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Car to fit three car seats together

28 replies

WeightoftheWorld · 31/07/2023 11:06

Are there any cars that can fit three car seats together in the back? When I've been googling it just seems to be 7 seaters coming up, are there no 5 seater cars where this is possible?! We have a Skoda Octavia atm and admittedly haven't tried this but from internet searches it seems people don't usually have success with that.

OP posts:
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TheMagicDeckchair · 31/07/2023 21:45

We had a Skoda Octavia estate when my eldest was 3. I then had twins, and sadly the Skoda wouldn’t accommodate 3 car seats in the back with the babies rear facing. The gap between the seats was tiny.

We bought a Volvo XC90 with a built in booster seat in the middle of the middle row for my eldest, who was then just under 3.5. The other cars we looked at were the Audi Q7, one version of the land rover sport and the VW Touran. I think there’s a couple of others like the Ford S Max and Peugeot 5008.

It probably depends on how old your kids are. If you have 2 older ones in booster seats and one rear facing there’s probably more you can do than having two or three rear facing.

Also, we have found that we need the boot space for double buggies etc that a 7 seater provides.

WeightoftheWorld · 31/07/2023 22:12

Yes we would want boot space too, that's the best thing about our current car! At the moment we go away a few times a year (UK hols and staying with family) so we need plenty of space for that...pram, travel cot, and all the stuff that small kids need. Our eldest is in a high back booster, youngest is rear facing. We are just thinking we may try for another in the not too distant future so it was just thinking about the car side of things. If that all goes to plan I'd still want my current youngest rear facing for probably about another year. So it would be trying to fit a high backed booster, a rear facing car seat and a rear facing infant carrier in together somehow.

OP posts:
HedgesNotFences · 31/07/2023 22:15

VW Touran (it is a 7 seater) was great for us as it didn’t seem like a big car when driving it. It’s easy to park and had a good sized boot for a triple pushchair.
As they got older and taller (now 4 teens) we graduated to a VW Sharan.

Unicorn2022 · 31/07/2023 22:22

We kept the same car and bought a multimac seat. It was fantastic and I sold it on eBay for only about £200 less than I paid for it.

www.multimac.com/home

Muchtoomuchtodo · 31/07/2023 22:25

My Peugeot 5008 would be perfect.

it is a 7 seater which will be handy for giving friends’ lifts as yours get older but in the meantime the massive boot will be priceless.

RandomMess · 31/07/2023 22:35

Citroen C4 Picasso

Ribeebie · 31/07/2023 22:39

Another vote for the 5008

Emanresu9 · 31/07/2023 22:43

Came on to say Peugeot 5008

Justbecause19 · 31/07/2023 22:49

We had to get rid of our Skoda Octavia as we couldn't get 3 carseats along the back. Have gone for a van now, absolutely love it. Tons of space and humongous boot

drpet49 · 31/07/2023 22:56

Ford S Max
Volkswagen Touran

maidmarianne · 31/07/2023 22:59

We have a Renault scenic that fits 3 car seats across the back. When we were looking into this a few years ago it was the smallest car we could find to fit 3

lochmaree · 31/07/2023 23:00

Multimac as suggested above aren't very safe, although do pass the basic regulations. You can't use any other brand car seat on it, and the infant carrier only RFs to 13kg. There is no side impact protection.

Nothankyounottoday · 31/07/2023 23:01

Renault scenic is a 5 seater car with three isofix seats in the back. I really like the car, decent boot space aswell.

lochmaree · 31/07/2023 23:05

Seat Alhambra is the car our car seat lady has and she has 3 across the back.

HandScreen · 31/07/2023 23:06

Picasso

Clarabellawilliamson · 31/07/2023 23:07

C4 Picasso!

Morethanalittletired · 31/07/2023 23:08

We have a VW sharan but that's a 7 seater.

Have you tried the Skoda superb?

TokenGinger · 31/07/2023 23:10

I'm really surprised at the lack of success with the Octavia. We can fit two Minikids and our infant carrier across the back in ours. Admittedly, I haven't tried 3 larger rear facing seats.

Peugeot 5008
Ford Smax
Citroen C4 Grand Picasso
VW Sharan
Seat Alhambra

All of these have 3 full sized seats across the back.

TokenGinger · 31/07/2023 23:14

Oh ignore my last comment. I just looked at the back of our car. It's a Superb we have, not an Octavia 😂

We do have three full sized seats though and there's tons of space for rear facing.

I have a Ford Grand C-Max but it's tight on the middle seat, so I'm jealous of DP's wider seats!

maryberryslayers · 31/07/2023 23:22

Join 'Car Seat Safety UK' on Facebook they are really knowledgeable and have lists of cars that properly and safely fit different stages of car seats. Make a post with your requirements and you'll get some great advice.

Please what ever you do don't be tempted by a multimac. They are legal (much like cigarettes and cot bumpers) but so very very unsafe. They only rear face until 13kg (12-18m) and have no side impact protection at all, whilst moving children to sit much closer to the doors than the car manufacturer designed. 3 children died and a baby was ejected from the car when a vehicle using one crashed.

TokenGinger · 31/07/2023 23:29

maryberryslayers · 31/07/2023 23:22

Join 'Car Seat Safety UK' on Facebook they are really knowledgeable and have lists of cars that properly and safely fit different stages of car seats. Make a post with your requirements and you'll get some great advice.

Please what ever you do don't be tempted by a multimac. They are legal (much like cigarettes and cot bumpers) but so very very unsafe. They only rear face until 13kg (12-18m) and have no side impact protection at all, whilst moving children to sit much closer to the doors than the car manufacturer designed. 3 children died and a baby was ejected from the car when a vehicle using one crashed.

Gosh that's made my blood run cold! When I saw it recommended earlier up, I said to my partner, that looks deathly, and it seems I wasn't wrong! Poor children 😔

I second this advice group! It's such a fantastic resource.

Unicorn2022 · 31/07/2023 23:30

lochmaree · 31/07/2023 23:00

Multimac as suggested above aren't very safe, although do pass the basic regulations. You can't use any other brand car seat on it, and the infant carrier only RFs to 13kg. There is no side impact protection.

They are very safe when fitted correctly and do have side impact protection. I would recommend them all day long

Unicorn2022 · 31/07/2023 23:35

Apologies for my multimac suggestion OP, I had no idea they were considered so bad on here, so please ignore. I used to be in a twins and triplets group and so many of the group had them with no issues.

Rainbow74y4 · 17/08/2023 13:54

We have a VW Golf (Mk 7). We have 2 high back boosters and a maxi cosi without any issues

Violet1988 · 17/08/2023 22:14

Peugeot partner van fits three across the back.