3 car seats and a qashqai!

[Baker0104]

I'm a nanny currently caring for 2 children aged 4 and 19months...4 year old is in a high back booster and 19month is in a 5 point harness seat. I drive a Nissan juke at the moment but I'm looking to change to a qashqai. I'm hoping to have my own baby soon so I'm just checking the practicalities of getting 3 seats into the back.

I can't see the older kids car seats changing from now to when I'd be going back to work so I need to find a high back booster, 5 point harness seat and ideally a doona car seat in the back.... Will this work?

If not I'll have to put one of them in the front but would rather not.... Thank you!

No, the quashqai is no good for 3 seats across the back. We couldn't get any combination we tried in safely.

3 seats in the back is impossible in a qashqai. Found out the expensive way :(

It’s called a squashquai for a reason. It’s just not possible. Sorry. You need a vw sharan , seat alhambra if you want 3 across properly

I recently had one as a courtesy car. I managed a hub and 2 ff car seats.
The boot is pretty small though so if you can afford it I would look at the xtrail. I had the quashqui +2 for a few years and loved it for the boot space (I'm a childminder). When dp crashed it they gave us a brand new quashqui and I was shocked how little space there was in the boot.

Having one rear facing in the front is at least as safe as in the rear though so I’d just put baby in the front with you

No, you need a car with three equally sized rear seats. We've had a Ford S-max and a Citroen C4 Picasso with three car seats. Both great. VW Touran is also popular among friends with three young children.

Don't get a Qashqai.
If you're on Facebook, the group Car Seat Advice U.K. is excellent and has lots of advice on which cars are best for 3 across.
The Doona is not great as a car seat btw.

What about an Audi Q5 or Q7?

🤣 yeah coz an audi q5 or q7 are generally about the same price range as a quashqui.

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion

🤣 yeah coz an audi q5 or q7 are generally about the same price range as a quashqui.

Alright fair enough but would be my choice, love my German performance cars!

I'm thinking I'm going to just have to put one in the front but wasn't sure if anyone had managed 3 across the back.

@NameChange30 why do you say doona isn't great? I was looking at then mainly due to making school runs a lot easier! I'd still use a proper pram for most things.

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion I'd love an audi but unfortunately not in my price range lol

Why not go for a MPV instead of a 4x4?
You are more likely to get something designed with car seats in mind.
When we had smalls we had ford smax, Vauxhall zafira, Citroen grand Picasso: all of them accommodated 3 seats.

Because it has poor crash test results; ADAC gave it a rating of "inadequate" (this is in German but here are the test results www.adac.de/rund-ums-fahrzeug/tests/kindersicherheit/kindersitztest/details/360/simple-parenting-doona-amp-isofix-base/)

@ODFOx

Why not go for a MPV instead of a 4x4? You are more likely to get something designed with car seats in mind. When we had smalls we had ford smax, Vauxhall zafira, Citroen grand Picasso: all of them accommodated 3 seats.

Unfortunately I'm stuck with Nissan 😬

[quote NameChange30]Because it has poor crash test results; ADAC gave it a rating of "inadequate" (this is in German but here are the test results www.adac.de/rund-ums-fahrzeug/tests/kindersicherheit/kindersitztest/details/360/simple-parenting-doona-amp-isofix-base/)[/quote]
Oh bloody hell... I haven't bought anything yet luckily. We will look into it properly once I'm actually pregnant. Just loved the easiness of it!

The last post on this thread has good suggestions for alternatives (by a poster who is a bit of a car seat expert) www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/3981404-doona-car-seat

To be fair, the Doona got inadequate from ADAC for its "harmful chemical content" whatever that means. The Germans are a bit obsessed with this part. It is actually OK on crash testing but not great for side impacts.

But I stand by what I said on that old thread that it's a LOT of money for what it is! However a nanny might get much more use out of it than most parents would - that might be a situation it makes more sense to get one.

@BertieBotts

To be fair, the Doona got inadequate from ADAC for its "harmful chemical content" whatever that means. The Germans are a bit obsessed with this part. It is actually OK on crash testing but not great for side impacts.

But I stand by what I said on that old thread that it's a LOT of money for what it is! However a nanny might get much more use out of it than most parents would - that might be a situation it makes more sense to get one.

Thank you, that's really helpful to know. Yes I will be in and out of the car constantly and the nature of my job will mean I need to make things easier for myself. I've started to budget now to allow myself to spend the money on it lol. Also can then use the seat again with other familes so it won't just be used by my baby. Thank you