Hi Everyone,
We are due to welcome our third child to the family in January and we are quickly realising that most SUVs don't fit three car seats across the back. Three fit in my Amarok which is 1400 wide, yet not in our other car a RAV at 1300 wide. So… If anyone else has been in a similar situation, what car did you get or what would you recommend. We can afford about 40k.
Cars That Fit 3 Car Seats across The Back
LElton John on 09/11/2020 - 18:37
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Needs / wants - this will be for my partner so she prefers something a bit higher off the ground but no need for 4wd. Ideally large back seat and economical to run. If the RAV hybrid was a bit wider we'd happily go that way. I've heard the fortuna is coming out as a hybrid but might be too late and too expensive. Ideally if we can push through the next two years our oldest will graduate our of the booster and we'll be good.
Thank you that is very helpful
Get slim versions of child seats, they will get you across the line without having to buy another car.
https://www.parentingcentral.com.au/how-to-fit-three-car-sea…
As per other thread, had 3 slim carseats fit into the back of a corolla fairly easily - 2 front and 1 rear facing.
Helps if kid in the middle is old enough to climb in themselves which assuming you didn't have multiples at once is likely the case.
How about you have the two side ones facing forwards, and have the third/middle one facing backwards. That way the kids can see each other. And it should mean the middle child has more protection (ie not being flung at the windshield).
That is a good idea however makes it a bit harder getting the little one in and out from the middle.
We ended up using a ‘backless’ booster for the middle seat. It sure if they are still legal though.
I bought a Nissan Pathfinder 7 seater for this exact reason. It has a child restraint on the seat in the boot so can easily accommodate 3 large children's seats.
Kia Carnival is popular with the large families I know. One had a Kluger briefly but swapped to Carnival for better seat layout.
FOG.
5 seat options:
https://babydrive.com.au/articles/which-5-seat-cars-will-fit…7 seat options:
https://babydrive.com.au/articles/which-7-seat-suvs-will-hol…Thanks everyone for your feedback. I think the issue we have is the isofix capsule, looks like we'll need to get something more narrow for the RAV. It should be doable.
New seats are a lot cheaper than a new car!
I posted a big response in the other thread linked above. With slim seats you will fit 3 in most cars but they must be 1 rear facing (in the middle) and 2 forward facing. Your issue is when they outgrow this or usually when bub in the rear facing gets sick of rear facing – for us it has been around 2 years old. Then you will struggle, as not many cars easily fit 3 carseats forward facing. So keep in mind if you do buy a car that unless you want to buy another bigger one in 2 years, make sure that they fit 3 seats facing forward.
From a Territory, to a VF Commodore, to a Prado, to a Landcruiser.
Needs/wants besides room for 3 car seats?
Side note, your Amarok doesn't have curtain airbags for your kids