get in the back to do up booster kid and eldest went right up the back or beside me depending on where we were going so 2 older at back and wee ones in stand-alone seats in middle boot space wasn’t big so we had pram - I candy blossom then city mini double thing and one case then a roof box. Adds up but all fit in fine. We also had a Nissan qashqai prob wrong spelling I could get 2 car seats and one booster in.
Hope you find something suitable and congrats on baby no3

My list to investigate is:
Honda CRV
Ford Galaxy
Ford S Max
Peugeot 5008
Renault Grand Scenic (but not sure if have foot rest storage)
Seat Alhambra
VW Touran
VW Sharan
Citroen c4 Grand Picasso

I’ve done a lot of googling and also looked at Facebook car seat pages. I have a besafe high back booster, a Besafe ERF seat and a maxi cosi baby seat. All have isofix so I’m only looking at cars with 3 isofix points across the back.

The in car safety centre in Milton Keynes has/has I Hope a list of what car seats fit in which cars - I would trust them over the car manufacturers.

It may be cheaper to purchase new car seats then select a car based on current car seats.

We got Citroen C4 Picasso grand. Baby seat, with two preschooler seats in middle and end on same row - all isofix. We wanted a car where we could fit all three on the same row to enable us to make full use of the boot. It's a bit tricky doing the middle seat belt up (I have to climb into the car)!

We had a Ford S Max, which I loved. We now have two teens and a preteen and we have a Galaxy which is fine, excellent for camping. I don’t love it like I loved the S Max though.

@UnderTheBus I don’t think that would work but thanks for the suggestion!

@FraterculaArctica that makes a lot of sense, thank you!

Thanks again for all the ideas. The s-Max is now up near the top of the list to check out! @RandomMess, totally get that, I’m not precious about the car seats I already have.