A car that fits three child/infant seats?

AdrianHi

chivers1977 wrote: »

I have a zafira and would not be able to put 3 car seats in the middle.

Some how the friend I have with the Zafira gets 4 chidlred in.
Perhaps they don't use the middle seat.

BrandNewDay

AdrianHi wrote: »

Some how the friend I have with the Zafira gets 4 chidlred in.
Perhaps they don't use the middle seat.

That's a possibility: you're not legally obligated to use a car seat for the middle seat if there isn't room. So, right now, when the family goes out together, my four-year-old sits in the middle without any sort of booster. When it's just me driving the kids, he sits in the front in his booster. Unfortunately, you can't disable the air bag and I'm not sure if it's really safe or not.

michaels

We have fiat multipla nice and short so easy to park on street but still has boot and has room for 3 seats in the back (all 3 recline separately which is useful for sleeping toddlers) we also put baby in the front middle seat easily accessible to both parents (airbag off and seat slides back so well away from front of car and dash danger area). Big windows mean good visibility for kids and less car sickness. Model up to 2004 has 'quirky' looks. New model is so bland you don't notice it.

Diesels are more expensive but do 40s mpg. We have petrol which is more reliable and warms up quickly on cold mornings but only gets mid 20s on the short trips from cold we do.

flea72

we have a Berlingo Multispace, and although it is wide enough to take 3 car seats (as car seats tend to have an integral harness) its not that practical with 3 booster seats, as there isnt much hand room between the seats to allow access to the buckle

the only car with have found to take 3 seats easily is the mulitpla, and thats only because you can put one seat in the middle front row, which leaves the centre back one free. We couldnt fit 3 seats across the back row though

The berlingo is also cheap to pick up 2nd-hand. And another bonus is, as the boot is so large, you dont have to fold down a pushchair, as it can go in the boot upright. Also has an up and over door, which is good for sheltering from the rain, when you have to fiddle with the pushchair

If rainy really heavy, i have been known to put the pushchair in the boot with the child still in it. climb in the back seat and lift them out the pram, and put them in their car seat. i then climb over the seats again into the front, and were off - minimising how wet we get lol

Flea

marshmallow79

We've got a Nissan Almera Tino which is a fantastic car. It has 3 seperate seats in the back and would fit 3 car seats no problem. We were originally looking at getting a Citroen Xsara Picasso but stumbled across the Tino purely out of luck. The 2 cars are very similar in style but going by reviews of both vehicles the Tino is a lot more reliable (although uglier!:p).

beaker141

flea72 wrote: »

we have a Berlingo Multispace, and although it is wide enough to take 3 car seats (as car seats tend to have an integral harness) its not that practical with 3 booster seats, as there isnt much hand room between the seats to allow access to the buckle

Flea

We found similar issues with our Citroen C8, so I bought 2 * 30cm seat belt extension things from ebay and now the kids can buckle themselves in and out really easily.

P.S. Thanks for mentioning it - I might just take them to Spain for our next Holiday when we will rent the Berlingo again ! Loved your pushchair in the rain story too !

BoneHead

The Renault Megane Scenic will happily fit 3 child seats in the back. I used to hate French cars. We've never had a problem with this one.

We have the 2 litre Monaco with full leather interior. Comfy seats, comfy ride and not too bad economically. They also score highly in the Euro NCAP tests.

minimoneysaver

How about the Honda CRV?

Minxy_Bella

I was going to suggest the Fiat Multipla too. Mine's a diesel though - great car for pootling about town with several assorted children!

eslick

just in case you dont know the new (well new ish) car seat law also states that the kids car seats shouldnt touch each other so make sure that even in the 3 seaters the seats are big enough so that boosters and baby seats arent touching.

also you shouldnt use a car seat or booster with an airbag