Recommendations for cars with 3 full seats in back

[BeingATwatItsABingThing]

It’s looking likely that we’ll have to replace my Hyundai Tucson as it keeps having issues and is becoming a money pit. We’ll likely have about £6000 to spend on a replacement with the following criteria:

• three full seats in the back/middle row - we have three children with two in car seats (a high back booster and a 360 spinning chair). This is a must because we want the option of having all of the children in the same row without DD1 being squashed in the middle.
• a 7-seater is preferable
• large boot capacity
• if it is a 7-seater, the extra seats aren’t the crumple zone of the car

We’ve seen Kia Carens, Ford Galaxys, etc. online but if anyone has one they have loved, please give me your recommendations.

Most other people don’t and cannot have 3 full seats in the second row and a 3rd row takes up boot space. In a cheap car I always wondered about safety and rigidity of the rear crumple zone in a crash. Being run into from behind would not feel great with dc in such seats.

This is why we’re ruling out having any of the kids in the third row as a standard. I see too many where the head rest is almost touching the rear window! I’m not against having a 5 seater car but having the 7 seater means a bigger boot generally.

That’s interesting because, money no object, I would get an XC90 in a heartbeat!

We are looking for a 7 seater and went and looked at cars over the weekend. For £6k you can get a 10 year old Peugeot 5008 or VW Sharan/Seat Alhambra which are the two cars we are looking at due to 3 separate seats with 3 isofix points in the second row. I’d also look at the Citroen c4 spacetourer. You might be able to get one a bit newer for that price? My husband wasn’t keen but I think they are a great option as well.

I have no idea why MPVs are out of fashion. They are really practical for families. I looked at a Vw touran and thought it was too small but I think this depends on your needs as a family.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16A33KcLnL/

Have a look at this link, OP. I think youve been given some incorrect info on this thread, but the link above has a list of cars that have three full size adult seats in the middle row so it would definitely fit all your three across and you wouldn't need to use the boot seats.

Also the Tiguan all space is an option. It’s a 7 seater so you could fold down middle seat completely and use a back seat. They stopped making in 2024 so only secondhand anyway.

we rented a hyundai kona on holiday.
2 adult size teens were reasonaby comfortable

Babe, you are wrong, and I don't know why you seem so insistent about a car you know nothing about. A Picasso has three full sized adult seats in the second row. You could just look it up.

The c4 Picasso has three separate seats. The c3 Picasso is smaller.

Yes, I think it's pretty clear we're talking about the C4.

Thank you but this is smaller than our Tucson. For lots of reasons (another thread’s worth of reasons), we won’t be buying another Hyundai!

I’ve asked to join. Thank you.

Genuinely didn’t expect this topic to be divisive! 🤯

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. I’m reading them all and making a list of potentials.

sausage fingers - 3 adultsize teens here...

but if you don't het on with the brand I understand nissan are ours

We borrowed PIL Kia Niro which is the same as the Kona and it was good enough whilst DS was in the infant carrier. Definitely a squeeze though and not enough boot space.

I had a 7 seater Hyundai Santa Fe which could take 3 car seats in the back as I had 3 children 3.5 year part. The boot was massive but you lost ll of the space when you put the two rear seats up.

A few years ago these threads were full of recommendations for the Ford Galaxy and S-Max. When we bought ours it had wider seats in the second row than any of the competition and the biggest boot when the third row of seats were in use. In your situation I'd buy a 3 year old S-Max. We use the third row whenever we have visitors, both grandmothers use public transport when they come to visit because they are too old to be happy driving long distances away from home so having the extra seats in the car is vital.

@DeskJotter Depends on what you class as an adult seat. It’s obvious to anyone, even you babe, that a large Range Rover or Discovery, that are wider cars, have three seats but two are more comfortable. They are wider seats and just more comfortable. Not thin slightly under sized ones. If you having owned one of these JL cars, I guess you haven’t seen the difference? It’s obvious a smaller car won’t have the best three adult seats. It will have three cheaper flimsy seats befitting the market position of the car. Cars that are hardly made anymore.

Sweet Jesus Christ, just look at the seat measurements - you are wrong.

@DeskJotter I’m here listening to her nonsense too, and confirming that these cars actually have three adult seats in the second row in case you feel you are losing your mind at this point. If it carries on into the afternoon I may dig around for the brochure!

Thank you, Parkers. The Citroens here are the Berlingo and the Picasso (in red). The Discovery is the latest model for the benefit of any further nitpicking.

One could say that by appearance the Discovery middle seat looks narrower actually, but us French car owners exhibit a certain laissez faire about other people and the cars they choose 😉

The Disco isn’t what the OP can afford. As for the others, look at the size of the three seats when compared to the seat in front. Noticeably narrower because the whole car is quite a bit narrower than the Disco. It’s a bit like the difference between a business class seat when flying and economy. However with three to seat there’s few cars that have the full seat in the middle. Obviously the French cars do but the Berlingo is the definition of ugly. The Disco is twice the price of the others and not remotely comparable in many ways.

Sorry I forgot to come back to this thread.citreon C4 Picasso has been a disaster.needs regular things fixing,has a weird design that locks all doors when you shut the front passenger door which means keys easily get locked inside,and is so badly designed inside that only the driver can use the temperature controls etc.may just be our year but will never buy a Citroen again.does easily fit 3 isofix in the back.turned out we can't put our kids next to each other anyway as they just fight so luckily has 2 seats in the boot which is good.but wish we had paid more for a touran the amount we've spent resetting the nonsense electrical problems it has.our garage always says yes never buy a Citroen and it's the citreons keep them in business.

Sure, but the reason we are in this bizarre cul-de-sac with you is because of your insistence upthread that these cars have "thin slightly under sized" seats, and @DeskJotter and I replied to explain that they don't. Not because OP is considering a Discovery.

However with three to seat there’s few cars that have the full seat in the middle. Obviously the French cars do

Got there in the end.

Noticeably narrower because the whole car is quite a bit narrower than the Disco

It's 20cm narrower, the Parkers guide tells me. I wish you a lifetime of enjoyment with those 20cm.

Regardless of price, I mentioned Discos to DH and he immediately said no because of how many people have issues with them. Took them off the potential list anyway.

@BeingATwatItsABingThing We’ve had two. Still got one that’s just had its 14th birthday. Very little been done to it. However tyres etc will cost a lot and diesel is an no go in London. As a country car it’s unrivalled. Any older car you buy for £6,000 won’t have much life in it without repairs! The cost of repairs to cheaper brands will cost less though: but you won’t escape them. It’s impossible!