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Original poster

Those of you with 3 small children- cars

20 replies

Whoneedsleep · 27/01/2023 15:43

Please can someone who’s already in this situation tell me if I need to go for a big car (7 seater or big SUV) or can I manage with a standard size hatch? Currently pregnant with DC3 and will have 3 in car seats (6 yo, 1yo, newborn)

I need to decide between two cars this weekend- long and boring story but I can only pick from these two due to being restricted to one garage as it’s an exchange not a purchase. Pros to the smaller one are running costs (£20 a year to tax and cheaper diesel) however I’m not sure how I’ll fit us all in with a family shop.

I can fit 3 car seats in the back of both but it would mean with the smaller car I would only just manage to fit the double pram in the boot with no room for anything else

Smaller car (golf) is 5k cheaper than the bigger one (seat Alhambra) and will be much more economical to run. Both the same age, small car has less mileage and better spec.

Those if you with 3 children, please help me decide!

OP posts:

OllytheCollie · 27/01/2023 15:59

How long do you expect to keep the car for? Is it the only family car? You will almost certainly want a 7 seater eventually. They only get bigger. We have managed with one 7 seater as the family car for everything since all three were tiny, and it's done camping trips, bikes on top for bike rides. Once you have three you never ever look at the boot and think 'that's too big'.

But if it's car 2 then a hatchback will be fine.

Original poster

Whoneedsleep · 27/01/2023 17:58

Thanks for the advice @OllytheCollie

Its our second car but car 1 isn’t huge, a large SUV but only 5 seats and most of the boot is taken up by the pram. We usually keep our cars a long time, the bigger one is 12-13 years old.

Day to day I think it would be fine, but it would limit us on outings etc. By the time we have 3 car seats in our SUV there’s no room left over. DH is thinking of the saved money though!

OP posts:

Cupcakegirl13 · 27/01/2023 18:12

theres no way you can fit 3 proper car seats in the back of a golf !

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Muchtoomuchtodo · 27/01/2023 18:15

You’ll need the bigger one.

kids have a terrible habit of growing, and they also make friends. Having the bigger car will mean you can keep it for longer.

we’re just about to downsize our 7 seater after 12 years.

Garman · 27/01/2023 18:22

You can't safely fit 3 car seats in the back of a Golf. You can turn off the passenger airbag and put one in the front though. It's very uncomfortable for an adult in the back between two seats then though.

FuckabethFuckor · 27/01/2023 18:25

Get the Alhambra. Kids expand, in all senses.

Sotired22 · 27/01/2023 18:31

Another one confused about how on earth you’d fit 3 car seats in the back of a golf…. I’ve got 3 and I’d say get the bigger car. The saved money doesn’t really matter if your car doesn’t meet your needs and makes your life hard! What about when you want to go away on holiday / for the weekend etc, if you can’t fit any bags in with your pushchair? It just won’t work.

Itisbetter · 27/01/2023 18:31

I’d get the smaller car. The difference in ££££s is huge. You have an SUV. You will be able to park easily anywhere. Your children will be out of pushchairs in two or three years. I’d go with the smaller car any day of the week.

daytriptovulcan · 27/01/2023 18:34

There's a big difference in the size of those cars.
If the budget allows you get the Seat.

4thonthe4th · 27/01/2023 18:36

Cupcakegirl13 · 27/01/2023 18:12

theres no way you can fit 3 proper car seats in the back of a golf !

This! Go for the bigger car. You’ll soon be carting around 3 bikes, 3 lots of kit etc. you’ll need to go bigger than a golf within about a year.

DinosaurOfFire · 27/01/2023 18:45

Echoing previous posters about not fitting 3 car seats across the back of a golf. We have found that you can fit 3 (specific) car seats across the back of a 2001-2007 Mondeo hatch and the back of a Volvo v70 estate. I would go for the Alhambra. The only real way to fit 3 car seats across the back of a hatchback is to use the baby carrier from the buggy on one side, something like the Britax Eclipse in the middle and then a high back booster on the other side. Whereas the Alhambra will grow with you, when you also need to fit a preteen in between two HBB seats in a 'normal' car and they get squashed.

TiptoeThroughTheToadstools · 27/01/2023 18:48

I have 3 and had to be very careful with choice of car, a lot of them don't fit 3 seats in a row, and some even if they do, no one can get in to thr seat belt clips! I went from 1 DC to 3 DC and bought a Citroën Grand C5, it's a 5 plus 2 (pop up seats) so has a decent boot and happily accommodates 3 child seats in the back.

Mommabear20 · 27/01/2023 18:48

We have a Vauxhall zafira. And still struggle for safe when have the double pram in the boot! The extra back seats are also very useful when you're kids want to take a friend out with you or when they decide to fight on long journeys 😂

Ihaveaskedyouthrice · 27/01/2023 18:52

I have 3 and have a seat Alhambra. It's great for space but it absolutely guzzles fuel and our one has been absolutely plagued with problems. It's a 2013 and I'd estimate we've spent at least 6k on repairs in last 3 years. If I had my time over I wouldn't buy it. On saying that though I really don't see how you'd fit 3 car seats in the back of a golf.

3sthemagicnumber · 27/01/2023 19:08

Three kids here. I had three in the age 1-4 ish car seats for several years, so we were more limited than you are and have always had large 7 seaters - Ford Galaxy (twice) and a VW Sharan, which is basically an Alhambra. (The three cars is misleading - kids are mid-teens now and we've just bought the third car after someone drove into the second. They've been good cars - not cheap to run, but reliable and have all got well past 100,000 miles.)

If you can, I would really recommend the bigger car, especially if you're going to have it for a while. Ours has been so useful over the years - means you can accommodate kids' friends/other people too, the huge boot has been a massive plus for camping and holidays, we even used to jam the Christmas tree in before we had roof rails.

Also, the kids will grow. And if you do long journeys, you will be glad of the extra space. My kids have always been great in the car, but the times we've done the journey in a smaller car for any reason (we had use of a Zafira for a bit), they have really got on each others' nerves and in each others' space.

ElbowsandArses · 27/01/2023 19:14

Really think about how often you need all 5 of you in a car. I had a bus when mine were small and it was a godsend, especially for the double buggy, but it got totalled (no injuries). I replaced it with a smaller car. We now take 2 cars on holiday but that was a cheaper solution for us than replacing the bus. We needed the huge car for double buggy but those years are short.

RedSoloCup · 27/01/2023 19:17

Most Vauxhalls including a corsa can get three car seats in the back as long as they're not massive seats.

We got a touran as it had three full sized seats and was a little easier.

PollyEsther · 27/01/2023 19:20

This is a non-question. Get the alhambra!

stormelf · 27/01/2023 19:23

My sister has a golf and I can't see how three car seats would fit in the back. We have a zafira and can get 3 car seats in the back. It was a lot of trial and error though. I would go for the seat, it has three full size seats in the middle row so will make fitting seats a lot easier. When we replace our car we will be going for a car with three full size seats instead of a bench seat as it's a lot easier

Original poster

Whoneedsleep · 27/01/2023 19:33

Thank you everyone!

We have two in car seats (joie spin) plus one in a booster. I can just fit them into our SUV but with the boot being taken up by a pram its meant everything is tight.

Im limited with choice because it’s an exchange, although I can wait and see what the dealer gets in the time isn’t infinite. They do have an auris or a passat estate but I didn’t like either that much.

@Ihaveaskedyouthrice interestingly a friend has a sharan and that’s cost a fortune in repairs too! She recently had a 4K bill for a 2016 car which has put me off!
The cost of running is also a lot more than I would be used to!

We don’t do long journeys but we go on some day trips and that sort of thing. Other than that it’s school runs and shopping mainly. With the double pram I presume I’ll need it for a while with 2 under 18 months…

OP posts:

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