Family Car Question

PoolDude

I am going to have 3 kids under 4 very soon. Can you tell me which cars comfortably fit 3 baby car seats in the back? Thx.

Integra

toyota avensis I reckon.... depends on budget etc of course.... You'd wanna make sure it has all the proper fixing points before buying

PoolDude

No Avensis is not wide enough (friend just had same problem and changed Avensis for Corrolla Verso). I have a Passat and 3 seats will not fit in the back of that either :-(

I'm thinking its gotta be something like a Scenic but am not sure if that will fit 3 seats across the back either!!

Thx.

colm_mcm

PoolDude wrote:

No Avensis is not wide enough (friend just had same problem and changed Avensis for Corrolla Verso). I have a Passat and 3 seats will not fit in the back of that either :-(

I'm thinking its gotta be something like a Scenic but am not sure if that will fit 3 seats across the back either!!

Thx.

the only one i've found to fit three is a Corolla Verso. you need a car with three individual seats as opposed to a bench. you slide the middle seat forward so that the seats don't hit off each other. I'm sure a Scenic would do aswell, Older Zafiras don't have 3 point middle belt or side airbags, so I'd rule it out. A Fiat Multipla should fit 3 in the back, and isn't that bad to drive if you can live with its looks

skibum

colm_mcm wrote:

the only one i've found to fit three is a Corolla Verso. you need a car with three individual seats as opposed to a bench. you slide the middle seat forward so that the seats don't hit off each other. I'm sure a Scenic would do aswell, Older Zafiras don't have 3 point middle belt or side airbags, so I'd rule it out. A Fiat Multipla should fit 3 in the back, and isn't that bad to drive if you can live with its looks

The middle seat in the now old shape scenic's (97-02) isn't full size, you can slide it forward but you are going to find it very tight with 3 child seats in the back. I've had 2 child seats in the back and it didn't leave much room. The picasso has 3 full size seat's in the rear.

PoolDude

Thanks for the responses folks

astec123

Citroen Xsara Picasso has 3 individual seats in the back but not sure if it will hold 3 child seats.

Kersh

Range Rover. If I ever have kids, a range rover will be in the driveway.

Squirrel

Hyundai Sonata, the old version has 3 isofix points in the back. It's decently wide, I'm not sure for car seats though. The new vesion is wider I think, might be worth a look

Savman

I've heard good reports about Renault Kangoo, small 1.3 engines but very very spacious

Eoin

What about the Toyota Camry? Looks like a massive amount of room in the back of them...

colm_mcm

eoin_s wrote:

What about the Toyota Camry? Looks like a massive amount of room in the back of them...

nope, tried a Camry before and it won't work. you really need something with an individual middle seat that can be slid forwards, as child seats are ridiculously big, and get wider towards the front.

PoolDude

Do any of the jeeps do the trick, Rav4, Santa Fe etc if the Scenic, Corolla Verso or Picasso don't do the trick?

colm_mcm

Rav4 only has 2 real seats in the back, (although there's three seat belts). ~The Corolla Verso DOES work. I've tried it

HungryJoey

Take a look at the Picasso, we are after one of them right now. They have 3 seperate seats in the back, all can be moved for their own positions, and comes with alot of bells and whistles and They are selling for 20K new ( http://www.citroen.ie/configurator/index.cfm?fuseaction=promo.list ) thats like a 4K saving with their deals Atm, They pay the VRT.

Hj

HashSlinging

Would you not put the eldest in a booster seat, and put the bigger seats either side, congrats by the way.... I think a voyager is the only way to go, a grand voyager at that.

Big Balls

Kersh wrote:

Range Rover. If I ever have kids, a range rover will be in the driveway.

Yeh, cause you need a Range Rover to transport three kids in. :rolleyes:

Big Balls

HungryJoey wrote:

They pay the VRT.

Hj

They pay the VAT not the VRT. Good idea though...

colm_mcm

sure any big 7 seater would take 3 child seats,

jayok

Do any of the jeeps do the trick, Rav4, Santa Fe etc if the Scenic, Corolla Verso or Picasso don't do the trick?

Honda CR-V - just bought one and tested it for that very thing. One rear facing baby seat and two Grade 1 seats (about 6 months+). All fitted in no problem. Best thing was to getting access to the middle seat was achieveable from either side or the front seats. The CR-V also has the ISOFIX connections.

Apart from the seats the boot has mountains (and I mean mountains) of space for all the kiddie paraphenalia.

Well impressed with the thing, very comfortable and well equipped. The only thing is the 2 litre petrol is a bit of an alcoholic. We get about 30mpg on a long run and 25mpg around town. But I believe its not the worst of them.

bazz26

Seat Alhambra, Ford Galaxy or VW Sharan?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=258215
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=95625
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=310129

HungryJoey

Big Balls wrote:

They pay the VAT not the VRT. Good idea though...

May bad ! Wasn't thinking correctly.

Hj

colm_mcm

Citroen just artificially inflate their prices, then give huge discounts always giving cash back or paying your vat or something

PoolDude

colm_mcm wrote:

Rav4 only has 2 real seats in the back, (although there's three seat belts). ~The Corolla Verso DOES work. I've tried it

Not many available tough. I've been looking to spend circa €16k but there is limited numbers on cbg or motornet. Plenty of Picasso's or Scenics!

Fazer6

I have a '99 Seat Alhambra, bought from new. I had the same problem as you, I needed 3 baby seats in the car at the same time. The Alhambra solved that no problem. Fully loaded with the kids in their individual seats, it still had loards of room for all their bits and and pieces. It was serviced by the Seat dealer every 10K. There's 105K miles on the clock and it's still running like new. It's great for the school run, parties, holidays etc. A mate of mine was looking for a used Alhambra last year but ended up with the Volkswagen instead. He's happy as a pig in poo as well.
I would buy a new one in the morning if I had the money.

Fazer6.

zarkov

PoolDude wrote:

Not many available tough. I've been looking to spend circa €16k but there is limited numbers on cbg or motornet. Plenty of Picasso's or Scenics!

I had Nissan Tino (mini MPV) and the 3 seats worked fine but got rid of it because we needed more boot space. Don't buy one as they have poor resale value - had to flog it at auction. School/creche runs with the neigbours kids became a problem too. Opted in the end for older Merc estate with 2 extra seats in the boot - imported from the uk - see 'Importing from the UK - Definitive Guide' thread. The three seats fit fine and big boot.

Tested many cars during our search in 2003, Picasso worked, old Scenic was too tight, old Corolla Verso was tight, Avensis no, Passat no, S60 no. I think it takes about 54 inches of clear space to take 3 child seats - I'll double check tomorrow and post again.

Most modern saloon cars have only two defined seats in the rear with a narrow rise in the middle. All kids seats naturally slide into these two positions so even if the car is wide enough in the rear, three seats cannot be installed easily even with three full belts, especially if one of them is a carry-tot for a newborn. This is why the MPVs win the day with their 3 seats in the rear. Don't be fooled by old model Scenics, the middle seat is smaller. If you're checking cars to see if the seats fit don't forget to put the carry-tot on one of the outside seats for easy entry and exit as opposed to the centre where it might fit better but isn't practical.

PoolDude

This is great info and the width required will also be great.
Thanks.

zarkov

Checked and our 3 seats are 54 inches wide in total. You may get ones that are narrower but I looked at the time and there isn't much between them. All the seats are very because side impact protection is now an important feature for the manufactures. The Britax wesbite www.britax.co.uk has some good info and if you register you can use their 'fit finder' to check the results of their tests with various cars.

Another option I looked at was the integrated booster cushions that you can get in the V70 - see picture below. These are nice for older kids and you could fit a full car seat in the middle. I think the S40/V50 have them also. They are not a common option - usually known as 'family pack' which includes other bits as well.

colm_mcm

Some Ford Galaxys have built in child seats too

zarkov

Forgot about that, your absolutely right colm_mcm and they have a full harnesses so are more than just an integrated booster. They are a great idea because when you want to carry granny you can drop the cushion and fold the harness into the back of the seat and use the seat as normal - see pic below. They are available in the outside two seats in the middle row of the galaxy if I remember correctly. Two issues with them, kids will out grow them earlier than a standard car seat and they don't offer any side impact protection.

colm_mcm

The car has side impact protection, they're attached to the seat. isn't a normal child seat able to move around a good bit? the nice thing about the Galaxy seat is that you can still get into the back row of seats without removing the child seat