Best 5 Seater Suv for 3 Car Seats
There are many five-seater cars on the market today that have three top tether points across the rear seats. So you would presume you would be able to fit three child seats across the rear seats, but as I have found in my testing this is not the case! The main reasons I find are either the cars simply aren't wide enough, or the rear seat bases aren't wide enough or the seat bases or backs are too sculpted for three child seats to fit!
Hyundai Tucson
The Hyundai Tucson is a very practical five-seater SUV for families and ranges in price between $35,000 and $52,000. I fitted three Infasecure child seats in the back seats with a squeeze and found I could just fit between or beside two child seats. There are ISOFix points in the two outer seats and top tether anchorages across all three seatbacks. A 184cm driver could fit in front of a forward-facing child seat and a 184cm passenger could travel in front of a rear-facing child seat with good legroom. See the top three family-friendly features of the Hyundai Tucson here.
Kia Sportage
The Kia Sportage is a fantastic SUV for families and ranges in price between $31,000 and $46,000. I fitted three child seats in the back seats with a squeeze and found I could just fit between two child seats. There are ISOFix points in the two outer seats and top tether anchorages across all three seatbacks. Legroom is pretty good in the cabin, with a forward-facing child seat, we found a 184cm driver could fit in front or with a rear-facing child seat installed a 170cm driver could fit in front. See the top three family-friendly features of the Kia Sportage here.
Toyota RAV4
The New Toyota RAV4 has great interior space which made it easy when installing child seats. I could fit three child seats in the rear seats. It was a bit tight but I could fit either three forward-facing child seats or two forward-facing and one rear-facing. Legroom inside was good enough for a 180cm driver to sit in front of a rear-facing child seat which is fab! See the full review here.
Nissan Qashqai
The Nissan Qashqai ranges in price from $27,000 to $36,000. I found could (just) fit three child seats across the back row of the Nissan Qashqai. Two full-size seats and a slim booster in the central seat. Three full-size seats would not fit though. Legroom in the Nissan Qashqai isn't too bad, with a rear-facing child seat installed a 170cm driver could sit in front of it, or with a forward-facing child seat installed a 182cm driver could sit in front of it. See the full review here.
Renault Koleos
Three child seats fit across the rear seats of the Renault Koleos using the three top tether anchorages and two ISOFix points. There is a good amount of interior space throughout the car and legroom is very practical for families. With rear-facing child seats installed we could put the driver's seat in it's furthest back position and fit a 186cm driver in the front which is very rare! The price ranges from $32,000 to $46,000. You can see the top three family-friendly features of the Renault Koleos here.
Kia E-Niro EV
The Kia Niro EV is a fantastic electric SUV for families and ranges in price between $40,000 and $66,000. Three child seats fit really nicely in the back seats and I could fit between two child seats. There are ISOFix points in the two outer seats and top tether anchorages across all three seatbacks. Legroom is fantastic in the Kia e-Niro too and we found we could sit a 186cm driver in front of the rear-facing child seat or a 186cm adult passenger behind that same tall driver. See the top three family-friendly features of the Kia Niro here.
Honda CR-V (5 seater)
The five-seater Honda CR-V ranges in price between $31,000 and $45,000. I could fit three child seats in the second-row of the five seater model with loads of legroom and boot space throughout. In the seven seater model I could fit five child seats in the back, the top tether straps do go in the third-row passengers faces which you can read about here. See the full review here.
Peugeot 3008
The Peugeot 3008 fits two child seats and a booster seat nicely in the back seats and the front passenger seat folds down flat so it's easy for kids to climb in and out past rear facing child seats too. The 3008 ranges in price from $45,000 to $50,000. See the top three family-friendly features of the Peugeot 3008 here.
Subaru Forester (5th Generation)
The Subaru Forester fits three child seats nicely across the back seats, there are three top tethers in the seat backs and ISOFix in both the two outer rear seats. Legroom was still really good in the front and a 184cm passenger could still sit in front of a rear facing child seat. See the top three family-friendly features of the Subaru Forester here.
VW Tiguan
The VW Tiguan has ISO Fix in both the outer rear seats and top tether anchorage points on the back of all three rear seats and easily reachable through the boot. The rear seats are quite flat, allowing for three child seats to be installed, but the seat base was only just wide enough to accommodate the models we used so if you intend to fit three child seats you'll definitely need to check your chosen models will fit across the Tiguan during your test drive. See the full review here.
Mazda CX-5
I was surprised to find I could fit three child seats across the back row of the Mazda CX-5! I didn't think it would be big enough but I got two infant capsules in the outer seats and a booster seat in the central seat. The CX-5 has three top tether anchorages in the back of the seat backs and all three seat backs fold forward individually too. There is ISO Fix in the two outer seats too although I couldn't use the ISO Fix when fitting three child seats as I needed to bring the child seats further out to the edges of the seats so I used the seat belts with the top tethers, which worked really well. See the full review here.
Kia Seltos
I found three child seats fit in the Kia Seltos which costs between $25,000 and $41,000. A combination of forward and rear-facing child seats works best. Legroom was a little tight and in front of the rear-facing child seat, we could fit a 170cm driver. See the top three family-friendly features of the Kia Seltos here.
Subaru Impreza
The Subaru Impreza Hatch has AMAZING legroom with rear-facing child seats installed and I could just squeeze three across too! The boot is big and it's just such a fuss-free, easy to drive car that is also nippy and fun for pleasurable child-free journeys!
Ford Focus Active
I really like the Ford Focus Active which costs between $26,000 and $35,000. I found it fitted three child seats in the back seats and it feels quite spacious still, with good legroom. In front of the rear-facing child seat, we could fit a 180cm driver. See the top three family-friendly features of the Ford Focus Active here.
Subaru Outback
I found I could install three child seats in the rear seats of the Subaru Outback. There are ISOFix points in both the outer seats and top tether points in the backs of all three seats. I found it was a tight fit and with just the two outer child seats installed there was enough room for me to sit between them. Legroom is fantastic, and in front of the rear-facing child seat a 184cm driver can sit comfortably. I was amazed there was so much room with such a large boot as well. See the full review here.
VW Touareg
I loved driving the VW Touareg, it easily fits three child seats across the rear seats. I found that forward-facing or rear-facing car seats fit and with a rear-facing child seat installed a 180cm driver could sit in front of it. See the top ten family-friendly features of the VW Touareg here.
Genesis G80
The five-seater Genesis G80 is a luxury sedan ranging in price from $85,000 to $100,000 so it is not in every families budget, however, for those that can it is a very nice family sedan. I could fit three child seats in the second-row with very good legroom for front passengers. A 180cm driver can sit in front of a rear-facing child seat or on the passenger side, a 184cm passenger will fit in front of a rear-facing child seat. With a forward-facing child seat on the driver's side then a 184cm driver can sit in front of it. See the full review here. See our top five family-friendly features here.
Renault Kadjar
I found the Renault Kadjar JUST fits three child seats in the back, two child seats and a slim booster seat. Legroom is quite tight, with rear-facing child seats a 162cm driver can sit in front. Whereas with a forward-facing child seat we found a 182cm driver could sit in front. See the top three family-friendly features of the Renault Kadjar here.
Haval H2
The Haval H2 is the cheapest five-seater that fits three child seats, costing only $19,000 and $27,000 new! I found it best fits three child seats in the back seats when using a combination of forward and rear-facing child seats or two forward-facing child seats fit in the outer seats but I could not sit between them. See the top three family-friendly features of the Haval H2 here.
Hyundai i30 Sedan
The five-seater Hyundai i30 sedan has a lot of space for child seats in the back. I could fit three child seats really nicely and legroom was good too, with a rear-facing child seat on the driver's side a 180cm driver should sit in front of it and on the passenger side at least a 184cm passenger could sit in front of a rear-facing child seat or infant capsule. Ranging in price from $25,000 to $38,000 it is an affordable and practical family sedan. See the full review here.
Mazda6
Very surprisingly I could fit three child seats in the back of the Mazda6 sedan (but not the wagon)! There are three top tethers across the fixed parcel shelf in the back, which are within plastic guides but because of their position, as well as the ceiling and the back window being so low, they are REALLY tricky to access and connect to. They are even harder to disconnect. There are ISOFix points in the two outer rear seats, they are within plastic guides and relatively easy to connect to. With a rear-facing child seat in the back, I had a good amount of legroom in the front passenger seat too (I'm 162cm). The main difficulty is posting bub into their seats, as the low roofline is just hard work; I hit my head and my daughter's head on it many times!
Citroen C5 Aircross
The Citroen C5 Aircross costs between $40,000 and $44,000. The rear seats of the Citroen C5 are individual and as the fantastic family seven-seater the Peugeot 5008 they are super comfy and easily fit three child seats across. This five-seater SUV is PACKED FULL of family-friendly features and definitely worth a look. See the top three family-friendly features of the Citroen C5 Aircross here.
Ford Endura
The Ford Endura costs between $45,000 and $68,000 new. The rear seats will easily fit three child seats across, this is a really spacious family SUV with great connectivity and boot space. See the top three family-friendly features of the Ford Endura here.
Toyota Corolla sedan (11th generation)
There is a lot of legroom in the Toyota Corolla. We managed to install three child seats: A Mountain Buggy Protect infant capsule and Infasecure Kompressor 4 (both rear-facing) in the outer seats and an Infasecure Foldaway booster seat in the middle with enough legroom in front for a 184cm driver. There are two ISO Fix points, one in each of the outer rear seats, and three top tether anchorages situated in the parcel shelf behind each rear headrest.
Suzuki Vitara
The Suzuki Vitara's rear seats are generously sized and flat, which meant they surprisingly held three child seats at a squeeze! There are ISO Fix in both outer rear seats and top tether in the seatbacks of all three, which are easily accessible through the boot. With rear-facing child seats installed, the legroom in the front is also surprisingly good and enough to fit a 186cm driver in!
Suzuki Grand Vitara
The Suzuki Grand Vitara seats are basic in nature which worked in our favour and I could fit three child seats across! I was very surprised in a small car like this. It is a squeeze and you do need to test your child seats will fit if you want three. There are ISO Fix points in the two outer rear seats and top tether anchorages on the back of all three rear seats. Full review here.
Subaru Forester (Fourth Generation)
The Subaru Forester fitted three child seats easily in the back seats. There are three top tether anchorages in the seatbacks that are easily accessible through the boot and within clearly labelled, plastic guides. The ISOFix are in the two outer rear seats, and although they are not within plastic guides and are concealed behind flaps of seat fabric, I still found them easy to connect to. With rear-facing child seats installed, the legroom was still really good in the front and a 184cm driver could still sit in front of them.
Suzuki S-Cross
I was very surprised I managed to squeeze three child seats across the back row of the Suzuki S-Cross! I did this with the Britax Graphene (rear facing) and the Britax Unity capsule, plus the Britax Maxi Guard Pro in the middle. You would definitely need to check your three child seats fit before buying them if you need this functionality. There are three top tether points across the backrests of the rear seats and ISO Fix in the two outer seat bases. They are within plastic guides and were all very easy to connect to. Two child seats fitted really nicely into the S-Cross rear outer seats using the ISO Fix with the top tether.
Mazda3 (third generation)
Although space inside the Mazda3 is cramped and legroom was a serious problem for us as a family, I managed to install two rear-facing child seats, the Britax Unity infant capsule and the Britax Graphene, in the two outer seats. The rear seat base is quite shaped and I found this prevented me from fitting a third, forward-facing, seat in the middle of them. I did find, however, that if I only installed the Britax Unity infant capsule rear-facing, I could fit two forward-facing child seats alongside it (the Britax Kid Guard Pro and Maxi Guard Pro). With a rear-facing child seat installed behind the driver's seat, I found I could sit in the driver's seat but I am only 164cm, and anyone taller would really have trouble!! There are ISO Fix in both the two outer seats. They are white bars between the seat base and back, and although they are not within plastic guides their white colour made them really easy to find which was great! The top tethers are across all three rear seatbacks and are easily accessible through the boot. They are not labelled but they are easy to connect to.
Isuzu D-Max (second generation)
I easily fitted three child seats across the back row of seats in the Isuzu D-Max, but there is no ISO Fix at all, which is a serious downside. The backrest comes forward as one complete panel where there are three top tether points on the bodywork of the cab. Having one continuous backrest makes fitting, and removing, three child seats a little more difficult as you have to attach or release all the top tethers at the same time, click the backrest back into place and then attach or undo the seat belts. Three child seats fit really comfortably along the back row and the seatbelt clips were really well-positioned. I don't know if it is because there is no IsoFix that there is more flexibility in the position of the child seats and that's why they fit so well? I found there were no difficult to access seatbelt clips underneath the child seat bases, they all seemed perfectly positioned which rarely happens in cars I have driven. It makes it really easy for the child in the middle booster seat to do up their own seatbelt, unlike in most cars I have tested where the seatbelt clip is underneath the booster seat making it impossible for them to access! The seatbelt comes from the shoulder on the backrest, not the ceiling which is preferable so it doesn't cut into the child's neck.
BMW X1
The BMW X1 SUV costs between $45,000 and $63,000 new. The rear seats will just squeeze three forward-facing child seats across but it was easier to fit a combination of two forward-facing and one rear-facing. With a rear-facing child seat in the second-row, we could fit a 180cm driver in front. See the top three family-friendly features of the BMW X1 here.
Lexus NX300
I was very surprised that, at a squeeze, I could fit three child seats across the back row of the Lexus NX300! It was a very tight squeeze and was made even more difficult because the central seatbelt is a two buckle system with one halfway underneath the outer child seat, making it really difficult to connect to. There are ISOFix points in each of the outer seats, and top tether anchorages for all three seats. The outer two seats have top tethers in their seatbacks and the central seats top tether is in the ceiling along with the central seatbelt. I struggled with the central seatbelt as the first buckle for it is halfway underneath the outer seat base which made installing the seats really tricky!
Range Rover Velar
I could easily install three child seats in the back of the Range Rover Velar! There are ISOFix points in the two outer seats within plastic guides so they were easy to connect to and top tether points across the back of all three rear seats. It was fantastic to be able to use the ISOFix points and have three seats installed, as usually, you have to move the outer child seats further outwards and use the seatbelts.
It was a little tricky reaching the top tether points through the boot as the boot is so long, so it was easier to bring the seatbacks forward to reach them.
BMW Alpina XD3 (BMW X3)
The 2019 BMW Alpina XD3 costs between $93,000 and $128,000. I found three child seats fit well in the back seats, with good legroom for the front passengers and a 180cm driver can sit in front of the rear-facing child seat. See the top three family-friendly features of the BMW Alpina XD3 here.
Audi Q8
The 2019 Audi Q8 fits three big child seats really easily forward-facing or rear-facing, with good legroom for the front passengers and a 180cm driver can sit in front of the rear-facing child seat. See the top three family-friendly features of the Audi Q8 here.
BMW X5
In the back of the five-seater model of the 2019 BMW X5, the seats are very spacious and comfortable. I found three forward-facing child seats fitted really nicely across the second-row seats. The ISOFix are in the two outer seats and are easy to connect to and the seat base is really deep and wide so it is easy to install three seats. The only problem I had was connecting the top tether straps because I could not reach across the boot, I am only 162cm, so had to kneel on the child seats and reach over the seatbacks. I could easily sit between two child seats in the outer positions and legroom was excellent and we could easily seat a 182cm driver in front of a rear-facing child seat.
Volvo S60 Sedan
The Volvo S60 Sedan does fit three specific style child seats across the back seat. However there are some big considerations due to the rear seat shaping, roof height and headrests. To learn all about it click here.
Tesla Model S
In the rear of the Tesla Model S 100D there is no hump in the footwell which gives great legroom, the seats are very comfortable and I could fit three child seats across the back seats. The doorways are low so you have to post the child seats in carefully but once they are in it is lovely and spacious and legroom is fantastic, easily fitting a 182cm tall passenger in front of a red facing child seat.
Lexus LX 450D
The Lexus LX450D is an ENORMOUS luxury five-seater SUV. The five-seater model has great interior space and plenty of legroom for the first and second row even with rear-facing child seats installed. Three child seats easily fitted across the second-row seats using the ISO Fix in the two outer seats, seatbelt in the central seat and top tether anchorages on the back of all three seatbacks. Or I could comfortably sit between two child seats.
Jaguar F-Pace
The Jaguar F-Pace really does excel with its rear seats surprisingly fitting three child seats across the rear seat. Alternatively, the central seat was large enough for an adult to sit between two child seats very comfortably and the seatbelt buckle was well-positioned to not stick in your bottom! Legroom, however, is a bit limited, there was not a lot of space between my driver's seat back and the rear-facing infant capsule installed behind it when in my driving position and I am 162cm. It is perhaps a car more suited to families with slightly older children in forward-facing child seats. (Who are also well trained in not kicking the back of chairs!!!)
Jaguar E-Pace
In the back of the 2018 Jaguar E-Pace, the seats are comfortable and deceptively spacious and I found I could fit three child seats in there! I wasn't expecting it at all! I wouldn't have fitted three big forward-facing child seats alongside each other but I found the combination of two forward-facing and one rear-facing did work. With just two child seats installed in the outer seats then it was less crowded with a nice amount of space around the child seats. There are three top tethers in the seatbacks that are easily accessible through the boot and within clearly labelled, plastic guides. The ISOFix points are in the two outer rear seats, they are within plastic guides and I found the plastic guides made them a bit tricky to connect to. Although the E-Pace is a small SUV, a 180cm passenger could just sit in front of a rear-facing child seat installed in the back.
Mercedes Benz X-Class Ute
The rear seat is nice and flat and wide in the Mercedes Benz X-Class Ute and there was room for three child seats across the back row. There is ISOFix in the two outer seats, all within plastic guides and nice and easy to connect to. There are top tether anchor loops on all three second-row seats, between the headrest prongs. They are woven loops rather than metal bars, just like in the Nissan Navara. I found these EXTREMELY difficult to connect to as you have to post the top tether strap through the loop on the chair you are putting the child seat in and then across to the loop on the seat to the left or right of it and attach the clip-on there. It was difficult not only to get the straps through the loops but then to attach them and to tighten the top tether strap to the required amount in such a small space, especially once more than one child seat is installed! These woven loops are a bit of a grey area and it is uncertain if they are safety tested to hold three child seats.
I installed the Britax Platinum and Kid Guard Pro forward-facing using seat belts and the Britax Graphene rear-facing, using the ISOFix. Again, it is worth bearing in mind the top tether woven loops are a bit of a grey area and it is uncertain if they are tested to hold three child seats. When I tested the Nissan Navara that has an almost identical top tether setup, it was almost impossible to get a straight answer from Nissan about whether it was OK to install three seats or not.
Best 5 Seater Suv for 3 Car Seats
Source: https://babydrive.com.au/articles/which-5-seat-cars-will-fit-3-child-seats-across-the-back-row/