Family car advice - two teens plus car seat in the back

[peppermintzero]

I've recently passed my driving test in an auto, and about to buy first family car. We have three DC. Two are adult-size teens, the third is a preschooler so will need a big car seat still. We also sometimes ferry elderly grandparents around. So we really do need a car that will comfortably accommodate two adults in the back as well as the car seat (one of those uncomfortable narrow, lumpy rear middle seats with lap belt won't cut it!) I was thinking maybe car seat in the middle, adults/teens on either side? But then we will need a car that either has three full seats in the back or a three point seat belt on the rear middle seat. Any recommendations? Open to either petrol, electric, or hybrid, but has to be automatic and super reliable. TIA

My inlaws have a 2015 Renault scenic and that has 3 full seats in the back. We often travelled in it with 2 adults and a car seat in the back very comfortably.

I'd disagree about the qashqai. I have one and a child in a high back booster. I've only ever taken 2 adults in the back for very short journeys as it's a squish.

I love Skoda so am a little biased but take a look at an Octavia or Suberb. I drive a Suberb estate and recently had my db's children so a 14, 11 and toddler in carseat and loads of room. When db was fitting the car seat he laughed and said we were swapping cars for their holiday, loads of boot space in the Octavia and Suberb also, extremely reliable too. Isofix seems to be standard but I don't know if its commonly used now.

Yes MPVs are very comfortable in the back - we have had a Renault Scenic and Peugeot 5008 (old style mpv not suv) and they both had three separate proper full sized seats in the back which could be moved independently. They are relatively cheap also as the trend has moved to SUVs. We never really had any problems mechanically with them - just make sure that you get a full service history!

This is a car seat group which has a list of cars which can fit three car seats across so hopefully you can fit two people and a car seat.
Some cars will not allow car seats in the middle seat and some will not allow the leg that some have. I would definitely look up the benefits of extend rear seat car seats before buying a new seat.
www.facebook.com/groups/1376541652674823/permalink/3197043533957950/

You do not usually get isofix in the centre, if the car does have isofix in the centre, then you can guarantee it's roomy! That could be a selection criteria, but it will narrow it way way down. The number of cars with 3x isofix points is much smaller than the cars which are comfortable for an adult to sit in the middle.

If your child has outgrown their Group 1 seat though you're probably looking at a high backed booster seat (ie using adult seatbelt) now, though, which doesn't need the isofix necessarily and doesn't have a leg, but you do still need to check if whatever car you go for allows a car seat in the middle if that's what you want to do.

If you wanted to keep the 5-point harness but forward facing, then you'll need top tether (which, again, only rarely in the centre seat) and if you want a larger rear facing seat then you need to make sure you can use a leg in the car you're looking at.

I think if I were you I would definitely decide on the type of car seat you want, because if you buy something that won't take a support leg and doesn't have top tethers then your only option will be the high backed booster, which is no good if you've got a just turned 3yo for example. You don't have to narrow it down to a specific model but I think you're better off doing it that way and then you know what you're looking for in a car.