Those of you with 3 children- what car do you have?

[happytobemrsg]

Have 2 DS & thinking about trying for a third. We currently have an evoque (DH’s car) & a regular Mini Cooper (my run around car with I’m without DC). DH would be desperately sad if he had to sell his beloved car!

Ford S-Max, it's 10 years old now. You can get 3 big car seats across the middle row and with the back seats down, there is tonnes of boot space. As it's got older it's become expensive to fix, but it's been a good car. I've only got one left in a booster seat so looking to downsize in the next year or so.

A Ford S Max. Very nice car, i actually feel sorry for the neighbours who have to drag around a huge lump of a BMW x5. We used to have a Volvo xc90 but i certainly didnt enjoy it around here, zone 2 London. SUVs are crap, unless you live in the countryside.

Peugeot 5008, recently traded our s max in for it. I have a Suzuki Vitara which I use when it’s just me and the kids, although the oldest is tall enough to sit in the middle at the back now without a car seat so we can all go out in it.

DH insisted on trying all the car seats in the back when we had 3DC under 5 and were buying a new car. While our car at the time (a Nissan Almera Tino) had enough space (just) it was too tight for the eldest two in the HBBs to do their own seat belt. The Ford S Max had the most width so we bought that. The Galaxy has more leg room so if you are a tall family go for that but for shorties like us the S Max is fine even with teenagers.

As it's got older it's become expensive to fix, but it's been a good car.

This is very true of the S Max, we've found it much more expensive to fix than the Nissans we've had before (the Japanese don't do cars for large families sadly). That said ours is 11 years old now and pre-pandemic I was doing about 15K miles per year so we are getting our moneys worth. A good mechanic will help you save money though.

Ford S Max. We did our research and this was the car that came out on top. We’ve got a DD13, DS8 and 4mth DD. We all fit in and there’s so much room for the pram etc. I was dreading it as I didn’t want a ‘family bus’ but I absolutely love it!

Audi Q7

An S-max and a Kia Sorento. Previously a Galaxy

Touran, we've got a whopping adult sized boy, one in a booster seat and a baby, all very comfortable and it isn't huge on the outside. Only thing I regret is not getting a higher powered engine as it works really hard getting uphill when fully loaded.

I have a honda crv and I'm in desperate need of help trying to fit 3 carseats in the back haha! Please could you share what carseats you had in yours?
I need the same combination of seats as your post. I know it was a few years ago now but I'm hoping you remember 🤞🤞🤞 I have a 15m old a 6 week old and a 5 year old. I would love all 3 on isofix, did you have all yours on isofix?
I need rear facing for newborn, rear facing for toddler and hbb for 5 year old. If you have the answer I will cry with joy 😆😆😆

I’m sorry, I’ve just seen this. I think you mean me with the CRV and 3 seats?

From memory (and it was a looong time ago, as my youngest just turned 11!), I had:

dd1, who was 8 at the time, on a high backed booster - Britax Adventure? That name rings a bell. It was not a particularly fancy seat, but was (at the time) the slimmest hbb available. Don’t think it was isofix.

dd2 was 6, and was in the middle seat in a rear facing toddler seat. It was a Britax again, think it may have been the Two Way Elite? Secured using the middle seatbelt, and with restraining strap supports around the two front seats.

I can’t remember what ds was in as a baby, but it was an isofix base with the seat detachable - Pebble rings a bell, but really can’t remember, sorry.

I made an appointment at the InCar safety centre in Milton Keynes - we spent all afternoon there trying out various combinations of seats, and the above was what worked for us. The website is here. They were so helpful, and really knowledgable, so if possible I’d recommend a visit (I think they have other sites, but Milton Keynes was closest to me - still a couple of hours away, but well worth the visit as meant I didn’t have to change my car!)