Am I missing something? Car for 3 kids…

[girlrunningoncheese]

Why am I finding it so tricky to get a car that’ll fit 3 kids?! Context = DC3 due in Aug, already have a 6 + a 4 year old.
My criteria is under £30k (ideally £25k), and for all 3 kids to fit in the middle row. Don’t really want the eldest scrambling over into a third row seat or getting in/out the boot.

maybe it’s because we don’t have a Volvo XC90 or Landrover budget but it seems surprisingly hard. I didn’t think 3+ kids was that unusual but there don’t seem to be loads of options.

we test drove a Peugeot 5008 only to discover that the newest model no longer has 3 separate seats in the middle - they’ve gone back to the 40/60 split which is unhelpful. So we could go for a 2023 version which is probably the obvious choice.
any other recommendations - anything I’m missing?
i’d rather have an SUV than an MPV but could be persuaded otherwise. Am nervous about going much older than 5 years for maintenance reasons but not super precious about it.
advice gratefully received!

Another vote for a VW Touran. I test drove a Kodiaq, couldn't fit it in a normal space at Sainsbury's and struggled to get a third person between the two car seats. I bloody love the Touran. 3 proper seats in the middle row, 2 extras for when you need them, can fit it in a normal parking space and reasonably cheap.

Not necessarily - we have a zafira with 3 separate seats but only 2 isofix. That’s a separate question - which cars have 3 isofix

Axkid Up is meant to be the gold standard for getting 3 across but it is horrifyingly expensive - perhaps less so than a new car, though?

If one of the older DC is small enough (under 125cm) to fit in an ERF seat you could look at one of those, as they also can be fairly narrow at the part which needs to fit between other seats in the middle. You would have to convince them to go back into a RF seat but sometimes the sheer novelty of that is fun. Then once baby is big enough to go into the ERF seat you could swap them back.

I found it was more comfortable to put the adult/teenager on the side rather than in between two car seats. One benefit of the 3008 and therefore possibly the newer 5008 version is that it had isofix in the front. We never used it because DH was not at all keen on putting DC in front safety wise, but it can be another way to fit three in and if you disable the airbag, the rear facing seat can go there.

We have an electric berlingo - it’s fab and would give you the 3 isofix and loads of room. Only 3yrs old but we haven’t had any issues at all.

why not go for slightly older XC90 within budget, i’m on my 2nd have driven since 2019 and previously had a v70 all with 3 seats across the back

granted all of mine are now out of seats and i keep saying i need to downsize but i like my xc90 and the size comes in handy often plus it’s paid off

We have a VW I’d buzz and a VW Tiguan Allspace, both fit 3 seats along the middle row easily

Last year we bought new Nissan X-Trail with 7 seats to fit SS12, SD9, DS3 and baby DD in. You can get 20% discount off new if you sign up to caravan club (which costs like £70).

If you like your current car, I’d get down to a car seat specific store and do a seat fit. We did a 4 hour round trip for ours but it was worth it!

Our Kia Carens fitted 3 across the middle row, in case you see one second hand

Hyundai Santa Fe or Kia Sorrento circa 2018 models will definitely work or probably later versions too

We imported a Toyota Alphard from Japan. In total it cost £12k. It is hands down the most luxurious and enjoyable car I have ever driven. The space inside is glorious, especially when you want to avoid squabbles. Each child has loads of space and with one of the back seats up you can fit a pram that's unfolded or enough luggage for a 6 week drive across Europe.

My friend got one of these - https://www.multimac.com/product/multimac-1000-3-seater/

yes very expensive BUT cheaper than a car and could be transferred to other cars. She got the mini Mac attachment on it for the baby and removed it as the baby got older.

Yes, I thought my Cybex swivel setup was expensive but the Axkid ones are next level…I will have a proper look though.

How old is “too old”? Looks like I’d need to go back to around 2018 to fit my budget. But I know Volvos tend to run and run so maybe that’s not an issue?

Thanks again for all the thoughts. It’s helping me clarify that actually the backup 6/7 seats will probably be helpful in the future so that narrows things down.
Lots of votes for the Touran so I’ll take another look at that option too.

If you can find a ford smax it has 3 middle seat isofix. I love mine.

you are not at this stage yet, but one thing I failed to appreciate is that you need the space not just the isofix stage - I have two in isofix car seats but my teenager is taller than me and has broad shoulders; he definitely appreciates the proper seat of a people carrier.

We’ve had the old, old Peugeot 5008 and a seat Alhambra.

@girlrunningoncheese I'm out of date regarding car seats as my dc are 31 and 28 (although I do have a two week old grandaughter, and will donexactly what ds and dil want).

However, even though we only had two, by the time they were 8 plus, our old Citroen Picasso with three full seats was a bit too small, and was feeling tired and old car(ish) at 8 years old: 60k.

We replaced the Citroen Picasso with an SMax. It was a blessing for pick-up runs and I could always fit in an extra when my limit of one child/one friend was exceeded. It paid absolute dividends as they got bigger and activities included cricket bags (x 3 or 4) and/or a cello or euphonium! Then paid some more dividends with the uni runs. We kept it for 11 years and only called it a day when it turned 110k.

In summary, I'm saying an MPV is probably a better bet long term if you have 3 DC. I'm sorry, but I've no idea what's available now.

I have a citroen grand c4 picasso with 3 full size seats in the back which accommodates 3 car seats and it’s great with a massive boot (don’t use the extra seats in the back!)

We couldn't afford to change our car so looked instead at different car seats. We managed to get and axkid which is seat belt tethered to the front seat (so just as safe as isofix) and is rear facing from birth to 6yrs. Because it didn't fit to the isofix it meant we could move it towards the door a few more cm. Then we got a maxi Cosi rodi for our eldest as it was the narrowest high back booster we could find, which again bought us a few cms. We went to an independent baby store where the owner was very helpful and helped us play with different combinations to find one that worked for us. Good luck!

Took me a year to find one. We now have a Toyota Prius + .
it is a seven seater but the back two seats are folded down into boot space. I was hesitant but it is a lovely car.

i am sure there used to be more cars with three individual seats in, when my kids were younger we had a Chevrolet Tacuma.

Car seat safety UK page on Facebook have a huge thread on 3 across, they can even advise which combination of seats work best for each car :)

I used to have a C4 until the engine died, it was surprisingly spacious , the boot was huge

I have an MG HS and can get 3 children in comfortably. They are 13, 12 and 6. It has plenty of room and well under your budget. I've had mine 2 years and will upgrade it next year as I've had no problems with it at all - and I do a lot of miles

Most car engines can easily go to 150k miles if serviced and looked after, and Volvos in particular would probably go to 250k. Don't focus on age when looking for cars, you should look at service history and receipts for work carried out alongside the mileage.