Car advice (twin pregnancy)

Herzlos

ontheroad1970 said:

Herzlos said:

ontheroad1970 said:

Definitely not an MPV or SUV as they have little in the way of boot space at all

Edited to add that you'll need 3 x isofix points in the back...

I'd agree with the SUV comment to an extent, though they tend to be a bit higher up which is handy for car seats.

MPV's however, are pretty much the best thing for boot space and families. You may need to get an MPV to fit 3 isofix seats in the back.

On a budget I'd be looking for any estate car, but ideally an MPV like the Zafira.  Do they have a double buggy yet? Because you'll need to find something that'll fit that in the boot above all. I'd get the buggy and take it with you to see how well it fits in cars before you buy them.

The likes of the Sharan/Galaxy aren't great for useable boot space in my view.  In my Mazda once my son's buggy is in there isn't a lot of space for anything else.  Without 3 isofix in the rear, mum will have to sit between the two outer seats while the 2 year old rides shotgun

The boot on a Galaxy is pretty crap with all 7 seats up (~300l so on par with a small hatchback), but given they only need 5 of the seats, they can fold down the 3rd row and end up with a pretty huge boot (~1300l so on par with a hatchback with the rear seats down). Ditto the Zafira - with all 7 seats up the boot is tiny but with only 5 seats it's pretty big.

In any case, the only way to know if it's big enough is to try.

I'm actually not sure if they'd need 3 isofix seats, just 3 seats, as you could have isofix on the outer 2 and use the strap for the inner. The law only relates to size/weight based on the fitted seat.

@Threebabes what's the budget?

jimjames

Threebabes said:

Hi

my son drives a 3 door fiesta and has recently found out his partner is having twins and she’s already got a 2 year old.

Friend has Ford S max for exactly the same reason. Others might be able to advise if it fits your other requirements.

Bonniepurple

I personally loved (still do!) Berlingos which are now on the older side but have a massive boot, space for 3 car seats across the back (not sure about rear facing) and have sliding rear doors which makes getting car seats and toddlers in and out much easier.

diystarter7

A-Max all day long - they still look good and current and the first ones came out years ago so lots of choice along with good VFM.

mgfvvc

Whatever you pick, even with 3 Isofix points, you need to check that it's wide enough for 3 car seats. I would suggest reading the various threads on this topic in the Mumsnet car forum. The S-Max sounds good to me, but I haven't researched it's suitability for 3 car sets abreast.

[Deleted User]

Another vote here for the Ford S-Max.

Nice compromise between MPV and car - it doesn't look like a bus but you'll have all the space you need.

You get 3x full size rear seats all with ISO fix so lots of room to get the 3x baby/child seats.

I've had Ford Galaxy's since 2003 as I have 4 kids myself, but now they've grown up I've actually gone to an S-Max because I don't need the 7 seats as often and spend 250 miles of the week with just one or two people in the car.

Here's a few photos of mine to show the middle row of seats - all full size and adjust the same as front seat for tilt / slide etc







Boot is massive:



And it doesn't look like a bus:



And the S-Max has the all important 5 star NCAP safety rating unlike some MPV's, for example the Berlingo mentioned above only 3 or 4 stars depending on the year. This is so important for MPV's when carrying precious cargo!

BTW that is the 2014 model I have, not sure if you are after a newer car but the Mk2 from 2015 is equally as good. 

My last S-Max was traded in with 183,000 miles on the clock and was still running perfectly.

Bigwheels1111

I have a Peugeot 5008, it has 3 iso fix points but not sure if you could fit 3 car seats in.
If you can the boot is huge as like a zafira the 3rd row seats fold into the floor.
Just found out it does.

https://myfamilyfever.co.uk/2016/09/review-peugeot-5008-7-seater-mpv/

daivid

There is no need for any isofix points, many good car seats (particularly extended rear facing seats) are not isofix, and isofix can only be used if the seat + child doesn't exceed 25kg obviously fine for the babies but the 2 year old may be in a seat good for many more years and hence not isofix. Seats secured properly with the seat belt are just as safe as their isofix equivalents and many base units for clip in and out baby seats can be fotted with either isofix or seatbelt and left in either way. That said most newish cars seem to have 2 isofix points at least.

After checking that the three car seats needed physically fit (the 2 year old will likely be in a pretty bulk car seat for a few years yet) my concern would be how easy it is to get all children in and out (potentially in a hurry). Lifting a child over into/out of the middle seat sounds like no fun to me particularly if the headroom is modest. 

A MPV with 3 rows and a wide opening rear door may be the way to go, or if prepared to go older and have the eldest upfront a Fiat Multipla or Honda FRV could work. I've got friends who loved both when the respective families needed to fit 3 children in, the Honda is still going strong (the Fiat could be as was sold but I doubt it), the downside is good ones of both seem to be commanding high prices now.

iwb100

The whole SUV boot thing is nonsense. Skodas own large SUV the kodiaq has a larger boot space than the Octavia Estate. So it’s purely wrong to say that SUVs are a bad choice.

For getting kids in and our, car seats in and out and pushchairs in and out an SUV will be a good choice. And that’s from personal experience.

There’s kids dictates a very very large boot. Do not underestimate how big you want. Ideally 700L.

A 7 seat SUV would be good and the best for three kids is probably the Peugeot 5008 due to isofix points. If you have one child old enough for none rear facing then you can get a normal seat and use the two isofix points for the others. This opens up most 7 seat SUVs. Though note that you will eat into the boot space a bit doing this. 

And frankly the ones that aren’t budget breaking are the Skoda Kodiaq, Seat Tarraco, Tiguan Allspace, Kia Sorrento….

I’d get one of these. Second hand. Find a good deal. If I was in their position.

An MPV is also a good shout. It will depend. I’d far prefer a large SUV in this circumstance.

diystarter7

mgfvvc said:

Whatever you pick, even with 3 Isofix points, you need to check that it's wide enough for 3 car seats. I would suggest reading the various threads on this topic in the Mumsnet car forum. The S-Max sounds good to me, but I haven't researched it's suitability for 3 car sets abreast.

Sorry, I should have said, S-Max, all day long but someone else then posted about it in detail.