Vehicles with more than five seats are becoming increasingly popular.
Whether you have more than two children and need extra seats, or have to regularly carpool or squeeze in a couple of grandparents, a six-, seven-, or even eight-seater can be extremely useful.
Maybe you even just need to keep your kids apart to stop arguments for your sanity.
Not all large SUVs, people-movers and vans, however, are created equal, and before you start shopping, it’s worth knowing which ones can have young children in not just the second row, but the third as well.
A top tether is a strap which connects a child seat to a car seat, with the strap looping around the rear headrests to a connection point somewhere in the back of the car.
One of the most important things to bear in mind with top-tethers is that they are prone to misuse. People commonly connect them up to the wrong places, such as luggage hooks, tighten them too much (therefore causing the base of the seat to lift up too high) or not tighten them enough which allows the seat to move more than it should.
They can sometimes be hard to locate too. Some cars have the top-tether points on the headlining/roof, so low down you could almost miss them, or hidden beneath the seat lining.
In Australia, by law under Australian Design Rule 34, every child under the age of seven (or 145cm in height) needs to travel in a child seat that is anchored to the vehicle by a top-tether. Therefore, if a vehicle doesn’t have top-tether points in the third row, that excludes little ones from sitting back there.
The exception is dual-cab utes, which don’t need top-tether points because they are classified as light commercial vehicles; however, many have at least two anyway.
ISOFIX anchors are a little different.
They are small metal bars found at the base of the, mostly, outboard seats of a car's second row, with all new cars having them on at least two seats for more than a decade now; however, some vehicles also have them in the third row.
ISOFIX anchor points can also be hard to locate at times. They are usually behind little plastic flaps that lift up or come off (to be lost forever) or can be behind fabric/leather covers attached with velcro or even accessible via two tiny little zips. Some are obvious as they're exposed with no covers, but this is becoming increasingly rare, especially higher up the price scale.
Strictly speaking, you don’t need a child seat with ISOFIX anchors, as you can fit all kinds with a seatbelt, and boosters for children over the age of four in Australia don’t come with them regardless, but they are nice to have. Here’s every vehicle currently on sale in Australia (not set to shortly be discontinued) with more than five seats, listed with how many top tether points and ISOFIX anchors they have, and where to find them.
People-movers and vans are the most obvious choice for carting around a lot of people, and there are some great options out there no matter your budget.
The Kia Carnival has been a Drive favourite for several years, although there are others such as the LDV Mifa/Mifa 9, and a range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles at the luxury end.
Volkswagen has some fun options with a lot of character, such as the California and ID.Buzz, while the 009 is an impressive newcomer from Zeekr.
| Model | Seats | Top-tethers | ISOFIX anchors |
| Ford Tourneo | 8 | 6 (three in each row) | 6 (three in each row) |
| Hyundai Staria | 8 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Kia Carnival | 7/8 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 5 (three in second row, two in third) |
| LDV Mifa | 7 8 | 3 (two in second row, one in third) 4 (two in second row, two in third) | 3 (two in second row, one in third) 4 (two in second row, two in third) |
| LDV Mifa 9 | 7 | 3 (two in second row, one in third) | 3 (two in second row, one in third) |
| Lexus LM | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Mercedes-Benz EQV | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Mercedes-Benz V-Class | 7/8 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) 6 (three in each row) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Mercedes-Benz Vito/eVito | 8 | 6 (three in each row) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Volkswagen Caddy | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Volkswagen Caravelle | 9 | 6 (three in each row) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Volkswagen California | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Volkswagen ID.Buzz | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 5 (three in second row, two in third) |
| Volkswagen Multivan | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 5 (three in second row, two in third) |
| Zeekr 009 | 6/7 | 4 (two in each row) 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
It used to be the case that having a third child meant leaving the family SUV behind and swapping it for a people-mover or mini-van. These days more and more car manufacturers are making three-row SUVs for growing families.
I only have two children, but often need to ferry around my kids' friends, or my parents, meaning we need a minimum of six seats. Finding something up to the task, where the kids can go in the third row to leave more legroom for the grown ups in the second, can be tricky.
Luckily it can be done, and without massively breaking the bank, too.
At the more affordable end, there's the likes of the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento, while in the premium and luxury space, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo and Lexus have flexible seven or eight-seaters as well. And there's plenty more in between.
| Model | Seats | Top-tethers | ISOFIX anchors |
| Audi Q7 | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| BMW X7 | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Chery Tiggo 8 | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Chery Tiggo 9 | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Ford Everest | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 2 (second row only) |
| Genesis GV80 | 6/7 | 2 (second row only) 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| GMC Yukon | 8 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 3 (second row only) |
| GWM Tank 500 | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Hyundai Ioniq 9 | 6/7 | 4 (two in each row) 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Hyundai Palisade | 7/8 | 4 (two in each row) 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 3 (two in second row, one in third) |
| Hyundai Santa Fe | 6/7 | 4 (two in each row) 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Isuzu MU-X | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 3 (second row only) |
| Kia EV9 | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Kia Sorento | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| KGM Ssangyong Rexton | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Land Rover Defender | 8 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Land Rover Discovery | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Land Rover Range Rover | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Lexus GX | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Lexus LX | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| LDV D90 | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Mahindra XUV700 | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Mazda CX-80 | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 2 (second row only) |
| Mazda CX-90 | 6/7 | 4 (two in each row) 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 2 (second row only) |
| Mercedes-Benz EQS (SUV) | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Mercedes-Benz GLE | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Mercedes-Benz GLS | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| MG QS | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Mitsubishi Pajero Sport | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Nissan Pathfinder | 7/8 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Nissan Patrol | 7/8 | 4 (three in second row, one in third) | 2 (second row only) |
| Peugeot 5008 | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Skoda Kodiaq | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Toyota Fortuner | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Toyota Kluger | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Toyota LandCruiser 300 | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Toyota LandCruiser Prado | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Volkswagen Tayron | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Volvo EX90 | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 2 (second row only) |
| Volvo XC90 | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
Unlike their larger counterparts, medium-sized SUVs tend to be more limited in the third row when it comes to space.
However, in theory, this should mean that more of them have third-row top-tether points and ISOFIX anchors, because less room is better suited to the smallest family members, rather than trying to cram older children, teens or even adults back there.
Yet most medium SUVs with seven seats lack top-tether points and ISOFIX anchors.
Only two cars can seat children under the age of seven in the very back seats. Here's the skinny.
| Model | Seats | Top-tethers | ISOFIX anchors |
| Honda CR-V | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Land Rover Discovery Sport | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Mercedes-Benz EQB | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Mercedes-Benz GLB | 7 | 5 (three in second row, two in third) | 4 (two in each row) |
| Mitsubishi Outlander | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
| Nissan X-Trail | 7 | 3 (second row only) | 2 (second row only) |
Do you have a large family car? What do you like about it? Let us know in the comments.
A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.
