Fitting 2 car seats and an adult in backseat of car - possible?

[devsdev]

Hi all,

I have no doubt many EDFers have cars and 2 children and will have the experience to answer this query...Are you able to fit in 2 carseats plus an adult into the backseat of your car? If so, what kind of car do you have?

We would have an infant and a toddler carseat for the first year, following which there would be 2 toddler seats/1 toddler and a booster. Adults in mind would be average sized - tallest would be a 6ft man. I'm fairly certain carseats can only fit on the outside seats - so I guess floor space (the middle "hump") should be taken into the consideration as well as the "bum space" available. It would only be on limited occasions when an adult would be around, but this could be for longish journeys.

We will be going to CarGiant to look at some cars, but are struggling to decide between the Golf/Focus/Civic/i30 category vs. the Ford C-Max etc mini MPV category. Hopefully any experience shared will help us decide.

Thanks again!

Dev

[sunbob]

We have a hatchback Octavia. When we had a britax evolva in the middle and britax first class plus seat next to it an adult could just about squeeze in on the side. Now we have 2 evolvas, however, they have to go one on each side and even a very thin adult can't squeeze in the space. The first class plus can be used for quite a long time though, if your child isn't (as ours is) extremely tall for their age.

[catgirl]

Our Renault grand scenic has 3 proper seats in the back so can fit 3 car seats or 2 car seats and an adult.

Also 2 pop up seats in the back which have been brilliant for day trips with extra children etc.

I'd really recommend it as lots of space but doesn't feel massive to drive.

[EmilyPie]

We have a Honda civic with a cyber Pallas kids car seat and a baby seat. I've sat in the middle. I'm fairly narrow hipped and I still had to sit at an angle with my knees up round my ears. Possible but painful!

[Peachpie]

Citron Picasso 5 seater.

[Belle]

We have a ford focus and while we can just about do this, it is not at all comfortable. I find it really uncomfortable and while I'm not as slim as I was pre kids (sob!) I am not huge either. My mum has a Seat (not sure of the model but similar style to the focus) and same problem. For this reason among others we're looking at switching to something like a Renault scenic, with 3 proper seats in the back. It doesn't have to be a 7 seater (think the C Max is??), just a proper 5 seater. Nissan Note looks good,a nd yes the picasso 5 seater also. I'm becoming obsessed! Will have to start saving.

[Pickle]

Before our 3rd child came along we could fit an adult comfortably in the middle of the back seat (Jaguar XF). We now have two booster seats and a toddler seat across the back.

[mikeb]

Ford S-Max: 3 proper sears in the back, two more seats fold away behind and a decent boot. Not quite as much of a taxi as the Galaxy. Booster seats, toddler and baby seats in any / all of the three back seats and plenty of room for an adult plus any two of the above seats.

Only bad point is no spare tyre, though that's increasingly common for lots of cars.

[etta166]

I found that the choice of car seats is also very important when trying to get three across the back of a normal sized car. We can easily fit in the middle of the back of my brother's Golf between the two of our seats. Either between two AxKid Minikids or between an AxKid MiniKid and a Maxi-Cosi Cabriofix. We have three children and we have a Touran, which is great for space in the middle, but on the downside it is a large car.

Have a look at extended rear facing car seats, as they tend to give you more room between than the forward facing toddler seats. And they are much safer too.

[Soulking]

We have 3 kids under 5 so had a similar problem. We did (endless) research on this and came down to ford s-max or Renault 5008. We got the Renault in the end. Both can comfortably fit 3 (substantial) car seats in the back, or 2 and an adult. The 2nd row of seats move independently, with the middle seat being full size. Plus they have a flexible 3rd row of fold down seats which have used for lugging around friends and grand parents from time to time. Good luck!

[amydown]

Volvo XC 60 and my 6ft 4 husband can sit in the back between two giant car seats.

[devsdev]

Thanks everyone. It seems like a big car would be needed unless the extended rear facing car seat option works. I found the thread about that and will look into ERF seats. Would much prefer a Golf/Focus sized car and, obviously, if rear facing is safer then we could switch to that kind of car seat.

Thank you again everyone!

[bluesuperted]

We do ERF, have a Golf and I squish in very regularly! I'm also not huge but not as slim as I once was! Not massively comfortable or at a elegant getting in and out but it's fine really. Glad you saw the other thread, definitely worth speaking to Margaret she knows everything and may even be worth a call to her prior to your trip to seek out a car.

[laurac]

We also have a Golf (same model as you bluesuperted?) and I have often had to travel in the back between two car seats (not sure exactly what they are but one for a toddler and a sided one for a seven year old) to calm a screaming little one. I am 5 10 and not slim and while not particularly comfortable it's definately do-able, even for a couple of hours at a time.