To want to put 3 car seats in the back of a normal car?

[bonzo77]

Because it seems I’m the only one. It appears that the options are:

7 seater: what we are currently doing but don’t want.

Or: compromise on car seat safety (we currently use 1HBB for 8yo, 1 ERF to 25kg but using it forward facing for 5.5yo and 1ERF to 18kg for the 2.5yo. I could theoretically use 2 booster cushions plus the 25kg ERF, but I feel that’s quite a compromise. 2 HBB plus the 25kg ERF would only save us about an inch but I think would be acceptable in terms of safety.

Or: put a child in the front meaning either I or DH have to go in the back if All out together.

The reason we want to downsize is to get a car that will be free in the London ultra low emissions zone by September 2021. I know we are planning silly early and if we leave it later then the car seat requirements will have changed due to children growing. But I think we will find it increasingly difficult to Sell on our current non Euro6 diesel.

Today I tried the seats in various combos in a Skoda Octavia, roomster and yeti. The last two were hopeless and the Octavia would have worked with booster cushions + 25kg ERF.

Seriously. What do people do?

How often do you all go out together. Could for a year , or until the eldest is out of B.B., one of the adults sit in the back . Temporary solution

You want a car with a flat 'bench' style back seat, rather than moulded bum grooves, as that means you can use all the space.

I had this issue so I swapped to a Dacia Logan so not the car I wanted but it fits three car seats in the back, two prams and a scooter in the boot and we still have room! It’s only 1.2litre it’s not very nice looking but it does the job.

We had a VW Passat when we needed that. TBH, I could fit three across the back of a VW golf when they were all in fixed seats, but the move to Hb boosters meant it was possible, but a nightmare.

you might find that looking at the model, not just the make of the car makes a difference. More basic models are more likely to have a flatter seat (less 'luxurious') and so are better able to accommodate car seats.

Dacia have the bench style in the back I'm talking about.

@Mytrainwaslate. This sounds like a plan. We’ve got the TWE and a cushion, just need a narrower HBB. Agreed, isofix wastes width, though some car seats seem to have raised sides which make it awkward to get the child seats sitting straight.

@SEsofty. Increasingly I think that having an adult in the back until DS1 grows a bit is the best option. Though that still requires a decent sized middle seat. It would make getting belts done up easier (and mean less fighting)!

Guys you need a Multimac. My friend has one and they are amazing! You can have 3 or 4 in a row even and can be rear facing until 18 months I think. They look so robust, and much better than a single seat, which looks pretty weak in comparison. If we are ever blessed with another baby or two (eeek!) this is what we would do!

Do any smaller cars have an intergrated booster like the Volvo XC90 has. Eldest child goes on that plus two isofix car seats either side.

This is a list of cars with 3 isofix points in the back. It might help you.

I have a Xsara Picasso 5 seater. Main reason I bought it was it has 3 separate seats in the back and I can fit 3 car seats in. I use either 2 joie stages (erf) and a highback booster (kiddicare traffic), or 1 joie stages and two high back boosters, depending on the ages of the kids in the car on that day (childminder).

I do also have the option of using the front passenger seat as you can turn the airbag on and off as required. I've done this before if one seems under the weather and I want to see them, or if we're having a grabbing/hitting phase I will put that child in the front.

It's a fab family car, lots of family space, storage areas and a massive boot. Cheap to buy and run too.

Multimac suggestion is budget dependant. Multimac costs more than my car did!!

Worth looking at a Fiat Multipla - 6 seats (3x front, 3x back). BIL used to have one when his twins were babies and his eldest was a preschooler.

Another C4 picasso owner here, 3 full seats in the back all with Isofix. I have put in three car seats all with maxi cosi 2-way bases. I have a baby and much older children, but I pick up a friend with twins when we go out sometimes, we managed to get a double push chair and buggy in the boot too !

Toyota Verso is supposed to be brilliant. We used to manage with a Toyota Auris - it was a squeeze, but possible.

If you've got kids ERF or harnessed past 4 then there's no way you'll want to use multimac, the safety standards are outdated compared to this kind of standard.

I think I'd go for the two harnessed seats on the ends plus a narrow booster in the middle, possibly not a HBB as the side impact protection is less of an issue in the middle seat anyway.

Multimac only rear faces to 13kg so the same as an infant carrier.

There are far safer options, as Bertie says. You'd need to visit a car seat specialist (not Halfords etc!) to get them to find the best combination in a car that doesn't have 3 individual seats though.

I have a Galaxy and the middle row of seats can independently be moved backwards or forwards.
Moving the outer two seats forward and keeping the middle one back meant we could fit three car seats in.

Multimac is incredibly safe, have you seen one? OK, i can see what people say about the price tag but it's a lot cheaper than a new car. I've got a friend who has also just had a third and she got a c-max. The 7 seater seems like a BIG mistake as she has no boot space at all, as the extra seats she needs takes up all the room. I'm actually out with 3, 6 year olds out on Sunday with my friend and we'll be using her multimac - My child has been in it a lot, she thinks it's great, I think it's very clever!

It's not incredibly safe because it's forward facing from 13kg. It has passed European safety standards (the dummy did not have its head spiked on a pole when crashed at 50km/30mph) but it will never be as safe as a combination of rear facing seats, which is what the OP was asking about.

YY, it's not unsafe, it's just less safe than some options on the market today. It is indeed a remarkable bit of engineering that all of the possible seat combinations pass safety testing but that doesn't mean it's the safest option.

greenjocat bet there is food down there though!

I had a scenic with one in a up to 18kg seat and two high back boosters, the main problem was fastening the seatbelts on the boosters. Fortunately you could fasten them on the door side and get the child to slip under the cross part of the belt

I get what you are saying, but if Multimac did rear facing till 3-4 that would be the best solution. However when looking to fit 3 car seats in a 5 seater, Multimac IS incredibly safe and a lot safer than sitting a little one in the front - or in the bootspace of a 7 seater. Where the extra seats in a 7 seater (boot area) is the most dangerous area of The car. Much better to have them in a row...

What about Britax adventure HBB in middle for oldest, Diono Radian 5 for 5yo (25kg forward facing) behind driver's seat, and Diono Radian 5 again but rear facing for youngest (18kg rear facing, has to brace on seat in front when rear facing, which is easiest against front passenger seat)?

We have a Honda civic sport, not a proper seat in the middle, and have got Britax adventure/Diono Radian 5/Maxi Cosi belted base & cabriofix baby seat in the back. Maxi Cosi base is wider than the Diono, so should be even easier to get Britax adventure + 2x Dionos in the back!

The trick is to use belted not isofix, as that means you have more room to play with :)

2indry Rear facing in the front passenger seat is still far safer than forward facing in the middle row. It's very normal in Sweden and they have the best child car safety record.

I agree that a Multimac rear facing to 25kg would be a great seat. But at the moment, it would be safer to puzzle rear facing with a HBB for the eldest (or the eldest two) than have the expense or rigidity of a Multimac.