Car that will take 3 child seats

[westtra]

Am now having a dilemma. Have a 2 year old and got twins on the way.

Looking for a car that will take 3 seats. 1 forward and 2 rear facing seats(preferably isofix bases for ease of fiiting). Needs plenty boot space so am open to estates but would rather not go down the MPV route. Car that I will be changing from is an impreza Sti so would like something that has a bit of go about it as when I drive the other halfs Focus its a nightmare.

Have been looking on auto trader etc and am getting depressed as only things I am finding that will be big enough are dull.

Budget will be up to £20k.

[westtra]

Unfortunately my impreza and the other half focus will struggle to get 3 in the back. Have had 2 seats in the back when had a friends son with us and there is minimal space between them. Am slowly resigning my self to the fact that its s max/galaxy types of cars to fit them and their crap in.

[westtra]

Unfortunately my impreza and the other half focus will struggle to get 3 in the back. Have had 2 seats in the back when had a friends son with us and there is minimal space between them. Am slowly resigning my self to the fact that its s max/galaxy types of cars to fit them and their crap in.

[westtra]

JVaughan said:

Just ordered a new Alhambra.. delivery March Next year. can actually vouch for the older alhambra and VW Sharans too... the sport is a freat vehicle.. doesnt handle like a jelly, 130 or 140 engines are great too ... commanding driving position and, if you take the rear most seats out, you can get a vast amount of luggage in and still have 3 adult seats with their own 3 point belts in the rear.

Have been looking at them and the galaxy's as well. They will definitely fit our needs and need to run it past the misses as not sure she will be happy with something of that size.

clarkey said:

Seriously, an S-Max with the 2.5 turbo engine isn't a bad car at all. Cheap second hand too.

seen good and bad reports on the s max but is on the list of ones to test drive.

oldcynic said:

I suspect you'll struggle with anything less than a fully-fledged MPV if you need to get 3 child seats acros
Our family transport is a Seat Alhambra which has 7 full size seats and is extremely good at what it does ( ours has isofix on all 5 seats at the back.

When choosing your car I suspect your biggest hurdle will be the group 1+ seats (ie over 9kg) and I can't imagine fitting 3 across the back of any compact SUV

Thats good to know that the back seats are all isofix. are the 2 back seats easy to remove? whats it like in this sort of weather? as we get quite a lot of snow up here and the road to our house can be fun and the other half struggles to get the car up it.

macd355 said:

Forester Sti perhaps?
EFA: They are quite rare, but well short of £20k

Edited by macd355 on Thursday 23 December 14:45

Definitely an option but not sure if its wide enough for 3 seats. plus looking at slightly less running costs as this will replace both cars we have for family car. will get a little run around for us aswell and hopefully a toy in the future when funds allow.

LocoBlade said:

There is a type of kids car seat (which I cant remember the name of) that's basically a customised bench that goes in across the back seat to allow you to get 3 or even 4 (of their own) child seats in across at, basically dividing up the space into 3 or 4 smaller seats. Its hard fixed in and modular so one can have a carrycot whilst another a forward facing toddler seat etc, it was expensive compared to regular seats but might be cheaper than changing cars. Cant find anything on google but Im sure someone will come up with the name in a mo.

Edit: Multimac

Edited by LocoBlade on Thursday 23 December 15:03

have looked at this but from reading the rear facing seats for babys are a little hard and at a strange angle. plus also want the car useable by adults when not on baby duties.

marctwo said:

Multimac plus this?

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2321848.htm

Congrats on the twins by the way, mine are 20 months now and very lively!

Edited by marctwo on Thursday 23 December 15:51

MMM drool. but kind of wipes out the sensible running costs option.

our boy is 2 next month and a handfull, god knows what the twins will be like at that age. Double trouble from what ave been told.

LuS1fer said:

We had a Mazda 5 and have a 10 year old, 4 year old and an 18 month old. We had to change it for a Mondeo to get the three in the back leaving the boot free for the pushchair and all the crud you have to transport with 3 kids. With an MPV, the lugage space is compromised as soon as you use the back row and I'm never happy having a folded pushchair alongside the seat anyway.

We went the Mondeo route for bargain price reasons but the other possibility I was considering was something like a Dodge Ram Quadcab with a rear pickup cover. May be a bit agricultural though and we never got round to trying one out.

I feel your pain. Better to buy an MPV and have a toy TBH. I had a diesel Seat Alhambra in Tenerife and that wasn't a bad thing at all, even through the steep and winding mountains of Tenerife (though the kids complained they felt sick - another consideration for getting all 3 into the rear seat).

The mundano was a car i didn't think would fit all 3 across one row but is good to know as is a car of the sise that the wife will drive.

And as you say better to have a toy. I have plans for that but think it will be a while so i can save up funds and justify it to the wife

thanks for the replies and keep the suggestions coming.

[westtra]

cheers for the reply nick. I'm leaning toward the s max going by the digging i'm doing at the moment.

Doesn't have isofix in the center but britax and others do a non isofix base that seams good so will be able to have 2 lift in lift out car seats(one in the midle) and the eldest by one of the doors for ease of tightening the straps on his seat.

Going to goto my local ford dealers and have a poke around and make sure i can have my seat pushed back far enough without getting in the road of the seat behind.

[westtra]

Looking at smax and galaxy dimensions there isn't much difference between them. Only a few mm here and there with the only main difference the headroom.

[westtra]

Looking at smax and galaxy dimensions there isn't much difference between them. Only a few mm here and there with the only main difference the headroom.