3 door cars with kids

[colin86]

As above does anyone do it ? Currently got a 3 door car and wife going back to work soon wondering if it will be a pain putting kids in and out ? Kids are 3 and 1.

Thanks

[Nigel_O]

Yes, it will be a proper PITA, especially with the one year old.

All you can do is give it a couple of trial runs - a lot will depend on the car - some 3-doors are much easier to get into the back of than others

[Skyedriver]

Think you'll need a 4 door, estate not a stupid SUV which will have less room in the back for the amount of stuff you'll end up transporting. But if you already have a 3 year old, surely you already know?

[vaud]

If the front seat has isofix, etc then you might find the 3 year old can soon put on their own belt in the back, while you have the 1 year old in the front.

But generally it is a PITA until they can do their own belts and are forward facing.

[TheJimi]

colin86 said:

As above does anyone do it ? Currently got a 3 door car and wife going back to work soon wondering if it will be a pain putting kids in and out ? Kids are 3 and 1.

Thanks

We don't have kids, and one of our cars is a 3dr. It's a PITA when more than two humans are involved.

I suppose it could potentially depend on what the car is, but x2 kids +3drs is pretty much guaranteed to get frustrating in short order.

[JimmyConwayNW]

Its very much a first world problem.

A minor bit of a blag, if you are in a position to change to something more practical it would help, if you aren't then just make do as best you can.

3 year old will climb into their own seat in the back, 1 year old will still need to be put into theirs.

[colin86]

Too be honest a have been looking just not found anything yet . My wife has another and a was working from
Home last time so was no problem. Car in question is a Ford Fiesta .

[Gary29]

My daughter is 5 now, ran a 3 door car since the day I drove her home from the hospital for the first time.

Not as convenient as a 4/5 door I agree, but easily doable. Pointless having a 'nice' car with kids as I'm sure you already know, so I just made do with what I had. Everything gets covered in sand, crumbs, beads, felt tip, stickers, mud, puke anyway.

[Zetec-S]

As a kid in the 80's I remember clambering into the back of various 3 door cars, wasn't really an issue for me or for my parents to strap me in, etc. The thing is, these were Talbot Samba's, Metro's, Mini's, etc, in car parks surrounded by similar sized cars. These days even if you do have a relatively small car, you'll be surrounded by humungous wkpanzers so will struggle to get enough room to open the door properly.

colin86 said:

Car in question is a Ford Fiesta .

We had a 3 door Mk7 Fiesta, the doors are pretty long so makes it hard to open that wide if there's not much room to the side of you. Was easier to park my Focus in the garage than the Fiesta, purely because of the doors.

[anonymous-user]

With a 1 year old there's no chance I'd want that extra faff and back pain. I'm all about making parenting as easy as possible.

When they're old enough to get in/out unaided it's fine.

[vaud]

Zetec-S said:

As a kid in the 80's I remember clambering into the back of various 3 door cars, wasn't really an issue for me or for my parents to strap me in, etc.

Don't forget they need to be in rear facing seats these days...

[Alex_225]

It's hard work with one let alone two! I had an RS Megane for my eldest when she was smaller but her mum had a more practical car. But it was hard on the back getting her in the seat.

For my second we had a Merc CLS so four doors but low down, easier but not ideal. As much as I'm not an SUV fan, for kids you lift into seats, the ML my other half bought is a bit of a god send as you don't really have to bend to lift them in.

[mat205125]

vaud said:

Zetec-S said:

As a kid in the 80's I remember clambering into the back of various 3 door cars, wasn't really an issue for me or for my parents to strap me in, etc.

Don't forget they need to be in rear facing seats these days...

In a basket on the back seat of a mini never done me no harm

[911Spanker]

What's the point for a Ford Fiesta which is available in 5 door?

It is worth the effort for something fun that only comes in a 2/3 door bodystyle.

[BoRED S2upid]

Fine when they are abit older and can climb into the back themselves and do their belts up. 1 and 3 would be a PITA.

[ChocolateFrog]

colin86 said:

As above does anyone do it ? Currently got a 3 door car and wife going back to work soon wondering if it will be a pain putting kids in and out ? Kids are 3 and 1.

Thanks

That sounds utterly miserable.

One of our car seats doesn't swivel and I find that a PITA.

[budgie smuggler]

Had to borrow a 3 door focus while my car was in for some work. Did my back in straight away! The problem is the car seats I had were reverse facing, and the kids really fought us when we tried to put them in.

[paulrockliffe]

Have a small 3 door car, had it since the kids were 3 and 5 and they're now 6 and 8. It's completely fine.

There is more room to reach in and put their belts on for them than in a 4 door car. There is more room to lift them into the car too. Both because your access is diagonal rather than across the kid. There is less room to get out the baby carrier things, you would normally turn that sideways to lift it out.

Overall, it's not a problem and everyone knows 3 door cars are better than 5 door cars. Plus they've pretty much stopped making new 3 door cars, so you'd be mad to lose yours now.

[paulrockliffe]

vaud said:

Don't forget they need to be in rear facing seats these days...

No they don't!

[vaud]

If it's your only car then something like a Mondeo Estate might serve you well.

The challenge with kids is the rear facing seats for several years and the amount of stuff kids come with... then when you have to take two bikes, etc the boot space rapidly vanishes.