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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

..in wanting a non-ugly, non-minibus like car for a family of five...??

40 replies

harrowgreen · 20/09/2014 14:08

DC#3 is due in January. DD1 will be 4yr but she is tiny (currently about 30lbs) and DS1 will be 22m (he's only 22lbs). We currently have a Vectra which will not fit in the three car sears we need (two 'proper' high-backed style seats and a baby carseat). Based on the sizes of our existing children, they will not be graduating to basic booster cushions any time soon.

All the googling I'm doing is telling me that I have to buy a huge 7-seater style car to transport everyone. I really really do not want to drive such a beast.

Please - is there no decent looking smaller car we could get??

OP posts:
sausageandorangepickle · 20/09/2014 14:12

we have 2 teenagers (both over 5'6 tall) and a 4 yr old who is still in a proper car seat (not a high backed booster yet) and they all fit in the back of a mondeo, or a skoda octavia. The bigger versions of many cars will work, such as a golf plus, 306 sw etc. A multipla or honda frv is the most spacious, but ugly and expensive respectively...

LizzieMint · 20/09/2014 14:13

I have a Renault grand scenic and while it is a 7 seater (2 folded down in the boot) it really doesn't feel or handle like a big car at all. We had a small gap between ours so main criteria was fitting three big car seats in the back and iirc our choice came down to the scenic, Citroen Picasso or vauxhall Zafira.

StatisticallyChallenged · 20/09/2014 14:13

We have a Qashqai 2+ which doesn't look like a bus. We have Recaro Young Sport seats in the back row which are group 1/2/3

starkadder · 20/09/2014 14:18

We felt the same and now have a ford c max - 5 seats; does not look like a bus, but is clearly a "family car" (I wanted a Mazda...but this is much easier to get car seats in and out of). The only thing is that it is a diesel and although we do mostly use it do long journeys, the filters still get clogged up sometimes. Maybe that's just our one though.

KnackeredMuchly · 20/09/2014 14:19

We have a Toyota Corrola Verso which has 7 seats in a 5 seat sized car. But you don't get a boot.

morethanpotatoprints · 20/09/2014 14:20

Hello OP

We have always managed with a normal 5 seater car even when 2 were in booster seats and have 3dc.
When the ds were bigger, I mean teens it was a tight fit, but how often do you/would you take teens out with you.
I don't think a larger car is essential tbh.
YANBU and I hate the things Grin

PfftTheMagicDraco · 20/09/2014 14:20

You can get 7 seater C-Maxes. I have a 5 seater one and love it. Plenty of room but doesn't feel like a minibus. If I had 3 kids, I'd get the 7 seater version.

KnackeredMuchly · 20/09/2014 14:20

(No boot if all 7 seats are in use, but all 5 in the back compact down separately so you can swap and change.)

bakingtins · 20/09/2014 14:23

We have a Ford Smax which is 5 seats plus big boot or 7 seats. Think about transporting five people's stuff as well as accommodating the car seats. Our boot is full day to day with dog cage, bikes, pushchair etc and stuffed to the ginnels if we go on holiday!

HavanaSlife · 20/09/2014 14:24

We have a scenic though not a 7 seater. 2 joie stages in the back plus an 11 year old. Could easily fit 3 carseats on though and has lots of boot space

NinePeedles · 20/09/2014 14:34

We have a VW Touran and love it. There's loads of room and definitely does NOT feel like driving a tank. Highly recommend them.

MrsCumbersnatch · 20/09/2014 15:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

arrrghhhhwaiting · 20/09/2014 15:01

No idea what it's like, but another manager previously mentioned this www.multimac.co.uk/3_child_car_seat

You have have it as one baby and two three point seats by the looks on the accessories section.

hollie84 · 20/09/2014 15:06

We have a Xsara Picasso which fits three full seats in the back (5 seater).

mummymeister · 20/09/2014 15:08

ford galaxy owner and it is easier to drive than a car imo because the vision in it so good. we are on our third one and can see us having one even when we have no kids. ideal for transporting family of 5 and grand parents. before DC's we had a sports car. you just go with what suits your family at that time.

LoopyLoopyLoopy · 20/09/2014 15:13

Honda FR-V?

AtlanticDrift · 20/09/2014 15:16

I have literally taken3 boosters with me around show rooms and I could never find a car that fits 3 accross the back. Yes 3 adults will fit at a squeeze but you just cannot get seatbelts in or any thing with 3 car seats.
We succumbed to the ford galaxy years ago for journeying with all 5 dc anyway but also have a volvo s60. We cant take the 3 little ones in it so often have to swap cars. My advice is to buy one a few years old to see you over a few years until your eldest is not in a car seat. Although be warned booster seats are bulky too.
I canot understand why someone cannot make a double or a triple booster seat to go accross the back of a car for 2 or more children? With little gaps for seat belts

MrsWombat · 20/09/2014 15:19

We recently hired a hire and was given a Fiat 500L MPV which was a 7 seater but two seats folded down in the boot. Might be worth a look?

Mandatorymongoose · 20/09/2014 15:44

I have a c-max, I really like it. It's not too big but loads of leg room, head room and boot space. I've never had to fit 3 seats in it but I think they would fit ok.

goddessofthunder · 20/09/2014 16:04

Another grand scenic here, we have issues with parking so were looking for smallest big car when we outgrew our previous car. I can't recommend it enough tbh, I'd call it a 5+2 as we rarely use the extra seats but its nice to have the option and boot is huge with the extra seats are not in use. Imo much more versatile than a zafira as the back seats can be folded or completely taken out individually.

wanderingcloud · 20/09/2014 16:08

Dacia Duster here, totally NOT tank like, easily fits two Maxi Cosi Tobi and a Cabriofix in the back and a massive boot. Love it.

Downtheroadfirstonleft · 20/09/2014 16:09

Another vote for the S Max. It parks small, but feels v spacious if that make sense.

There's only 4 of us, but we have 3 dogs and need another proper set when my mother visits, so it does the job really well.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 20/09/2014 16:22

We found the most rear-seat space in the Mercedes E class estate - for one thing, the back seat was flat, edge to edge, rather than curving up at the ends - that might make it easier to put car seats in.

I loved that car, but sadly outs belonged to a build-run where they used steel from a different supplier, and it was incredibly rust-prone - but frankly most of the cars from that particular batch will have dissolved into a pile of rust-cornflakes on their owners' drives, and the earlier and later batches are all fine.

It is a very comfortable car, and wonderful to drive. Plus if you end up having to transport adults (or, as in our case, three long-legged teenage boys with a tendency to whinge about legroom Grin) you can fit three in the back in comfort.

helenthemadex · 20/09/2014 16:31

I have just bought a Zafira, I often need 7 seats and have 3 kids of my own, its economical around town not to ugly to look at lovely to drive and spacious. I had my heart set on a volvo XC 90 lovely cars not ugly imo and so safe but in my modest budget all I could get was very high mileage

HavanaSlife · 20/09/2014 16:37

Thats interesting SDT dps having a Mercedes c class estate as a company car, I wonder what the space is like in that. I thought it would be too small