reliable (small) cars that fit 3 in the back!

[bullseyebraces]

am sure this has been done to death, but we need a bigger car to go along with DC3. Budget of around £1-2k, so we want something reliable with as low mileage as we can possibly bag. Not looking for a 7 seater as we only have one car so it will also be used for my occasional commuting etc. Two kids will be in high backed boosters and one in a baby seat then toddler seat. Any thoughts?

Vauxhall Meriva is a good balance. Compact for parking but bench seat in back that I have fitted a variety of car seats in, 3 at a time.
Great little all rounders.

Thanks, will check it out.

Tried the seats out in my aunts Renault scenic today, any thought in that?

I used to have a Scenic, with 2 high backed boosters and an infant seat then progressed to a stage 1. It worked ok, I could do the seat belts by touch, DH struggled as he rarely did it and couldn`t see what he was doing.

I then progressed onto a grand Picasso which I think is easier. (But thinking of a Picasso as 5 seater for you)

If its only one baby seat and 2 boosters, pretty much any car. I can fit 3 in a Yaris and thats tiny.

Tried in our Nissan Almera & a VW Golf & couldn't fit them in there... How small is a yaris?!

Smaller than the golf I used to have anyway.

I have a seat Leon and have 3 high backed boosters (one still uses the harness). They all fit fine but actually getting the hand down to do up the seat belts is a job of work so kids can't do it themselves. It takes some practice.

My 3 are all in high backed boosters and it is a squash in both of our cars - Volvo xc90 and Subaru Outback, neither of them are small! That said, I have a friend who appears to be able to fit about a million children in her Peugeot 307, so obviously it can be done in a smaller car.

we had two scenics - one on lease for 3 years and then the slightly newer version for 4 years - that was from when our two were age 1 and newborn, up to age 7 and 8, we really liked them, we got a Skoda roomster after that- it was very practical but nowhere as nice as the Scenic sure you would get 3 seats in it though. when we were getting rid of that we didn't really need that style anymore so got an Ocatvia Estate which is lovely but maybe too big? I loved my Clio but think that may be tight for 3 car seats. i currently have a Nissan Note which is good but haven't tried any car seats in it as kids are now teenagers :)

Just bought a honda frv, never seen it recommended on any of these threads but it is the same width as our old espace but is shorter so feels like a car rather than a van. I have a high back booster and two stage two car seats across and there is much more room than eg a scenic.

Unless you're changing the car for other reasons then I suspect it'd make more sense to look into changing your car seats than your car. We have two hbb and a rear or forward facing baby/toddler seat in an Ibiza. The same can be done in my hyundai i10 which is tiny but it's tighter and only works with one particular hbb, ie the narrowest one I could find.
The britax adventure is slim, so is the Jane montecarlo, the graco jnr maxi (side protection is :-/) or this halfords one is literally the smallest I've ever found. They do vary in width by a lot. Fwiw the Montecarlo is the seat I have the most confidence in of that selection.