Cars that fit 2 car seats and adult in the back

gandalfio

As per the title, looking for any models that can take two child car seats, one on each side, with an adult in the middle, without being overly uncomfortable/squashed. Boot also needs to be able to take a buggy. Open to all fuel types. Decent MPG is important.

My current Octavia estate is too small and the middle person very squished. So the rear seating area needs to be bigger/wider than the Octavia.

Was looking at 6/7 seaters for times when granny etc with be with us, but they are just too tight as well.

Budget up to hopefully 18k.

Any feedback much appreciated.

BlakeS94

Try the Superb, massive space inside and it's wider than the Octavia so should be ok for 2 kids and an adult in the back

Wossack

very much depends on the car seats imo

We’ve a superb estate with two kids - one in fairly typical a high back booster and another in a rear facing monstrosity (‘axkid minikid’ it’s anything but ‘mini’). For short trips, you could suffer in the middle seat.. but it is a squeeze (getting there in the first place tricky too)

For longer runs, we typically take out the booster and the young lad sits on a ‘bubble bum’ in the middle

Gumbo

I had a model 3 with 2 seats, left and right and an adult sat in the middle. In fact we had to in order to stop 3 boys having wrestlemania 49 on every journey! Model Y is significantly bigger with more space.

G30 BMW had loads of space too.

TrailerBob

Peugeot 5008. 3 individual seats across the back. Each can move forward and back independently. Comfortable and surprisingly spacious. It has been a revelation for us. Plust the back doors open extra wide so its easy get in.

It's not the only car that can do this, but the Ford S max is the only other I can think of that doesn't look like a van

gandalfio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122504551#Comment_122504551

For reliability purposes my mechanic has advised me to avoid French cars, Fords etc.

TrailerBob

Your mechanic needs to take a refresher course. Thousands of 5008 and 3008 on the road, and you'd know about it if there was a widespread issue.

French reliability was a trope 20 years ago. But suit yourself. No modern car is perfect, and repairs are inevitable the way they are built these days. Why not but a Vovlo XC90 which in your budget costs over a grand to tax and will run to 4 figures for repairs easily enough with parts prices.

pah

Titanium spec s-max would be a nice buy. 3 individual middle row seats means your 2 kids seats could go one side and one middle removing the awkwardness of an adult clambering into a middle seat. Plenty room for buggy and or granny

Also, find a new mechanic.

trindade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122505155#Comment_122505155

Repairs are not inevitable. When you purchase a Ford or maybe a French car, you are increasing the chances to spend a lot in repairs.

I had a Ford many years ago and had to spend a lot on repairs. The car was 2 years old with low mileage. Since then, we've had a few cars in the household: Jazz, Yaris, Corolla, Yaris Cross, Corolla TS, and never had a single repair or issue, only regular service. I cannot speak about Peugeot, but what I spent on my Ford would maintain my Toyota for at least 5-6 years. Service is affordable, parts are cheap and repairs are not necessary most of the time. Of course they are machines and they might require sometimes, but they are rare.

TrailerBob

I had a bad burger many years ago too.. things move on. As shall I...

antodeco

My Dacia Duster I have two kids in the back with booster seats and an adult too. Wouldn't say it's full of room, but it's not uncomfortable for them either...

Buddy Bubs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122506993#Comment_122506993

Nissan X trail and BMW X5 in work are the name of my life...so are the Nissan vans and the Renault ones, they're built in the same factory.

monseiur

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058364400/cars-that-fit-2-car-seats-and-adult-in-the-back

If you can stretch your budget a bit the VW Transporter T32 Kombi is the vehicle for you, oodles of space for a growing family, reliable and not very thirsty - 35 to 40 mpg easy

elperello

I don't want to appear rude or indulge in body shaming but it all depends on the size of the adult.

gandalfio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122517464#Comment_122517464

Looking for something with a better mpg than 35 to 40.

shane b

I have a standard mk2 Octavia myself so know how tight the middle space is. If you want to keep granny and the 2 kids in the 1 row, you need a car with 3 equal individual seats rather than 2 and 1/2. A lot of cars be it the SUV shape or the MPV shape have 2 standard outer seats and a narrow middle rather than 3 equal seats.

You have the mid size 7 seater like a VW Touran, Citroen C4 Grand Picasso, Renault Grand Scenic, Peugeot 5008, Opel Zafira. Large 7 seater are the Seat Alhambra, Vw Sharan, Ford Smax or Ford Galaxy. Premium offerings then are the Audi Q7, Volvo XC90. Then there are the van derived variant like the Peugeot Rifter, VW Caddy Maxi, Ford Toureo connect etc.

As a Skoda owner already, the VW touran and Seat Alhambra may be worth a look.

We are on our second Citreon C4 Grand Picasso and are happy with it. We have 4 yr old twins and an 11 year old, the 11 year old now wants to sit in the boot and the twins annoy her and she picks on them. We did look at a Peugeot 5008 as its essentially the same car but felt we were not anything extra for the increased price tag.

On French car reliability the C4 grand Picasso hasnt been any worse than other cars we have owned. Although we have noticed that if there is a fault, you dont get 1 you can get 4 or 5 ie that 1 fault can affect other systems which also trigger alarms.

pah

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122517489#Comment_122517489

If they are managing to clamber into the back of an octavia in the middle with a child seat on either side of them, I imagine they are of 'normal' size.

I'd argue it has more to do with the width of the vehicle. I had an 8 year old in a booster, a 10 year old on the other side and a 12 year old in the middle 'seat' of an is250 and they constantly complained of being squished (Middle seat in particular as it is already narrow compared to the outside seats). After I changed to a 5 Series estate, there were no more complaints.

Above is fine for kids but a 3 individual seat setup is what you need for 2 car seats and an adult, anything else will be 2.5 seats, even the widest 2.5 setup will be a squash. That includes the likes of the Q7 and XC90 even though they are big cars.

gandalfio

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll keep a look out for cars with 3 individual seats in the back.

Maybe we could get a list going to sticky in the forum?

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122522802#Comment_122522802

Yes agreed a good 3 across the back car will be more comfortable if it's a bigger adult in the equation.

If regularly carrying an adult with two seats it'll do a better job

But if the adult is fit and of small stature you'll get away with an Octavia, especially for short journeys.

Edit - wrong car. I meant Superb.

The_B_Man

I've a superb and get away with it, barely.

I've 2 maxi Cosi car seats in the back, connected via isofix, and the missus sits in the middle for all journeys. I wouldn't fit in the middle but she can coz she's fairly small. The older kid is in the front on the booster, as the booster won't fit in the middle.

It works for us but is fairly limited, but that's coz the 2 car seats are fairly chunky.

gandalfio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122525363#Comment_122525363

I currently drive an Octavia. Infant car seat on one side, toddler booster on the other, and absolutely no chance of another person in the middle and getting their seat belt on.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122525535#Comment_122525535

Sorry, I mixed up my Skoda's.

I meant to say Superb.

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122517884#Comment_122517884

You probably won't get it. Needing 3 full size seats in the back you're either looking at a full fat X7/Q7/XC90 etc full size SUV and they are not getting 35MPG in all likelihood (we have a diesel volvo xc90 and 30mpg would be the peak on the motorway), or something like an alhambra, galaxy etc, these would not get more than 40, or something like a v class , transporter, tourneo etc and again these would not likely top 35mpg.

User1998

Toyota Estima?

gandalfio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122526955#Comment_122526955

Would be perfect, but budget will only get me a 2011-2014 petrol. Which are 1250 in tax and awful mpg.

Or 2012 hybrid, but not sure buying a 12 year old car to last me the next 8-10 years is a good idea.

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122527235#Comment_122527235

The hybrid would not be getting 35-40 mpg anyway. They are generally very reliable though

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122527235#Comment_122527235

€18k would get you a 2013 hybrid. They are more reliable than anything else thats been mentioned

gandalfio

So far have identified with 3 separate seats across the back (that are Japanese, Kia, Skoda, VW etc):

Touran, Sharan, Alhambra, Carens. All tick all the boxes bar mpg.

Any other petrol hybrids out there other than the 2.4 Estima?

gandalfio

Struggling to find any 5 seaters with 3 separate in the back. All seem to be 7 seaters.

User1998

Honda Freed, comes as a 6 seater or 7 seater. The 6 seater has 6 individual seats

gandalfio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122528428#Comment_122528428

Needs to be 3 across the back rather than 2 as need the boot space for buggy etc.

gandalfio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122528428#Comment_122528428

Any idea which of the Touran, Sharan, Alhambra, Carens would have the best real world MPG?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122528572#Comment_122528572

Sharan and Alhambra are the same car. Touran is a bit smaller and lighter. Also depends if you chose petrol or diesel. They all use roughly the same engines anyway. 1.4 TSI or 1.6 TDI/2.0 TDI

Unsure about the Kia Carens. I sat in a high spec one before tho and it was a really nice car.

gandalfio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122529012#Comment_122529012

Yes I like the Carens. Test drove one today. But average long term mpg on it was 37.

Would the Touran diesel have the better mpg of them all?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122529236#Comment_122529236

They are all big heavy 7 seaters. Your not going to do much better than 37 MPG. You seem to be overly concerned about MPG

gandalfio

Just used to getting anything between 55 and 70 in the Octavia. Will be an adjustment.

pah

I'd still have one of these all day long for your use case 🤷‍♂️

https://www.whatcar.com/ford/s-max/mpv/used-review/n17409/reliability

Real world 41mpg

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/ford/s-max-2015

I'd encourage you to go and drive one

shane b

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122529887#Comment_122529887

Thats really good MPG. My mk2 octavia returns a pretty consistent 48 mpg, granted its a older car and different engine.

You will struggle to get similar mpg in the MPV/Suv segment, even more so if you plan on going petrol.

gandalfio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122534312#Comment_122534312

There's a few MPV petrol hybrids out there with decent mpg.

Another car to add to the list of 3 separate seat across the back is the Toyota Verso.

Flinty997

If you want 3 wide middle seats you need a box shape. Box shape will have more drag and worse MPG.

Most economical is going to a 1.6 diesel. But it will also depend on what driving your doing.

gandalfio

So it turns out the 2015 onwards Prius is wide enough to take two car seats and a person in between comfortably without being squished.