to not understand why you can't buy a 5 seater car that seats 5 people?

[haveuheard]

We have been trying and failing to buy a bigger car for about 6 months.

We want a car that will seat 5 people, with the possibility of having three car seats. Not massive seats, just HBBs. Nothing fits. Yes we could buy a minibus or a 7 seater and shove one of the kids in the boot inches from the back window but I don't want to, or we could spend more than a lot of people have for a house deposit but that seems stupid for a family car.

Why doesn't anyone make a sensible family car??

We have a Citroen C4 Picasso. Had to upgrade when dc3 came along and I was surprised about the lack of cars with ability to fit 3 car seats in back. But the C4’s back row has flip up seats. We rarely use them, keep them down and use the boot space. But is handy when we have a couple
of friends to transport.

It's a problem when the kids become teenagers too. We tried a few different family cars and found that many cars that are ostensibly family sized (Qashqai etc) can't fit three adults comfortably in the back. Easy enough to tell with just me and DH sitting in the back to try it out, they were too narrow or had annoying raised bits on the floor in the middle. Some didn't have much head room in the back either, if your teenagers are tall (ours aren't, but still). We ended up with a 2012 Picasso, which is like a spaceship.

Peugeot 308 fits 3 boosters in the back.

S Max - too expensive and don't think its wide enough.
Berlingo isn't wide enough according to stats online but they may be wrong?
Zafira would be perfect but you aren't supposed to put a child seat in the front passenger seat or middle of the second row which is mad.

An Audi Q5 fits 3 car seats.

We have had both a Fiat multipla and a Citroen c4 grand Picasso. The multipla is a better drive but the Picasso has 7 seats.
I’m looking at the Kia Sorento as my next car, that’s also a 7 seater.

Get a car that has isofix in the front passenger seat, then 1 child up front 2 in the back with 1 adult

This. The 2nd adults gets to squeeze in between the two kiddie cat seats.

S max - definitely wide enough. We have 2 x recaro young sport (v wide and chunky) and an isofix baby seat in the rear and they fit perfectly.

We have an S-max. It has 3 full size seats with isofix across the back. We rarely use the rear 2 seats, just have a big boot, but they come in handy on occasion. I don't think it would work well as a permanent 7seater, there is not much room in the back row and you'd have v minimal luggage space for your 5kids. I know loads of families with them and they all basically use it as a 5 seater.

Get one of these...?

www.multimac.com/what_it_is

I've got a Zafira. I needed a bigger boot and enough leg room to fit the DCs beyond the HBB days to when they reach 6 foot tall. It does have 3 individual rear seats and most of the time the boot seats are folded down with a rubber mat to protect the boot. The 7 seats weren't essential but they are useful, for example taking the classmate neighbours to the same birthday party.

The first test was the comfortable for a short driver test. Amazing how many family cars fail that one!

My sister has just bought a Hyundai Tuscon for her brood (3 under 5)

Smax - we had one when the kids were small and fitted 3 seats across the back, as the seating is individual. No bench, or two thirds one thirds conformation.
Now the kids are older we have a Honda CR-V, as there is no raised section in the middle of the floor - all 3 kids can put their feet down comfortably.

We put DSD in the front passenger seat in her booster and I sat squished in the back between two toddler seats. She's tall enough for no seat now thankfully.

Grand Renault scenic has two front seats, space for three car seats in the back and two seats available in the boot. These are down so tonnes of room for shopping but there if needed. Car isn't too huge.

We have a Ford Galaxy and don't use the back seats. We have them permanently folded down. We have three children and have had no problems from 3 car seats through to three argumentative teens. You have a bigger boot as well with the seats removed/folded down.

We have a 5 seat Renault Scenic (2010). It has 3 isofix points in the back and can fit 3 HBB or any combo I've tried. Each of the back seats moves independently. I have the outer seats on the furthest back setting and the middle on the furthest forward. This means plenty of shoulder/booster room and accessible seat belt plugs for all 3.

I too am perplexed that you can't get a 'normal' car with 5 seats. The SUVs seem to be the worst with a hump in the middle seat for armrest and hump on the floor. The French are the only people that make practical family cars IMO, you just have to put up with French suspension .

When I say back seats I mean the 2 in the third row. We use the back seats obviously.

S max would definitely work and would give you a good boot too but if it's out of your price range that's not much help, sorry!

SmarmyMrMime I want a Zafira but a Zafira isn't an option as I don't want to put the third car seat in the boot and the 2016 onwards ones specifically say in the driver's manual you can't put a HBB child seat on either the front passenger seat or the middle of the second row. Have you got an older model?

I had a high back booster on the
Passenger front seat of my fiat 500 fine for ages

Sceanic. I've had two that have three proper seats. It's a bit if a squish and you'll get some nipped fingers trying to do the belts but definatly possible!

We have a vw touran that has 3 full sized seats in the back. Fits adult dc 6ft3, 6ft1 and 5ft10 in it if needed

I've never seen one in real life OP but there's this: www.multimac.com/home

My childminder has a Ford s-max and she definitely fits 3 full-size car seats across the back. She only uses the boot seats if she has an extra child otherwise they are flat and she has a nice big boot.