We put a selection of cars to the test to see how many of them can accommodate three child seats safely and comfortably
Photography: John Bradshaw Illustrations: Peter Liddiard Claire Evans claire.evans@haymarket.com
ADVICE
THREE IS THE magic number. Research shows that many families are bucking the traditional average of 2.5 children and having three offspring. Famous three-child families include the Prince and Princess of Wales, television presenter Holly Willoughby and actors Reece Witherspoon and Will Smith. And they’re not alone: 1.2 million families in the UK have three or more children.
However, a recent survey by Mumsnet revealed that, for 60% of parents, a third child caused the biggest organisational headaches, with 72% saying they needed to buy a new car and 41% saying they had to move house to make room for their growing brood. We can’t help you to find a bigger home, but we can reveal the best new cars for your growing family.
Most five-seaters aren’t suitable, because very few can accommodate three child seats in a single row. While you can use the front passenger seat in some cars, that’s not practical if a parent has to sit in the back, squashed between two child seats. It’s also dangerous for a child in a rearward-facing seat to be positioned in the front unless the airbag is deactivated, and that’s not always easy.
The rear seats are considered the safest place for children to sit, so in most cases the best options for installing three or more child seats are cars that can accommodate them across their second and third rows.
To find out just how practical the latest SUVs and MPVs are for larger families, we tried
fitting three child seats into their second and third rows. We also evaluated our
reigning overall Car of the Year, the Volkswagen ID Buzz, because although it's a
five-seater only (for now), practicality and passenger space were two of the reasons
why it won the accolade.
We chose one seat that's suitable for children from birth to four years old and two
seats for older children. The baby seat can be fitted only using Isofix mounts, while
the two larger ones can be secured via either Isofix or seatbelts.
Our results are based on our own physical tests and also on Euro NCAP safety tests, which state whether it's permissible to use a child seat in each seat position. This information can also be found in the owner's manuals of cars.
