Help needed! Car for three kids in middle row

[carseatmare]

I have 3 kids and I cannot find a perfect car for them all. AIBU to think it shouldn't be this bloody hard?!

Currently have an s max. It's brilliant space wise BUT the gear box is crap (auto) and it's failed three times. It needs fixing again but it will cost more than car worth.

We have two 6 year olds in a Britax car seat (high back booster)

And an older child that is just out of car seats now. He's just tall enough to not need one.

S max fits us all beautifully. Even an adult can sit between the car seats.

I've looked at various 7 seaters eg Skoda kodiaq but it's not great to put one of the kids in third row. It's not actually recommended for car seats and is less safe. And getting in and out is a nightmare.

Just looked at a ford tourneo BUT it's somehow narrower and my son barely fits in middle despite saying "three seats" in middle

What else is there? I can't afford much more than £25k really so no Audis etc

Older cars are hard to find locally eg galaxy so not ideal

I need a car, automatic, that will fit three car seats or two car seats and an adult in middle row. Proper seats... not 2.5 or 2.8 but three proper seats.

@Scottishgirl85 we have tried our son in the middle of the Skoda kodiaq (between seats) he can’t sit fully back. The car seats squash him and he has to hold himself at an angle to fit. He doesn’t need a seat but compared to the s max the middle seat is tiny

for that reason the Skoda is out. Love that car but it’s not safe to put kids in the third row rear seats every day

We have a c5 aircross, it has 3 full seats. It also looks nicer I think than a lot of these kinds of cars - it just looks like an SUV rather than a bus!

Only got one left on a booster seat now but the full seats are continuing to be a bonus now that DS is bigger than me! Will continue to fit them all across the back as teenagers

We have a C5 Aircross, lovely car for the money. Mine's a 2019 so it still came with the built in dash cam. 1.6 petrol auto is lovely and smooth. 3 full size part leather seats in the back. Very comfy suspension. Get the flair plus, it's even got an electric boot.

I have a Kia sorento. Loads of space, massive boat and an extra 2 seats in the boot to make it a 7 seater-they are full size safety seats. With 3 kids mine are in constant use when they have friends etc

We also have an Octavia and I can't imagine your teen is very tall because although I can fit in between our two car seats, as a 5'5 size 8 woman, it is not comfortable. I couldn't do a long journey like that and only do it very rarely if we are taking someone with us somewhere who needs to sit in the front (e.g. someone larger, older, or someone who needs their own car seat as can't fit a third in). It is a fantastic car and the boot is amazing but it wouldn't be comfortable for most people to sit in that middle seat between two car seats.

Loved my Citroen C4 spacetourer. 3 full sized rear seats, all with isofix.

We only use the 3rd row for the dog, would never put a child there.
I dont drive so know nothing about cars but wondering about this, is the 3rd row a more dangerous place to sit for a person or child? I have a family member who agonized for months over cars that had to be able to fit the 3 car seats together in 2nd row and I couldn't figure out why the back seats couldn't be used.

Also, while I'm here asking questions 🤣... the same family member, makes their parents (mid 60's) crawl through the boot and climb into the back row, rather than taking a car seat out of 2nd row for a minute to allow them to jump in... is that normal? Are car seats really such a faff that you have to have people crawl ??😅

Also, I'm sorry I brought nothing of actual value to your post op!

Peugeot 5008. I’ve only ever driven the manual version but they do make automatics.

it’s a really spacious and comfortable car.

Highly recommend Peugeot 5008!

Citroën grand Picasso is great for my 3 kids.

Another here to say Peugeot 5008! I love mine. Fits 3 across one row, and boot is enormous without the 2 spare seats up.

We fit three bulky seats in the middle row of our Seat Alhambra.

This is what we settled on as I wanted three full sized seats, but wasn't fussed about 7 seats as there seemed to be quite a price jump. A Citroen C4 Grand Picasso was our last car and also good for three car seats.

We've just changed from a VW Touran to a Peugeot 5008 and it is so spacious inside! My 3 kids are all out of seats so needed a car big enough to accommodate 3 tweens and eventually teens. It's massive inside. Boot is huge. Has the 2 extra boot seats too. We have an auto and it drives nicely and is really comfy and lovely to drive. I also like that it looks more SUV than MPV.
I was torn between the Citroen C4 Grand Picasso or Spacetourer and the 5008 but the finish and feel of the 5008 feels nicer.

Another vote for the Peugeot 5008

Your problem is not the 3 seats across the back OP but the fact you need an auto.

If you want a reliable auto box you need to look at Mercedes or BMW. Nothing with a CVT (constant variable transmission) box as these are immensely expensive to repair when they go wrong. The powershift box in the S-Max is well known for being shit (they made guides in the gearbox out of plastic and somehow seem surprised when they break 😐). The C4 grand Picasso from 2016 onwards has an Aisin Warner 6 speed auto box which is pretty reliable so you could look at one of those. AVOID Renault auto boxes, they’re all made of jelly!

I also think Ford dropped the powershift box from about 2016 onwards so it’s worth a look for another S-Max but newer.

Basically AVOID anything CVT.

We have the Skoda kodiaq but fit all 3 car seats in the middle row. We have a 5, 3 and 1 year old. 5 year old in the middle. We use the extra seats for guests or the huge boot for the double buggy and bikes