Parents of 3 or more. What car do you drive?

[girlsyearapart]

Hi I am due in august with dc3. The dds will be 2 and 3 in September.Anyway we will struggle to fit into the car we have now so are looking to buy a new one.

I am not the world's most confident driver so I don't want a bus but would like a 7 seater so if dc4 ever makes an appearance we wouldn't have to change again.

Budget 5-7 grand.

Thanks.

Yorky, can you sell the Zafira and buy something else with that costs the same? If not then I wouldn't worry too much - having a DC in the boot seat is not ideal but have you ever been rammed from behind on the motorway? Probably not. Of course it does happen but it is rare so try not to worry.

Are there any seven seaters with three ISOFIX anchor points? The Galaxy/S-Max/Previa etc appear to just have two on the outer seats of the second row I would like three ideally

neenz - I had found oen with all seats ISOFIX but cannot for the life of me remember which one as I have looked at loads.

girlsyearpart - the C8 we were going to look at has gone and have started a new thread as we have now seen a Fiat Ulysees which is the same car as the C8 but seems a lot cheaper and I want to know why? Peugeot 807 same car as well so might be worth looking for all 3.

4DC under 6 pretty much means you will be limited to buses or proper 7 seaters really, keep thinking could we get away with a 5+2 but not fair on DD1 really to stick her in the boot with limited room.

Didn't like the drive of C8, it felt like a minibus rather than a car (Galaxy etc much more refined) and the one we test drove had faults with the electric windows/central locking which concerned us a bit. There was enough to concern me to check the internet reviews which are mixed, especially concerning reliability which is the key consideration for me.

Sweetkitty, great thanks! I think the Fiat is probably cheaper because it is not so well known therefore not much demand. The Citroens are much more popular. I would be worried about the reliability of any French or Italian car but I think they are a lot better than they used to be. And you save a bit on the purchase price so can afford a few repairs if necessary. I think you have made th eright decision going for the C8 - I liked it too when I looked at it.

neenz - we have had a few French cars and they have all been fine, I guess it's your luck really. I only do something like 4500 miles a year as well so it's not like it will be hammered. I agree the C8 will be bus like to drive but it's a big 7 seater so more like a bus really.

I've looked at so many I get all confused (doesn't take much these days though)

With the C8 does the middle seat of the middle row come out completely? I think with three kids under 4 (so in big car seats) we'll need one car seat in the back row, but need access to it! Having car seats in each of the outer seats in the middle row means you can't get into the back row in most cars .

I think the Kia Sedona allows you to take the middle seat out but not sure about others.

Yes it does, have seen one with 2-2-2 and one that had the seat behind the drivers taken out so they could get into the rear seats IYSWIM?

I haven't read the whole thread, but we have a Renault espace. We've only got 5 seats in it at the moment, but you can put 7 proper seats in it, and slide them all about/ take them right out individually to suit. the seats are quite heavy, so you don't want to be putting them in and out all the time, but the day you need to buy a sofa or such like, you can take all 5 seats out of the back and make plenty of space.

I like it because you can put the seats for instance in three rows of 2 with a gap down the middle which makes it much easier to do up seatbelts when the children are in car seats. (I have three under five and one on the way..)

There's plenty of space in the boot with three seats, and quite sufficient with all 7 seats in to put my pushchair (maclaren quest, so not enormous)and some shopping in the back. I tend to do a big shop when the two older ones are at school anyway, and then there is space between the seats as well.

If you want plenty of space then there's the renault grand espace too, but then its so long you could never park it!