Just how wide is the S3 inside, really?

[Rainmaker]

Me again with another pre-order question after a surprise discovery. We have a 9 year old and a 9 month old at the moment, and have been looking to order a 2.0 (220ps) TSI DSG S3. As pure luck would have it, my wife has fallen pregnant just before I put the order in(!). Great news and all that, but...

 

At present we have a 64 plate Mazda 6 tourer, which is 191mm narrower than the S3 according to Parkers (7.5 inches seems a LOT?!). With our baby in her child seat (now front facing), the eldest is happy - obviously - in the other 'main' seat at the opposite side of the car. With baby #3 on the way, however, he'll be bumped to the middle 2/3 size seat.

 

As luck would have it, recently we've taken a few day trips with our nephew, who is a toddler. As such we've had chance to experience the same scenario of two small children in front facing child seats, and our eldest lad sat on the middle seat between them. Not the height of luxury, I'm sure, but enough that he didn't complain too much on a 2 hour drive. Given that the S3 is apparently so much wider, do you think we'll be OK for space? 

 

Obviously he'll not be 9 forever, but kids tend to grow longer rather than much wider at that age. He's a big lad already, and as I said manages in the Mazda 6 quite well. Therefore I'm hoping we'll have no concerns in the (much larger) Superb. As he grows up our daughter (child #2) will be moving to a booster seat of some description anyway, negating the problem entirely as she can then move to the middle seat.

 

The new Mondeo is listed as being 90mm wider again than the S3 (i.e. 280mm wider than the Mazda 6), so that's an option to consider but I would rather have an S3. I'm not sure how this translates into internal space (as opposed to external dimensions) though, as I can honestly say neither the S3 or Mondeo seemed anything like 7 to 9 inches wider inside than our Mazda 6!

 

Can anyone (parents especially, for obvious reasons) give me any insights please? I know this is generally considered MPV/crossover territory, but I'm a keen driver and I'd almost rather get the bus than end up in a bland Eurobox school wagon with slab sides, a centre of gravity on the roof and a gutless diesel engine. :p

 

To be fair the eldest is a proper home bod and a nanny's boy, so 90% of our journeys out start with him being dropped at nanny's round the corner before me, my wife and the baby head out for shopping/visiting/whatever. As such the middle seat journeys will generally be short and longer trips decidedly infrequent. I have been looking at slimline/narrow baby seats, which tend to be 40cm at the widest point and designed to sit cleanly in the 'dip' of the seat bases so they don't impinge towards the centre seat. I reckon with one of those either side he should have plenty of room in the S3, but I wanted some first hand experiences.

 

What say you all? Please, please don't let me end up in a Picasso or S-Max. 

Edited 13 December, 2015 by Derv

[100andthirty]

You best bet is to go, with seats, to a dealer and try them. I fear that there will only be Isofix fittings for two seats and the shape of the seat will make fitting three abrest hard. That said I did manage a 7 year old, 5 year old and a newborne across the rear seat of the original early 1990's Rover 420 which was Escort size! That led us to a Galaxy and two Alhambras before getting the Superb.

Edited 13 December, 2015 by 100andthirty

[RickTT]

My friend manages 2 toddler seats and a booster seat in the back of his 65 plate Passat.

 

It all about buying slim car seats.

Edited 13 December, 2015 by RickTT

[WookieeM]

Hardest bit is making room for the middles ones shoulders and arms!

 

Booster seat helps as it raises them above the other seats, as said you gotta try in the exact car with exact seats you have.

 

I see a mini bus in your future! Or a 7 seater.

[Nick_H]

Me again with another pre-order question after a surprise discovery. We have a 9 year old and a 9 month old at the moment, and have been looking to order a 2.0 (220ps) TSI DSG S3. As pure luck would have it, my wife has fallen pregnant just before I put the order in(!). Great news and all that, but...

 

At present we have a 64 plate Mazda 6 tourer, which is 191mm narrower than the S3 according to Parkers (7.5 inches seems a LOT?!). With our baby in her child seat (now front facing), the eldest is happy - obviously - in the other 'main' seat at the opposite side of the car. With baby #3 on the way, however, he'll be bumped to the middle 2/3 size seat.

 

As luck would have it, recently we've taken a few day trips with our nephew, who is a toddler. As such we've had chance to experience the same scenario of two small children in front facing child seats, and our eldest lad sat on the middle seat between them. Not the height of luxury, I'm sure, but enough that he didn't complain too much on a 2 hour drive. Given that the S3 is apparently so much wider, do you think we'll be OK for space? 

 

Obviously he'll not be 9 forever, but kids tend to grow longer rather than much wider at that age. He's a big lad already, and as I said manages in the Mazda 6 quite well. Therefore I'm hoping we'll have no concerns in the (much larger) Superb. As he grows up our daughter (child #2) will be moving to a booster seat of some description anyway, negating the problem entirely as she can then move to the middle seat.

 

The new Mondeo is listed as being 90mm wider again than the S3 (i.e. 280mm wider than the Mazda 6), so that's an option to consider but I would rather have an S3. I'm not sure how this translates into internal space (as opposed to external dimensions) though, as I can honestly say neither the S3 or Mondeo seemed anything like 7 to 9 inches wider inside than our Mazda 6!

 

Can anyone (parents especially, for obvious reasons) give me any insights please? I know this is generally considered MPV/crossover territory, but I'm a keen driver and I'd almost rather get the bus than end up in a bland Eurobox school wagon with slab sides, a centre of gravity on the roof and a gutless diesel engine. :p

 

To be fair the eldest is a proper home bod and a nanny's boy, so 90% of our journeys out start with him being dropped at nanny's round the corner before me, my wife and the baby head out for shopping/visiting/whatever. As such the middle seat journeys will generally be short and longer trips decidedly infrequent. I have been looking at slimline/narrow baby seats, which tend to be 40cm at the widest point and designed to sit cleanly in the 'dip' of the seat bases so they don't impinge towards the centre seat. I reckon with one of those either side he should have plenty of room in the S3, but I wanted some first hand experiences.

 

What say you all? Please, please don't let me end up in a Picasso or S-Max. 

I've still not forgotten ;-)

[Jaytip]

I've suggested these before on another thread. Not cheap but in the grand scheme of things, they are possibly the perfect solution.

http://multimac.co.uk/home

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited 13 December, 2015 by Jaytip

[Kev Hamilton]

I also have a Mazda 6 and there is definitely more room in my S3 Estate. I have three kids - aged 9, 7 and 5. The two youngest are in booster seats in the outer positions and the eldest is in the middle. There are only ISOFiX points in the outer seats and if your seats are wide, you will have difficulty with fixing seatbelts and space for your eldest in the middle. I had a an S1 Superb when my youngest was born and had to change it for a Seat Alhambra. There was no way a rear facing seat would fit with the other two seats. You should be able to manage since you only need a rear facing and a booster. I'll try and get a pic later.

Edited 13 December, 2015 by Kev Hamilton

[Kev Hamilton]

Three monkeys in an S3 Estate.......

Tight fit with their winter coats on.

[Rainmaker]

haha Thanks Nick, didn't realise you were a member on here. Extra opinions never hurt.  Looks like it should be ample then, especially considering Kev's very helpful photo. I've been looking at the Volvo V60 CrossCountry (D5 5 cylinder 2.4 4x4) and BMW 3 series (320i Sport and 320D ED) amongst others, but I suspect - regretfully - that the latter will likely be too small. Can't hurt to take a gander though. 

Edited 13 December, 2015 by Derv

[cnc]

BMW 3 series (320i Sport and 320D ED) amongst others, but I suspect - regretfully - that the latter will likely be too small. Can't hurt to take a gander though. 

I have a Superb mk2 FL, the wife has a BMW 320d. The BMW is considerably smaller than the Superb. Before the BMW the wife had a 2014 Octavia and that was also bigger than the BMW.

A friend at work has just had a new Mondeo, well worth a look, also seems wider inside than the Superb.

[peld]

as the owner of 19 month old twins, we have two stage 2 baby seats in the back of ours.

long story short, your 9/10 years old wont have much room in the middle of the two baby seats. the baby seats seems to align quite centrally so doesnt leave much room in the middle. 

If i was in your situation i'd look elsewhere first.

[jstallan]

I had to 'taxi' the wife and friends into town at the weekend. I was going to take the QashQai as it hadn't been driven for a while so I thought I'd give it a little run. I asked who it was we were taking and advised one of the people was a 'large lady' - I opted for the Superb! 

[RickTT]

See this thread regarding car seats in the S3

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/377073-will-3-child-seats-fit-in-a-new-superb/

[Ant1975]

Me again with another pre-order question after a surprise discovery. We have a 9 year old and a 9 month old at the moment, and have been looking to order a 2.0 (220ps) TSI DSG S3. As pure luck would have it, my wife has fallen pregnant just before I put the order in(!). Great news and all that, but...

 

At present we have a 64 plate Mazda 6 tourer, which is 191mm narrower than the S3 according to Parkers (7.5 inches seems a LOT?!). With our baby in her child seat (now front facing), the eldest is happy - obviously - in the other 'main' seat at the opposite side of the car. With baby #3 on the way, however, he'll be bumped to the middle 2/3 size seat.

 

As luck would have it, recently we've taken a few day trips with our nephew, who is a toddler. As such we've had chance to experience the same scenario of two small children in front facing child seats, and our eldest lad sat on the middle seat between them. Not the height of luxury, I'm sure, but enough that he didn't complain too much on a 2 hour drive. Given that the S3 is apparently so much wider, do you think we'll be OK for space? 

 

Obviously he'll not be 9 forever, but kids tend to grow longer rather than much wider at that age. He's a big lad already, and as I said manages in the Mazda 6 quite well. Therefore I'm hoping we'll have no concerns in the (much larger) Superb. As he grows up our daughter (child #2) will be moving to a booster seat of some description anyway, negating the problem entirely as she can then move to the middle seat.

 

The new Mondeo is listed as being 90mm wider again than the S3 (i.e. 280mm wider than the Mazda 6), so that's an option to consider but I would rather have an S3. I'm not sure how this translates into internal space (as opposed to external dimensions) though, as I can honestly say neither the S3 or Mondeo seemed anything like 7 to 9 inches wider inside than our Mazda 6!

 

Can anyone (parents especially, for obvious reasons) give me any insights please? I know this is generally considered MPV/crossover territory, but I'm a keen driver and I'd almost rather get the bus than end up in a bland Eurobox school wagon with slab sides, a centre of gravity on the roof and a gutless diesel engine. :p

 

To be fair the eldest is a proper home bod and a nanny's boy, so 90% of our journeys out start with him being dropped at nanny's round the corner before me, my wife and the baby head out for shopping/visiting/whatever. As such the middle seat journeys will generally be short and longer trips decidedly infrequent. I have been looking at slimline/narrow baby seats, which tend to be 40cm at the widest point and designed to sit cleanly in the 'dip' of the seat bases so they don't impinge towards the centre seat. I reckon with one of those either side he should have plenty of room in the S3, but I wanted some first hand experiences.

 

What say you all? Please, please don't let me end up in a Picasso or S-Max. 

We have 3 boys (12, 10 and 4).  Only my youngest is still ina  car seat and the Superb is easily big enough, even for long journies.  Worth investing in rubber mates and tunnel mat for raised bit on floor between back seats - dirty shoes for middle seat no longer a problem. 12 v socket in middle and boot means that they can have 2 things charging at the same time - bonus!

[Ant1975]

Rubber mats.  Not rubber mates......!

[NetScaler]

I had a similar conundrum when the 3rd came along. I couldn't get a 10yr old, a 1 year and a newborn in the back of my FL Octy 2. I looked at the Superb, but didn't fancy the idea of the eldest always being in the middle seat, which isn't a "proper" seat and had reduced foot room.

 

I therefore went for a S-MAX as all 3 seats are the same size, individual and can independently moved around.

[RickTT]

While we are talking car seats.... I have 2 of these below and had now for around 5 years... really worth getting to protect the seats from little shoes and any crap they drop!!

 

Work really well with ISOFIX seats, bit trickey for stage 3 which use the car seatbelt though

Prince Lionheart Two-Stage Seatsaver

 

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prince-Lionheart-Two-Stage-Seatsaver-Black/dp/B00882V09W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450183128&sr=8-1&keywords=Prince+Lionheart+Two+Stage+Car+Seat+Protection

Edited 15 December, 2015 by RickTT