Does having three kids mean I need a 7 seater?

tscul32

We have a Citroen Grand Picasso, our second one. I love it. Have 3 kids so don't strictly "need" it, but as said above, once you have one you love the practicality. It was especially handy when having a friend home from school or bringing cousins with us. Also great for driving holidays, tons if boot space.

bertsmom

Just bear in mind you lose the "we don't have enough room in the car" excuse for the lifts other people will want you to give their little Johnny or Mary to and from school/matches/ days out.

pajosjunkbox

tscul32 wrote:

We have a Citroen Grand Picasso, our second one. I love it. Have 3 kids so don't strictly "need" it, but as said above, once you have one you love the practicality. It was especially handy when having a friend home from school or bringing cousins with us. Also great for driving holidays, tons if boot space.

bertsmom wrote:

Just bear in mind you lose the "we don't have enough room in the car" excuse for the lifts other people will want you to give their little Johnny or Mary to and from school/matches/ days out.

That is the argument in our house at the moment. My wife says it's very handy to bring cousins, friends etc.

I feel having three seats in the back gives you a bit of excuse not to ! Also must 2nd hand 7 seaters are diesel. We do around 20 k km a year so could go petrol/hybrid which I would prefer. I'd like to buy the current Toyota Rav 4 hybrid.

grogi

pajosjunkbox wrote: »

That is the argument in our house at the moment. My wife says it's very handy to bring cousins, friends etc.

I feel having three seats in the back gives you a bit of excuse not to ! Also must 2nd hand 7 seaters are diesel. We do around 20 k km a year so could go petrol/hybrid which I would prefer. I'd like to buy the current Toyota Rav 4 hybrid.

That's lousy on your side. If you don't want to be a chauffeur, just don't agree to one. Inventing reasons that hurt you too is beyond ridiculous.

nsnoefc1878

kippy wrote: »

Due to start at 34k up to 53k last I heard. Didn't realise they were available here yet.

TBH anything over 12 or 15k for a car is too much for me. I'd hate to waste a brand new car with 3 youngish kids. But each to their own.

I think anyone suggesting that is very affordable is showing a serious degree of arrogance.
I kind of agree with you, there really isn't much if any need to spend above 10-15k.

Piollaire

dbas wrote: »

I've vw touran for 0,2 and 4 year old.
It's tight but it works grand.
Two isofix and middle child seat for the 4 year old uses the seat belt.
It's big inside but similar to a golf really

I'd go for the bigger Sharan.

kippy

pajosjunkbox wrote: »

That is the argument in our house at the moment. My wife says it's very handy to bring cousins, friends etc.

I feel having three seats in the back gives you a bit of excuse not to ! Also must 2nd hand 7 seaters are diesel. We do around 20 k km a year so could go petrol/hybrid which I would prefer. I'd like to buy the current Toyota Rav 4 hybrid.

It's handy for bringing 7 people anywhere - which has its pros and cons.
The one we have cost about 11K four years ago for a 2012 (A Grand Scenic)
The renaults have a bad rep, hence the price I'd say but we've used the car for trips to a lot of places - space is never a concern, for people or luggage etc.
The car is also very adaptable, you can take down the back two seats (a lot of space) you can fold up the middle three seats. There's a massive space in it for moving stuff if required.

The internal of the car is well able to take the sustained abuse that kids will give it and the running costs aren't massive.
At some point in the next few years we can probably go back to a "regular" 5 seater but the additional space and options given with this type of 7 seater will be hard to give up.

pajosjunkbox

grogi wrote:

That's lousy on your side. If you don't want to be a chauffeur, just don't agree to one. Inventing reasons that hurt you too is beyond ridiculous.

Are you my wife undercover ???

dbas

Piollaire wrote: »

I'd go for the bigger Sharan.

Couldn't find a petrol one in our budget at the time

beauf

We've had a 7 seater for a long time. Have used the extra seats a lot. Wondering now if I should replace it with another 7 seater or downsize to something more economical. We do a lot of small local journeys. But most MPVs are diesel and the petrols are hard on juice. There the Prius Plus. I'm just don't like the look of then.

grogi

Prius Plus is long due to a new model. The current one was released in 2011.

It is a quintessential Toyota: reliable, frugal and completely soulless.

AMKC

Sharpyshoot wrote: »

Cheap seat Alhambra on DoneDeal do the job nicely

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/27229779

It's cheap for a reason its very old and not very safe. They were never well designed.

1percent wrote: »

Seems gone are the days of 5 of us thrown in the back of a Renault 4

Or a Megane. My parents managed grand with 6 of us and never had an SUV or a 7 seater. In fact when the old man bought his first 7 seater most of us had moved out. He just bought it for the height as the Mondeo was to low for him and his back.

grogi wrote: »

Prius Plus is long due to a new model. The current one was released in 2011.

It is a quintessential Toyota: reliable, frugal and completely soulless.

Awe now that's harsh. Yes a lot of Toyotas are soulless but the GT86 is a fun car and the new GR-Yaris to is fun and shows what Toyota can do.
I am sure there is some older ones to that Toyota fans will say actually did have a soul.

zg3409

A thing I don't think was mentioned was family trips luggage space. 2 adults, 3 kids, you need a lot of room for a weekend away, even more for a 2 week trip to France.

With some cars the rear most 2 seats can be totally removed, allowing lots of space for bikes, mobile cots etc. I know a family with 7 seater scenic, 3 kids and they also had a roofbox for trips away.

It depends in the age of kids, and some rear rows are unsuitable for teenagers, so try out a variety if cars and if you have car seats bring them with you and test fit them. Modern child seats are massive.

beauf

AMKC wrote: »

I now that's harsh. Yes a lot of Toyotas are soulless but the GT86 is a fun car and the new GR-Yaris to is fun and shows what Toyota can do.
I am sure there is some older ones to that Toyota fans will say actually did have a soul.

Supra, MR2, theres load in their back catalogue.

I couldn't warm to the Prius plus, I like the tech and the brand. I just don't like the look, the exterior I could probably get used to, the interior just seems old. Compared to the new Camry and Corrolla anyway.

I think over the next couple of years we'll start to see more hybrid options for 7 people etc.

Weirdly enough I think the USA is ahead here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxg8b1Yz_g0&ab_channel=MotorWeek

beauf

zg3409 wrote: »

A thing I don't think was mentioned was family trips luggage space. 2 adults, 3 kids, you need a lot of room for a weekend away, even more for a 2 week trip to France.

With some cars the rear most 2 seats can be totally removed, allowing lots of space for bikes, mobile cots etc. I know a family with 7 seater scenic, 3 kids and they also had a roofbox for trips away.

It depends in the age of kids, and some rear rows are unsuitable for teenagers, so try out a variety if cars and if you have car seats bring them with you and test fit them. Modern child seats are massive.

This the reason I don't want to downsize. Long trips and when I use for other things. I'd be lost without the extra space. Even though we would all fit in a much smaller car.

Treppen

I find it's not so much about the kids but about the extra storage when the 2 seats are flat (although space if you have kid seats is important ).

I Wouldn't bother with a 2020,2021 unless I was loaded.

You'll easily get something between 12k-15k then drive it into the ground for 15 years till they can take the shame no more :pac:

beauf

Treppen wrote: »

I find it's not so much about the kids but about the extra storage when the 2 seats are flat (although space if you have kid seats is important ).

I Wouldn't bother with a 2020,2021 unless I was loaded.

You'll easily get something between 12k-15k then drive it into the ground for 15 years till they can take the shame no more :pac:

That was exactly my mindset.

kerryjack

zg3409 wrote: »

A thing I don't think was mentioned was family trips luggage space. 2 adults, 3 kids, you need a lot of room for a weekend away, even more for a 2 week trip to France.

With some cars the rear most 2 seats can be totally removed, allowing lots of space for bikes, mobile cots etc. I know a family with 7 seater scenic, 3 kids and they also had a roofbox for trips away.

It depends in the age of kids, and some rear rows are unsuitable for teenagers, so try out a variety if cars and if you have car seats bring them with you and test fit them. Modern child seats are massive.

We just bring 2 cars if we are away for weekend, obviously we wouldn't bring 2 cars to france. Herself gets car sick if she is not driving and I get car sickness with her driving shes a lunatic on the road. So 2 cars and 2 kids each although we have a 7 seater it's small. great comfort in 2 cars

beauf

kerryjack wrote: »

We just bring 2 cars if we are away for weekend, obviously we wouldn't bring 2 cars to france. Herself gets car sick if she is not driving and I get car sickness with her driving shes a lunatic on the road. So 2 cars and 2 kids each although we have a 7 seater it's small. great comfort in 2 cars

I know a few who do that. We considered that, and ruled it out.

AMKC

beauf wrote: »

Supra, MR2, theres load in their back catalogue.

I couldn't warm to the Prius plus, I like the tech and the brand. I just don't like the look, the exterior I could probably get used to, the interior just seems old. Compared to the new Camry and Corrolla anyway.

I think over the next couple of years we'll start to see more hybrid options for 7 people etc.

Weirdly enough I think the USA is ahead here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxg8b1Yz_g0&ab_channel=MotorWeek

Seen a 94 Supra the other day on the back of a trailer attached to a tractor on it's way somewhere. Wheather he had just bought it or was going to sell it I do not know.

Treppen

kerryjack wrote: »

We just bring 2 cars if we are away for weekend, obviously we wouldn't bring 2 cars to france. Herself gets car sick if she is not driving and I get car sickness with her driving shes a lunatic on the road. So 2 cars and 2 kids each although we have a 7 seater it's small. great comfort in 2 cars

Ya we brought the 7 Seater abroad. Roof box would have been dead handy but it did the job easily.

beauf

One thing about roof boxes on a boxy MPV you often can't get into beach car parks which have an height restrictions. Had no problem with car parks though. A quick release box can be handy you can leave it where you are staying. Roof box is handy for beach and wet gear.

One time we had to send the grand parents on the train with one of the kids while the 7 seater was packed to the ceiling with luggage for a trip of couple of weeks away. That worked well too.