A car that fits three child/infant seats?

BrandNewDay

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help with suggesting a few makes and models to check out. We're looking for a car that will comfortably fit three car seats. This either means a 7-seat people carrier or something with a wide back seat. We have a Ford Focus and it won't quite fit a third seat in the middle space. Our four-year-old either has to sit in the front on a booster or in between his brothers with no car booster at all. Even that is a tight fit.

Could you suggest some makes and models I could look into? I honestly don't know where to start and I have found that, short of actually peering through the window, you can't tell if a car has three complete seats or just a narrow gap with a belt.

Ideally, this would be something that has been around a few years and so could be bought used for a good price.

Thanks so much!

beaker141

We hired a Citroen Berlingo Multispace on holiday in spain - they are reasonably ugly and van like, but drove fine and did have 3 full seats in the back where we could fit the 3 child seats (well I think 2 of these were booster seats). They are very cheap to buy in the uk - I think I saw the base spec new one advertised in the paper last week for £7k so used ones should be a bargain.

If you don't want to go full 7 seat MPV then have a look at the Citroen Picasso (billions of these around second hand) and the Renault Scenic - both have 3 full seats. Have you checked the Focus C Max ?

wackojackouk

Hi BND

We're in the same situation as my OH is pregnant with twins plus we have a 7 month old daughter.

Go have a look at a Peugeot 307 SE/SW. They are an estate car but have three seperate seats in the back (plus you can get 2 seats in the boot as well).

Failing that I think (unless someone else can advise us) it's a MPV.

We can't have a big MPV either as it won't fit in our garage - so it will probably be a Zafira although I don't think you can get three seats across but they do have two seats in the back/boot area - need to check these are ok for an infant seat though.

Best thing is to go and look at the cars armed with your car seats

Picasso/Scenic defo has three seats but I think the interiors aren't very nice wheras the Peugeot is a normal car inside and not too bad.

Let us know how you get on as well

WJUK

BrandNewDay

beaker141 wrote: »

We hired a Citroen Berlingo Multispace on holiday in spain - they are reasonably ugly and van like, but drove fine and did have 3 full seats in the back where we could fit the 3 child seats (well I think 2 of these were booster seats). They are very cheap to buy in the uk - I think I saw the base spec new one advertised in the paper last week for £7k so used ones should be a bargain.

If you don't want to go full 7 seat MPV then have a look at the Citroen Picasso (billions of these around second hand) and the Renault Scenic - both have 3 full seats. Have you checked the Focus C Max ?

Thank you! Your answer is exactly the sort of info I've been looking for.

I only just started looking. I poked my nose into an Arnold Clarke here, today, and noticed a Picasso. There are a lot of those cheap, you're right. Where do you recommend I look to find out what sort of reputation/reliability a given make of car has?

I will look into the other makes you mentioned.

brummybloke

bmw estate or volvo estate have 3 proper seats, the bmw 3 series estate from 05 onwards have slightly more room in the bck for passengers than the previous models

BrandNewDay

wackojackouk wrote: »

Hi BND

We're in the same situation as my OH is pregnant with twins plus we have a 7 month old daughter.

Go have a look at a Peugeot 307 SE/SW. They are an estate car but have three seperate seats in the back (plus you can get 2 seats in the boot as well).

Failing that I think (unless someone else can advise us) it's a MPV.

We can't have a big MPV either as it won't fit in our garage - so it will probably be a Zafira although I don't think you can get three seats across but they do have two seats in the back/boot area - need to check these are ok for an infant seat though.

Best thing is to go and look at the cars armed with your car seats

Picasso/Scenic defo has three seats but I think the interiors aren't very nice wheras the Peugeot is a normal car inside and not too bad.

Let us know how you get on as well

WJUK

Thanks!

I think my primary concern is reliability. MPG would be of interest, but it would primarily be used as a local runabout. Husband does a long commute in a tiny little car.

I'm making a list of model names to research.

BrandNewDay

I'm just bumping this in case somebody else has more suggestions. Thanks!

AdrianHi

brummybloke wrote: »

bmw estate or volvo estate have 3 proper seats, the bmw 3 series estate from 05 onwards have slightly more room in the bck for passengers than the previous models

I have this car, the new shape 2005 "E91" 3 series touring and there is no way 3 child seats fit in the back. The middle third seat is for slim people over short distances when child seats are in use. The 5 series is getting big, really big, but seat design is not aimed at 3 child seats in the rear, you might squeeze them in.

Mazda 6 (wife has now), one of the largest family cars in Mondeo class, rear seat bench big but still not enough for 3 child seats.

Past the 307 SW it really is one of the mid sized MPV crowd. I've been looking at this myself and looked into the Japanese makes for hopefully better reliability.

Mazda 5 - sliding doors great, middle row centre seat useless, rear seats only for children and short distances, conclusion, stylish good to drive but only really a 4 seater.
Honda CRV - 6 wide seats, 3 front, 3 rear, staggered set up, resulting in odd shaped (centre seat set back) and small boot space - not much room for pushchairs etc. so no good.
Toyota Corrola Verso - 3 good seats for 3 child seats in the back, two part time seats for children in the rear taking away boot space, or fold flat for good boot space. Decent to drive (not too much body roll), best as a diesel especially the more recent diesel engine. 180bhp (T180) diesel not much faster than the 138bhp and uses more fuel. Conclusion: this is the one to buy.

This is without actually test driving them though...

BrandNewDay

Adrian, looks like you're searching seriously!

Here's my list so far (of cars to look into more):

Citroen Xsara Picasso (five seats)
Citroen Birlingo
Vauxhall Zafira (seven seats, but middle maybe too narrow)
Renault Scenic
Ford Focus C-Max (Five seats)
Peugot 307 Estate (Five seats)
Toyota Yaris Verso
Fiat Doblo
Renault Kangoo

The catch: I need something available used rather cheap. If there's something brand-new on the market, that's not going to do much good for me. LOL

chivers1977

I have a zafira and would not be able to put 3 car seats in the middle. Although at the weekend, I had two highback boosters in the back two seats, two baby twins in infant carriers and two adults in the front. Buggy would have fit in the footwell beneath the twins as is umbrella fold double but we did slings instead. BTW, this is my friend and I - I only have the one child and a huge car!!

Although I feel it is quite a boring car - the versatility of the seats is great

AdrianHi

BrandNewDay wrote: »

Adrian, looks like you're searching seriously!

Here's my list so far (of cars to look into more):

Vauxhall Zafira (seven seats, but middle maybe too narrow)
Renault Scenic
Ford Focus C-Max (Five seats)
Peugot 307 Estate (Five seats)

The 4 above have been owned by friends, brother had a 307 SW, all but my brother use them with 3 child seats so are all big enough.

We are looking at it from the point of view of doing school runs and being able to have our 2 children plus friends or relatives on board.
If you ask my wife it's because we might have a third child, but if you ask me it's definately for friends / relatives only :rotfl: