10 best cars with three full rear seats

December 22, 2021byJamie Edkins and James Allen

Many cars are fairly flexible with their seating setups. Some of them have split-folding seat backs, allowing you to load longer items while still having one or two seats in place for passengers, and others let you slide the seats backwards and forwards to improve boot space or legroom.

For the ultimate in rear-seat versatility, however, you’ll want to consider a car with three separate seats. Because the seats aren't connected to each other, they can be reclined and adjusted to suit whoever's sitting in them. Plus, having separate seats means your passengers get a bit more shoulder, elbow and hip room to play with, which helps make them more comfortable than traditional benches on long car journeys.

If you’re after a great car with three individual rear seats, you can do worse than consider an Audi Q7. The broad seats mean even adults should be able to sit side-by-side in comfort, and taller passengers can slide the rear seats back to improve on the Audi's already impressive amounts of legroom. The seat backs even recline to give your passengers even more room to relax in. Plus, as you’d expect from an Audi, the interior build quality is really good. Combine this with great comfort and quiet cabin and you’ll see why the Q7 is a great car to cover long distances in.

You can have the Q7 with a choice of two diesels and one petrol engine. The entry level 45 TDI diesel provides plenty of performance for most people and will return decent economy, or if you plan on towing heavy trailers you can have the more powerful 50 TDI. whichever diesel engine you pick, it should return upwards of 30mpg. If you want more performance then you can have the 3.0-litre petrol engine with 340hp, and this will return around 25mpg.

People carriers aren't anywhere near as popular as they used to be – SUVs look cooler and can be just as practical. That's a bit of a shame as cars like the Volkswagen Touran are ideal choices if you’re after something with three separate seats. Thanks to its boxy dimensions, there's loads of space inside, and the Touran's seats have lots of adjustment options. Granted, the centre seat isn't quite as broad as the outer chairs, though the VW Touran makes up for this with its completely flat floor – meaning your passengers won't be squabbling for space in the footwells.

Being a boxy people carrier, it wont blow your socks off on a country road but that's to be expected. It's comfy over bumps and the 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine offers a great blend of performance and economy. However, if you do a lot of motorway miles you may want to consider the 150hp diesel model as it's more economical still.

Not every car with independent seats is strictly a seven-seater: as the Citroen C5 Aircross shows, you can still get the benefits of having separate rear chairs in a five-seater car. Despite that reduced seating capacity in comparison with other cars here, the Citroen still offers good amounts of head and legroom all round for passengers under six foot. Just as important, C5 Aircross is comfy to drive, is quiet and has supportive seats. It has a great interior, too.

The entry level 1.2-litre petrol engine will suit most peoples needs unless you do serious motorway miles. If this applies to you, you may be better off with the 130hp diesel model. It won't be as nippy as the petrol, but it will cost you peanuts to run. There is also a 221hp plug-in hybrid on offer which will do 30 miles on electric power alone, plenty for most commutes.

If you need a bit more space than what the Citroen has, then the Peugeot 5008 might be worth having a closer look at. It's only 141mm longer, but that increase in length means there's a bit more legroom on offer, and there's also an extra pair of rear seats in the Peugeot that the C5 Aircross doesn't have. You’ll especially like this car if you’re a fan of funky interiors, as the Peugeot 5008's cabin is one of the most dramatically styled you’ll find.

The pick of the engine range is the 1.5-litre turbo diesel thanks to its smooth power delivery and impressive economy. You’ll also want the automatic gearbox because it takes the strain out of day-to-day driving, and the manual isn't the nicest to use. You can also go for a bigger 2.0-litre diesel engine or a choice of a 1.2 or 1.6-litre petrol.

There aren't that many cars on sale right now with separate rear seats, and they’re even rarer if you’re after something all-electric: step forward the Tesla Model X. You can spec this car as a five, six or seven-seater. The car does have selling points beyond its seating setup though, such as its upward-folding ‘falcon doors’. The Model X also has a very high-tech cabin. Almost all of the controls are operated through the gargantuan touchscreen infotainment system. And Tesla says all Model X variants are able to cover more than 300 miles between charges.

The Model-X is a rather expensive family option, and the waiting lists mean you’ll have to be extremely patient if you want one. That said, it could be worth it if you looking for performance. The top of the range Plaid model has over 1000hp and will do 0-60 in 2.5 seconds. Not bad for a family bus.

The Volvo XC90 has long been a great choice if you’re after a spacious and stylish family SUV, and the current car is no exception. While the seats aren't quite as wide as they are on alternative cars, the Volvo makes up for this by having loads of headroom and legroom. And the wide footwells means there's plenty of room for your passengers’ feet despite the large tunnel that runs through the car. Parents with a young child might want to consider the optional integrated child booster seat built into the cushion.

The B5 diesel is the best all-round engine choice. It should get around 44mpg and it's powerful enough to cruise comfortably on the motorway. That said, it won't be as quiet as the V6 diesel you get in the Audi Q7. You can also have a plug-in hybrid with some impressive figures. The 2.0-litre petrol engine is both turbocharged and supercharged and it has 390hp, yet will still return 80mpg according to Volvo. The only fly in the ointment is that it's a lot more expensive than the normal petrol or diesel cars.

This car shows you don't need to scrimp on style when you’re buying a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV). The Citroen Grand C4 SpaceTourer is more than just a pretty face, too: there's loads of space inside, and the SpaceTourer is surprisingly easy to drive in town thanks to its huge windows and the blindspot-eliminating glass cutouts in the front pillars. Adults should also have plenty of shoulder room in the Citroen – while some MPVs have a slim centre seat, all three of the chairs in the Grand C4 SpaceTourer's middle row are the same width.

There are a variety of petrol and diesel engines available, starting with the 1.2-litre petrol. It's alright around town, but it struggles if you try to load six passengers up steep hills. The best engine to go for therefore is the 1.5-litre diesel as it has enough punch to lug you and the family up and down the motorway on school holidays, and returns decent economy.

Though not as stylish as the Citroen, the Ford Galaxy is still a great choice if you’re after a practical and versatile seven-seater people carrier – not least because, just like the SpaceTourer, all three of its centre row seats can be moved and reclined independently of one another. It's handy too that the Ford is comfy, spacious and has huge windows that let lots of light into the interior, making it feel nice and airy inside. And, while it's perhaps a stretch saying it's engaging to drive, the Ford is decent fun to drive by MPV standards.

The 2.0-litre diesel engine is smooth enough and offers enough punch for most peoples needs. For such a large car, it's reasonable easy to navigate it around town as well thanks to the large windows and light controls.

The Ford S-Max and the Galaxy are quite similar, the Galaxy is a bit roomier while the S-Max is a bit sportier – well as sporty as you would want a seven-seat people carrier. As such, the S-Max retains many of the Galaxy's best features (such as the three separate seats in the middle row), with the extra benefit of being a few grand more affordable than the Galaxy. The sloping roofline makes the S-Max look quite sleek and sporty for an MPV, too, though it does have a knock-on effect of reducing headroom in comparison with the Galaxy.

Behind the wheel, you’l be pleasantly surprised at how fun this is to drive for a big people carrier. Even better, it handles itself well on a twisty road without compromising on comfort. There are only two engines on offer and they’re both diesels. The entry level 150hp 2.0-litre unit will be plenty to suit most peoples needs, but if you plan on towing or carrying heavy loads regularly than you’ll want the higher powered option.

If the previously mentioned Touran is a bit on the small side for you, VW has a larger alternative: the Sharan. Much like its little brother, the VW Sharan has loads of room for passengers in the middle row, and the large sliding doors make getting in and out really easy – especially if you’re parked close to a pillar or another car in a multi-storey car park. While the Sharan also comes with a pair of decent-sized seats in the back, its real party pieces are the optional integrated booster cushions with headrests in the middle row's outer seats (shown below), which will be appreciated by parents of young kids.

The Sharan is offered with either a 1.4-litre petrol engine that has 150hp, or two different diesels, one with 150hp and one with 184hp. The petrol engine works best as an all-rounder. It's smooth, quiet and offers adequate performance in most situations. If you plan to tow a caravan or the like, your best bet is the higher powered diesel unit. It's worth noting as well the the Sharan was recently discontinued, so you can pick up the last remaining new examples for a bargain price.