Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Thu 30 Jul 2009 15:15

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - glawrie

Hi

I'm tall (6'6") and I've got three sons who are all tall (and growing). They are having difficulty folding into the rear seats of our current cars - particularly as I need one or other of front seats adjusted back to (or near to) its limit. We currently have two cars - a SAAB 95 and a Zafira. The problems are greater in the SAAB.

Can anyone suggest an alternative type of car we could consider getting as a replacement that has more space in the rear? Some constraints...

1) My wife won't consider a 'people carrier' (by which she means Galaxy type vehicles)
2) She also won't consider a 'chelsea tractor' (e.g. Range Rover)
3) We want three 'three point' seat belts in rear

Other than that, we'd consider pretty much anything.

Budget up to about £20K I guess - depends on what and where from. Unlikely to buy a new car unless there is a very good reason not to go second hand.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions etc.

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 15:19

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - brum

Fiat 126

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 15:21

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - BobbyG

Don't know if you are including the Scenic in the People Carrier Bracket but it has 3 individual seats that can be adjusted so that all shoulders aren't together, can reduce bootspace by pushing seats further back and there is acres of legroom and the seats sit quite high as well so less legroom required.

And much cheaper than £20k!

Failing that what about the skoda Superb - supposed to be very roomy in the back by all accounts.

The above examples show there are two ways to deal with legroom - make the seat higher and therefore legs sit more vertical or try and avoid having to tuck under drivers seat !

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 15:22

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - gmac

Skoda Superb.
I don't think there are many cars on the road that offer as much room in the back short of LWB S class, 7 series etc...

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 15:33

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - commerdriver

Echo the Skoda Superb, I was in one of the new ones as a taxi on Monday, it was huge in the back. Driver was very positive about it as a car as well, seemed very quiet & comfortable.

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 16:00

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - a900ss

1) My wife won't consider a 'people carrier' (by which she means Galaxy type vehicles)

If she can bring herself to drive an S-Max, it has almost limo levels of rear seat space. Each of the three seats can be adjusted forward and backwards individually. Likewise each seat can be reckined individually. It is HUGE in the second row of an S-Max with the seats fully pushed back.

Good Luck

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 17:01

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - Glaikit Wee Scunner {P}

I sat in a well equipped Skoda Superb while pondering the purchase of an Octavia. The rear space is enormous and so is the luggage boot with the selectable hatch/lid. Think they start at £14,000. Hard to think of a reason not to buy if you want a large car.

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 17:44

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - retgwte

yea superb

or 2nd hand vauxhall signum

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 18:07

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - Chris M

Isn't the Signum a four seater?

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 19:14

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - rtj70

Isn't the Signum a four seater?

No but the middle seat is not a proper seat as such so might as well be a four seater. It can seat 5. Unlike say a BMW Mini.

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 20:08

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - injection doc

Volvo S80 D5,loads of room but seats gave me back ache & the kids as well. having very lanky teenage girls & being over 6ft myself we had the same problem & never wanted a people carrier or 4x4. But we do make very long trips in europe so comfort & space really important.
I had to give in & bought Freelander 2, not as bulky as a rangerover but loads of space & seats like arm chairs & a lot quieter than the S80 Volvo.
Now the kids are fine travelling for the first time in years & they love sitting higher up.
With saloon cars to get the leg room you end up with often low & tilting back seat squabs which is uncomfortable for lanky legs

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 22:12

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - SuperBuyer

Merc S class limo, obv. not new but £20k would get a reasonably new one, or I'm sure BMW do a lwb 7 series.

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 22:19

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - Avant

Definitely try the Skoda Superb and Ford S-Max - if you only occasionally carry all 3 sons in the back, the Toyota Prius might do.

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 22:33

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - madeinstein

What about VW Phaeton, you can get this for seriously silly money these days (considering the orginal price)

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Thu 30 Jul 2009 22:49

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - whoopwhoop

New Mazda 6.

Rear seat space is 'normous

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Fri 31 Jul 2009 00:15

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - bathtub tom

London taxicab?

I seriously considered one when I had a family to cart around.

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Fri 31 Jul 2009 09:18

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - ijws15

I am 6 ft 2 and I find the Superb short of headroom in the back, loads of legroom but compromised seating position because they mount the seat high.

Try an E class - plenty of room for me in the back of one of them.

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Fri 31 Jul 2009 09:46

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - jase1

Hyundai Sonata has plenty of rear legroom. If you can find one, the latest version is dirt-cheap as well, still with warranty, and nothing like as poor to drive as some magazines make out.

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Fri 31 Jul 2009 16:02

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - glowplug

The Citroen C6 seems pretty vast in the back. I'm not sure about 3 point seatbelts though.

Steve.

Edited by glowplug on 31/07/2009 at 16:03

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Fri 31 Jul 2009 16:16

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - TheOilBurner

I thought pretty much everything these days has 3 point seatbelts on all seats. The C6 certainly does, full 3 points on all seats.

Finding one second hand might be hard, but it might be possible to nudge under £20k for a brand new 2.2 hdi if you were to haggle hard with the dealer.

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Fri 31 Jul 2009 16:49

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - boxsterboy

Yes, the C6 has 3 x 3-point rear belts, but the seat is really shaped and designed for two. The middle passenger of 3 would really be having the short straw - it if wasn't for this I could have been tempted to buy one.

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Fri 31 Jul 2009 16:52

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - glowplug

Price wise I was thinking that the OP could pick up a nearly new C6 and not suffer the initial drastic depreciation. But then if the middle seat is that bad it's a non starter I guess.

Steve.

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Sat 1 Aug 2009 17:30

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - kithmo

Ford Mondeo has more rear legroom than most.

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Sat 1 Aug 2009 21:03

Suggestions of cars with lots of rear seat space - Brian Tryzers

The Mondeo is one of very few cars where I can set the driver's seat where I want it, hop out and climb in behind it without the use of tools or surgical appliances. (I'm about the OP's height, BTW.) But I still doubt if that makes it a true five-seater. That's because a car can only be so wide to be manageable, and today's have width eaten up by door bars and side airbags in the name of crash safety. That width comes out of the space for the third rear passenger.

So the crucial advantage, as A900SS and others have said, of MPVs is that the second row can be staggered so that the three occupants aren't all competing for the same shoulder- and elbow-room. This situation is exactly what MPVs were designed for, but if Mrs OP really won't countenance one then - if I deduce correctly that she's the member of the family who takes up least space - perhaps she ought to be the one to sit in the middle.
};---)

MPVs with three staggerable seats (that I can think of):

Ford S-Max (and Galaxy)

Toyota Corolla Verso (and new Auris-based Verso)

VW Touran

Renault Scenic

Citroen C4 Picasso

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