Luxury car for 3 children

[supercalafragilisticexpealidocious]

I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old and another on the way.

We need a car that will fit 3 car seats. I would like a car on the luxury end of the scale as we will be using it a fair amount and I've never had a decent car before. I also don't want to feel like the Von Trapp family with a very unsexy mumsy car. (Don't judge me please!).

We will be buying second hand and have a budget of around 30k.

Requirements are:

• needs to fit 3 car seats (ideally isofix I'm guessing given age of children)
• needs to have potential towing capacity for horse trailer in future
• good boot space
• feel "nice"
• we are going to be living in a village so need something that can potentially cope with village roads in winter

So far I've come up with the Land Rover Discovery, the Volvo XC90 and the Audi Q7. BUT I've heard the discovery is horribly unreliable and doesn't fit 3 seats across the middle so would require one of them to be in the third row of seats (not necessarily a deal breaker), the q7 is perhaps not substantial enough for village life, the xc90 doesn't have 3 isofix points so our oldest would need to be in a seat attached with a seatbelt which doesn't feel ideal.

Any opinions or advice and any personal experience would be much appreciated.

[Mum2threemonkeys]

i have a bmw x5 m sport the 7 seat version, i have 3 kids and i love it. i was torn between the q7 and the bmw x5 but after test driving both, the x5 won for me.... expensive but worth it x

[user1497787065]

I have no vehicle recommendations but as an inhabitant of a rural village with very narrow lanes can you please ensure you are capable of reversing a vehicle of this size when necessary. This appears to be beyond the capabilities of many who are new to our village.

[willsandnoodle]

Check out axkid car seats, they're one of the safest brands around and they don't use isofix. We have an axkid minikid for our toddler, it's from 9 months to 7 years if I remember rightly. That might help with the car choice!

[OhWifey]

Was going to say the same re Axkid. You can't go wrong with the Minikid and it will massively extend your car options.

[supercalafragilisticexpealidocious]

Bloody hell the axkid is expensive!

But thank you for the tip off- if we don't have to worry about isofix what cars would you recommend out of our list?

Anyone have any experience of any of the ones I've listed?

[willsandnoodle]

It is expensive, but you can't put a price on your child's safety. Extended rear facing is by far the safest option.

I don't have any experience with the cars on your list but I do like the xc90. We were looking at them when we were in the market for a new car, but went for an estate instead.

[TheWayTheLightFalls]

We've got three kids, wanted three seats across and settled on a new but less sexy marque rather than those listed. After trying them all I felt like "just" £30k for an X5 or Q7 didn't seem like the right solution. We ended up with a Citroen and I absolutely love it. Also considered the VW Transporter (which is larger) and in a mad moment also the Merc V-Class (taxi basically).

Very glad I stuck to my guns on three car seats across, it is much more convenient than trying to wriggle a child into the third row of seats.

Absolutely not a second-hand Discovery unless you happen to also own a Land Rover service dealership, ime.

[Whatelsecouldibecalled]

If you can spend 30k on a car would it not be worth spending on the safest car seat you can get?

[Tiptapcrab]

We have a Q7 as we had similar requirements to you OP and it’s been brilliant! Loads of space, nice to drive. You can fit 3 decent sized car seats across the back and we had ours rear facing in the top Which recommended car seats until age 4.

it also has isofix in the 3rd row which has been handy if we have ever had to move things around or have more than 5 in the car.

just this weekend DH and I were saying that we will buy another Q7 when our current one eventually needs replacing (currently 7 years old!)

[supercalafragilisticexpealidocious]

@Whatelsecouldibecalled

If you can spend 30k on a car would it not be worth spending on the safest car seat you can get?

Where have I said I'm not getting the safest car seat?! This wasn't a thread about car seats but I'm doing my research into ADAC recommended seats at the moment.

[supercalafragilisticexpealidocious]

@Tiptapcrab

We have a Q7 as we had similar requirements to you OP and it’s been brilliant! Loads of space, nice to drive. You can fit 3 decent sized car seats across the back and we had ours rear facing in the top Which recommended car seats until age 4.

it also has isofix in the 3rd row which has been handy if we have ever had to move things around or have more than 5 in the car.

just this weekend DH and I were saying that we will buy another Q7 when our current one eventually needs replacing (currently 7 years old!)

Thank you. This is good advice. I hadn't really considered the Q7 until I started doing more research and it seems to be one of the few with three isofix in the second row. I hadn't necessarily seen it as an issue but actually now that I'm thinking of the practicalities I agree shuffling our four year old into the third row may well be a pain (and I'm not convinced she would be very happy with it either when her siblings are in the middle row!).

[supercalafragilisticexpealidocious]

To finish that thought- whilst having only two isofix points in the middle row might now be a big issue in principle if you can get a safe car seat without isofix, it seems that some of the 7 seaters can't even fit 3 car seats in the middle row (with or without isofix). So the axkid may actually not fit next to two other isofix car seats in the second row...

It's all a minefield with car seat choices alongside new car choices!

[Femme2804]

I always have range rover. I love my range rover. I dont know why people says it’s unreliable. Its not. Never had any problem. I dont like discovery though. I used to drove range rover evoque and love it but now i drive range rover velar and love it even more. The booth is big and it fit 3 car seats. 2019 range rover velar about £35k. Its just a bit over your budget. But worth it. The car is stunning!

[MistyCoco]

if you’re buying a Range Rover check you can get it insured, they get stolen in seconds where I live.

Look into Multimac if you need three kids in a row. Not necessarily cheap but gives you lots more car options.

[RoberttPostesChild]

You want a Land Rover and you know it OP.

[bleughgreen]

Discoveries aren't as nice to drive as aQ7 which will fit all your criteria. They, discoveries, feel like they're wallowing along but that's only my opinion from driving one, they're not awfully reliable and Land Rover customer service is appalling. We changed to a XC90 as don't need the 3 seats in one row anymore and IMO it's a much nicer car and the safety aspects are brilliant. If we need the third row it's a faff and not something I'd want to contend with on a regular basis. You either keep one of the back seats down and child enters and exits through the boot or you have to remove a seat to get into the back through the rear doors

[supercalafragilisticexpealidocious]

@RoberttPostesChild

You want a Land Rover and you know it OP.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Busted. I absolutely DO WANT one but my life choices (having three children) mean I have to be more sensible and think with my head too (dammit!!)

[Toomuchleopard]

I have an Audi q7 with 3 kids. Would definitely recommend. We looked at the Volvo XC90 and BMWx5 but much preferred the Audi. Also the boot is massive with the back row down which is very handy

[supercalafragilisticexpealidocious]

@MistyCoco

if you’re buying a Range Rover check you can get it insured, they get stolen in seconds where I live.

Look into Multimac if you need three kids in a row. Not necessarily cheap but gives you lots more car options.

Actually that's another very good point. We did check the insurance on a particular discovery we had seen the other day and it was huge (£180 a month) which actually is probably enough to put me off it as I can think of lots of better things to spend that money on than car insurance. We could get it insured though...just perhaps not at a price we would want to pay.

[PleaseStandUp]

I’ve sat in all those cars you’ve mentioned in the last week (car shopping after our last was written off by third party) plus a bmw ix, and a Mercedes GLC and GLE and we’ve gone for another X5.
DH would have an ix if budget wasn’t a consideration, we had one on hire for 2 days and he was in love.
The X5 ticks every box for us - but we spent some time searching out the spec/trim that was right for us.
GLE probably a second choice, Q7 felt a little dated and XC90 just not as luxurious interior.

[ForgottenCoat]

I love my Disco, make sure you get the right spec though, either HSE Luxury or Autobiography.

I’ve had Disco’s and Range Rovers for years (and my parents before me) and I’ve had very few reliability issues, mine has just flown though a clean MOT. I have to say the RR (a proper one, not a sport) is one of the nicest cars I’ve ever owned.

The only thing I don’t like is older car parks, sometimes it just doesn’t fit and give you room to open the doors, if I’m going into town I tend to take my slightly smaller car.

Ours is regularly used for towing so it’s a work horse with a job.

[RoberttPostesChild]

@supercalafragilisticexpealidocious

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Busted. I absolutely DO WANT one but my life choices (having three children) mean I have to be more sensible and think with my head too (dammit!!)

😁 Discos are the best. Always keep a good residual value as well.

[ShakesP123]

@MistyCoco

if you’re buying a Range Rover check you can get it insured, they get stolen in seconds where I live.

Look into Multimac if you need three kids in a row. Not necessarily cheap but gives you lots more car options.

Please don’t buy a Multimac. Safety standards are horrific.

[Oversharingsonewusernamehaha]

Mercedes eqb 7 seater here. But weirdly don't use the back row much as kidsfit across second roe. It's beautifully quiet as it's electric. Company car deals for electric cars are amazing right now as car companies are having yo fulfil government quotas.

[Oversharingsonewusernamehaha]

Oops sorry for the typos