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Top 10 best cars with three ISOFIX points
Most cars come with just two ISOFIX child seat mounts, but many families need three. Our list runs down the best options available
When choosing a car, nothing is more important than safety – particularly when it comes to protecting your children. As any parent knows, a safe and secure child seat is essential, and while many designs can be held in place safely with a seat belt, child seats with ISOFIX connections represent the next step in protection.
ISOFIX mountings, which take the form of squared-off metal loops, are built into the metal structure of the car. The safest cars for children are those with ISOFIX-compatible mounts, because a compatible child seat will simply lock onto these loops, becoming almost as firmly attached as any of the car's permanent seats. They're also easy to install, and almost impossible to fit incorrectly – a great reassurance for anybody who has fumbled with clumsily designed seats in the past.
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ISOFIX mounting points have been mandatory in new cars since November 2012 (numerous cars built before then have them, too), but the majority of cars offer them only in the two outside rear seats. Gradually, though, car makers are realising that many families need to carry three child seats in a car, and the number of cars with more than two sets of ISOFIX points is steadily increasing.
The number of ISOFIX points isn't always easy to discover, so we've done the hard work for you, picking 10 of the best cars with provision for at least three ISOFIX-secured child seats. These might be in the rear bench, the front passenger seat, or even in a third seating row on some SUVs and MPVs, but you're sure to find a few surprises, too.
An important point to remember is that a car's ISOFIX mountings aren't the end of the story – some child seats fit more readily than others. It's important to check the details of your child seat to ensure that it's compatible with any car you're considering. For example, you'll also find that some child seats have bulky side padding that prevents three being installed side by side.
As there are many legal considerations when using one, we've produced a guide to child seat legislation to give you extra peace of mind. Read on for our pick of the best cars with three ISOFIX points – or more.
The Peugeot 3008 has become one of our favourite SUVs, thanks to its modern design, impressive interior quality and the latest in-car technology. It even features a digital instrument display similar to Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, but unlike the German brand, Peugeot fits it as standard.
The 3008 is family-friendly too, with three ISOFIX points, in the front passenger seat and the two outer rear seats. Safety is assured by a five-star Euro NCAP crash-test rating, with an 85% score for child occupant protection.
Another thing worth noting is that the smaller Peugeot 2008 now also comes with three ISOFIX points on GT-badged trim levels, which is handy if you don’t want or need the larger and costlier 3008.
The Skoda Enyaq iV is one of our most highly rated electric SUVs. It’s affordable compared with other electric SUVs of this size, and it’s spacious, with a 585-litre boot. Better still, the Enyaq offers up to 333 miles of range between charges, depending on the model and powertrain.
Buyers will be pleased to know it comes with plenty of ISOFIX points, making it an ideal family car. Three of its seats are equipped with built-in points, including the two outer seats in the rear row, as well as the front passenger seat. Since it’s such a roomy car, fitting car seats into the Enyaq is simple and stress-free.
The Mercedes GLB combines the elegance and style its maker is known for with a commendable approach to family-friendly practicality. Its boxy shape contains seven seats, despite it not taking up much more space than a Ford Focus. The third row of seats is best reserved for children, so it’s thoughtful that these chairs come with ISOFIX points – many seven-seaters don’t come with third-row points.
Admittedly, you’ll probably find it quite difficult to load kids into the third row if both second-row ISOFIX points are in use, because access to the rearmost seats is tight. But the inclusion of them is handy nonetheless, and the GLB offers plenty of luxury and technology up front to keep the adults happy. Standard petrol and diesel engines are available, as are versions with four-wheel drive. There’s also a high-performance AMG GLB 35 model and the electric Mercedes EQB, though these cars cost a lot more to buy.
The SEAT Tarraco is the Spanish brand’s largest SUV and is closely related to the Skoda Kodiaq, which is also worth looking at if you’re in the market for a large and versatile family car. One of its key selling points is that it comes with seven seats as standard, meaning buyers don’t necessarily have to opt for a people carrier over an SUV.
When you’re not in need of all seven seats, the third row can be dropped to create a 700-litre boot space. Three of its seats have ISOFIX mounting points: the two outer seats in the middle row and the front passenger seat. Unfortunately, the Tarraco isn’t equipped with ISOFIX points in its third row of seats, which is where it loses points against other SUVs on this list.
The Volkswagen ID.4 is a spacious electric family SUV that’s intended to steal sales from the Tesla Model Y by being a more affordable and familiar approach to an electric SUV. It shares its platform with the more-premium Audi Q4 e-tron as well as the cheaper Skoda Enyaq, meaning it’s very similar in terms of space and practicality.
Like the Enyaq, the ID.4 has ISOFIX points in the front passenger seat and the two outer rear seats. Thanks to its large doors and long wheelbase, fitting rear-facing baby seats and bulkier child seats into the ID.4 should cause little in the way of hassle.
The Audi Q7 is a big car and if you’re not put off by its sheer size, you’ll find that it’s a supremely practical family SUV with not three, but six ISOFIX points. This gives you the option of spreading your child seats across the Q7’s vast interior, making sibling squabbles over space a thing of the past!
While the big Audi SUV is expensive (tick too many boxes on the options list and it becomes eye-wateringly so) it has a luxurious and elegant interior filled with the latest tech, modern, distinctive styling, and a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.
The Volkswagen Touran is a thoroughly sensible mid-sized MPV that competes with a dwindling number of rivals which include the Ford S-Max and the larger Volkswagen Multivan. The Touran boasts a well-built interior, conservatively sleek looks and a strong engine range, together with a decent driving experience.
Perhaps most notably, though, the Touran also has five ISOFIX mounting points, so it’s possible to easily install a child seat in every one of its rear seats. We recommend the turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol engine if you don’t cover that many miles each year, while all the diesels are strong performers.
It’s no secret that the latest Land Rover Discovery is a huge SUV, but all its interior space not only makes it a comfortable seven-seater, it also allows it to have five ISOFIX mounting points. They’re found in the front passenger seat, the outer seats of the second row and in both third-row seats.
There can be few safer cars for five children and two adults to travel in, with its five-star score from Euro NCAP. It features airbags that run the length of the interior, standard autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane-departure warning to help you avoid drifting out of your lane on the motorway. If you live in a remote area, the Discovery is also more likely to get you home in poor conditions, with advanced four-wheel drive and a wading depth of up to 900mm.
It may surprise you that the Tesla Model S saloon is on this list but, with no big engine or fuel tank to squeeze in, this seriously quick electric car has plenty of room for three ISOFIX points across the rear seats, plus a huge boot.
The Tesla is expensive to buy, but it won’t cost you a penny in fuel or road tax and its 405-mile range when fully charged makes it one of the best electric cars on sale today. Add a 0-62mph time of just 4.8 seconds and you’ve got a genuinely practical family car with performance that puts some sports cars to shame.
These days, you don’t need a massive SUV to haul three kids around in, because some of the latest crop of superminis also give you the option of fitting a car seat on the front passenger seat as well as in the back seats. The Skoda Fabia, Volkswagen Polo and Audi A1 are all available with three ISOFIX points.
We’ve picked the Fabia because it’s the cheapest, but also the most practical of the three. Its 380-litre boot is as big as the Volkswagen Golf from the class above, so there’s plenty of room for a bulky pram, musical instruments or sports equipment. Our Best Small Car for 2022, the Fabia should also keep the cost of family motoring down because its 1.0-litre engine manages up to 55mpg.
Read our guide on How to choose the best toddler car seat
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