3 child seats in the back of a Tucson

cantodelaterra

Hi All,
Looks like I'm going to be a busier fella than usual at the end of the Summer with child 3 on the way. I'm driving a 16 Tucson at the moment and love it. I'm looking to see has anyone managed to put an isofix seat and 2 narrow high back boosters into a Tucson?

Ive checked the local car seat shop and their answer was no straight away because there isnt 3 full seats in it. I've read around the internet and theres a few people who've listed 3 babyseats that will fit. I'm a bit unsure though because it has to be a safe option.

Im thinking that I might have to sell my smaller runaround car and buy an older SMax or something like that or else see will something like a multimac built in seat do the trick. Thats a very pricey option but cheaper than a new car.

I guess I better get saving either way. Plan C is to upgrade to a Santa Fe next year as it has 7 seats. I'd also have to eat pot noodles for about 6 years to afford it.

Id be really interested in hearing how people have safely got around the problem of getting 3 kids safely into the back of a car, a Tucson in particular if possible.

Thanks!

grogi

cantodelaterra wrote: »

Hi All,
Looks like I'm going to be a busier fella than usual at the end of the Summer with child 3 on the way. I'm driving a 16 Tucson at the moment and love it. I'm looking to see has anyone managed to put an isofix seat and 2 narrow high back boosters into a Tucson?

You'll have to try - different seat need different room, group I II and III having different dimentions...

Don't mind me asking - it is on PCP, isn't it?

cantodelaterra

grogi wrote: »

You'll have to try - different seat need different room, group I II and III having different dimentions...

Don't mind me asking - it is on PCP, isn't it?

Its on PCP yeah. Ive tried a few seats from the first 2 kids and all combos so far leave a gap thats a bit too narrow in the middle.

colm_mcm

Not the cheapest option, but a multimac would probably do what you want.

cantodelaterra

The only problem with the multimac is we have a baby carrier that clicks onto an isofix car base. It clicks onto the pram too so ya don't need to take the baby out of the carrier to move him/her to the buggy. That pram/buggy 'system' cost over a grand so it'd really be great if the multimac came with an option to click in your own baby carrier. At the moment I don't think they do.

colm_mcm

Nope I doubt they do, is there isofix in the middle seat?

grogi

cantodelaterra wrote: »

The only problem with the multimac is we have a baby carrier that clicks onto an isofix car base. It clicks onto the pram too so ya don't need to take the baby out of the carrier to move him/her to the buggy. That pram/buggy 'system' cost over a grand so it'd really be great if the multimac came with an option to click in your own baby carrier. At the moment I don't think they do.

Majority of IsoFix bases can be fix with belts as well. IsoFix guarantees correct installation, but it not a stiff requirement.

What base is it? Maxi-Cosi EasyFix/FamilyFix, Britax/Roemer or what?

cantodelaterra

colm_mcm wrote: »

Nope I doubt they do, is there isofix in the middle seat?

No just on either side unfortunately.

cantodelaterra

grogi wrote: »

Majority of IsoFix bases can be fix with belts as well. IsoFix guarantees correct installation, but it not a stiff requirement.

What base is it? Maxi-Cosi EasyFix/FamilyFix, Britax/Roemer or what?

The newborn one is a MaxiCosi and I'd be happy to belt fix the other 2 seats or 1 if we use the spare isofix on the opposite side for the other kids. Trouble is, there doesnt seem to be the space between the belt buckles in the centre.

colm_mcm

Is it the armrests that get in the way?

cantodelaterra

I've an isofix for the toddler at the moment beside a normal thinner one and the space between them in general isnt very wide. You could sit between the buckle holders and it'd be cosy but a middle seat will likely cover one or the other of the middle buckle holders. I can't post images as I'm a newbie so sorry for the description.

bridster007

I think the middle seat belt comes from the ceiling with a double catch anchor system ?
That's a mess for child seats.
And it probably results in one outer seat sitting on the buckle of the middle seat. Not ideal at all.

Ford Kuga / VW Tiguan / Puegeot 5008 work best in this sector for 3 child seats unless you want to go the bigger 7 seater route.

grogi

bridster007 wrote: »

I think the middle seat belt comes from the ceiling with a double catch anchor system ?
That's a mess for child seats.
And it probably results in one outer seat sitting on the buckle of the middle seat. Not ideal at all.

Ford Kuga / VW Tiguan / Puegeot 5008 work best in this sector for 3 child seats unless you want to go the bigger 7 seater route.

5008 is a typical 7-seater MPV.

cantodelaterra

Will probably have to look at the multimac so. I really want/need to keep the Tucson so I don't make a mess of the PCP and end up costing myself a fortune. The baby carrier clicking in and out will only be an issue for a few months. After that the multimac would do the trick.

space2ground1

I have the same setup in my Tucson. Here's a pic from earlier!

kub

OP see if you can source a 1978 Ford Escort, I remember my Dad had one and there were 4 of us stuffed into the back, no bother and no trouble with the law.
Great cars they were

opti76

i had a similar dillema with a ford kuga... we found a soltion using a bubble seat .. tiinflatable car seat .. had the eldest in that .. only issue was it was difficult putting the seat belts on .. and when that tragedy in buncrana happened i did a test asking the eldest 2 to remove there seatbelts as fast as they could, and me leaning in the back to undo the baby seat .. couldnt do it .... so i bought a smax... haven't regretted it yet

flamegrill

Only option for 2 high back boosters and a maxi cosi base+seat is any number of 7 seaters really.

I have an A7 at the mo and baby 3 is due shortly. This has 3 ISOFIX seats, front passenger and the 2 main back seats. While we could do 2 x ISOFIX, 1 in front and 1 in back and then 1 seat belt in the middle (which we have done on occasion) plus 2nd adult in the passenger seat behind the driver it's not clean and it's not ideal to put one of your kids up front.

So I went for a Volvo XC90 which will do 3 full sized seats in the middle row and 2 smallish adults in the back or any combination really. We also got rid of the wifes Ford Focus and got a Citreon C4GP which does 3 in the middle no problem.

cantodelaterra

Thanks for all the tips. We're leaning now towards the multimac after a year once baby is out of the carrier. That means we're gonna need an MPV of some sort for at least a year. I guess I could trade in the new ish little second car we have and get a 10 or 11 SMax to keep us going.

The next step from the Tucson then would be the Santa Fe or something similar like the Volvo I think as it has the 7 seats.

Whats the smallest car with space for 3 seats in the back?

grogi

cantodelaterra wrote: »

Thanks for all the tips. We're leaning now towards the multimac after a year once baby is out of the carrier. That means we're gonna need an MPV of some sort for at least a year. I guess I could trade in the new ish little second car we have and get a 10 or 11 SMax to keep us going.

The next step from the Tucson then would be the Santa Fe or something similar like the Volvo I think as it has the 7 seats.

Whats the smallest car with space for 3 seats in the back?

My ideas would be: regular scenic or regular c4 Picasso. Both have three separate seats in the back, although in the scenic the middle one is tad narrower.

colm_mcm

Can't you get high back boosters with their own harnesses?

Millem

cantodelaterra wrote: »

Will probably have to look at the multimac so. I really want/need to keep the Tucson so I don't make a mess of the PCP and end up costing myself a fortune. The baby carrier clicking in and out will only be an issue for a few months. After that the multimac would do the trick.

What about the maxi cosi bases that use a seat belt.....are they are called easebase2?? They look like the isofix you have....stay in the car etc and baby car seat clicks into it.
http://www.all4baby.ie/Maxi-Cosi-EasyBase-2-p/easybase2.htm

grogi

Millem wrote: »

What about the maxi cosi bases that use a seat belt.....are they called easy base??? They look like the isofix you have....stay in the car etc and baby car seat clicks into it.

EasiFix or FamilyFix can be attached with belts as well, that's not the issue here.

colm_mcm

I think it might be part of the issue grogi as the OP is putting the maxicosi in one of the outer seats for the isofix by the looks of it.

Millem

Ok well what age are other two kids? Could one sit on a normal booster with seat belt? I saw this new one....can't remember the name, it's teeny tiny that pops up. Will look for the link?
Baby seat will take up the most room.


Here is the new booster
http://www.mifold.com
May be worth a look if your other child/children are old enough

grogi

colm_mcm wrote: »

I think it might be part of the issue grogi as the OP is putting the maxicosi in one of the outer seats for the isofix by the looks of it.

OP previously has stated that various combinations were tried, without much luck.

The problem I see it is that the 2nd row in a typical car is designed for 2 people, with the space in the middle very narrow, suitable for 3rd person only for short period of times.



If you put two car seats, regardless of the group they are designed for, they will gravitate towards centre leaving gaps on the sides. That's where the isofix mounts are, that's how the belts go and that's how the seat is shaped. There simply isn't enough room for the 3rd seat in the middle. A seat is not a person, it will not squeeze in

An option would be to put one childseat in the front and let the smaller adult on the back row... Or oldest child on a booster in the middle if already big enough (although I hate the booster seats).

gctest50

grogi wrote: »

..................


An option would be to put one childseat in the front and let the smaller adult on the back row...

with a box for all their stuff :


http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/224729-the-safest-car-seat-ever-for-babies-re-imagined-by-volvo

jlm29

I know this is a couple of weeks old, and this is totally unrelated to a Tucson, but I had a cmax last week on loan from fbd garage while my car was in for service. I had the group 0 car sear behind the passenger seat, high back booster in The middle, and my 4 yr old was well able to open and close his buckle, and the buckle of fbd third seat looked to be very accessible. I was quite impressed. The leg room wasn't great tho, which was a pity!

pete6296

I have a tuscon and 3 seats in rear. Took a while to figure it out

Hellrazer

Op bear in mind that the santa fes third row seats dont have isofix so may not solve your problem.

Noveight

Just an observation, the folks have a Tucson and I've always thought it's quite a squeeze putting 3 people in the back seat.