Best motor to fit three car seats on second row? • Non-Gaming • Travel • Eurogamer.net

papalazarou 31 Jul 2017 19:24:28 138 posts
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Having to give up my company A4 due to child number three arriving next month. Been scouring the net looking at mainly MPVs, such as Alhambra, SMax, Picasso, Grand Picasso, Touran etc.

So, any recommendations out there? As stated the main objective is three car seats on the middle row, not bothered either preferably 5 or 7 seater.

Cheers

Deleted user 31 July 2017 19:34:05

Three car seats is a lot of space for a motor... maybe a Dodge Viper's V10?

Deleted user 31 July 2017 20:05:55

Touran is awesome, so is xtrail

grey_matters 31 Jul 2017 20:21:54 5,507 posts
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Original Fiat Multipla.

nickthegun 1 Aug 2017 09:18:08 87,711 posts
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I can't remember the exact model, but my mate who is in a similar situation has something like this:

https://multimac.co.uk/home

In the back of his VW Golf

You-can-call-me-kal 1 Aug 2017 09:34:25 23,013 posts
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You might also want to have a look at the various compact 7 seaters around. The BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer for example is really smart. It's not much bigger than a Golf. Land Rover Discovery Sport is similar too.

Of course the two extra seats replace your boot so might not suit your needs but worth a look, as there's really not many cars around that fit three car seats on the back.

Edited by You-can-call-me-kal at 10:22:52 01-08-2017

brokenkey 1 Aug 2017 10:15:39 11,128 posts
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How wide apart is the age spread on the kids. Worth noting that the legal requirement to fit each child with a car seat only applies if there's actually room to do so.

PatrickEwing 1 Aug 2017 10:19:51 2,553 posts
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Ha, this is has been the subject of talk in my family for too long.
Oldest is 8 now, getting beyond the need for big cars seats so just got rid of an 100,000 mile smax for a discovery sport, can fit 2 narrow boosters and a larger child seat in that

I've been to see them all at various dealerships over the years and you've pretty much got the shortlist there already, there is no other car that does it you haven't thought off (apart from Volvo xc90)

We've just got rid of a battered up s-max full of raisins, mcdonalds fries (they don't bio-degrade!), croissants, sticky sweets, match attax, urine on the floor mats, scratches all over inside from them kicking shoes on things etc

Brother had a touran with three kids and that was just as good as smax for the purpose, was kind of tempted with c4 grand picasso but that's French.

Some things to consider:
- whatever it is, they'll fuck it up inside
- 7 seats sounds good but it means you've got to pick up and drop off more fucking children, imagine 5, or even 6 kids in a car on the way to a birthday parts
- smax relatively nice to drive and massive amount of space but turns like the bismarck if maneuvering around small spaces, 5 point turns
- if you go for a narrower car where they don't have equal space (3 individual seats) they'll kick off about personal space even though that blanket is no where fucking near them!
- car dealers just don't give a shit that you want a car for 3 car seats
- BMW 2 series (grand tourer) not wide enough for 3
- Skoda kodiaq not wide enough

You-can-call-me-kal 1 Aug 2017 10:24:08 23,013 posts
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Yeah I was presuming the 7-seater options negated the need for three fitting on one row.

mothercruncher 1 Aug 2017 13:01:36 19,474 posts
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Honda FRV, perchance.

papalazarou 1 Aug 2017 20:48:52 138 posts
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Thanks for all the responses so far...to answer brokenkey's question the age range will be 5, 3 and new born. Any more suggestions out there?

PatEwing, were you able to fit 3 car seats on the middle row of you s-max comfortably enough? Get the point about 7 seaters negating the need to fit three on the second row, but ideally I would prefer a 5 seater, though to be honest can't make a decision either way at present.

PatrickEwing 1 Aug 2017 21:00:12 2,553 posts
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Yep a smax rear has 3 individual seats of same size, each slide and recline independently, that's a very useful feature in your situation.
I think the grand Picasso does that too, it also seems to be the winner in various car mag for the mpv category.

Smax tintanium x sport has a good whack of kit and looks the best of all its ilk in my opinion.

Don't forget option of front passenger airbag being turned off if it comes to it and If it's 5 seats preferred you may get the 3 across in Audi Q5.

Multimac mentioned previously is a good shout, I always considered it myself but mrs Ewing wouldn't go for it.

mal 1 Aug 2017 22:35:06 29,326 posts
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Is the Grand Picasso wider than a normal picasso? I wouldn't think you could get more than two solid car seats or boosters in my mate's picasso, but provided the oldest is big enough you can still fit three kids across the back - just not all in seats.

grey_matters 1 Aug 2017 23:55:00 5,507 posts
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Skoda Kodiaq looks nice if you can fit it in the driveway. Any hands-on knowledge here about it?

StrayBezza 2 Aug 2017 08:30:38 1,218 posts
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Only one choice

Vw
Transporter

Deleted user 2 August 2017 08:34:25

The only way to be sure:

Tricky 2 Aug 2017 08:34:31 5,088 posts
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@StrayBezza Yeah maybe if you want to remortgage your house. Great vehicle but fuck me are they expensive.

Deleted user 2 August 2017 08:38:21

Tricky wrote:
@StrayBezza Yeah maybe if you want to remortgage your house. Great vehicle but fuck me are they expensive.

My brother has one. Incidentally a lemon (latest issue is blown turbo, 6k worth of damage, given it was bought second hand he'll have to pay that out of his own pocket) but yeah they're expensive. Also I wouldn't touch a VW diesel at this stage (and who buys these with a petrol engine).

Tricky 2 Aug 2017 08:39:17 5,088 posts
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As for recommendations, it'd be a cold day in hell before I ever buy a Citroen, especially with their current styling choices.

S Max all the way in this category.

Deleted user 2 August 2017 08:46:48

I don't really get people who drive French cars - most look hideous, their handling is poor (unless you go for a hot hatch), they age badly (both visually & technically), and therefore lose value quickly.

I'd rather go for Asian brands if money is the main factor.

craigy Staff 2 Aug 2017 09:11:22 9,500 posts
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How's about a Ford Galaxy? It's what we're considering moving up to. Proper dad-mobile.

Dougs 2 Aug 2017 09:14:16 100,414 posts
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Yeah, French cars seem to be a nightmare. Never owned one but the anecdotal stories soon mount up.

elstoof 2 Aug 2017 09:18:34 28,125 posts
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Galaxy are the minicab fleet car of choice so I'd imagine there are fucktons of used ones available, high mileage though. A brand new one would leave you bollocksed on residuals too

Edited by elstoof at 09:18:55 02-08-2017

teamHAM 2 Aug 2017 09:25:33 3,847 posts
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Skoda Yeti. It's a bit of a squeeze for 3x car seats but it does work and the middle seat is wider than in most other cars.

It makes for a fun, practical family car. The S-Max is a pretty good car and (IIRC) has 3x isofix in the back if that's your thing, but if you don't want to drive an MPV like the S-Max or Galaxy then the Yeti is a good shout.

superdelphinus 2 Aug 2017 09:31:29 10,507 posts
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Alfa stelvio

brokenkey 2 Aug 2017 10:15:57 11,128 posts
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Vote for the s-max here, we're on our second (three kids, 2 now teenagers). Galaxy is the same floor plan, just higher at the very back. I don't think its worth the extra money, unless you're regularly transporting more than 5 adults, in which case you should get one of those Mercedes minivans.

Of course, if you're self employed then the right answer is a VW transporter. Because of the hugely discounted price after tax breaks.

Edited by brokenkey at 16:33:05 02-08-2017

superted1974 2 Aug 2017 10:30:34 323 posts
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Smax owner here. Very happy with it. Very practical and drives v well to.

Deleted user 2 August 2017 16:23:24

SYS64738 wrote:
I don't really get people who drive French cars - most look hideous, their handling is poor (unless you go for a hot hatch), they age badly (both visually & technically), and therefore lose value quickly.

Not sure about the looks... there's a lot of hideous ones, but also a lot of great ones. I really like current Renaults, for example.

But I would never buy a French car either.

StrayBezza 2 Aug 2017 18:00:19 1,218 posts
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SYS64738 wrote:

Tricky wrote:
@StrayBezza Yeah maybe if you want to remortgage your house. Great vehicle but fuck me are they expensive.
My brother has one. Incidentally a lemon (latest issue is blown turbo, 6k worth of damage, given it was bought second hand he'll have to pay that out of his own pocket) but yeah they're expensive. Also I wouldn't touch a VW diesel at this stage (and who buys these with a petrol engine).

Any car can be a lemon potentially but ouch that's painful. Been lucky with mine I guess but in general they are bulletproof (04 onwards mainly) it's crucial to stick to VW parts even though they are expensive.

papalazarou 2 Aug 2017 19:33:00 138 posts
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Thanks for all the replies folks....lot of positives for the s-max. Next question, with three young kids would a 7 seat max or say 5 seat car be better long term...i suppose the amount of shite in a car is inversely proportional to the amount of room you have in the car but I do like the idea of being able to split the kids up and a massive boot space etc. Any experiences on this...thanks again!