€30k ish, 3 baby seats......what would you do?

vintagevrs · 31-12-2015 4:20pm #1

As the title says, what would you choose. Requirement is only that it can take 3 child seats. Anything interesting do this job?

Cheers

colm_mcm · 31-12-2015 4:25pm

It depends on the child seats seats a bit tbh.

You'll get crossovers like the Qashqai, but they're not exactly interesting.

You could get a thing called a multimac car seat that will take 3 to 4 kids in the back of a hot-ish hatch? They're about €1500 though

ITDept · 31-12-2015 4:31pm

A nearly new S-Max would be my choice. I had one for a few years for the same purpose and it was a pleasure to drive. Also has Ford's quick-clearing windscreen which is very handy.

I eventually traded in for a newer Zafira but if I'm honest I probably should have gone with another S-Max. Smaller middle seat on a Zafira so not possible to put 3 baby seats in a row. My kids are a bit older now so that's not a problem for me, but in general the S-Max was a better car to drive too.

useless · 31-12-2015 4:38pm

Used SMax is a good option, enormous boot for buggies and various crap that kids need as well as 3 full size seats in row 2. Performance is adequate enough, it's pretty good to drive (for a van with windows), it's practical & doesn't depreciate too steeply.

Otherwise look at getting three new car seats, as small/narrow as possible, and see if they fit in your current car.

Foxhole Norman · 31-12-2015 4:39pm

Would a Skoda Superb Combi fit the bill?

vintagevrs · 31-12-2015 5:02pm

Did the baby shop visit for narrow seats, not happening in our current car. I also looked at the multimac thing but not sure I'm sold on it and it is very pricey. I'll see what the boss thinks of an S max. They look ok and something like that would be my choice. Downside to having three extra small people is you need a people carrier.

Not sure in the skoda. Could check it out too. I like them.

Cheers

Cee-Jay-Cee · 31-12-2015 5:38pm

Recently test drove the new 1.6d HRV and it's a beautiful drive with bags of rear room and a very well laid out smart interior, it would be my first choice.

Car99 · 31-12-2015 5:53pm

I was going to suggest a vw caravelle sportline but after a quick Google of irish prices €63000 for a new one and €24000 for 2011 bog standard one , €30k wouldn't get you anything nice. They're crazy expensive for a van with seats.

drunkmonkey · 31-12-2015 5:58pm

Peugeot 5008, not exactly interesting but oodles of room and should fit 3 car seats in the middle row.
It's got a lion on the steering wheel, that's kinda cool.

swarlb · 31-12-2015 6:01pm

What I would do is buy a Fiat Multipla for a few hundred quid, and with the other odd TWENTY NINE THOUSAND EURO....repeat TWENTY NINE THOUSAND EURO I'd buy something 'interesting'.... trust me. By the time you've figured out you've just wasted 30k of obviously hard earned money, your kids will have grown up, and probably spent most of their free time playing xBox while the three expensive child seats end up on Donedeal or the local car boot sale.

vintagevrs · 31-12-2015 6:07pm

swarlb wrote: »

What I would do is buy a Fiat Multipla for a few hundred quid, and with the other odd TWENTY NINE THOUSAND EURO....repeat TWENTY NINE THOUSAND EURO I'd buy something 'interesting'.... trust me. By the time you've figured out you've just wasted 30k of obviously hard earned money, your kids will have grown up, and probably spent most of their free time playing xBox while the three expensive child seats end up on Donedeal or the local car boot sale.

I'll probably buy them a playstation before an xbox :-)

In fairness I want a safe comfortable reliable car, and a dirt cheap multipla doesn't do that.

bazz26 · 31-12-2015 6:08pm

Nissan X-Trail if you want to avoid the MPV route:

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Nissan/X-Trail/1.6-DSL/200814497682267440/

Terrontress · 31-12-2015 6:10pm

I guess when you're looking at family wagons, nothing is interesting. The newer c4 Picasso has interesting styling at the front and a quirky dashboard, but is what it is.

tigerboon · 31-12-2015 6:23pm

I was able to squeeze 3 into a 2012 passat and they have a cave for a boot. They were that bit wider inside than other cars in the same category at the time. Also very fuel efficient and in a low tax band. You have the option of the estate as well

colm_mcm · 31-12-2015 6:24pm

swarlb wrote: »

What I would do is buy a Fiat Multipla for a few hundred quid, and with the other odd TWENTY NINE THOUSAND EURO....repeat TWENTY NINE THOUSAND EURO I'd buy something 'interesting'.... trust me. By the time you've figured out you've just wasted 30k of obviously hard earned money, your kids will have grown up, and probably spent most of their free time playing xBox while the three expensive child seats end up on Donedeal or the local car boot sale.

He already has an interesting car be fair...

AMKC · 31-12-2015 6:33pm

useless wrote: »

Used SMax is a good option, enormous boot for buggies and various crap that kids need as well as 3 full size seats in row 2. Performance is adequate enough, it's pretty good to drive (for a van with windows), it's practical & doesn't depreciate too steeply.

Its not a van with windows do. Its a proper sporty MPV that has loads of room inside and in lovely to drive. A van with windows is something like them horrible Nissan Primastar or a VW Carevell. At least VW make it classy but its still just a van with windows. Thats something that an S-Max is not and never has been.

Otherwise look at getting three new car seats, as small/narrow as possible, and see if they fit in your current car.

Its not a van with windows do. Its a proper sporty MPV that has loads of room inside and in lovely to drive. A van with windows is something like them horrible Nissan Primastar or a VW Carevell. At least VW make it classy but its still just a van with windows. Thats something that an S-Max is not and never has been.

vintagevrs · 31-12-2015 7:13pm

tigerboon wrote: »

I was able to squeeze 3 into a 2012 passat and they have a cave for a boot. They were that bit wider inside than other cars in the same category at the time. Also very fuel efficient and in a low tax band. You have the option of the estate as well

Any idea what type of car seats you had/have? Maybe a different baby shop would have more choice than where we went. Tried halfords and another baby place and they both experienced customers trying same thing before, and solution was different vechicle. Must check up on the passat.

colm_mcm · 31-12-2015 7:16pm

The guy in the mothercare near us really knows his stuff. Possibly wrong end of the country though.

I think there's a uk website that test fits different seat combinations in different cars.

carsfan · 31-12-2015 7:31pm

When you hit 3 kids, it's very hard to avoid the mpv route unfortunately. We have been through this a few years ago and I looked and drove everything that I could in an effort to avoid a 7 seater bus but in the end we bought an s max and 4 years later replaced it with another....
They are the best driving of all the people carriers. Make sure it's a 2.0 litre and titanium spec at least.
Look carefully though as they are still dear second hand and we found the first one got very " tired" after 3 to 4 years and to be honest we sold the second as soon as the warranty ran out as it gave us nothing but trouble. They are a great car just not put together brilliantly.
VW have a new touran just out which might be an option and I think is 30ish. That would be a new model that would hold good value and give the assurance of warranty etc.

robtri · 31-12-2015 7:32pm

as someone else posted, multimac and have any car you want......

http://multimac.co.uk/p/multimac_1000_3_seater

at £1299stg, not cheap but opens up the types of car you can get... according to website even fits a Fiat 500, renault clio all the way up....

31-12-2015 7:36pm

You could get a 2010 S class merc. If another poster got 3 child seats in a Passat surely an S Class would easily take 3.

colm_c · 31-12-2015 7:51pm

robtri wrote: »

as someone else posted, multimac and have any car you want......

http://multimac.co.uk/p/multimac_1000_3_seater

at £1299stg, not cheap but opens up the types of car you can get... according to website even fits a Fiat 500, renault clio all the way up....

In fairness though, the cost of three child seats and various different ones required for a child for 0-12 on their own won't be far off the cost.

If it was me, I would look at this as a viable option, given it gives you more car options.

vintagevrs · 31-12-2015 8:04pm

I'll call multimac next week. Her preference is to keep her current car and juat trying to figure out what's best. Multimac would mean selling up our current car seats, should be handy enough. And could maybe sell it for only a few hundred euro less in a few years time.

colm_mcm · 31-12-2015 8:16pm

They're always in demand second hand. You'd get at least half of it back.
Way cheaper than trading up.

nu_90 · 31-12-2015 8:32pm

Ford transit connect tourneo. Best of all the vans with windows. Under the 30k mark and you'd get a high spec for that id say. Got ecoboost engine too in the petrol

Great review website called carbuyer.co.uk for checking out all other suggesions

colm_mcm · 31-12-2015 8:54pm

It's still a van with windows though

All I know is my missus wouldn't drive one.

Oafley Jones · 31-12-2015 8:55pm

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

Would a Skoda Superb Combi fit the bill?

No good. Two baby seats and a booster max.

vintagevrs · 31-12-2015 8:59pm

There's a multimac on dd. Will suss it out. Might be able to keep the car after all. Thanks for the suggestions folks, not sure I'm ready for people carriers!

ml100 · 31-12-2015 9:01pm

Went the smax route here, 3 group 1 seats in the second row, double buggy in the boot and still tonnes of room for bags etc, bought a new 2.0 zetec one in 2014, no issues with it but it doesn't do big milage, 2014 zetec models had good spec, 17 inch alloys, sat nav, folding mirrors etc, titanium is a nice spec but has a lot of electrics and most of them here will be UK imports as they were nearly 5k more than a zetec so not that many sold new here.

Oafley Jones · 31-12-2015 9:01pm

Land Rover discovery will fit three across. Running costs would be high though.

useless · 31-12-2015 10:17pm

AMKC wrote: »

Its not a van with windows do. Its a proper sporty MPV that has loads of room inside and in lovely to drive. A van with windows is something like them horrible Nissan Primastar or a VW Carevell. At least VW make it classy but its still just a van with windows. Thats something that an S-Max is not and never has been.

Ah let's call a spade a spade. It's a van with windows. I have one for the last 4 years- a facelift Titanium 163hp UK import. It's immensely practical, imho looks the best of the MPVs (esp in black), but it's not 'sporty'- while it's not 'lovely' to drive it's not bad... still rolls heavily into corners but thats what I expect from a two ton MPV. It's a much better drive than the brand new C4, 5008 and Zafiras that I've rented on family holidays in the last few years. I always felt the French cars were 'disconnected' from the road- they've very light steering. Smax interior is OK but miles behind any Audi or BMW (based on a couple of rentals and main dealer tyre kicking of a Saturday:))
Our mileage is very small (less than 10k miles a year) but touch wood we've had no problems at all with ours bar a blown bulb and a set of badly manufactured keys. I'd have no hesitation recommending one, albeit I'd prefer an XC90 or an X5 but they're twice the price of the SMax.

But- at the end of the day, MPVs by their nature (lwb, high sides, high centre of gravity), can't really be called 'sporty'...

useless · 31-12-2015 10:20pm

Zechariah Tender Seaweed wrote: »

You could get a 2010 S class merc. If another poster got 3 child seats in a Passat surely an S Class would easily take 3.

Not necessarily. Lots of these barges are designed to take 4 passengers with a 5th at at push- might find that theres no isofix in the middle rear seat and that a non-isofix seat doesn't sit properly on the 'hump' in the middle of the rear seat.

useless · 31-12-2015 10:25pm

vintagevrs wrote: »

. Multimac would mean selling up our current car seats, should be handy enough. .

Mightnt be that handy

if your wife spends any time on parenting forums she's bound to read a lot of stuff along the lines of "oooh we can't get a secondhand car seat because it might have been in a crash and it might be damaged"... propaganda I tell ya:p

darth_maul · 31-12-2015 10:28pm

A Ford Galaxy and contraception,

Problem with isofix is that seats have to be in exact center of seat, so cuts down on manoeuvering

carsfan · 31-12-2015 11:14pm

When you have 3 young kids in child seats you really will find that you want the extra space an mpv gives as the paraphernalia you need buggy a bags etc means a regular car is hard pushed. We had the s max and a large estate car and the estate in my experience just doesn't give the versatility you will need unfortunately.you don't have to just think of fitting the 3 seats it's the crap that goes with the kids that can be the issue.
If you could live with the running costs an older xc90 or Audi Q7 might be fancier but I have driven them both and the s max is actually nicer to drive.

zAbbo · 31-12-2015 11:17pm

Anything with a sliding door http://www.motormum.com/List-Of-7-Seaters-With-Sliding-Doors.php

chriity139 · 31-12-2015 11:24pm

Top of my list would be safety for kids as well as room. So saying this I would be looking into an 08+ BMW X5

Yintang · 31-12-2015 11:30pm

We had 3 under 3 at one point, and really didn't want to go down the people carrier route, so opted for a Hyundai Santa Fe 7-seater diesel. Love it, very economical, plenty of space and the seats in the boot are proper sized seats that will fit adult passengers easily. You'll need something with space for further down the line when you're ferrying your children's pals to playdates/matches/birthday parties etc, so think a bit further ahead when you're considering your purchase.

Kia Sportage is similar, 7 year warranty is great so any second-hand one you buy should still have a few years left on it.

fancy pigeon · 01-01-2016 12:29am

There's a fella in Navan who used to ferry his 2 young toddlers in an E46 M3. He has since traded it in for a more sensible and family friendly E60 M5

Sam Kade · 01-01-2016 12:47am

vintagevrs wrote: »

As the title says, what would you choose. Requirement is only that it can take 3 child seats. Anything interesting do this job?

Cheers

I'd spend €3k max pocket €27k and laugh all the way to the bank

01-01-2016 12:50am

Yeah but this is obviously a guy who can afford to spend 30k on a car. If I had kids I wouldn't ferry them around in some **** job, hes obviously looking at safety not saving cash.

kirving · 01-01-2016 4:18am

Import a 2012 A6? About 35k here last time I checked, 30 or so imported including VRT.

Sam Kade · 01-01-2016 10:23am

Zechariah Tender Seaweed wrote: »

Yeah but this is obviously a guy who can afford to spend 30k on a car. If I had kids I wouldn't ferry them around in some **** job, hes obviously looking at safety not saving cash.

What are all these extra safety features over a 10 year old car?

carsfan · 01-01-2016 10:47am

You won't get 3 baby seats in an Audi A6 or 5 series e class etc. they are wide but all are designed with a hump in the middle of the seats and are narrower in that middle seat.

bridster007 · 01-01-2016 11:13am

2012 Mondeo with 3 high back Jane Montecarlo car seats (not using isofix) works fine for us.
Found these to be the narrowest seats available.
I would never put a child in 3rd row of a mpv.

mirrorwall14 · 01-01-2016 11:20am

Ring the incarsafety centre in Belfast for both safe car seats and advice on cars. They really know their stuff and a lot of the car seat Facebook group I'm on travel up to them for carsests

zizou_ · 01-01-2016 12:19pm

bridster007 wrote: »

2012 Mondeo with 3 high back Jane Montecarlo car seats (not using isofix) works fine for us.
Found these to be the narrowest seats available.
I would never put a child in 3rd row of a mpv.

Any chance you could post a pic? I'm moving to 3 high back boosters and would like to be rid of MPV. Does the middle seat not sit on seat belt buckles? Can your kids strap themselves in?

Titzon Toast · 01-01-2016 12:58pm

Buy a used A8, 7 series, or an S class, you only live once OP.

colm_c · 01-01-2016 1:01pm

Sam Kade wrote: »

What are all these extra safety features over a 10 year old car?

If you take like for like, any car 10 years newer will have better safety features.

BMW 5 Series, 2004 model NCAP:
http://euroncap.blob.core.windows.net/media/10030/euroncap_bmw_5_series_2004_4stars.pdf

BMW 5 Series, 2010 model NCAP:
http://euroncap.blob.core.windows.net/media/7098/euroncap_bmw_5-series_2009_5stars.pdf

Some fairly decent improvements there.

Also some 10 yo cars didn't have isofix (including mercedes) and/or boot anchors.

bridster007 · 01-01-2016 1:13pm

zizou_ wrote: »

Any chance you could post a pic? I'm moving to 3 high back boosters and would like to be rid of MPV. Does the middle seat not sit on seat belt buckles? Can your kids strap themselves in?

Will get one later and post up.
Doesn't sit on buckle as buckles are quite low into seats.
We strap them in ourselves, would never trust kids with such critical task tbh.
It is a bit of work putting them in though.
Changing to a Tiguan this year to make it easier on the back!
Kuga also works well with 3 seats.
If looking at CUV/SUV you need to avoid the ones where the middle seat belt comes from the ceiling.

01-01-2016 1:17pm

chriity139 wrote: »

Top of my list would be safety for kids as well as room. So saying this I would be looking into an 08+ BMW X5

His wife doesn't want a van with windows.

Mazda 5, being more serious

http://www.cbg.ie/mazda-mazda5-1.6-2016-kildare-diesel-black-suv

€30k ish, 3 baby seats......what would you do?

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