Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask what is best value car to fit 3 under fives?

55 replies

grizzabellia · 03/12/2013 11:50

Not sure if this qualifies as aibu, but I am bamboozled by the conflicting info I am getting on googling and know nothing about cars!

Expecting unexpected dc 3 so will have 5, 3 year old and a baby. I have a car reg 2011 bought earlier this year I can trade in but not sure how much I will get back (was 9000). Really don't want to spend much what with going on mat leave, and would like something that does not eat fuel as have long commute to work and it will bankrupt me - any recommendations gratefully received!

OP posts:
drbonnieblossman · 03/12/2013 11:56

qashqai.

GobbySadcase · 03/12/2013 11:59

Most citroens have 3 proper back seats

StephenKatzCrackerHat · 03/12/2013 12:16

We had a diesel Citroen Picasso, three proper backseats and cheap to run.

mumofweeboys · 03/12/2013 12:22

Vauxhall zafira, you can pick one up nearly new cheaper than other seven seaters.
Boot space is small though and tbh if we had had more money to spend I would have gone for a galaxy or the like

Original poster
grizzabellia · 03/12/2013 12:23

Thanks, used to have a petrol citroen xsara picasso and it cost a fortune to run! - maybe the diesel ones are cheaper?

OP posts:
Ham69 · 03/12/2013 12:28

My friend has a skids roomster and fits 3 child seats at the back. She loves it.

Ham69 · 03/12/2013 12:29

Autocorrect at it again! SKODA.

crookmum · 03/12/2013 13:29

I have got 3 children. I had a Zafira which was great when they were all small, but now they are 10,8 and 4 I have just traded it in for a Galaxy as the seats in the back are all proper size seats... love it and would definitely recommend :)

Sophiesshoes · 03/12/2013 13:35

The Skoda Octavia should fit three car seats - and also has a huge boot for bikes, buggies etc.

BeautifulBlondePineapple · 03/12/2013 13:45

Toyota Verso has 3 proper seats. And 2 fold flat seats in the boot for when you've got extra kids tagging along!

Toyotas are also very very reliable.

CreamyCooler · 03/12/2013 14:14

I second a Citreon Picasso. We've had ours from new for 5 and a half years and never had any problems with it.

gordyslovesheep · 03/12/2013 14:18

depends how 'big' you want - I fitted 3 in the back of a Focus but found the S-Max more spacious and currently have a Kuga which is nice but not as roomy

AddictedToCoffee · 03/12/2013 14:20

I second the toyata verso. Also had an unexpected thirdand have two other kids of similar age as yours. After having done months of research and dragging 3 car seats around to test out in the back seats of about a million cars, found the verso to be a good compromise between a massive 7 seater and a tiny car.

CrapBag · 03/12/2013 14:21

I know a fair few mechanics and they all say stay away from French cars. Apparently they are a pain when they go wrong. Italian not much better (although apart from a Ferrari I can't think of an Italian car).

Calamityjude · 03/12/2013 14:23

another vote for the verso. we can comfortably fit 3 DC in the back as and it doesn't feel like an MPV to drive.
We couldn't get 3 under 5 in the Skoda Octavia, so I would avoid that car.

NoUseForAName · 03/12/2013 14:34

I have had a fiat multipla which I LOVED for size and petrol costs, it was terrible for breaking down so we switched to a pergeot 206 estate which lasted all of 8 months and was rubbish on fuel, now have a citroen xsara picasso diesel and it's fab by far the best for running costs and hasn't gone wrong yet. Three full seats and a big boot space

hattyyellow · 03/12/2013 14:36

another vote for verso. our picasso had no end of problems but verso has been fab :). well worth getting the extra seats in back for ferrying around kids friends.

WhereIsMyHat · 03/12/2013 14:40

There are very few, some suggestions up thread would be ok for a one off but not all of the time.

Octavia and quashquais are 100% off the list! a quashquai has a tiny middle row! we wanted one but it was tiny.

We have a S-max and it's seriously roomy but they're not cheap. They're perfect for a family of 5 and look ok too. We previously had a VW Touran which did fit 3 seats but it was a right ball ache. Knuckle grazing becomes a daily occurrence plus my 5yo couldn't strap himself in as it was too much of a squeeze.

On my research Toyota verso and citeron grand Picasso came up again and again. There's also 4x4s like a discovery or XC90 but they're very expensive.

I have 3 children with similar age gaps to yours. I would seriously recommend getting a roomy car, it'll make your life a million times easier.

Original poster
grizzabellia · 03/12/2013 14:41

Hi, thanks for the replies so far. Gordylovesheep can I ask how you fitted 3 in the back of a focus? We will have a high back booster, toddler seat and baby seat - is that doable? I have read somewhere this won't fit (can't remember where).

OP posts:
ZombieMonkeyButler · 03/12/2013 14:42

I love my Galaxy. We have 3 DCs - although only DD is still in a car seat - and love the roominess of it.

It's not great for petrol consumption tazzing around locally though, but find it OK on motorway driving miles.

Farewelltoarms · 03/12/2013 14:46

Like Gordy we had three in the back of a focus. Used to break my fingers every time I strapped them in but it was fine. It was a booster, a toddler seat and a baby one. Also fine with booster and 2 toddler seats.
We've now got an smax which is joy. I'm really keen to offer lifts to other children as much as possible so the extra row is great. Plus you can divide up the children when they're annoying each other.

WhereIsMyHat · 03/12/2013 14:48

Oh and one more thing, all s-Max's after 2010 have 3x isofix points in the middle row which is very helpful.

piper21 · 03/12/2013 14:52

If you want your kids to safe in a crash then you need high backed boosters for the older ones. Two of those plus a baby seat +then toddler rules out most cars. A focus wouldn't be safe. I researched this extensively and your options are

citizen c4 grande Picasso
S-max
peugeot 5008

There may be a couple more but I've forgotten. Basically the middle seat needs to be full-sized which it isn't in most cars (inc lots of 'family' cars like the vauxhall zafira

Booboostoo · 03/12/2013 16:02

I have a VW Caddy Life which I think is excellent value for the size of car, how easily it drives and the standard safety features.

lalouche · 03/12/2013 16:10

We have a Honda fr-v. 3 full seats across front and 3 at back. It's brilliant, feels like a much smaller car in driving terms. I also never liked the idea of having those 2extra seats in the boot in the crush zone. Sadly the hondas are not easy to find as people tend to hang onto them! Worth looking around though.