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Original poster

Can you fit 3 child seats in the middle seats of a Vauxhall Zafira?

15 replies

Oodle · 02/02/2008 16:47

My third child is due any day - we've also got a 5 year old in a booster seat and a 2 year old in a car seat. We need to buy a new car and after doing lots of research it seems that a Zafira is a good bet. But can you get 3 car seats in the back - or only 2 and then another one in the row behind? I've heard that luggage space is limited, so I'd prefer to keep the back two seats folded down if poss. Or can you recommend any other MPVs that are good? I don't want a massive one and we can't go over about 12k. Thanks!

OP posts:

MuddlingThru · 02/02/2008 16:53

I have got a Touran. When I got it for a test drive I fitted in 2 toddler seats and a baby seat across the middle row of seats. No3 hasn't arrived yet so I have 2 toddler seats in place at the mo and there is enough room for a grown up to sit on the seat between them.

Frizbe · 02/02/2008 16:54

I know you can get 3 across a Citroen Picasso and also a Mercades Vaneo HTH's

lubyluby · 02/02/2008 16:59

depends on the car seats. i have been told that the zafira is the same base and width as the vestra whihc i have. i have had an 05 reg and now a 57 reg and wehn dd was little i could fit her maxi cosi on one side ds2 on a britax high back booster on the toehr side but ds1 had to sit without car seat or booster in the middle (he was 8) once dd outgrew the baby car seat we now get a maxi cosi priori xp in the middle, a britax booster one one side and a britax high back booster on the toehr side, its a squeeze doing the seat belts up but cna be done.

we got the vectra s dh refused to buy what he calls a soccer mom car (zafira, touran, picasso etc) and i have to sya the boot on it is excellent, much better than the zafira.

JossStick · 02/02/2008 17:34

Citroen Berlingo - Yes, i know it's a van rather than a MPV but we love ours (very spacey) and you can fit 3 across the back as we've done it when cousins come to stay.

hotpotmama · 02/02/2008 17:38

I can get 1 seat and 2 booster seats in my Scenic.Had to buy graco ones as they seem to be narrower than any others I've had.

BigBadMouse · 02/02/2008 18:00

I don't know about the zafira but I have just been through exactly the same thing you are about to go through and could offer a bit of advice if you're interested.

We had a focus and three seats would not fit safely across the back so we have to find something that would work. There are a few seats on the market that would have fitted but they were very low on safety ratings and we decided to get a new car (at great expense) rather than have a less safe seat. I would choose what seat you want to use then try them out in each car (we used halfords and mothercare a lot and tried out all the seats they had in stock to see if they would fit - I think the staff are used to having to do that and were very helpful ). Watch out for different models of the same vehicle, bucket seats are a PITA, if my focus seats hadn't been slightly bucketed the child seats woul have fitted well. Some versions of the same models have different style seats (but I think that is more a problem in estate or saloon cars more than MPVs tbh).

Alternatives to the zafira which are small would be the Picasso and the Renault Scenic. I would avoid the scenic tbh as they can be very unreliable - the picasso is a better bet and has a far better boot space. Picasso will fit 3 car seats easily but is not huge (only has 5 seats though). The 2.0HDI engine is said to be the best, the 1.6 petrol is a bit underpowered if you need decent overtaking ability. Both scenic and picasso have 3 x 3 point seat belts across the back seats which is a great option - at 12K you have a much bigger budget than us and I'm sure you'll find something that suits you well - we did

I would suggest you do a test drive with kids and all just to check the car is comfy for the children - some MPVs roll a bit around corners. Build quility on Picassos isn't wonderful but adequate.

hth and makes sense (was typed at same time as building large stickle brick superstructure of some sort with DD2 and discussing how fish breathe underwater with DD1 )

Becca32 · 19/02/2008 16:44

We have a Zafira. And an 8 year old, a 2 year old and a 9 month old. The 8 yr old is in the boot with a booster seat although we had to do some shopping around as the seat is quite narrow from bum to knee and most booster seats would overhang and slide around. Eventually got one from Mothercare. Our 2 year old has been in a Maxi Cosi Priori but we've just been told it's unsafe. Even though the Zafira has been marketed as a family car, the middle row seatbelts have stupidly long buckles which rest on most child car seats and can cause something called buckle crunch if you're involved in an accident and could end up not protecting your child as much as you think. We've been trying to find a seat that is safe and the only one so far is a Britax First Class. Would be interested if anyone knows of any other alternatives.

RubyRioja · 19/02/2008 16:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

cerys · 19/02/2008 16:49

We have 3 seats on the middle row of a zafira (54 reg, if that makes a difference?)
My kids are now 7, 5 and 3. The elder 2 are in Maxi Cosi Rodi booster seats and the youngest was in a Britax until recently. I know his 1st stage baby seat fitted fine alongside the girls' seats when they were younger and we had a booster, a Britax and the 1st stage seat there.

This means you can have a lovely big boot which fitted my double buggy, or 2 singles.

RubyRioja · 19/02/2008 16:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MilaMae · 19/02/2008 22:21

We have had 3 Britax Eclipse(only one we could find that would fit on a lap belt) car seats in ours for the last 3 years, fitted by Mothercare. It's a nice size car seat so fits well. Just replaced 2 of them with the Graco booster seats. DD is still in the Eclipse in the middle on the lap belt.

Word of caution though having 3 in the back. When unclipping themselves from their booster seat one of my twins unclipped the middle car seat as it's tricky to see between the 2. Only realised today, have a hoorible feeling dd could have been in it unclipped for days.

DP is trying to fit a safety clip over the car seat clip tomorrow, failing that we'll duct tape the car seat clip so they can't unclip it again by accident.

helsa79 · 07/08/2008 14:47

Just found this old discussion which is very helpful as I've just found out I'm pregnant with number 3 (unplanned!) and it looks like we will have to get a new car. My youngest is 10 months so will still be in his car seat and my eldest is 3 and a small 3 at that so I suspect won't quite be ready for a booster when baby arrives. That means I need to find a car which fits 3 proper car seats (no boosters) in. We have been told by vauxhall that they don't recommend this in the zafira which seems odd as it's supposedly the clever family car! We have a very limited budget. Any suggestions... if anyone is still out there reading this?!

largerleon · 18/08/2008 12:34

Hi, just reading this old discussion as trying to find breakdown cover for MPV passengers that doesn't involve having to travel in 2 cars if recovery is necessary (all children need to be supervised, not helpful if I'm on my own...).

We bought a Citroen Synergie 7 seater as couldn't get 3 seats across anything else. We've been very happy with it, the 2.0HDI engine, 50 mpg excellent. I believe this has now been replaced by the C4 but ours was 2nd hand for £3000 in April 2007.
Now we're expecting no 4 (bit of a surprise that one...!!!)
HTH

RubyRioja · 18/08/2008 12:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bealcain · 18/08/2008 12:54

now i'm really confused. we've been looking at cars all weekend and i think we had decided on a zafira.

we've got a 2.5yo a 1yo and 8day old. we were looking at scenics and zafiras. i assumed that 3seats would fit in either of these cars if the middle seat was a seat of it;s own....is that wrong?

i don;'t mind putting one in the boot but would be nice to have larger boot space....

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