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Larger families

Find out all about large family cars, holidays and more right here.

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Original poster

Car for three carseats

32 replies

Sosie91 · 03/03/2018 06:48

Hi we will be having our third child and we need a bigger car. What cars would you recommend for 3 children? Our eldest is 5 so we will need to fit 3 seats, for a while. Please find me a nice looking car... I do not want a van.. 🙈🙈

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Trumpton · 03/03/2018 07:00

Oh , would you regard a Berlingo a van ? I have a 7 year old and a 5 year old in auto fix high back boosters and an 18 month who is still in her rear facing baby seat but will soon upgrade to rear facing seat .
It’s a struggle sometimes to find the sockets to plug the belts into but I love the sliding rear doors.

StinkPickle · 03/03/2018 07:02

Citroen c3 Picasso.

We had 3 under 5 too

Arapaima · 03/03/2018 07:05

Ford S Max. Not that it’s a competition but I had 3 under 4!

itsgoingtoofast · 03/03/2018 07:08

I'm starting out on this quest too....

I can't believe how few cars seem to fit 3 car seats. We have a family saloon type at the moment and no way it fits 3 although you'd think it would/ should.

My initial research has thrown up a Ford s max as a good option, but it all depends on budget. Audi Q7 and Volvo XC90 look lovely but very expensive.

I'll be watching with interest!

lalaloopyhead · 03/03/2018 07:08

We have a Renault Grand Scenic, and though its getting on a bit it has been the best car ever. Not massive, which is great for our parking issues, but plenty of room.

We rarely use the extra two seats, but they were useful when the kids were smaller and taking a friend or two out.

Assuming that the newer models are still the same, the three back seats all move and come out individually. The fact that all the back seats fold down/come out has added a great dimension of having a huge capacity to fit it some pretty large items - took a sofa to the tip for example.

Jenijena · 03/03/2018 07:10

I have a Peugeot 5008 which fits 3 seats in the back

MrMeeseeks · 03/03/2018 07:22

The frustrating thing is that during the week, if you have school age children, you're mostly rattling around in a massive car by yourself or with one or two smaller ones.

punkpuffin · 03/03/2018 07:40

We have 3 under 5 and have a Citroen Grand Picasso it works really well. We can get 3 car seats across the back and be left with loads of boot space or put one of them in the boot seat.

PineappleScrunchie · 03/03/2018 07:43

We have a Ford smax and Volvo XC90. Out of the two, only the Ford fits three cat seats across without having to use the back seats.

Hairydilemma · 03/03/2018 07:46

I had three under two

We had an S max, grand scenic and XC90 - all very good in terms of fitting three seats. The Volvo was far and away my favourite.

BuffyFan · 03/03/2018 07:48

Another with the S-Max. But we used to have a Kia Caren's, which did just about work. It wasn't so huge that you felt you were talking around in it while the kids were elsewhere. But limited boot space in comparison with the S-Max

poohbear123 · 03/03/2018 07:48

I had three under four and have an S-Max. It’s been brilliant, and now the kids are older the extra seats in the boot are so handy - even if you keep one of them up, there’s still tonnes of boot space.

childmindingmumof3 · 03/03/2018 07:51

I have a xsara Picasso and have a group 0+, group0/1 rear facing and hbb in it.

PandasRock · 03/03/2018 07:56

You can fit 3 car seats in a Honda CR-V, but it is difficult due to the middle seat belt being a double latch. (I had 1 hbb, 1 extended rear facing seat in the middle (dd2 was aged 5-7 while using this) and a rear facing infant carrier.

It is also possible to get 3 sears across a Volvo XC90. I had 2x hbb plus a rear facing toddler seat for a couple of years. Now have 1 hbb and 1 large toddler seat (could be rear facing, but isn’t) plus an adult sized teenager sitting across the back seats. I haven’t ever used he back seats regularly, it is possible to get seats to fit.

It depends on which seats you use, as well as the type of car.

It is also possible in a Discovery (had 2x hbb and an extended rear facing seat), but I really disliked the seat belt buckles - they are recessed, so it made doing up seat belts really difficult.

Obviously things like a Viano work (fabulous, btw - the bliss of having enough space to do up seat belts, being able to arrange the seats so that no one can overly annoy anyone else etc is not to be underestimated! But very very large to drive around in)

I would recommend asking the people at the In Car Safety centre for advice. They really know their stuff, and worked really hard to get a combination of seats to fit my CRV when changing cars was not an option.

melissasummerfield · 03/03/2018 07:58

Another vote for the grand picasso here, i really didnt want to drive a huge car after always having a saloon but the switch was suprisingly easy!

Lots of space and still nice to drive and easy to park.

Skisunsnow · 03/03/2018 08:03

We have a Renault Laguna estate and can fit an infant carrier on isofix and 2 x high back boosters in the back. Yes, it's a squeeze but they fit.

Helspopje · 03/03/2018 08:04

Bmw grand tourer

SweepTheHalls · 03/03/2018 08:05

We had massive engine problems with our Citroën, the Ford Galaxy we replaced it with has been great.

EekThreek · 03/03/2018 08:08

We have an S Max, it's cavernous.

We also had a Seat Alhambra as a hire car while the S Max was being repaired. We went camping with it, with car seats in the middle row but the huge boot fitted everything we needed without a roof box or trailer. Really liked that car

waterlily200 · 03/03/2018 08:10

I have a 66 plate VW Touran. It has 5 isofix seats in the rear. Across the middle row I get a HBB for a 5 yr old, a Britax Eclipse for a 1 yr old and a maxi cosi pebble for a newborn. The middle seat is slightly smaller then the other 2 but fits a HBB no bother and still gives access to the buckles.

With the boot seats folded it's got a great boot. We've not used these seats and don't really intend to.

I needed a car I could get 3 across the middle without the car being giant as I have to negotiate the small and awkward nursery car park and this fit the bill.

It also has great family friendly features I'm really happy with it

Alternately if u did want more space you could look At the Sharan it's a bigger version/next model up.

GransGloves · 03/03/2018 08:20

Those with XC90 and SMax how are they for 7 seater use?

We have a Q5 at present, expecting no 2 but close to family who have small children and I'm thinking a 7 seater would make sense. We find the Q5 surprisingly small! DH might agree to a Q7 but I'd rather explore other options first.

Hastalapasta · 03/03/2018 08:28

I have a Toyota Verso 7 seater, works well for us. Would have brought an S max if we had the money.
Congratulations on your pregnancy

lovelilies · 03/03/2018 08:30

Citroen grand Picasso here too. Great car and only cost £3k second hand (replaced zafira and it much better)

LyndaLaHughes · 03/03/2018 08:53

I can highly recommend the Kia Sorrento. I put my eldest in the optional 3rd row with just one seat up and there is still plenty of room for a pushchair etc.

Original poster

Sosie91 · 03/03/2018 09:05

Thank you so much for your help. The smax and the Touran look good and so does the Picasso. I think we’re going to have to take the kids to try them out.. I like the discovery and the q7 🙈 (hubby not too happy about the price )

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