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 had a Renault scenic which was fantastic. It had a switchable airbag too so I could have number three in the front in the early days too. Three car seats fitted in the back easily and as the seats moved individually, you could move them slightly to get at seatbelts. Massive boot space too, high up driving position and electric handbrake.....I miss that.

Are you going to need 3 HBB in the car at any point? Just asking because we found that while there were quite a few options for mixed car seats, if you wanted two HBB and a booster cushion or 3 HBB there were really limited options. We looked at the C4 grand tourer for example which everyone says can fit 3 car seats but you can't get 3 decent HBB. So if you need them in future I would check they fit now unless you plan to change car again before that happens.

With the Picasso... If I remember rightly from when we were looking with newer models it is safe to use a support leg on top of the storage compartment lid. But it was only registrations from a certain date. If I remember correctly I Facebook messaged citroen uk to double check.

We have a Zafira and a Sharan (bought for boot space rather than needing 7 seats, but they have their uses.)

The Sharan is that bit wider, but having short legs and tiny feet, the driving position for me cramps me up intoleraby within 45 minutes. The Zafira is far more comfortable for a short-arse driver

I have had all 5 of my rear seats filled with stage 1 and HBBs. It took a bit of presicion to buckle them all in. It was stage 1s in the rear and HBBs in the middle.

Not car seat related but I've had my SMax for 10 years now and have never regretted it. I would get another in a heartbeat.

@BogRollBOGOF I'm a short arse too my ancient espace was brill then I got an Alhambra. I have a back rest of thick dense foam to make the seat shallower it also means that you don't have the sides of seat forcing your shoulders into a curved position because your shoulders sit where everyone else's ribs do!

Seat alhambra, ford S max, ford galaxy and c4 grand picasso. All 7 seats and fit 3 car seats on the middle row. The underfloor storage isn't such an issue - you can buy fillers for them or some manufacturers do extensions to the support leg you can use.

Only the zafira B (the one that is a fire risk) allows 3 car seats on the middle row, otherwise it's 2 on the middle row and one in the back.

Only the zafira B (the one that is a fire risk) allows 3 car seats on the middle row, otherwise it's 2 on the middle row and one in the back.

I've got a c4 Picasso and have 3 seats in the back row. It's three proper seats not a little one like you get in most cars they all have isofix points too.

When we went from 2 to 3 with our surprise third we changed from a Ford Focus (ex police car!) to a second hand Vauxhall Zafira, and I picked up a second hand Phil and Ted Verve buggy.

The car’s worked well over the last 5 years I love how the middle row slides and seats 6 and 7 fold completely down so you can have a massive boot. It’s got good head height as it fits my 6ft 2 husband.
I have been known to stress about ‘future’ leg space, as seats 6 and 7 are only meant for passengers under 5ft and currently only my 4 and 6 year old are under that, so when we take my mum out for the day (prelockdown) the 6 year old goes in the back with his drink and snack. If we had my dad in the car too we would have to put the four year old in seat 6/7, but that hasn’t come up yet. He’d probably love it tbh.

The buggy was great, no tyre trouble, perfect for pushing my tall and solid eldest and toddler middle son before the youngest arrived; then we set it up to be used for my then 20 month old and the new born and I had a buggy board on the back for the 4 year old. My boys will be 5, 6 and 9 in a couple of weeks and the buggy’s long gone and the boot space holds 3 kids bikes!

I'm 5' and the Zafira seats felt roomier than the Picasso Grande tbh.

HeatherIV my comment re zafiras was related to my comment above - of the 3 types of zafira, only the 'b' model allows 3 carseats. Models a &c don't allow a carseat in the middle of the middle row, despite there being room. Obviously other makes/ models do allow 3 in the middle row, as I had stated in my earlier comment.

We got a Honda people carrier 10 years ago. It has loads of room, very easy to get them in an out with room for other people too. Very easy to drive and has never given a moments trouble...I had to get used to diving it though. It felt like a bus in the beginning.

VW Touran or Sharan.