Alhambra, S-max, Or something else

[Hobbes39]

If you needed a car that can fit 3 car seats in the back (in one row), and needed a good sized boot to fit a double buggy and a dog - which would you choose?
I think we've narrowed it down to Ford S-max or a Seat Alhambra, but maybe there's something better or just as good but cheaper?
We'd be getting second hand, and it seems Alhambra is more expensive, so we'd need to get an older / higher mileage one in comparison with a-max I think. My main worry is that the boot space needs to have a BIG floor area to fit our massive double buggy and our dog and any luggage...
thanks!

Alhambra! We compared the two and I'm sure the boot is bigger than the smax. The 3rd row in the smax is smaller because the seats are more like occasional use seats whereas the 3rd row in the Alhambra has got 2 full size seats (with isofix!). The smax feels smaller because the boot slopes down above the 3rd row whereas it's full height in the Alhambra so luggage capacity is bigger.

I love the Alhambra (sliding doors 😍). I think it's more similar in size to the Galaxy so if you're going purely for size, the Alhambra would be bigger than the smax.

Alhambra is essentially a VW Sharan. I have one of these now as we need to ferry grandparents at same time as kids. Before we had a VW Touran though - which also has seven seats but is a bit smaller and shorter than Sharan. It worked really well for us as we could easily add a roof box and camping equipment + dog for five fitted fine.

Also Sharan and Alhambra have fixed seats - but Touran has removable middle
Row seats. You’d be amazed what you can for if you remove those (if you need to go to the tip or move furniture for instance). Also you can take 2 seats out and use the back two and one in the middle row for maximum room with five people

Thanks for replying!
@teaandbiscuitsforme - it's not so much volume that I'm looking for it's actual floor space in the boot - and I can't seem to find anywhere online that tells me this. Basically we have a 5 year old and twins on the way, plus a dog that would not be happy in the footwell, so need space for him in he boot... so it's the squeezing of the massive double buggy alongside the dog that I'm most concerned about, so height isn't the issue, floor area is.. hope that makes sense?

Ah, that's interesting @Girlwhowearsglasses - will have to look at the Touran properly...

The best was the Chrysler but they don’t sell them in the uk anymore.
Torneo custom is huge.

Don't know if you've seen this site. It gives you a bit more of an idea. Better on a tablet than a phone!
www.automobiledimension.com/car-comparison.php#!

With a 5 year old and twins you need an Alhambra and the sliding doors!

The Alhambra has definitely got a bigger footprint of a boot than the Touran - but I've not seen a touran without the back seats. We regularly used to do the journey from Belgium with a big tandem pram and all the stuff that comes with small ones and the Alhambra has always been brilliant in terms of what we could cram in.

What's your budget? Kia Sorrento has a huge boot, so does the skoda Kodiaq and the Ford Edge. All SUV's though so might it be what you're looking for. And the kodiaq and Edge definitely fit 3 car seats in the back.

I'd go for the Alhambra, as someone else said its basically a vw Sharan, we have the Sharan and it's huge. My dad uses an electric wheelchair and we can get that in the boot in one piece with a week's worth of shopping and room to spare.
Sliding doors with children is literally a god send, I don't know how we managed before them. No more telling the kids to watch the cars next to us, strapping them in is so much easier too. The three seats are absolutely huge and you can easily get an adult in the middle between two car seats.
I can't imagine us getting another car for a very long time yet.

Might not* that should say. We're just switching from an MPV to an SUV and the car seats, buggy space and dog space (for future puppy) has been the deciding factor.

I had twins when my older DC was two, so I’m your woman! (Congrats btw)

Touran will fit three child seats from newborn up to toddler on the middle row. It fitted a massive Phil and Teds buggy in the boot, and also later the dog had his crate in the back. It’s roof is very slightly lower than Sharan so a roof box is easier to get to (if you’re a shorter woman)- and we did go away sometimes and put the buggy up there.

Touran is definitely easier to park too.

Also: when we went from Touran to Sharan I investigated ALL the SUV that ‘think’ they have three seats in the back. None of them will fit thre child seats (I’ll be happy to hear of any that will of course) . In fact when looking properly, they wouldn’t fit my three boys in properly now they do t need seats - definitely not three adults (mine are ten, ten and 12 ). Kia Sorrento, and Nissan and Ford SUVs all looked at in person

Budget is approx 10k - ideally would like to spend less obviously, but willing to go up to max 12k if it was a car that will last us til we don't need car seats..!
We have a 2011 Skoda Octavia estate at the moment, and would be keeping for longer if it could fit 3 car seats and the huge buggy..!
While ideally we would get a slightly newer car than he one we are replacing, we aren't 'car' people, so not too fussy - just want practical and not too expensive to run and doesn't feel like a bus..! Will def look more at the Touran @Girlwhowearsglasses - thanks!

How big is the dog? Would a cage in the boot be a good option to solve the pushchair/dog worry in the boot?

Agree with the galaxy/Alhambra suggestions, as these boots a massive with the 3rd row seats down. Very practical cars, good ncap ratings too.

Have a look at some reviews on YouTube (I have been doing this, as also car hunting)