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Original poster

does anyone have a car with seats facing backwards in the boot?

19 replies

eleanorsmum · 13/04/2008 20:54

and if so which car seats do you/ could you use? i am looking at buying a mercedes eclass esate or a peugeot 406 estate some of which have handy seats in the boot which you can flip up for extra seats. they face the back window but dd would need a car seat. have emailed britax fit finder but thought i'd ask you all as well if not then what car should i buy? i want three full size seats in the back for three big car seats and the option of extra seats for when i need them (i'm a cm!) have looked at the zafira too but middle back seat doesn't look that big. ideas anyone please

OP posts:
themoon66 · 13/04/2008 20:56

Many years ago we had a volvo estate with two seats that faced backwards. They must have been for children only because they were quite tiny. DD used to love sitting in them, facing backwards. She was about 8 years old I think.

Original poster
eleanorsmum · 13/04/2008 21:06

thanks will check out volvo's too. did you use a car seat at all?

OP posts:
misdee · 13/04/2008 21:07

middle back seats of zafira can fit three cars in it.

serenity · 13/04/2008 21:14

We've got a 406 family estate with the seats in the boot. We don't use car seats with them, they don't fit safely because of the design and size of the seat itself. Until recently we only allowed the DSs to use them, but DS1 is now too tall (10, but size of a 13 yo) DD has just started sitting in them (she's 4 but very tall) I allow her to do it as the belts etc fit in the right places and I confirmed with Peugeot that they are designed as childrens seats (built to BS something or another standard, sorry can't remember the details) We looked all this up when the seat belt laws came into effect to find out what we were supposed to do!

sazm · 13/04/2008 22:30

a 307 estate can be either a 5 or 7 seater,check with the car seat companies as in the instructions for our car seats it says only to be usedn frontal facing seats.

bonkerz · 13/04/2008 22:33

zafira does fit 3 big car seats on the middle seat. Have a couple of childminder Friends who have them! Fiat multiplas are also getting popular with childminders!

MissPaulaYates · 13/04/2008 22:34

tht volvo back seat was TINY iirc- but that wasmany moons ago

themoon66 · 13/04/2008 22:58

Yes the volvo back seats were so tiny that DD didn't need to use a booster.

WendyWeber · 13/04/2008 22:59

We have had a Volvo and a Peugeot 406 with the boot seats - a) the seats are not very big and b) you can't have just one of them up, they fold up and down together, which is a pain in terms of boot space.

Also the child/ren sitting there get no air at all.

With a Zafira/SMax/Verso whatever you could use one of the boot seats if you couldn't fit 3 in the middle row, and would still have more than half the luggage space.

shoshe · 14/04/2008 12:24

EM buy a Mazda Bongo its brill

8 seats loads of boot space and brill to drive

Best car I have ever had for CMinding

evenhope · 14/04/2008 12:48

We used to have a montego with rear-facing seats. It was the only sort of 7-seater you could buy at the time. None of the car-seat manufacturers recommend using their products on a rear-facing seat plus this area of the car is the crumple-zone. Even on a volvo

Now that there are proper alternatives I would never chance putting children in a rear-facing seat.

Twinkie1 · 14/04/2008 12:50

Citroen do a new bigger picasso that my friend has just got - she has 4 kids and it is the best - 2 seat facing each other in boot, 3 in back and normal 2 in front - think they are all full size too.

alibubbles · 15/04/2008 10:25

I am a childminder and I have the Mercedes E class( my 3rd one) with rear facing seats. They are fine for children from 3/4 years depending on size and weight of child to max height of 140cm.My 10 year old m indie is just getting too big, so swap round of positions due!

I used to have the M class but they stopped doing the 3rd row of seats, so saving for a GL which has 3 rows of full size seats.

You can't use car seats on the rear seat of the E class.

alibubbles · 15/04/2008 10:27

Forgot to add, I have three Britax seats on the middle seat and one on the front seat too with the airbag sensor.

Mercedes have a reinforced steel cage around the rear seat for safety.

sazm · 15/04/2008 13:14

yep but even in the back seats the kids would need to bo on booster seats if they are only 3/4, are boosters safe to use on these seats?

alibubbles · 15/04/2008 13:34

The car manual says emphatically that any seats must NOT be used, the rear seat design and dimensions are designed for specific weight/height, so boosters cannot be used. the seat belts are aligned with this specific requirement.

sazm · 15/04/2008 13:55

so how does that work with the new car seat laws then?

alibubbles · 17/04/2008 09:21

The seat is designed and approved for use only without a booster, the dimensions are for a child only, and a child bigger than 10 can't fit into them.

The same goes for the integrated seats in the middle row on some models, no booster is required, they are child seats.

sazm · 17/04/2008 12:29

oh right,didnt know that.

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