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Original poster

Suggest a car for three under 3s...

13 replies

BlueSky123 · 26/02/2010 10:03

We might have three children under 3 sometime soon, all being well, and we're wondering what to do about the car...

We've currently got a Focus and there's just not room in the back for 3 seats, even if we stopped using ISOFIX and used seat belts (which I'm not keen on doing). Plus we can imagine DS1 & DS2 happily throwing things at/on the baby for amusement :-)

We could put new baby in the front, if we can get the airbag disabled, but then there's only room in the car for one adult, so that's not much fun either.

So... anyone else in a similar position? Any suggestions?

OP posts:

lostinwales · 26/02/2010 10:10

I had three needing seats for a while and we ended up with Fiat Multipla. It has three seats in the front and three full seats in the back so baby was in the front with us away from marauding older brothers. The air bag can be turned on and off at will using the ignition key in a switch in a compartment on the dashboard.
The boot is a reasonable size too, we've been on holiday to france with them all twice now and not needed a roof box, although the boot required DH's specialist man packing skills!
I think Honda do something similar now too.

Thinking about it, there's a black and white photo of my three in the back of the car on my profile, if you want to see how it works in practice, good luck with having three, I personally think it's the best, and third babies are just so much easier.

Olihan · 26/02/2010 10:20

Citroen C4 Picasso/ Xsara Picasso has 3 individual seats across the back so is very easy to fit 3 seats in or 2 seats and an adult. You can also turn the front airbag off with the key.

We have the C4 Grand Picasso which has 2 extra seats in the boot floor space which is great for taking friends/relatives with you.

The boot is big on both types too - plenty of room for double buggies and all the associated paraphanalia of 3 small dcs!

I love ours - I had 3 under 3 and to begin with we had a Zafira but the Picasso is much better, imo. They're also relatively cheap for the size of car you get.

MrsJohnDeere · 26/02/2010 10:38

A friend of mine who will shortly have 3 under 3 has bought a Nissan Qashqai.

nicm · 26/02/2010 14:21

i have 3 under 4 in a golf! i have a KISS, a britax two way elite and a mc priori sps. they all fit and i can change the priori to a rodi sps hbb if i need to and still reach the seat belt.

Original poster

BlueSky123 · 27/02/2010 20:03

We might be able to get 3 in the Focus, but not using ISOFIX so I'm less keen on that...

Do yours not try to kill each other whilst sitting so close? :-)

OP posts:

yellowcircle · 27/02/2010 20:07

You could get a multimac (3 car seats all joined together with a choice of rear facing/forward facing depending on age)

Then you wouldn't have to get a new car

www.multimac.co.uk/3_child_car_seat

herbietea · 27/02/2010 20:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

nicm · 27/02/2010 22:00

no bluesky123 they aren't too bad. i had a grand scenic and it was so rubbish i had to get the golf. the golf is smaller but there wasn't much more room in the scenic as it had a smaller middle seat iykwim.

the KISS is isofix, the twe is more stable than it as it has tether straps and the priori doesn't move a mm when installed tightly.

i think the isofix is more important on a hbb as the child and the seat are being held in by the seatbelt where as the group 1 is held by the seatbelt and then the child is held by the harness iykwim? so i would say that as long as it was installed correctly it would be just as good. although you could call someone and check. simon is very helpful and he can be contacted at www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk

either that or cathy or vicky are helpful at the essex car safety centre. their contact number is on www.rearfacing.co.uk.

orienteerer · 27/02/2010 22:02

Fiat Multipla

sazm · 28/02/2010 23:21

my 3 fit in the back of a focus,they also fit in a MGZR,a 3 door corsa and a vectra(which i currently have)
i dont think theres many cars (if any) which have 3 isofix points in the back seat?

the fiat multipla and the honda frv are both similar,and its nice as you could have baby beside you and the other 2 in the back,an you still have room for a passenger in the front,and in the back if needed.
the fiat will be much cheaper than the honda.

i think it depends a lot on personal preference too, i know some people dont think its as safe having a baby in the front,also some dont like having a child in the 'boot'.
i thought it would be a bit chaotic with the 3 in the back,but they amuse each other.
i loved having the baby in the front when he was in a rearfacing seat though.

rearfacingcarseats5timessafer · 02/03/2010 20:56

We can fit 3 across the back seat of our volov v70 two group 1 rear facing and a high back booster.
My DH wants to change the car and has been told that the saab 9-5 has the same bench size, but would have to try seats as we are isofix only, also found out the the VW Touareg has an even bigger bench, but again it depends on where the isofix points are.
But i love my V70,

Original poster

BlueSky123 · 03/03/2010 21:57

Thanks for all the suggestions!

OP posts:

shivster1980 · 06/03/2010 12:44

I was going to wax lyrical about the relative merits of a Fiat Doblo (7 seats). However as you shouldn't and probably wouldn't want an under 12 in the 'boot' seats that would mean adult passengers would have to go in the boot.

I haven't had 3 under 3 but a friend has recently had 3 under 5 and used to use the baby as a sort of 'buffer zone' (Poor little one) between her fighting older ones. It did work because they couldn't reach one another and were not a danger to the baby when he was very small.

In which case the doblo (5 seats) might be an option. The Doblo has a gigantic boot! We have picnicked in it. It does 45-50 MPG (1.3 Diesel version). Loads of headroom so feels super spacious and the sliding van style doors are fantastic for getting small people and car seats in and out.

Oh Bother!!! I have waxed lyrical anyway!

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