Last year our steel-poled 8-man tent was buckled into submission by 50mph+ winds blasting off the sea, and up an exposed hillside.
We have a 12 & 14 year old and it's likely that we'll have another 4-5 years of family camping. Meanwhile their clothes/ baggage are getting bigger, and they take more leg room up in the car.
We were eyeing up the Berghaus Freedom 7 (we like the sleeping arrangement and generous guy points) but the packed size would take up half the volume of our car boot, and it's a large people carrier. We can't fit a roof box due to sliding doors. The 5-man+ inflatable tents we saw in Go Outdoors were all very bulky when packed. While the inflatable tents on the site did the best at surviving the storm, our old steel poles were more space efficient when packed away.
Flexible sleeping arrangements, and generous living space are important. DH is 6ft and DS1 growing rapidly with DS2 due to follow... We have 2-seater folding seats, table/ stools and the cook stand. Plus being able to keep the bikes in the tent and not constantly stashed on the boot door.
Any recommendations on larger family tents that can be transported in a car with the rest of the camping gubbins?
Bonus points if it's avaliable in a shop to be able to view it.