to as what car you drive if you have 3 car seats in a row?

[m0therofdragons]

I have an mpv with 7 seats but dh has a small car that's got a very high mileage. He no longer needs to do long distances and we are assuming we will need to replace his car fairly soon. We don't necessarily need a 7 seater but as he does now do some school runs we would rather all 3 dc were in the back (currently dd1 is 7 and is on a booster in his front seat).

Can anyone inspire me away from mpvs - preferably low tax?

Dacia Duster. We have a Maxi Cosi Cabriofix and two Maxi Cosi Tobi across the back seat. Plenty of boot space as well. We really love it, best money we ever spent.

I'm looking for one for two hbb and an infant seat too.

I used the article on here somewhere, it's mostly MPVs though.

I liked the idea of a Toyota corolla verso as it's not so huge as some.

Also looking into :

c4 Picasso
Vw Touran
Renault grand scenic
Ford s-Max
seat Alhambra/Ford Galaxy (a bit too big though)

We get three in a Nissan Note but it's a bit fiddly. Depends on what seats you have.
Can tell you that a VW Golf is a night mare for three!

Fiat doblo. Not the coolest looking vehicle, but v reasonably priced, cheap to run and fits 3 full sized child seats in the back.

Citroen Berlingo - two isofix high backed boosters, and a maxi cosi Priori XP 5 point harness in the middle. Room to stand in front of them and help buckle them in too.
I love my car.

c4 grand Picasso. We've two britax first class + and a HBB across the Middle. Basically anything which has 3 defined seats should be doable. Dad has a Vauxhall Zafira. The middle seat is barely wide enough for anyone. Certainly no boosters or seats are safe there.

Have you come across the Multimac car seat? We have a 4 seat bench installed on the backseat of our BMW which can take 4 kids of any age up to 12. Expensive but less expensive than a new car

I have a 2013 Nissan Note and comfortably fit 2 isofix group 1 seats and a silver cross high back booster in between them. There is no moving/wiggling seats to plug seat beat for the booster in.

Definitely lots I hadnt thought of. I love my touran but for some reason it seems wrong to have 2 of the same (I've never known a couple who does). Also don't really need a massive car.

Dh is liking the xc90 now (presumably he's robbing a bank tomorrow).

We have 3 different stage seats in our toyota verso

Don't get a Zafira, getting three kids across the back of that one is like wrestling with an octopus. The third row is only ok for older kids bit I don't think it's as safe back there in terms of airbags.

Renault espace is awesome - every seat is adult size!

www.mumsnet.com/cars/info/advice/cars-that-fit-three-kids

We have a seat alhambra, just purchased this week in fact! Love it so far, three isofix seats in the middle row.

Corsa!!! I got three car seats in the back of mine, they are the same Chassis and size as an Astra / zafira and much bigger in the back than you would think ;) (I am talking about old shape new may be the same)...

Well past needing car seats now, but when we did we had a Volvo estate. Plenty of room for the three of them in the back.

Ford focus is worth looking at the back seat is very flat which helps. Citroen c4 Picasso is low tax and fuel efficient. We tried a vauxhall insignia recently and got three across the back in that.

Interested in the comments re Volvo estates. Our V70 is a total nightmare for seating three in the back - two maxicosi car seats plus a booster seat in the middle equals a total nightmare of fumbling about blindly, stretching awkwardly, rocking seats from side to side to find seat belt sockets, and lots of creative swearing. Ditto two maxi cosi seats plus adult in the back. Could definitely benefit from even 2-3 extra inches in width.

Was reading this thread for other suggestions as so fed up with it (though I love our V70 generally). Must be differences between models and maybe also depends on age of car. (Ours is now quite elderly!)

Honda frv. Yes it is an mpv but it is great to drive.

We get three car seats in the back of our Mondeo, a high back booster, and two stage 2 Britax seats. It works well for us.

Also, the boot in a Mondeo is huge. Today we managed to fit a Maclaren XLR and a Britax B Agile, gibbons from school pick up and a weeks worth of shopping.

Gubbins*

We got a Sharan VW when no5 child was on his way. It has built in car seats and booster seats on the outside two of the three middle row seats, and can still take a separate booster cushion on the middle one too.
It would also take a double pushchair (Graco Tandem Duo) and all the crap associated with moving three DCs ages birth to four and then up, and shopping, and is still going strong 8 years later. All the back seats can be removed individually iyswim so we can configure it however we want depending on what we're doing too.
It was second hand when we bought it (on an 03 plate) and has never had anything go seriously wrong, or let us down.
(I know think I will mourn and cry and sob when we finally have to part with it, it really has been one of the family, and still is so far fingers crossed! )

I gave in and got a Toyota Sienna.

My Ford Mondeo would definitely not fit three car seats across the back. If I put two infant seats back there, nothing could go in the middle.

What year is your Mondeo, BunnyFint? Mine's a 1999 and when I put two Britax infant seats rear-facing or two Britax Marathon convertible seats rear-facing, there was definitely not room for anything in the middle.

I can get 3 car seats in the Volvo XC60. It also has 2 in built booster seats if you are happy using one of these for the older child. I am not completely sure about them so am sticking to the boosters for now.