Hi everyone,

From the autumn we are sharing the school run with another family, so we will need to take 2 adults and 3 children (4, 4 and 2) in the FF. for those of you who have tried, you will have found that the middle seat in the back is a nightmare for child seats; the distance between the seatbelt stalks is narrower than any common car seats or booster cushions, which means the seat is on top of the buckle. This makes buckling up a nightmare, and is dangerous as the lap part of the belt can't be tensioned.

With loads of research and and trialling over 20 seats, I have found a solution.... volvo make a car seat that is much narrower at the back than the front, and hence the buckles are accessible. It is quite basic, and a bit pricey, but it works..... Carried 3 children in comfort today. For those who are interested, the volvo part numbers are 31373176 and 31373177 (e booster cushion and the high back are separate part numbers)

We had a rental car company Volvo seat in Sweden once and it was horrible for our daughter. The padding was virtually nil so very uncomfortable. Not sure if the padding was removed or whether it was original. Also getting it into the car was "not easy nor intuitive".

Currently I have a "Ferrari" seat in the middle in the FFRR and the (normally adult) passengers just have to fiddle a little to get their buckles in (the seat is held back by the middle seat belt and has its own 5 point belts). It is not great and I wouldn't like it for a daily school run.

Our other car seat (in the Landcruiser) has a big bracket that you can flip up to put the seat in "sleeping" position. It pushes the bottom of the seat away from the back. That makes access to the seatbelts easy. It also uses the seatbelt to hold the seat and the child together (so you have to clip the seatbelt in every time and when not clipped in, the seat is loose). This seat was the best one available at the time (according to a test of the major Dutch consumer organization) and is super comfortable with ample soft padding all around her. The seat has a special "cushion" across the belly and chest of the child that is supposed to do a much better job at spreading the load on impact. It is also suitable for a large age range (KiddyPro).

So in case the Volvo design is indeed not very well padded (and I hope the rental one was a fluke), the KiddyPro could be an alternative.

Click image to enlarge

Pfffft! 3x this and a dog guard: http://www.partydelights.co.uk/product_det...tAod10IA8Q 
07 Supercharged - Still breaking her in!

Boot soundproofing part 1 - http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic15612.html
Custom exhaust - http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic15296.html
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Experienced this problem . Back in 07 had an almost new Porsche Cayenne , 1 child (1 wife )

"We" found out to our surprise that Mrs E4 was having twins , I searched high and low to get 3 (small) kids across the back seat.
Can't be done , sold the car, took a huge hit. Bought a Volvo xc90

There is this system , it was in final stages of safety approvals at the time, but was pricey . In hindsight I should have bought it, would have been cheaper than selling car!

http://www.multimac.co.uk/home Alcohol and eBay is never a good mix

2006 4.2 Supercharged, Java Black

That multimac system looks good mate. Looks reasonably comfortable as well. Must have been a nice surprise, getting two for the "work of one"  MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

Indeed

Wife burst into tears when "ultrasound woman" said
"Better Check there isn't a 3rd in there ..."


Still miss the ugly Porsche though...
Good news is that Volvo is gone, no need for 3 seats, as oldest daughter almost nine, no pushchair to cart around...
FULL FAT owner  Alcohol and eBay is never a good mix

2006 4.2 Supercharged, Java Black