FAQ Special - Can three child seats fit in one car?

I need a car that will carry three child seats on one row - what should I be looking at?

A: The crucial thing to look for is three full-size car seats that you can safely attach your child seats to. Cramming child seats in will compromise their effectiveness and should never be done.

Whether or not your child seats fit is as much down to them as it is the car you're considering, so you're going to have to take your seats along on any test drive to make sure.

Don't assume that a car is suitable because it has got three sets of three-point seatbelts. The centre seat on many cars is for occasional use and can be heavily bolstered. An adult would sit on top of these centres seats, rather than in them, so a child seat may wobble around on top.

So even big family cars such as a Vauxhall Vectra or an executive BMW 5-Series aren't going to be suitable - you're going to have to turn your attention to far wider cars if you must carry three abreast.

Fiat's Multipla has two rows of three seats and should be up to the job with and an entry-level Target Price of £11,200.

Some big off-roaders might do the trick as well, but you'll need deeper pockets for the likes the truly vast Range Rover (at about £49,000) or Land Rover Discovery (from around £36,000).

Besides that you're looking at full-size MPVs. The latest Ford S-Max (£16,200) and Galaxy (£18,290) will easily cope, while other seven-seaters like Chrysler Grand Voyager, Renault Espace, Citroen C8 and Peugeot 807 might also suit.