[4+1more]

hi,



i have 4 children. my eldest is 5 so they are all still in car seats.


I have just found out i am about 6 weeks pregnant with my 5th( yet to tell my hubby) i just want to do as much research as possible.


I need some opinions on cars. i will need 5 ancorage points so i will need 3 in the back and 2 in the middle so the extra seat can fold down for the kids can get into the back.



Im not going to ask at car yards as the best i was offered by them was to get a 7 seater and have my older 2 climb in through the boot . and yes, he didnt have children

any information on cars would be greatly appreciated.



thank you

[back*again]

Firstly congrats

There are no new cars that have what you're after. If you're looking new, the best you'll find is the 8-seater kia (3 anchor points in middle, 2 in back, however, the middle seat in the back is a lap-only seat belt) or the Mercedes 8 seater with 4 anchor points.

If you're buying older cars I'm not so sure. I know the taragos used to have more anchor points than they do now (now they only have 3 in the middle).

A few people on here bought cars without enough anchor points and got more installed with a crab bar, you may want to look into that?

[Cat©]

Depends really on your budget.

I have a Volkswagon Caravelle 9 seater. Personally I love it, as we can use the 9 seats (comes with two anchor points and you can get more installed) but its a 2/2/2/3 configuration. So easy to get into all seats.

Also while only needing 7 seats you can remove the middle two seater and move the three up giving you a 2/2/3 config. with a MASSIVE boot, bigger than the imax boot! Really depends on budget though and how many seats you need for the future etc.

The imax was ok as well, but we didnt like how it drove compared to the Caravelle, but it was also dearer than an imax....had we not had the budget for the caravelle we would have gone imax as a second choice. We didnt consider the smaller more "car" like 8 seaters as we have teens so wouldnt have lasted us long.

[MrsDoyle]

When we had 5, all in carseats/boosters, we had an older style Tarago. 3 anchor points in the middle, 2 anchor points in the back. I had the younger 3 kids (all in carseats) in the middle row, and the 2 older kids (in tethered boosters), in the back row. With the middle row as far forward as it would go, there was enough room for my older boys to squeeze past and strap themselves in without flipping the seat.

[nessrose]

We're expecting our 5th too. They are all in carseats at the moment.

We have a 10 year old Tarago which has 5 anchor points. We bought it for about 10K. We have our 4 year old twins in the back and our 6 year old and 2 year old in the middle row. Our new bubba will go in the middle row when she is born.

We've been very happy with the Tarago. Haven't had any problems with it and plenty of room in the back even for a double pram (which happily we don't need now!). Apparently the older style Taragos have more boot space too.

Good luck.

[nobleme]

If your eldest is already in a booster have you thought about using an untethered one, like the pegasus?

[blaast]

Why an 8 seater?
The VW Multivan (a real 7 seater) has 5 anchor points in the back!

There are also VW Caravelle's with 8 (real) seats and short wheel base (the 9 seater is long wheel base), but they only have 2 anchor points.

[MickeyBoo]

We have a Nissan Elgrand, it is an 8 seater and has 2 anchor points for the second row and three in back row. The middle seat has a movable seat so that there is no climbing over seats, and I find it pretty easy to get bubs in and out whatever the seat configuration.

They retail from $15000-$20,000 for earlier models (but being imports they have extremely low kms) (and up to $50,000 for the latest models) they are pretty easy to get parts for and servicing is not a hassle either, they have the same running parts as a Nissan Pathfinder (can't remember the exact year). Insurance is also pretty average.

Interiors are nice, you can get all leather interior, sunroofs etc in the Highway Star and Rider models, or a combination of leather/suede, or just suede in the other models. They are really cruisy to drive, don't feel big and clumsy on the road and are 4WD as well, they also have a fair bit of guts and aren't sluggish to drive. I'd never driven a big car before but I prefer it to my Commodore now, and that's saying something!

Boot space isn't enormous when the rear seats are right back, but if you move them both forward a bit there is still heaps of leg room and the boot space is ample. Even with them right back I can fit a stroller and full size pram in the back. For an added bonus, the rear seats fold up and to the side to allow for a large cargo area, and the middle row of seats swivels 180degrees to face the other way and pushes right back against the front seats, so if you ever need to take big loads anywhere there is heaps of room.

We've had our 99 Elgrand Rider for over 3 years now and have no complaints at all.

Good Luck and Congrats!

[lifehacker]

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This post has been edited by humphreymum: 19/12/2011, 10:17 PM

[fillesetjumeaux]

Older Chrysler Grand Voyagers have 2 + 3 (captain's chairs in the middle row, so easy access to rear). Unfortunately, newer ones have done away with 2 of the rear row anchor points.

The Multivan is a great car with the same configuration as the older CGV. It's what we'll probably get next.