What car for 3 DC?

[bluesky45]

Hi, we are planning a 3rd DC at some point in the next couple of years. We also desperately need a new car and want to buy one now that will fit 3 DC so we don't have to buy again in a few years. This is a big purchase for us. I've spoken to a car dealer and they basically suggested 7 seaters or people carriers such as the picasso. Said that's all there is that fits 3 car seats.
I don't believe that to be the case, given how many 3 child families there are! Surely there must be more SUV type car choices?
If you have 3dc, or more, please can you let me know what car you drive that fits all 3 DC in, using car seats? We would have 2 in forward facing booster types (isofix and top tether or secured with the seat belt and top tether) and one would be in a baby carrier type followed by a rear facing 360 spin type.
Please share your wisdom!

The dealers are correct. We have 3 kids and ended up with an S Max. There are only 5 or 6 cars available that will fit 3 car seat. We looked into this in depth.

We still have 2 kids in car seats and even with an SUV (we don't have e the s max anymore) it is a squeeze with the three in the back.

Ok, thanks. I'll have a look at those. I'm not keen on the look of people carriers though! Has anyone got a c5 aircross? It says it has 3 full size seats in the back which makes me think it's possible? But not sure! We don't know anybody with 3 DC to see what car they have!

We have a Volvo XC90. It has a built in booster seat in the middle that 5yo uses and then the toddler twins are either side in spin 360s. There isn’t a lot of choice for 3 car seats in the middle row.

The other option we considered was an Audi Q7. The Land Rover discovery 4 was also an option but the driver seat too small for DH with RF car seats.

I've recently changed to a different vehicle due to expecting baby #4, but I had a Ford Kuga which fitted 3 seats in the back comfortably. We used two Joie Elevates and one Joie Stages.

Following although I only have to transport grandchildren, so possibly the eldest (6) could use his Joie Trillo in the front seat as he’s forward facing.

I have a VW Touran which has 5 isofix points. The seats along the middle are all individual so we can easily fit 3 car seats in. Our kids are 3, 6 and 8 and fit in quite easily

I found that SUVs tended to be big on the outside rather than inside when I was looking for cars to fit 3. You may have to visit showrooms with car seats in tow to try out.

It's a bit different now but if you're planning on keeping the car 10+ years you might want to consider how teenagers will fit too. I had to accept buying a VW Sharan once my 3 hit teenage years, they are too tall for anything else!

There are only a handful. We went for the xc90, I'm not really a car person but I love it!

We have always had a Ford Galaxy for our 3dc. However when our 3ds started moving out of car seats we looked at alternatives. We were not impressed with the comfort of the middle seat, and the leg room so ended up with another Ford Galaxy!

We have a C5 Aircross. We're undecided on having a 3rd DC but wanted to make sure our car was suitable should we have another. There are 3 Isofix points, 2 in the rear and 1 in the passenger front seat. We currently have a Cybex Sirona S Isofix seat for our youngest and a Joie Duallo Isofix for our eldest. I can comfortably sit between their seats as the middle seat is full sized (I'm 5'6" and a size 14 to give you an idea for size). We haven't tried 3 child seats in the rear of the car but plan that we would have 1 child in the front and I would sit in the back with the other 2 (we would want to use Isofix points for all our car seats and I have no problem with sitting in a full size seat in the back). We also found it to be great value with plenty of extras, it has plenty of boot space to fit all the usual paraphernalia needed for a family outing and it's an extremely comfortable ride. Our other option was a VW Touran but we prefer SUVs and thought a 7 seater was unnecessary should we stick at 2DC.

We have had our C5 for 7 months now and we're really pleased with it. I'd recommend a test drive if you have the opportunity.

Have a look at Multimac car seats. I haven't used them. I've only seen them suggested on forums, so I won't recommend them.

I used to have the air cross and it does have 3 equal seats in the back. You won't be able to keep the 360 chair with car seats in the middle and you may need to look at buying different car seats for all the ensure the spacing works but it's definitely possible.
I really liked that car.

We have a Tesla model x, six seater version. Works really well for us. The kids easily walk into the car and can comfortably six six adults no problem if required.

We have a Dacia duster and have 3 DC across the back row (2 in forward facing boosters and 1 in a forward facing toddler seat (though he was in a rear facing seat for a while). You might struggle with a spin seat in one.

The boot on the 2wd one is plenty big enough. We have the 4wd (we live somewhere with plenty of snow) and the boot is smaller. But we're still driving to France in it in July so it's still workable.

Really it depends what your minimum criteria is. If it must fit a gigantic pram, baby highchair and every baby accessory going then a normal 5 seat car won't cut it. If you prefer to travel light then you'll be able to make a 5 seater work

If you're on Facebook join the group Car Seat Advice UK as there's lots of advice and discussion on there about cars that fit 3 across.

This list is from ICSC website:

• Audi Q7 (only the newest shape) 2017 onwards

• Citroen C4 Picasso (5 seats)

• Citroen C4 Grand Picasso (7 seats)

• Ford S Max

• Ford Galaxy

• Peugeot 5008

• Renault Scenic (5 seats)

• Renault Grand Scenic (7 seats)

• VW Touran

• VW Sharan

• Seat Alhambra

incarsafetycentre.co.uk/blog/post/best-cars-suvs-fit-3-seats

If I were you, and if budget allowed, I'd get a used (preferably no more than a few years old) VW Touran
www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/touran/mpv/used-review/n806

Thanks for all of these suggestions, I'll look into some of the ones mentioned that we haven't already ruled out for one reason or another (price being a big one!).
Just to update, we went to a dealership today with 3 car seats and tried them in the c5 aircross and we could fit 2 forward facing boosters and one Joie 360 spin in on the back row. Middle one needed seat belt to secure but the outer 2 have isofix and top tether point. Plenty of room for that. Only problem we had is the spin seat won't spin very much when it's next to another seat. I managed to get it to turn approx 45 degrees, rather than the 90 it would usually do. I did find that this plus the fact that the car is higher up than our current car, meant that it wasn't too difficult to get the child in and out. We were also impressed with the boot space and the leg room on all 5 seats. We tried out the back seats as adults and had enough leg room and head height.
I don't know but I hope that review is helpful for anyone else asking the same question!
Another few cars to consider now from your recommendations and we will try to make a decision!

I agree that the VW Touran works well for 3 children - we have a Touran and 3 kids. We would like to try an electric one next though and are struggling to find electric ones which are big enough for 3 kids (now pre-teens / teens) apart from Tesla model X which is a lot larger than I would like to drive! Anyone know of electric cars which are big enough for 3 kids but not huge? (I wish they did an electric Touran!) Thank you.

I have a Q7 and it’s fabulous. Would highly recommend!

We have just ordered a multimac in DHs pick up as I’m pregnant with number 4. Can update you in July 😂