best car for 3 kids - zafira style mpv or estate?

[bathtime]

We need to get 3 kids in the back with 2 on highback boosters and one in group 1. What have you found better - an estate or an MPV style car?
Pros and cons?
I am drawn to the idea of 7 seats and easier getting in and out of mpv, but wouldn't want a huge tank, so not bigger than zafira style models.
Or are estate cars just as good? I liked our previous estate, but it wasn't quite wide enough for 3 seats in back.
I know we can get 3 seats in touran or picasso - any others - do the newer zafiras fit 3?
Or would anyone recommend an estate that fits 3 in the back?
Our budget isn't huge - about £5or6K.
I can't understand why car manufacturers and car seat makers haven't really cracked this one!

Or haveyou looked at the Kia - Carens or sedona?

I did find something called a www.multimac.co.uk/home which imself liked AFTER we had bought a Kia Carens.

I have a CMAX with 2 highback boosters and a Stage 1 (9m-4y) in the back and it is a squeeze but just about doable, it has a good size boot too. Once DD1 starts school I am going to put her in the front with a booster for school runs as very rarely will I be above about 25mph and it will be easier to get them all in and out,

We are looking to replace it though but with what I do not know?

I'd agree that the new Zafira is not as good as the old one (new one came in c 2005/6 - not sure exactly when but you can tell from the pictures which is which).

Def worth looking at a diesel - the old version was 2.0, not the 1.9 it is now, probably uses a bit more fuel but better performance & the Zafira is more reliable than the Picasso or the Scenic.

Thanks, I've just been looking at reviews online, and they seem to vary loads, which doesn't make it all any easier.

Any thoughts on the VW Touran?

Well we have a Zafira and we love it. Only tiny gripe is that it gets pretty hot in the boot seat on a sunny day.

But then we are pretty uncomplicated in our needs when it comes to cars. Does it get us and our stuff from A -> B. Yes? That'll do us then!

We can get 3 kids (all in booster seats these days) along the middle seat but do tend to split with one in the back just to stop them from killing one another. Have never found any trouble with the footwell either.

Our car is 4 1/2 years old, an ex-motability so very well maintained and we hoep we will have it for many years yet.

Friend has a VW Touran and she rates it.

What I diddn't tell you about the FRV is that we have three kids in car seats that fit well accross the back but if they want more room the eldest can sit in the front middle seat. He loves being up front too.

i'm still plugging a smax in case you can get a 2006 second hand in budget. The things that I really like about it are that the middle seat is a proper size seat not a skinny one like in the zafira and it has it's own proper seat belt which comes out of the roof, not a lap belt only. This means we can take my mother and her large behind on journeys longer that 10 mins in between the kids without having to put the back row up and presumably, it is safer to put a car seat here with the proper seat belt. Also the rear seats are proper seats, not bench seat. Only negative on the seats is only the 2 side ones have isofix fitting, not the middle on, which I think is dumb.

Other good familly friendly things are you lock the car, double lock it so that noone can open from the inside if you like and optionally disable the alarm in the middle row. This means I can lock the childrenin the car at petrol stations, prevent eldest from thoeretically opening door and getting out and also disable the alarm where they are so they don't set off the alram if they move. Can also put physical child lock on door and lock the electric windows. Also built in hands free and ipod connection which is great for playing nursery rhymes etc on long journeys.

This may all be present on other MPVs, I don't know - this is just in comparison to Zafira.

Only negative apart from only 2 isofix is that you cannot get a rear mounted bike carrier on safely - have to have a tow bar one or roof mounted.

an smax sorry

Our zafira has 3 lap/diagonal seatbelts in the middle - it was one of our "must-haves" with a new car.

Also the most reliable car we have ever had!

We've just bought a new car as we're expecting our 3rd dc and like you, I wanted a car in which I could get 3 "proper" (i.e. not booster) seats in the back row.

After extensive research on various websites looking at best buys / reliability etc (and also asking on mn), we narrowed it down to:
Vauxwagen Touran
Grand Picasso
Renault Grant Senic
Ford SMax.

In the end we went for a Touran and have been very pleased so far. It doesn't feel or look like a bus. We went for a post 07 model as the earlier models seem to have slightly narrower boots and also had some very expensive problems with their automatic braking system. However, I think you'd be lucky to get a newer version for £6k unless it had done lots of mileage.

The Grand Picasso was our next choice, but had a funny hand brake and an RAC man I spoke to said they were a bit more unreliable than the Touran. They were also quite expensive because I think they were launced fairly recently so there aren't any that are more than a year or two old.

The Grand Senic also seemed a good option and I think you should be able to get a reasonably newish model for £6k.

The ford SMax are meant to be very good, but very expensive. I couldn't find one for under about £12k, so that ruled it out for us pretty quickly!

I found the Parkers website particularly helpful for info about cars.

We've a Mazda MPV and it has been fantastic. Parts are not the cheapest but have had to spend very little on it in the 6 years we've had it. Has slidy doors which IMO is a fab plus point. 7- seater and the two seats in the back are "proper" seats. no problem for an adult to sit on them. The 5 back seats can all be completely taken out if required.

I looked at the Mazda MPV, but the middle seat on the 2nd row was sooooo small. It didn't look like a booster seat would fit on it.

I've got a friend who has a VW Touran and thinks its very good.

We're looking at C4 Picasso, S Max, FRV and Touran at the moment. I think we will end up going for an (older) S Max though

We have a Toyota Lucida/Estima,it's fab .Dp sold it to me with the following:-

sliding doors
7 seater with seats that recline and turn around
an aisle down the middle(very useful for dealing with car sickness)
it's thinner than the Zafira,10cms (I made dp check)longer but it has parking sensors and a camera so even I can now reverse into spaces
runs like a dream
ours only cost 4k
the dc are all split up so no poking

A Renault Scenic should do the job. ATM I have two high back boosters, and one booster, (for 10yo), but I could get three high back boosters if I wanted to. There are only 2 isofix points, though.

I've had two Group 0 seats along with a booster seat (with high back) in the Mazda with no problems? ANd three boosters fit too! Ours is 2000- maybe the newer ones are smaller?

we have a greand scenic and chose it over the zafira - the two spare seats in the boot fold down into the floor so remain in at all time

it takes our 3 in the back no problem, its not terrible exciting but the C Max we had just wasn't big enough boot wise

FRV boot wasn't big enough boot wise for us either unfortunately and we couldn't afford the galaxy that we wanted

Dietstartstomorrow. Do not get a C8 - warning, warning. Do not get a C8, warning, warning.

There are lots of electrical faults with the C8. The windows are temperamental. The doors squash the life out of small children before they open again (if for example a child is climbing in and the doors get set off on key fob or other kids messing about).

But worst of all, they are reknowned for having a cam belt fault which is due to water running off and coroding it before it is due to be replaced. This results in a knackered engine.

How do I know? This happened to us last Thursday. We have two years finance left on the car and are having to pay for a new engine (5K). If you search online for C8 cam belt failure, you will realise that best to not go near one!!!!

Bloody terrible car, bad fule consumption (so wish we bought a Fiat Doblo!!!!).

What a pain, saggy

Presumably what goes for the C8 also goes for the Peugeot 807 & Fiat Ulysse as they are all the same car?

Thanks for the warning. I'm gutted, its the car I really want. Will look at the other alternatives now.

Scenic - I know you can deffo get a group 0, 1 and 2-3 in the back as have done so. I also wouldn't want a car with seats in the 'crumple zone' either, especially as someone went into the back of us last week whilst we were sat in traffic . Car was driveable but too costly to fix, so insurance are writing her off . We are getting another Scenic and i'm 19 weeks pregnant so big enouugh for the kids. Handy that the seats fold down/come out especially as we couldn't get the boot open and were on holiday at the time!

Thanks for all this info - off to go car shopping!!!

Hi there! First time poster alert! I've had a Zafira for the past 2 years and have loved it. I bought it as I was a childminder and it was great for the kids and buggys. Can get 3 seats across the middle row.

I have now stopped childminding so no longer realy need this car, if anyone would like to buy it then we are selling for around £4,400 although offers considered.

It's a 1.6 life. Metallic blue, 2005 (55reg) (old model). Have had no problems with it at all and it is in a good condition with only 21k miles and aircon. Please do contact me if you would like further details. We are in Frimley Green, Surrey.