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Original poster

Advice on car for 3 kids!

22 replies

Loveallmyboys · 24/08/2014 10:13

Right, we have an 11 year old, a 2.5 year old and a bun in the oven. We just sold our BMW 520 and are now looking at some sort if mpv type if thing.
We need the middle seat in the back to be wide enough to fit our oldest, comfortbly, so not one if those daft, skinny seats. I like the ford focus c max but not sure if the middle seat is sufficient.
Would rather steer clear of Renault and Citroen.
Oh and we only want to spend about £3k
Advice please

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Bondy83 · 24/08/2014 11:51

Vauxhall zafira and meriva have full middle seats

tomanyanimals · 24/08/2014 17:10

We have always had audis my dh is a car trader and we have ended up with a Renault grand scenic diesel I know it's not what you would like but it is worth a look I was disgusted when he brought it home I have had audis since passing my test but too be honest the amount I save in fuel and the fact I've had no problems and if there is parts are cheap to pick up so gave it ago and really glad I did and for a 1.9 it is really nippy. Can pick them up cheap if you can be abit clever how u look. Other than that Nissan is one to look at although may struggle on the budget you have set.

birdofthenorth · 24/08/2014 18:24

We have 11, 3, 1, and a bun, and our For S Max has heaps of room. Fits three seats in the middle and has two additional seat in the rear or a giant boot.

CherryPie3 · 24/08/2014 18:26

Another vote for Renault here - I have a 2010 scenic and would be without it, except to upgrade to grande scenic

My husband drives a Renault Megane and that also has 3 full back seats. It fits all three booster seats comfortably.

JustGotMyBabyOnBoardBadge · 24/08/2014 18:52

My cousin has a Honda FR-v - 3 seats in front (but middle can be folded down) and fits her 4 kids under 7

She drove it without any oil for a week..was just fine and my last AA pick up guy said to get a Honda in future - in ten years he working for the AA he never had to pick up many compared with all other brands

umiaisha · 24/08/2014 22:42

Not helpful I know, but I am expecting no 3 and keeping my Fiat 500.

Its not our main car, but it is so cheap to run and I love it!

Allshallbewell · 24/08/2014 22:47

We have recently had our third child and bought a Toyota verso, which I've been hugely pleased with. It sits 3 across comfortably and converts to a 7 seater with two seats that flip up in the boot. We spent just under £5000 for a 2006 model with low mileage. HTH

Heathcliff27 · 24/08/2014 22:53

Sorry i'm going to be absolutely no use to you at all as I always have a chuckle at these threads, my old Fiesta fitted my 3 kids in just fine along with a buggy and a weeks shopping for 5 people in the boot.

playftseforme · 24/08/2014 23:01

Bought a Ford s-max for my three. Will take any combination of car seat across the back, and handy extra boot seats.

My old fiesta would not have taken two rear facing 0 to 12 mth baby seats and a full 1 to 4 yr forward facing seat across the back seat.

Heathcliff27 · 24/08/2014 23:11

I only had two in car seats so managed just fine

WLmum · 24/08/2014 23:24

I know you said you would rather not. Citroen but we have a Picasso c4 - it was the only car I could find that fitted 3 full seats in the back, and was in our price range of 3 ish k. S max would have been ideal but all £££.
We've had it for 2 years now and no complaints.

CherryPie3 · 25/08/2014 08:36

If it was just a case of fitting the kids in a car then my old grande punto would have been just fine, it's the car seats that case the issues.

PenguinsIsSleepDeprived · 25/08/2014 08:49

It is car seats these days isn't it. We love our S Max but not sure how it fits with your budget as ours was fairly new and quite a lot more than that.

MummytoMog · 25/08/2014 10:33

Our C max fits two big isofix seats and a Maxi Cosi Rodi in the middle for our five year old. Not expensive now, we paid £6k for ours four years ago with 12,000 on the clock. Would be very cheap now and has only needed a tiny bit of work in the 50,000 miles we've done since.

Original poster

Loveallmyboys · 26/08/2014 19:07

Thanks for all your replies. We're currently eyeballing zafira as a maybe. It's such a hard decision!

OP posts:

Whitetara · 26/08/2014 22:14

I'm watching this thread with interest. I was looking at the Which report which has some good reviews on MPVs. I think the VW Sharan came out well as did the Seat Alhambra.

AuditAngel · 07/09/2014 09:34

I had a Zafira when my car was being repaired. I expected to hate it, but I loved it. I have a grand Picasso

skyra13 · 07/09/2014 11:40

How about Nissan Qashqai + 2 or just the Qashqai, the back can fit 3 people in fine so kids wouldn't be a problem, they have great reviews and are solid cars.

Me and hubby have one and I have a bun in the oven and feel very safe in it.

It is a cross over but its a good size not to big or small and good boot space to.

stripeymonster · 07/09/2014 12:31

We have a Zafira and I'm expecting dc3 in November. The middle seat is not as wide as the outer seats. I am struggling to find a booster seat which will fit between a toddler seat and a baby seat. Also have read some bad reviews on safety if you use the seats in the boot. Just to add to the problems, they are discussing outlawing booster seats without backs on next year - so I've no idea how we will fit them all in. With the Zafira you can't manually switch off the front airbag - so you can't put kids in the front safely.

vallinnapod · 07/09/2014 20:49

WE have a 12 plate Qashqai and the middle seat is a silly skinny one. You can only get two isofix car seats in the back (and a really small bummed rear seat passenger!).

There is a new version now so I am not sure if the middle seat is a proper one.

ProbablyMe · 07/09/2014 20:55

We got a new Zafira last year and it's great - back seat has loads of room. I have 2 teens over 6'2", and very tall 11 and 13 year olds and love it. Trying for another baby too and don't expect to need to change it.

GreatJoanUmber · 07/09/2014 21:43

Another vote for the Ford S-Max. Mine are 5, 3 and 8m; so we have a high back booster, group 1 forward facing, and a rear facing convertible seat all in the back row (which has three individual seats which are individually adjustable).
The only thing I wish it had are sliding doors, like the Alhambra or Sharan, as it's hard sometimes to get the boys out; the car takes up most of a parking space as it's so wide! But - with the Ford you get more car for your money (better spec) and it drives like a car, not a bus.

I do honestly think you need a big car with three children. All well and good to squeeze three into a Fiesta, but bear in mind that child car seats should neither touch each other, nor the front seats (for rearfacing seats), and if you go for longer journeys as a family it's nice to have a decent amount of space in the passenger seat as well! And there's the boot to consider too...

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