Ford S-Max or Volvo XC90

[Carnovice]

Full disclosure: I know nothing about cars and haven’t driven for years, so please forgive any ignorance!

I have three children aged 0, 2 and 4. We have moved from London to somewhere with less effective public transport and have realised that we need a car. We will obviously need the option of three car seats for several years yet! The option of seven seats is a bonus as we would like to be able to include grandparents on day trips as much as possible, and also like the idea of a huge boot for UK-based holidays with all our stuff.

It seems that the Ford S-Max might be a good option as it fits three Isofix seats across the middle, and it’s a lot cheaper than the Volvo. The Volvo appeals due to its safety and, admittedly, it looks a bit less like a van - but not sure it’s as practical with the car seat situation.

Help me please!

Thanks! Would definitely consider it for two children, but I can’t quite figure out how well it would work for three in car seats.

Ideally need to go and see some of these cars in real life, but it’s pretty difficult to get to dealerships when you don’t have a car! 😂😂 Hence trying to narrow it down as much as possible before embarking on that mission.

You might want to consider the long term cost of ownership for any car you chose. The Volvo will be higher than the Ford. Volvo servicing is very expensive compared to a lot of other car makes.

The XC90 is LOVELY. We looked at a 60 to accommodate my little boys massive car seat that will run until he's 7. We had a 40 but DH couldn't sit in the front if I drove as zero space. The 90 was too expensive for us so we've gone for a Skoda Kodiaq sportline based on a nursery mums recommendation who has 3 children. She said there's lots of space for all 3 of them and the boot is massive. Recommend looking at one!

I've owned both and preferred s max, which drives like a car, unlike large SUVs.

Watching with interest!

In fact we’ve definitely had 3 car seats in the back of ours, we had 2 cybex baby seats and then a toddler seat

Love my S-max. I'm on my 2nd one. I've had 5 kids in car seats in it at times when taking a friend and her kids on trips. I found it easier to get the kids to sit in the rear seats and then I lean through the boot to make sure they were buckled up. And have the most portable seat on the end of the middle row and always use that one to pop out to access the rear seats.
The fact it is a full sized middle seat makes things so much easier. Getting 3 seats in my old focus was just a no no.
And yes, I was worried about going from a focus to a bigger car but I found I actually preferred it.