Estate car that's not too long, and comfortable for 3 teenagers in the back?

[hoodiemum]

We're in the process of choosing a new (well, nearly new) car. Have had a Touran for years, but it's dying. Oldest kid is 17 so we don't really know how long she'll be coming on family holidays etc. For environmental reasons, we're keen to go estate rather than another MPV - lower emissions, mpg, etc. We need a decent sized boot. Civic Tourer Estate seemed to fit the bill, but the middle seat in the rear isn't really a seat at all; it's an uncomfortable humpy thing. We can't find a nice estate car that doesn't have this problem, whereas 3 in the back is OK even in my clapped out, tiny Yaris. Anyone got any suggestions? Either of a good estate with comfy back seating for 3, or a way to turn an uncomfortable rear middle seat into a more comfortable one?

a mercedes B class is surprisingly roomy in the back (I can fit 3 6ft boys in the back) and the boot is roomy too.

It's not a station wagon, it's a boxy hatchback, but has the same room as the boot of an estate, iyswim, yet easy to park.

It looks like a small-medium car, but surprisingly big inside.

Ford Focus?

I haven't had three teenagers in the back but it's not a bump in the middle. Or if you need bigger look at the mondeo.

I know you said no mpv but..........we swapped our falling apart touran for a new grand c4 Picasso and it's brilliant for our girls (18, 15 and 9)
Completely flat back floor, so much leg room, comfortable seats. The boot is slightly bigger than the touran we think, it swallows so much stuff.

We've got a Mazda 6 tourer
Which is an estate car , very large boot space ( we have 2 DC at uni , and moving them in , with all their stuff , was a good test !)

I think a Skoda Octavia has three full seats in the back. I'm almost certain, because they are very popular with taxi companies. They definitely have lots of leg room and are comfortable in the back for an adult sized passenger.

Toyota Prius plus? We used to have one.

7 seats, hybrid (so green credentials) and surprisingly tardis like!

Audi A6.

I30 Hyundai is huge in the back. Plenty of leg room for my 6ft ds.

When we had this exact dilemma a few years ago the only estate car we could find with three seats in the back was a Peugeot 308. I was really surprised as it seemed to me that it must be a relatively common request - and judging by this thread there's a lot more choice now.

Focus estate. Our kids are smaller so still faffing with car seats but when I ferry friends on our nights out I easily get three grown women in the back.

Another vote for the A6. It's not the shortest but it's incredibly comfy. I can just squeeze in the back middle seat with two car seats. We regularly fill it with DH's very tall family.

Mercedes R class works for us

Mondeo and Skoda Octavia both have ok middle seats but the mondeo is the size of a small cruise liner and the Octavia is long but narrow (60/09 respectively)...

We've got a Peugeot 308 SW. It fits 2 car seats and an adult in the back when we go on day trips and also our massive dog in the boot.

Thank you, everyone. Lots of great suggestions to follow up on. Think I'm going to be busy today.