Sit back and relax ladies, this is a long post 😂 Please be aware that I am by no means an expert and all comments are personal to me and my taste. I feel it is also important to note DH is a brand snob so his points will be noted. For your reference I used 2 Harmony high back boosters (41.5cm width) plus my silver cross simplicity seat and base (base 32cm / seat 44cm)
The harmony Dreamtime at currently on sale at Asda £18 (they are by far the slimmest ones I could find without paying huge pennies)
I have found Nania make TT BLine group 1/2/3 seats (43cm width) at Argos £40 ish
We are looking for PCP (personal contract plan) rather than purchasing outright.
Peugeot 5008
Exterior - sleek and rectangular with a lovely frontage. Not Mumbusey at all!
interior - very spacious, has 3 FULL seats in middle row all with ISOFIX and top tether. Seats fitted in absolutely perfectly. The dash and multi media was very very gadgety so good if you like that kinda thing. Seats were comfortable In my opinion but DH disagrees. Good head room (DH 6”2 for reference) back row has reasonable leg room and all seats in middle moved independently so could be moved if you needed more space in back row.
Park assist was ace - a must have with such a long vehicle.
Great boot space when rear seats dropped.
Still waiting on a quote back for price - mid spec range looks to be in our £400 pcm range.
This is my top contender!
VW Touran / Sharan / Tiguan Allspace
Tiguan - exterior was pleasing and Non mumbusey
Interior felt pretty basic and low spec but perfectly serviceable. Reasonably comfy but it was only 2 full seats and a 3/4 seat in middle row. I couldn’t really fit the seats into it safely. Depending on the age range of children it might be ok if used with booster (non high back). Decent head room but generally Thumbs down from us.
Touran - exterior was Mumbusey but not ugly.
Interior - the model we looked at was top spec and it was nice with a good solid build quality, much like you would expect from a VW. The upholstery was nice but suspect mid range or entry level wouldn’t be as nice. It has 3 FULL seats in middle row all with ISOFIX and top tether and the back row also has 2 ISOFIX and top tether seats! AMAZING! My cars seats all fitted perfectly! In terms of gadgets it had the rear park assist and all the sat nav stuff.
Great in terms of space - a bit ugly - but really expensive, even for a mid range model they were wanting in excess of £550 pcm. Much more affordable to purchase a used model - not really what we want to do tho.
Sharan - same as the Touran but bigger! With slide rear door which is cool as fuck for kids. Even more expensive tho so not really for us. Again used options probs best bet for affordability.
Citroen c4 Grand Picasso (new space tourer not available to see 😞)
Exterior - the new Citroen frontage is sleek and modern. A bit mum busey but not the worst.
Interior - very basic quality for upholstery and the dash is massive without a monstrous screen that just looks so out of place. It doesn’t feel like a great build quality. Seats weren’t that comfy and it just lacked that nice feel. Great space wise - really really huge with 3 individual middle row seats. Pretty sure all 3 had ISOFIX.
Not really a contender for us so didn’t take anymore info away.
SEAT Alehambra
Very similar to the VW Touran in terms of space and size. It also has the slider doors the same as the Sharan which is cool. Totally a mum bus but loads of space and comfy. Good head room. 3 full seats again with ISOFIX. DH didn’t like it so we moved away from with without anymore info.
Ford S-max
Exterior - really sleek and stylish. Mus bus style, by far the most attractive Mumbus out of all the mumbus types.
Interior - was really plush and comfy (top range model - too high spec for us, we would go more mid range) 3 full seats - so again all my seats fitted great.
Really liked this one to be honest - the sales guy was a total prat and couldn’t answer a single question so we will be going to another ford dealer to get prices etc.
Kia Sorrento
Exterior - gorgeous car, angular and sexy, not a mus bus.
Interior - very comfortable and very gadgety. Cool parking assists and cameras etc. 2 full seats (ISOFIX) and 3/4 in middle row. The car was very wide so I could JUST get the seats in and no more. Getting my hand down to strap in my oldest was be a challenge but doable. I didn’t like the the middle seat couldn’t be operated independently so getting to rear row would be awkward especially if all 3 seats were fitted. Good head space and leg room.
CRAZY prices - £750 pcm which is nuts, great 7 year warranty but they priced themselves out of the game. The guy said as well the old soreentos not the same as the new ones, so buying a used sorrento would be a totally different experience.
DH sad! He loved the Kia and he’s a snob
Land Rover Discovery Sport
Exterior - gorgeous car, absolute luxury, strangely reasonable prices considering brand.
Interior is pretty plush and gadgety as you would expect. Same issue as sorrento with the middle row seats. Can get the seats and and no more. Also found the seats VERY stiff to operate - could hardly slide them forward to get to rear row.
DH favourite as it is a premier name and good prices - it would be a compromise for me as it is tight for space in middle row (the only reason we are changing in first place)
Sexy car tho - would totally look the part on the school run.
Cars still to try:
Skoda Kodiaq
Renault Grand Scenic
Cars out our price range:
Volvo XC90
Audi Q7
If anyone wants any more info let me know. I know this was an essay and a half but I hope it helps 😂 happy reading and shopping. I was totally fucked afterwards