# Multimac - 4 kids in the back of the car



## paul24 (28 Jan 2009)

Has anybody seen this product yet or better again has anybody tried it.

It allows you put 4 children in the back of most family cars.

It is not cheap, but given the current state of the car market, it may be a better option for my Mazda 6 instead of having to try and trade it in for a 7 seater.

http://www.multimac.co.uk/home

I would be interested to hear peoples opinions or if anybody has bought one.

Paul24


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## ollie323 (28 Jan 2009)

I saw this and was very impressed! They do a 3 seater version which could prove handy for cars with a silly lap belt in the middle. I can't imagine leaving it at creche so my wife could pick up the kids though!

ollie


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## ivannomonet (28 Jan 2009)

Very interesting! The site says its legal in the UK but I wonder if Irish insurers will be ok with this?


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## RedTop (28 Jan 2009)

Interesting product but why wouldn't you just upgrade to a 7 seater. I suspect that it would be difficult if not impossible to fold down the seats while this is in place.  It's only suitable for kids up to 12yrs old, and this might be a stretch, so it's only suitable for smaller kids.


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## Smashbox (28 Jan 2009)

I'd say they'd have to be very thin 12 year olds! Surely there's a catch when normally you can only fit 2 x child seats in comfortably normally.


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## Paulone (28 Jan 2009)

A fantastic idea - as childseats to put in the back get larger and larger (making space for everyone else less and less) it makes perfect sense. 

I've often wondered why rear seats in modern cars aren't more clever and convert like this seeing since two 'normal' child seats render the whole rear bench in most cars suitable for nothing else other than the childrens' debris. Carrying kids like this makes what you thought was a large enough car feel rather small and tight.

It reminds me of the bad old days when there were more children in the car than there was back seat, but now they're all secured properly.

Would gladly sacrifice the ability to fold the seat, if you need it, then you  would hardly be folding the seat. if you have to take it out tho, it doesn't look like the handiest thing to store unless you have a garage or plenty of room.

I wonder would it ever be considered that the whole rear seat could be replaced with one of these if it were needed every day?


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## ollie323 (28 Jan 2009)

RedTop said:


> Interesting product but why wouldn't you just upgrade to a 7 seater.


Good point but people with three or four children tend to not have that kind of money lying around. And in 12 years, they will probably have changed their car, won't have massive childcare bills and will be probably able to afford a 7 seater by then. My wife and i have three children so if we had another, i'd definitely get the four seater version (and valium perhaps!) because even if i could trade in my current car, i'd still have to stump up a few thousand euro to buy a 7 seater. Money we don't have right now.

ollie


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## ollie323 (28 Jan 2009)

Paulone said:


> I wonder would it ever be considered that the whole rear seat could be replaced with one of these if it were needed every day?


I've often wondered tha same thing. It would be nice if car manufacturers offered an optional rear seat with all the seatbelts etc. as an option.

ollie


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## AlbacoreA (28 Jan 2009)

RedTop said:


> Interesting product but why wouldn't you just upgrade to a 7 seater. I suspect that it would be difficult if not impossible to fold down the seats while this is in place. It's only suitable for kids up to 12yrs old, and this might be a stretch, so it's only suitable for smaller kids.


 
A regular car is cheaper.


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## paul24 (29 Jan 2009)

I agree that the cost of changing the car to a newer model may not be huge, but to change to a seven seater involves a lot more cash - and if you weren't planning the 4th child your available cash will be swallowed up in the fees for the pregnancy etc.

Most cars are designed to hold three adults in the back (all be it a bit of a squeez) so why cant they hold 4 children.

The current child seats are very bulky and if this Multimac has passed and exceeded the current requirements, I think it may be a cheaper solution to changing up cars.

The cost is a bit expensive but in balance is a lot cheaper than shelling out an additional  6 - 8k for a seven seater and still have to purchase an additional chils seat.

Paul24


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## Smashbox (29 Jan 2009)

They don't seem to have a lot of head/neck support. Is there any pictures from the front with all the kids in the seats? Like a view from the front, not the side.


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## diamondkidz (17 Apr 2009)

[broken link removed]

well I was just wondering whether there was anyone who got one of these yet? 

As some people already pointed out, a 7 seater would be a lot more expensive than one of these seats...I will soon have my 3rd under 4 (& also look after another 1.5yr old) so need the boot space offered to me by my picasso that you just can't get in a mini mpv. each child also uses at least 2 car seats during babyhood & childhood so you would need to tot up the costs associated & it is perfectly feasible to fork out 1k for one (plus extras of course). What I am interested in is the "imminent" 15kg rear facing baby booster as it is much safer for a young child to be rear facing in a car...anyone know when this is coming out?


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## Smashbox (17 Apr 2009)

In that pic two 'kids' have headrests and two don't. I thought child seats needed head and neck support of some kind, like those upper 'wings' you see on child seats?


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## paul24 (17 Apr 2009)

From having seen the product and spoken to them, you can buy the unit with or without the headrests. The basic seat comes on its own. You add all the bits you need e.g. headrest, baby seat or the YLVA headrest that is shown on his order page of the site.

[broken link removed]

The unit is a bit heavy bit of kit and I believe it does what is says on the tin. It is well engineered and obviously passes all the tests. The pic is probably testing the dummy's with no headrest.

Paul24


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