3 child seats into a saloon car?

ablelocks

is there any saloon car that will comfortably accommodate 3 child seats (infant seat + toddler seat + booster) across the back?

Or am I doomed to buy a barney bus? And if so, which MPV is not the worst? Or am I being too negative to MPV's?

Advice and recommendations greatly appreciated, thanks.

gyppo

Fiat Multipla, if you can come to terms with the looks.

Honda FRV is another choice.

edit - Sorry, missed the saloon point.

R.O.R

Apparently the new Mondeo is wider than an S-Class Merc so is probably the best bet in that market. Otherwise as above (multipla, FRV) and the Mitusbishi Grandis.

useeme

e class merc

cjt156

I used to get three across the back of the 156! depends on the width of the seats. It was a real nightmare though. Then we added a V70 for that very purpose - I'm assuming a S80 of S60 will be similar width. Previous & current Mondeos are wide too, as is the E class as mentioned.

Mini-MPVs are flexible as most have 3 independently moving rear seats, so even though they may not be the widest, you can position them for best effect. But then you end up driving a Mini-MPV...

What's your budget.

prospect

I would imagine the Skoda superb would be a good bet ???

PaulieC

he he....I thought the same and last year bought a Renault Grand Scenic. After 4 months of driving it, I cracked. I ended up with an 06 Passat which fits 2 baby seats and a booster (I have a 6 year old and 2 almost 2 year old twins) . The baby seats are Britax Renaissance and the booster is your bog standard shaped foam blob covered in material.
The two baby seats are side by side, it's a bit tight, but once you have them in, they're good and tight and very safe. It was a bit of a pain at first trying to put the seat belt around my eldest because if the side wings on the booster, so I cut them off and now it's a piece of cake. It's still a bit of a strain trying to get a small child into the seat in the middle, but it's worth it when you slip down into the driver's seat instead of climb up to it...

ninty9er

I'd be extremely shocked if one of these didn't meet your needs

mobby

S-max. Great space inside and it dont feel or drive like a MPV, Best car i ever had.:D

unkel

I'm not so sure, lads. Best actually try to fit the seats before buying the car.

I drive a BMW 7-series and I haven't tried the 3 child seats (infant seat + toddler seat + booster) as mentioned by the OP yet

Toddler + booster + adult is fine though

prospect

cambo_gueno wrote:

The two baby seats are side by side, it's a bit tight, but once you have them in, they're good and tight and very safe.

I am not sure, but I think there should be some movement in the seats, otherwise the child absorbs all the energy if there is a crash..... Like I said though, I am not 100% on this so it would be best to bring your car, with the seats fitted, to a mothercare shop, and a trained person will come out and inspect it for you no bother.

seanmc

I have a 02 mondeo and can get 3 seats into it no problem. Can be triky undoing the belt for the booster at times, but that's more to do with the type of baby seat we have.

FuzzyWuzzyWazza

prospect wrote:

I am not sure, but I think there should be some movement in the seats, otherwise the child absorbs all the energy if there is a crash..... Like I said though, I am not 100% on this so it would be best to bring your car, with the seats fitted, to a mothercare shop, and a trained person will come out and inspect it for you no bother.

I don't think thats right, that ISOFIX (or whatever it's called) child seat system ankors the seat fairly firmly, so it would seem the stiffer the better.

Linford

You also have to make sure that even if the three seats fit side by side that you can get the middle child into his/her seat.

Also are will the infant be moving into a toddler seat before the toddler moves on to a booster seat? The toddler seats seem to be much wider than the infant seats.

franzoni

were in the same boat...i'm looking around for a bigger car that can take 3 seats across the back and we were going to go to cargiant etc in england for a mpv,but having done a lot of reading up on mpv's it seems there is a lot of relibility issues with them as well as some of them look a bit manky shape wise... as for choosing which one to go for.... .... the seat alahambra was looking good until i read seat main dealers had been clocking their own cars....!!:eek: .......i was thinking of a 04 audi a6 or a saab 95 but could you get ..1 baby,1 toddler and one booster across the back seat.....??

ablelocks

was talking to a friend of mine over the weekend - he has a volvo v50 with integrated booster seats. From what I can gather on the volvo website, this seems to have been an option on all volvo's saloon and estate models.

This could be the solution....altho' the volume of cars sold in Ireland with this option may be low. Much more likely to pick one up in the UK than here I would imagine.

prospect

FuzzyWuzzyWazza wrote:

I don't think thats right, that ISOFIX (or whatever it's called) child seat system ankors the seat fairly firmly, so it would seem the stiffer the better.

Thats what I thought, however when I installed mine, the leg that goes to the floor of the footwell was in position, but the front (i.e. the bit nearest the front of the car) could still lift an inch or so. If I raised the leg so it was tight the baby seat was not level, meaning the babys head kept tilting forward.
I went to mothercare, and the assistant came out to look at it. She said that the leg should be in the lower postion, allowing the ISOFIX base some movement....

GetOffMyPatch

I am also facing the same issue - Need to accommodate one infant, one booster and one toddler seat (soon to be booster). Looking around at specs and wanting to stay away from MPVs, the Ford Mondeo 07 looks to have enough room (Look at the widths compared to market rivals.

CBG Review

Whilst I am not a Ford fan by any means, this added room, the reviews, the price and the amount you get for standard has me leaning this way.

Cheers
S

PS - Will be watching this thread - Interesting topic

loyatemu

problem with saloon cars is that they are generally laid out to accomodate 2 people in the back with a hump in the middle. this makes fitting the middle car seat very tricky.

If you can find one with a reasonably flat back seat it might work - we ended up buying a Scenic - even then it was a tight fit and we've now bought a grand scenic so we can put one of the kids in the back row (and carry friends etc).

It was a bit of a pain at first trying to put the seat belt around my eldest because if the side wings on the booster, so I cut them off and now it's a piece of cake.

that's insane - those wings are there to hold the seat in place in a crash - if you're going to start cutting up child seats you might as well not bother using them at all (those single seat boosters generally perform very badly in tests anyway).

skypette

you can fit three across easy enough with citroen c5, no hump in floor or seat in back. or freelander jeep if u want suv, fits easy too. friend has s-max and its great. has built in booster but it is mpv.

BnA

I had 2 seats and one booster in an octavia last night no bother. Like someone said above, it was a bit of a pain in the butt fitting them, but when they were in they wer efine..

Plus...

.... have you heard about the size of the bo......

ablelocks

we ended up getting a grand scenic and that fits 3 across the back v. comfortably - but that's my wife's car and while she's been on holidays (aka maternity leave) I haven't had to use my focus saloon for transporting kids anywhere.

but, she's going back to work in November, and I'll have to do the morning school/creche run. I really don't want an mpv.

After the school run, I have a 25 mile drive to work on pretty ****e roads, so I need something comfortable and very good quality. And most likely a diesel.

Volvo's could be an option, but even a 04 is listed at around 20k.

A 06 Hyundai Santa Fe 7 seater could be considered, but a SUV seems overkill for my needs.

Has anyone got the new ford mondeo and fitted 3 seats across the back?

The S-max is still too new and therefore too expensive I'd imagine.

Qashqai+2 sounds very interesting, but is only released in Oct - anyone know of pricing yet?

I'd like to stick to a budget of 15-20k if possible, but if I need to I possibly could go to 30k. For that money the car would be a long term purchase.

R.O.R

We recently supplied a Touran for a customer in your situation. The 3 individual sliding seats fit 3 child seats in comfort, leaving a decent sized boot too.

As they aren't that popular second hand you may be able to pick one up at a decent price, they aren't too much longer than a standard golf and the drive isn't too dissimal either.

ablelocks

thanks for the reply r.o.r but I'm trying to avoid an mpv if at all possible. "driving isn't too dismal" doesn't inspire confidence for 20k+ miles per annum either!

bennyc

prospect wrote: »

I would imagine the Skoda superb would be a good bet ???

+1 for superb a mate has one with 2 child seats and also has a 12year old he reckons its the business

Zube

It's not a saloon, but at least the Peugeot 308 SW is not an MPV.

Here's an S-Max for 22K. I don't see many of the beefier 2.0 diesels, mostly the 1.8s.

unkel

@OP - so a year on, what seats do you use now? A toddler seat and two boosters?

If so, that combo should fit on most D-segment cars (Mondeo, Vectra, Avensis, etc.) with 3 3-point seatbelts. But it won't be as easy to get the kids in and out as in a (mini) MPV. D-segment cars are excellent value for money second hand in Ireland. We have a Rover 75 and with two boosters and an infant seat, we manage fine.

With the stretch in your budget, you could do a lot worse than buying a new Mondeo diesel and keeping it for a long time

MrPudding

unkel wrote: »

I'm not so sure, lads. Best actually try to fit the seats before buying the car.

I drive a BMW 7-series and I haven't tried the 3 child seats (infant seat + toddler seat + booster) as mentioned by the OP yet

Toddler + booster + adult is fine though

I have a 7 series myself, and it is a struggle to fit two full seat and a booster. In fact, I think the positioning is compromised and won't actually try it.

MrP

R.O.R

ablelocks wrote: »

thanks for the reply r.o.r but I'm trying to avoid an mpv if at all possible. "driving isn't too dismal" doesn't inspire confidence for 20k+ miles per annum either!

Driving isn't too dissimilar to driving a Golf - looking at my original post I can see how you mis-read I'd have no problem piloting one of them around for 20k + miles a year, especially a DSG version.

But if that's not your bag I'm afraid I've no further suggestions.

Ice_Box

prospect wrote: »

I would imagine the Skoda superb would be a good bet ???

Superb is not as wide as the Mondeo and only a few cm longer.

ninty9er

I just love these things....and nobody bar someone in an arctic or a tank would get in your way:D:D

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Toyota/Amazon/car/1121975/


But failing that one of these 2

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Toyota/Landcruiser/3.0-D/1202576/

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Mitsubishi/Pajero/3.2-DI/1192182/

The 2 rear seats are pointless in all but the first