Guys, spec me a family car please.

Vidar

Vidar

Vidar

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So the missus is being induced in 4 weeks time and her parents have offered to buy us a good quality 2nd hand family car that can take 3 full car seats (I have two existing spawn already) up to a value of about 5 grand. We have to find it ourselves though and need it pronto.

I know absolutely nothing about cars and am wondering if any of you can recommend what's best?

The only things I'd say are a must is the space for 3 full car seats and that as I'm going to be learning to drive it needs to be comfortable for a 6ft8 beast like myself to drive. What would be nice is a 7 seater or something with excellent boot space.

I've heard a few people going on about grand scenic's and Grand Picasso's and Ford Smax's but really no idea what is best.

Thanks guys.
 
What's best is very very subjective. Realistically, it's whatever floats your boat, is available near enough for you to bothered to collect it, and doesn't turn out to be a money pit.

Clarkson always banged on about the Toyota Corolla Verso being a good family car, if you're not really into motors etc. £5k should get a decent one and I generally trust Japanese mechanical reliability over anything else.
 
Not sure what'll fit 3 full child seats in the back short of the likes of a Ford Galaxy / VW Sharan / Seat Alhambra / or a massive SUV. Kids car seats are big now. My Seat Alhambra only just takes 3 kids car seats, so I'm not sure the smaller Grand Picasso or Smax would (although would be better to actually drive most likely). Never looked at the other Citroen you mentioned either though, it might work, but they are hideous.

Ford updated their range earlier than the VAG brands, so you get a more modern car for your money. Something similar to this: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201709139260429?onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&postcode=m280jn&model=GALAXY&advertising-location=at_cars&sort=year-desc&radius=1500&make=FORD&maximum-mileage=90000&price-to=5500&page=1

But not that one. Imagine not even cleaning it for the pics, and that being a garage too. But something similar to that should work.

You're basically looking for a car with a middle ISOFIX point on that rear bench. If it has ISOFIX, it'll be big enough to take the 3rd seat, otherwise anything else will most likely be too tight.
 
xs2man said:
Not sure what'll fit 3 full child seats in the back short of the likes of a Ford Galaxy / VW Sharan / Seat Alhambra / or a massive SUV. Kids car seats are big now. My Seat Alhambra only just takes 3 kids car seats, so I'm not sure the smaller Grand Picasso or Smax would (although would be better to actually drive most likely). Never looked at the other Citroen you mentioned either though, it might work, but they are hideous.

Ford updated their range earlier than the VAG brands, so you get a more modern car for your money. Something similar to this: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201709139260429?onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&postcode=m280jn&model=GALAXY&advertising-location=at_cars&sort=year-desc&radius=1500&make=FORD&maximum-mileage=90000&price-to=5500&page=1

But not that one. Imagine not even cleaning it for the pics, and that being a garage too. But something similar to that should work.

You're basically looking for a car with a middle ISOFIX point on that rear bench. If it has ISOFIX, it'll be big enough to take the 3rd seat, otherwise anything else will most likely be too tight.
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Not only that but he hasn't even bothered to put fuel in it or even undo the rear seatbelts from the MOT. Hate dealers like that.
 
Love the ford galaxy's handbrake, so excessive :p

Some oddball pictures there too, my favourite is the one of the switch for the lights :D
 
I'd look at an S-max for those requirements. Doubt you'd get 3 big car seats across the back, so one would need to go on the seats in the boot though.
 
Friend just had twin girls and needed 3 child seats in the rear he went for the smax. Hes happy with it but did have an issue with the fan and almost overheated it. Which seems to be a common issue on these so watch out for that
 
Mazda 5 is quite a lot of car for the money and their sliding rear doors are great in car parks. The cheaper ones seem to get snapped up immediately though.
 
Im not convinced you'll get three full size car seats in the back of most cars, even the type designed for families. For this reason I'd recommend a Honda FR-V like this: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201709089106352

Three full size seats in the back, however, you also get three full size seats in the front too. Having had a Multipla with very small children the middle seat for the youngest is a godsend as you can deal with any issues, even feed them on the move and the three seats in the back means you can separate them so they don't fight and argue as much as they would sitting closer together.

The alternative is a Multipla.
 
Same predicament we were in, its bloody hard to find a car that can accomodate 3 full size car seats, basically nothing nice can do it well using the isofix points, so you need to go for a big estate like the superb and use the belts to hook them in. But yeah Grand picasso is a good bet, along with Galaxy/Alhambra. CRV also has 3 isofix across the back.

If the other 2 are in boosters, then you can squeeze into a normal estate like the mondeo, even a lot of the MPV's cant do this well, zafira et al, are not that wide.
 
Hold on...7 and 8? They shouldn't need car seats! Booster seats at a push but not full seats.
 
Dis86 said:
Hold on...7 and 8? They shouldn't need car seats! Booster seats at a push but not full seats.
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The law changed recently.

Using a child car seat or booster seat. Children must normally use a child car seat until they're 12 years old or 135 centimetres tall, whichever comes first. Children over 12 or more than 135cm tall must wear a seat belt. You can choose a child car seat based on your child's height or weight.
 
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