We are changing our car next year and looking at options – our requirements are:

Ability to *either* get 2 Isofix car seats *AND* a booster in the middle *or* have a second row of seats
4×4 / high driving position
Decent boot for camping + dog (although I am open to considering a trailer)
£12-£14k

Currently looking at the Qashqai+2 but to be honest I don’t very much care for the looks of them and would prefer a Honda CRV

In the tradition of recommending what you already have I would say Alhambra (current shape).

I would have though that with your budget you would be able to pick one up.

Loads of room and options re seat placement – some even have the option for built in booster seats but I think the change in law might put pay to that.

With all seven seats up we can still get a pram in the back.

Driving position is fairly high – depends how high up you have the seat 😆

Quashqai+2 looks tiny by comparison.

I suppose MX5 and make the kids walk is out of the question?

Rachel (who doesn’t have kids, obviously)

Subaru Forester.
Don’t get a pre 2011 diesel though.

Volvo XC 90 AWD, drives really well, 3 rows of seats, decent boot, good safety record with the kids

I suppose MX5 and make the kids walk is out of the question?

That is on the cards as the second car 😉

Volvo XC 90 AWD

I’d love one but for that budget I would be getting an older/higher mileage car and Volvos are expensive once they start needing replacement parts.

X-trail?

We were looking for something very similar and ended up with a Mitsubishi Outlander. So far so good.

Galaxy. Job done.

As far as practicality goes for a young family with camping and sports, you just will not beat a people carrier.
Choose *how big* you want to go.
We love our Galaxy with 3 tween/teens in the house.
The Touran before was mega practical (but unreliable/costly imo).

If you want a CRV just buy one. The new larger Rav4 may work not sure what car you’d get for £12-14k though as they hold their value very well.

Note Galaxy etc are very practical all round vehicles, removable seats for flexible layouts. They have an elevated driving position and higher for getting kids in/out. Friends in Switzerland have one and with snow tyres on they handle their winters just fine. Biggest downside is style (or lack of it depending upon your viewpoint). My mate has one (diesel chipped) and its the first choice car for bike holidays to the Alps. Would I buy one, possibly not depending if I had a fun car too.

Soft roader will work OK if you want the high driving position – e.g. X-trail

People carrier if you have no self respect

Kombi style van will work for that too

Personally I had similarish requirements – 2 kids, 2 dogs, lots of car holidays, lots of kit. Ended up with an E class estate with the 3rd row of seats in the boot. Not as practical as a people carrier for sure, but it looks much nicer 😀

Soft roader will work OK if you want the high driving position – e.g. X-trail

People carrier if you have no self respect
Yeah, I am a bit ambivalent about it but my wife would prefer a ‘soft roader’ as you put it over a people carrier.

If it were me I’d just go for a Mondeo estate.

If you like driving and want a car that handles then just get an estate, Volvo V70/90, A4/A6, Mondeo or BMW 3/5 Series etc perfect. Been time proven to work for families for generations.

If you don’t enjoy driving, want to fit in with latest trends and don’t mind soggy handling and a higher centre of gravity then probably some form of SUV or Soft roader. Sorry I can’t recommend one, they all look the same. Buying a people carrier just admits to everyone that you’ve given up and become de-sexualised (yes even in the eyes of your wife)!

Buying a people carrier just admits to everyone that you’ve given up and become de-sexualised (yes even in the eyes of your wife)!

Alternatively, nothing says “mine works fine thanks” like needing a vehicle with loads of seats 😉

(I don’t drive a people carrier (even though everything is in perfect working order))

Sorry I can’t recommend one, they all look the same. Buying a people carrier just admits to everyone that you’ve given up and become de-sexualised (yes even in the eyes of your wife)!

What about an S-Max? It nearly spells ‘sex’. Nearly.

Take the seats and try them in the cars your looking at there are very few cars where that combination is comfortable for the child in the booster seat, especially if the seat is a bench

Yeah we will be doing that, but I’d like to have a shortlist before I run the gauntlet of car salesmen…

And we aren’t bothered about comfort for the booster seat – it is for occasional use only and then will only be for short journeys (ie, our little girls’ friends when we are doing pick-ups/drop-offs at clubs etc).

If the rears are individual ones on runners then by shifting the middle back you get a lot more shoulder space for the occasional user

Smax here for 3 kids.

We looked at loads of cars, many of them mentioned above and many just do not cater for 3 in the back.

Bought an S max 2.0 ecoboost auto and everyone is happy.

@john when we had 3 kids of those ages we had two LWB Shoguns and did 200,000 miles in them. We knew the cars where more expensive than Galaxy etc but hated those. As kids got bigger and we didn’t need to cart all 3 + occasional mates we went Rav 4 and estate car.

My stepdad had a Qashqai. With the 7 seats up the remaining boot space is about enough for a 1980s yuppie briefcase.

Comfy though.

Yeah not bothered about any boot space with all 7 seats up as it would only be used in that way occasionally – but it would be very useful to have that flexibility for doing the kiddie drop offs etc.

I had an Outlander for a couple of years – loved it! The company car tax was a bit savage though so chopped it for a pickup and now a van.

I was looking at second hand ones as a possible private car the other day… and the Foresters (had an early one of them with added lunacy) as we could use something 4 wheel drive if the weather gets rough!

(My van struggles to make it down the lane when it gets a bit snowy/icy)

If you like driving and want a car that handles then just get an estate, Volvo V70/90, A4/A6, Mondeo or BMW 3/5 Series etc perfect. Been time proven to work for families for generations.

If you don’t enjoy driving, want to fit in with latest trends and don’t mind soggy handling and a higher centre of gravity then probably some form of SUV or Soft roader. Sorry I can’t recommend one, they all look the same. Buying a people carrier just admits to everyone that you’ve given up and become de-sexualised (yes even in the eyes of your wife)!
You are Surfmatt and I claim my £5.
How about the Kuga? Much nicer looking than the Qashqai, very well equipped, the heated windscreen alone makes it really worth serious consideration, especially if we get a particularly cold winter.
I had a Galaxy to bring home at the weekend, bigger car than I have a use for, but bloody quick, really quite nimble for its size, again very well equipped, it was seven months old, 2300 on the clock, Titanium X spec, 2.0TDi, heated seats, heated screen, DAB…
Frankly, I’d say it was exactly the sort of thing to look for.
Ex-Motability car, btw, it’ll go for auction, and will probably end up on a dealers forecourt, the only flaw I found was the nearside indicator ‘glass’ on the door mirror had been broken, it could well go for a bit under book price, the damage is minor; I saw a Zafira, possibly a 63, with a huge dent in the front nearside door, and a hole I could fit my hand through sliced along the dent, which went for £9k, about £2-3k under book, worth checking out the bigger auction sites for easily fixed minor damage that would bring the price down.

In order of my preference:

1. Toyota RAV4
2. Hyundai tucson
3. Honda CR-V
4. Mazda CX-3
5. Suzuki Vitara

I am biased towards Toyota btw.

XC90

We had one for 12 years starting with when our 3 girls where all aged under 2 and we had two dogs.
Fits a ton of stuff in (it will take a double bed folded in half), feels safe, built in centre booster seat, very very comfy and has the two extra seats for when the kids get bigger and you need to move them plus pals around. It was great.

ive got the volvo xc60 and its really good…comfy over long distance,not awful on fuel,drives great(ive got the awd version) need to load it up as the bsic spec isnt great but its a mint vehicle..