3 kids in the back...What car do you drive?

[DungunGirl]

We are looking to downsize our 7 seater Renault Grand Scenic as it is very expensive fuel wise and also has been giving us problems. We are looking at newish models of the below:

? Nissan Juke
? Nissan Qashqai
? Vauxhall Meriva
? Vauxhall Zafira

Anyone have 3 kids and own one of these? Would love to hear the feeback.

Thanks

Oh I'd like to hear, too...current car is pretty small and though I don't want anything huge, I'd like more space for children/shopping/car seats.

I've got a Passat and whilst you can just about squeeze three seat pads in the back, you can't fit booster seats with the backrest attached. It's also awkward to do the seatbelts up because the pads are a bit jammed together. Might be tricky to get out in an emergency.

I have a discovery at the moment, but looking to go back to ford kuga as smaller and easier to park and cheaper to run. also my son is almost 16 and sits in the front with me now (lone parent), this will mean that the three other dc can sit in the back, dd1 on a high back booster dd2 on a second stage car seat and ds2 just a seatbelt.
they have a fair bit of room, so i would assume that they would be ok in the Qashqai.
I doubt you could get three children in the back of a meriva, especially if needing boosters/car seats.
oh and please dont buy the juke its hideous

We've got a Ford S-max and love it. Plenty of space for 3 child seats across the back and the two extra seats in the boot are suitable for child seats too.

Concur on the Juke!

Nicest car I know for large families has to be an old Volvo.

Vauxhall Zafira here, it's great. Three kids across the back (two on boosters), two little seats that flap up in the boot to make a seven seater at a pinch (or when WWIII breaks out on a long drive). The dog and some luggage go in too, but it feels like a normal car not a monster chelsea tractor type thing. I am ignorant about cars but it has never broken down, is diesel and has reasonable consumption. a lot of other ones we see are minicabs!

I have a meriva. It does what it says on the tin. It's about 10 years old now and as LNG as its serviced every year, is pretty reliable.

However, it will not fit. 3 booster / child seats in the back. Now we have a dog and give lifts to school friends etc, we are looking at upsizing to something bigger!

DungunGirl, can you give us an idea of how old your children are, or what seat types they're using? And how big a boot do you need?

I have a Zafira, it's easy to drive and has tons of space, I have a first size rear facing car seat and 2 boosters in the back and I have the extra 2 seats if needed or plenty of boot space the rest of the time.

AlexMumsnetCars - my 3 are aged 8,4 and 2. The older one sometimes sits in the front but the other 2 are obvioulsy too young.

My husband does not want another 7 seater but I am seriously considering the new Zafira....there are loads of offers at the mo...

MY husband LOVES the Juke! HEheehe...I think it is pretty funky...think it is a 'You either Love it or Hate it' kind of car. (smile)

OH forgot to say as well that we don;t have a dog, my 2 year old is out of buggies really, so as long as I have space for a small stroller then that is all we need really!

we have an s max, would not vhange it

We tried the zafira but the vw touran was far more comfy - not much smaller than what you have though.

We have a Citroen C4 Picasso - we have 2 large teens and a 6 year old who is still in a car seat so needed something that had 3 full seats rather than 2 full ones and a smallish one in the middle. We downsized from an Alhambra and love it, would definitely recommend it.

We have a Zaffy and with 15 month old twins and a 3 month old it is difficult. We have one of the twins in the front and one in the back. We also have the rear facing seat in the back. And as my wife doesn't drive (just about to learn) she has to squeeze into the middle of the centre row of seats. And we can forget the rear 2 seats if we need the bug.gy and have to getbsing.

That said, we love the car and for your age groups it should be fine.

One point - do NOT get the 1.6 petrol. That's what we have and it drinks fuel. Get the diesel or the rare 2.2.

I know you say your husband doesn't want another seven-seater, DungunGirl, but I'm still going to suggest your peruse our guide to the 10 best seven-seaters or, failing that, our best mpvs and people carriers. Good luck with your search.

We have a Citroen xsara Picasso, 5 seater. 7,6 and 3 year old in 2 high back boosters and a rear facing izi combo, all fit across the back.

Oh, and we had a 7 seater zafira, before this car, and couldn't fit all 3 across the back.

I'll third the SMax. Brilliant car. Ours is nearly 7 year old and flew threw it's mot with no advisories. Never had a problem.

Has 7 separate proper seats. No bench seats like lots of other people carriers. Can fit 3 of any type of cat seat in the back.

We considered changing to a zafira so we could get a newer car as we can't afford a newer SMax. Changed our mind when we couldn't comfortably fit 2 boosters and a chair for our 2 year old in. They all sat squint and were kind of jammed against each other.

Mum23 what sort of boot space do you get with the seats up?

Have you considered the Peugeot 5008. I think the seat setup is better than the Qashqai and am considering it for my next car. I don't have one yet but have the 3008 which is fab and the semi automatic 1.6 diesel is great on fuel and is the same engine as the 5008. Not sure on 3 seats in the back - couldn't do it in the 3008 but the 5008 has 3 separate seats in the back that can be set in a staggered row so might work.