twins plus two carseats logistics

[ClairesTravellingCircus]

I need help please as I can't make up my mind how to sort this out!

We have 4dc: 11, 8, and one year old twins and we drive a vw touran.

So far, we have been using the baby car seats which go in and out of the car, I tend to have one twin in the front passenger seat and one at the back when dh is not with us. If it's all of us, dd1 goes in the boot, dd2 in the middle seat with the twins either side.
Now I have started looking at stage 1 car seats and don't know what to do re seating plan! Will dd2 be sble to access the middle seat if the dts are on the sides? Should I fit the dts seats next to esch other??

What do other people do?
I don't live in the uk and the range of seats available here not that great so I can't really go and try lots of ones...

Many thanks
ps I have posted this i

[bigboobsatlast]

Hello there friend! probably not much help but I have all three car seats (maxi cosi priory I think. . 9 months to 4 years secured with seat belts). I have one twin on eother side and my nearly 3 year old in the middle. She can access fine even if the twins are already in place. I have a Picasso. My DH is pining for vw touran!

[ClairesTravellingCircus]

Thanks Bigboobs,

That is helpful, still not sure whether to get ERF seats of not.

I love my Touran! We needed a 7seater but didn't want a bus, bit 4 kids are such a logistical nightmare, car seats, d buggy nothing fits anywhere.

Thanks for the input though

[strawberrylace]

Hello! I have 2 yr old twins and a 5 yr old, and a Grand Scenic. When I had the twins either side in the back seat (in maxi-cosi prioris) and the eldest in the middle in a high backed booster it was impossible to get the middle seat belt done up easily - trying to reach down beside the big seats the twins were in was really difficult. I bought a seat belt extender, but that fitted all the other seatbelts in the car apart from the one in the middle - typical. Since then I have moved the twins together and sit the eldest on one side, and this works much better! So not the same situation as you, but definitely worth trying the twins together to make it easier for your DD2. HTH

[twintwo]

Hi we had similar problems with accessing seatbelts in our touran. We had twins in maxi cosi prioris next to each other and 3 year old in high back booster by window. 3 year old much preferred this arrangement too as he only had to put up with sitting by one crying baby at a time!

[throckenholt]

You can fit 3 full size car seats across the middle row of the touran - just ! It is a squeeze and difficult to get to the buckles. You should be fine with 2 car seats and a child. You might find you vary the layout over time - sometimes you may well want to separate the twins (my toddler twins we often separated by their older brother !) - but normally I would put them next to each other rather than having the old child having to climb into the middle.

[ClairesTravellingCircus]

thanks all, interesting to hear from people who ahve a Touran, so when the twins were separated was it easy for your other child to access the middle seat?

and throckenholt what seats did you have?

[twintwo]

We sometimes change the layout if the twins are fighting! My older child climbs into middle seat first before twins get in, otherwise they have to put their legs up so he can get past. It is tricky reaching the buckle for middle seat, I have quite small hands so can usually do it but dh struggles.

[ClairesTravellingCircus]

thanks twintwo, dd2 is 8 so should be able to do the buckle herself at least.

[thingamajig]

Another who finds doing up the high-back booster impossible if it is between to Group 1s, but doable if it is at the side.
Also, because we drop/pick up dd1 from school with the twins in situ, having dd1 able to jump out easily is a plus. For the record I have a Toyota Verso, 2 maxi cosi Tobis and a maxi cosi rodi.

[throckenholt]

We have maxi cosi rodis - and they are wider than the stage whatever they had before that - can't remember what they were - probably brittax something.

We find that when we have 3 high backed boosters in the middle row we have to hold the door ajar, and swivel a seat round a bit to be able to get to the buckle - not enough room to get a hand in easily between the seats.

But it has worked for us for a number of years - and I don't think there are many wider cars of a similar size, you have to go up to the galaxy/sedona size of car - which have their own drawbacks (cost, running cost, driving in small spaces). We also have a sedona and it is very easy to have 3 full sized seats across it, but I still prefer the touran when I am driving.