- If you have a growing family a car that can have three car seats is a must
- We list the 10 best on the market
- Both MPVs and SUVs are available
The jump from two kids to three is a big change - not just because it makes car choices far narrower but, let’s be honest, it can make your options less exciting too. Right? Well, let’s show you otherwise!
We’ve searched the market to find 10 brilliant cars that will carry three child car seats. Not all of these cars have three Isofix points, but they’ll comfortably carry three child seats along the second-row - winner!
Tip: If you have larger child seats, test the car before you buy. Dealers will usually let you try the car out by putting your child seats in to see if they fit.
Citroen Grand C4 Picasso/Spacetourer
The Grand C4 Picasso is a big, comfortable and suitably different MPV. It even handles reasonably sure-footedly, which is remarkable given its sheer bulk (this also goes for the Spacetourer). But we’d avoid going for the automatic gearbox - it clunks its way through some of the gears like a learner driver in high heels.
The Picasso comes with seven seats and three separated seats in the second-row - all with Isofix points. Larger child seats won’t fit in the two third-row seats, but if you have smaller child seats - and you're happy securing them with seat belts - they’ll fit.
Peugeot 5008
If you have a large family, the Peugeot 5008 is a great car. It’s roomy inside but actually quite compact for a seven-seater. While the 5008 looks like an SUV, it's really an MPV (a van-based vehicle with windows) inside - with three separate seats in the second row that recline, fold and slide. Each has Isofix mounts and top tether points (a higher anchor point on an Isofix seat), making it easy to fasten three child seats.
The third-row has top tether points but no Isofix mounts, so these can only be used with seat belt-secured child seats.
SEAT Alhambra / Volkswagen Sharan
There are plenty of useful features in the Alhambra (which is much the same as the Sharan), including sliding side doors - which open electrically on top-end models. Isofix child seat mounting points with top tether anchors are fitted on all five rear seats and you’ve got the option of integrated child seats in the middle row.
On the move, the Alhambra is refined and quiet, making it ideal for long distances and it's spectacularly easy to drive with precise controls, neat handling and good all-round visibility. We’d argue that it’s the best family car going, but it isn’t cheap nor stylish.
Ford S-MAX
For drivers who don’t want to sacrifice an enjoyable drive and an upmarket interior for the sake of more family-friendly space, the S-MAX is ideal. It’s big, practical and comfortable, yet feels upmarket. Plus, it’s seriously good to drive.
The sleeker design makes the S-MAX less of a family wagon than the larger Ford Galaxy, with which it shares many parts, so three child seats will be tighter to fit than in a larger model.
Vauxhall Combo Life, Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Rifter
The Combo Life is an MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicle, also known as a minivan) - which includes sliding doors on both sides of the car and three separate full-sized centre row seats. Each middle-row seat has an Isofix mount, but child seats can’t be used in the third row unfortunately.
These characteristics also apply to the Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Rifter, which are based in the same platform as the Combo Life.
Volvo XC90
The Volvo XC90 takes all the family-friendliness of its predecessor and adds in a good dose of modern luxury, plus it’s tremendously refined and excellent on the road. It isn't cheap, but the impressive quality means it doesn't feel overpriced. For a family buyer who prioritises safety, comfort and luxury there is probably no better SUV on the market.
All XC90 models come with seven seats. Unfolding the rearmost pair of seats is simple and they offer plenty of space for children, while the middle row is more than capable of carrying adults - and three children. But only the outer seats in the second row have Isofix points - meaning you’ll have to buckle the middle child seat in with the seat belt. The XC90 doesn't have Isofix mounts in the third row either.
Citroen C5 Aircross
Citroen’s large SUV is a bit quirky, and it isn’t the best option on the market - but it's inside where the C5 Aircross really shines. Not necessarily in a premium way - but in a clever family-friendly kind of way. Everything feels robust, as if it'll stand the everyday abuse from young children, and there's plenty of storage for all the bits and bobs families need on their days out.
It has Isofix mounts for the two outer rear seats, plus two top tether points for these. The three rear seats all slide back and forwards independently, too. Although you can't use an Isofix seat in the centre rear seat, you can fit one using the seatbelt.
Land Rover Discovery
Okay, this one is expensive but it’s also one of the most accommodating vehicles for larger families. The Discovery is a seven-seater with Isofix mounts and top tether points on four of the five rear seats. If you're after a high quality family SUV that can cope with everything you can throw at it - the Land Rover Discovery is pretty much perfect.
It’s a little harder to fit three seats in the second row, and the centre seat doesn’t have an Isofix point so it’ll be a seat belt job, but three still fit. As always, we’d recommend trying to fit all the car seats you have in any car before you buy it, though.
Ford Galaxy
The Galaxy is an MPV with seven separate seats. It also has big gaps between the second and third rows - which makes getting children and their car seats in and out nice and easy. It also gives it a bit of an advantage over the smaller Ford S-MAX.
It features three Isofix points in the second row, but there are no Isofix mounts in the third row so it’ll be a case of fastening in child seats with a seatbelt if you need to. Usefully, all five rear seats have top tether points.
Tesla Model X
The fully-electric Tesla Model X can be configured with five, six or seven seats. It is a very expensive option at over £80,000 - but it’s also incredibly roomy without all the moving mechanical parts of a petrol or diesel car.
All four rear seats (in the six-seat model) have Isofix mounts and the second-row chairs recline and slide forwards, which we think makes it a great child seat-friendly option.
See also:
Our customers say
