Is there a 5 seat car that supports 3 baby seats and 2 Adults???

[FoRahman]

My wife and I are expecting twins later this year (at which point our first child will be 2 years and 3 months old) and is currently using a harness back supported booster seat. I am currently looking for a car that has 5 seats as I would rather avoid purchasing a 7-seater.

My options are BMW 5 Series Estate, E class Estate, BMW X5 or a Mercedes ML (all 13 or 14 plates). Anyone know which of these cars will be best to support our family and whether we can or cannot (space-wise) use two ISO-fixes for the twins with any of these cars and then an infant seat or adult in the middle rear seat?

@Mrshue i think you mean the margin for error isn’t ears of fitting an isofix seat is significantly less than a seatbelt.
I am not sure that isofix is in any other way safer, say than a direct belt fitted car seat in the event of a crash but if there is some proper evidence to state otherwise I will gladly be proven wrong

Some of the safest rear facing car seats such as the AxKid nice are not isofix fitted

*move not nice
Though of course they are

Isofix isn't proven to be safer.

More convenient - yes.
Less room for error - certainly.

But it's no safer than a properly fitted belted seat.

@Mrshue there is no evidence that isofix is safer than belted seats. The safest seats out there are Swedish plus tested seats. The majority of them are belted seats. If you have a higher centile child then you can it safely put them in an isofix seat - they only go up to 18kg, which any child over 75th centile will reach before they are old enough to go into a high backed booster. Please don’t spout nonsense that might encourage people to buy seats that are inappropriate for their needs.

Well, i-Size - which requires isofix - IS safer than belted seats which is why the standards changed a few years ago. They're tested for side-impact protection for a start (which is why they're so bulky) and designed to keep toddlers rear-facing for longer, because it's safer.

www.childcarseats.org.uk/types-of-seat/i-size-seats/

If people are reusing older siblings' seats or have a car which predates isofix thent hat's one thing, but it baffles me that any new parent wouldn't go for the safest option.

@Otherpeoplesteens I’m afraid that’s not strictly true either. Yes I size seats do have to have some extra testing but there are lots of non isize seats that are as safe, if not safer. Take the axkid minikid for example. Swedish plus tested and will keep most children rear facing to 6 or 7. Safer than an isize seat that forces you to turn them forward and use a seatbelt at 18kg. Also looking a infant carriers - some isize carriers (such as the pebble plus) are outgrown on height when many babies are only 7-8 months old - safer to get an infant seat that would keep them rear facing to 13 months?

The safest option is to use an infant carrier from a reputable company (belted or isofix) then a 25kg extended rear facing seat that has passed the Swedish plus test - no 25kg seats can meet I-size regulations as you can’t isofix past 18kg! It’s all very confusing I agree, but there is a lot of bad information out there.

OMG guys I made it sound like I care that much what my friends drive and what I drive..It was meant as a joke/passing comment. I currently drive a 1999 BMW btw, hardly a Range Rover sport so that should tell you I really am not that fusse. Whilst looks is not that important, performance would be nice or driving becomes boring which is why I wanted a nice German car. Anyways really appreciate all the feedback...I think I will get a 5 series estate with the multimac fitted. On either side will be the infant seats with additional baby carriers. Multimac also mentioned that adults can sit in the seats too if I didn't have kids in the car.

A multimac isn’t a brilliant idea - you can’t rear face past infancy - there are much safer (and cheaper) options.

A 5 series estate will fit 3 across the rear seat - you’ll just need some help with picking the right seats. Go to the in car safety centre and they will sort you out! But please don’t buy a multimac!!

@welshweasel my daughter is 2 soon and a very tall big girl. We took her to Mothercare and they mentioned she wont fit into a rear facing belted seats so she is currently on a forward facing belted seat. What determines how long they should rear face for? Age weight or height? what are the limits?

welshweasel will fit? with Iso fixes? O my god, so many conflicting messages on this thread lol

@FoRahman my tall 4 year old is still happily rear facing in an axkid minikid and will fit for at least another couple of years. Mothercare were generally pretty crap for car seat advice (and don’t sell 25kg seats so wouldn’t ever recommend one). It is always safest to rear face (even for adults but not practical!). She will need to be in a harnessed seat until she is old enough for a high backed booster (4 at the earliest) - look at her current weight and use the WHO charts (in the red book) to see what weight she is predicted to be at age 4. If over 18kg then she will need a 25kg harnessed seat. Look at the axkid move or minikid, britax maxway plus for starters, although there are more. A nearly 2 year old should absolutely still be rear facing. I suspect that isofix wouldn’t be an option for all 3 seats but it is no safer in any case. Honestly please join the car seat safety Uk Facebook group or A to Z of rear facing. They will tell you all you need to know.

Rear facing until age 4 is recommended these days but as long as they fit in the seat is best.

Mothercare are (reputably) crap for car seat advice - people rear face 6 year olds in belted seats so a 2 year old will definitely fit!

It IS SAFER

It takes away most of the human mistakes. That’s no 1.

kit.honestjohn.co.uk/car-seat-belts-or-isofix-what-s-safest/

www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/isofix-vs-car-seat-belt

@welshweasel was this a belted rear seat for your 4 year old? I do not have ISO points on my current car and there were no big rear seats available in Mothercare or Mamas and Papas

@mrshue my 4 year old is absolutely 100% safer rear facing in his minikid than forward facing in an isize HBB (which is what mothercare would have him in). Any child over 18kg can’t use isofix. I accept for infant seats, where you might take it in and out of the car frequently that isofix is easier (not that belting in an infant carrier is remotely difficult) but for group 1 upwards, that stay in the car once fitted, so long as you fit it correctly then there is no benefit to having isofix.

I used to have 3 car seats across the back seat of by Peugeot 307sw back when I had 3 under 2.

I think the newer version of that Peugeot also takes 3 car seats.

@FoRahman yes he’s in an axkid minikid (belted up to 25kg) which is one of the safest seats available in the UK - often known as the Kevlar seat!

@welshweasel

Wrong.

cybex-online.com/en-gb/car-seats/pallassfix

@Mrshue neither of those links say isofix is safer - so long as the seat is properly installed then there is no difference, and in the case of older/heavier children then the extended rear facing belted seat is always going to be the safer option.

We looked at BMW's when we needed three seats in the back and hubby currently has a 5 series, bmw seats are sculpted so no chance of getting three seats in the back, the seatbelt ones slip down the sides into the middle. When we have two car seats in middle of the 5 series we can't fit another person in the middle let alone a car seat.

In the end we had to buy a ford galaxy as this was the only car that allowed us to have three car seats in the middle row and we can also comfortably fit two adults in the back. However if your wife doesn't like the s max she won't like the galaxy either as they are very similar. However the kit you get in the galaxy is far more than you would get with a bmw or merc x

@Mrshue, none of your links say that it is proven to be safer.

Easier and more secure than a standard belt fit yes but not actually safer than a properly fitted and secured using a seat belt.

The most stringent car seat safety tests available are only done on belt fitted seats because isofix cannot solely secure a child beyond 18kg because the belt is stronger than the anchorage points.