One of the main considerations I have found since having our children and test-driving cars is the lack of legroom in the front once you install child seats in the back. Rear-facing child seats especially take up a lot of room and I've found that although forward-facing child seats use less room, you still need to allow quite a bit of space for the kiddies' legs and feet, especially if you don't want to be kicked in the back constantly!!
- Looking for seven-seaters that will take three child seats across?
- Which dual-cab utes are easiest for fitting child seats?
Here is a list of SUVs with the best legroom for tall front passengers in front of the child seats used in BabyDrive testing:
Honda CR-V
In the five-seater Honda CR-V, you can have the front seats in their furthest back positions with rear-facing child seats installed behind them, which is unusual. As well as having room for three child seats in the back, the CR-V's boot space is also fantastic, so Honda hasn't pinched the space from anywhere else! There is so much legroom in this car! I think any size driver or passenger could sit in front of the rear-facing child seat without any problems! Read the full review here.
Geely Starray
In the five-seater Geely Starray Plug-in-Hybrid (PHEV), there is lots of interior space that makes family travel very comfortable. With a rear-facing child seat behind the drivers seat you can easily fit a 186cm driver in front of it. The rear footwell is flat in the back of the Geely Starray too so if you have tall teenagers in the back then there is plenty of kickroom for their enormous feet! There is just room for three child seats across the rear seats in the Geely Starray and a generous size boot too so families that need to can fit a twin or tandem pram or stroller in the boot. The full Geely Starray review is coming soon!
Haval H6
The Haval H6 is a great option for taller families as legroom is really good, we could fit a 186cm driver in front of a rear-facing Infasecure Attain More child seat and an even taller person on the passenger side of the car. You can see my Top 3 family-friendly features and Watch the full review here.
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
The five seater Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in-Hybrid (PHEV) has good legroom for tall families. With a rear-facing infant capsule in the back a 184cm driver can fit in front of it. The rear footwell has a hump in the central footwell passengers will have to straddle. This has the obvious benefit of more legroom, which is fantastic news for taller families. We could fit a 186cm driver in front of a rear-facing child seat or taller in the front passenger seat. Watch the full review of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV here.
Subaru Forester Hybrid
Three child seats fit nicely across the rear seats of the Subaru Forester Hybrid. With a rear-facing child seat installed behind the driver in the back of the Subaru Forester Hybrid, the legroom is really good and in the front a 184cm driver could still sit in front of them. Watch the full Subaru Forester family review here. Once your children are forward-facing in their child seats a 186cm+ driver can fit in the front. Bootspace is good in the Forester, fitting a twin or tandem pram in the boot.
Subaru Outback
Space is something the Subaru Outback does really well. In front of a rear-facing child seat, we could fit a 182cm passenger and in front of a forward-facing child seat, we could fit a 186cm+ driver. You can see my Top 3 family-friendly features and Watch the full Subaru Outback review here. New Subaru Outback and Wilderness review coming soon!
Volvo XC60
Interior space is generous in the Volvo XC60. Three child seats fit nicely across the rear seats or there are built in booster seats in the two outer rear seats if your children are the correct size. If your family needs rear-facing child seats in the back then rest assured a 186cm driver can fit in front of a rear-facing child seat. You can see our full family review of the Volvo XC60 here.
Audi Q5
The New Audi Q5 is available as a petrol, diesel or plug-in-hybrid. This new updated model is still good for interior space for tall families. With rear-facing child seats installed in the back of the new Audi Q5 a 184cm driver can sit in front of it. With forward-facing child seats in the back a 186cm+ driver can sit in the front. You can see our family review of the Audi Q5 from the Australian launch here.
Skoda Superb
Technically not an SUV, but definitely needs to be mentioned the Skoda Superb! Legroom is excellent in the five-seat Skoda Superb. The interior is very spacious and easily allows for a tall 186cm driver or front passenger in front of a rear-facing Infasecure child seat. Two Infasecure child seats fit nicely in the back and the boot is practical and spacious too. Watch the full review here.
Renault Koleos
The Renault Koleos' legroom is VERY impressive! With a rear-facing child seat installed, we could put the driver's seat in it's furthest back position and fit a 186cm driver in the front. You can see my Top 3 family-friendly features and Watch the full Renault Koleos family review here.
I would love to know which SUV has the absolute MOST legroom out of all the 7 seaters on the market. Partner is 6.4ft and cannot fit in our RAV4 with a rear facing car seat at the moment. With another baby on the way we need to upgrade to the largest SUV possible to accommodate two rear facing car seats and very tall parents. I simply cannot seem to find any concrete info on which SUV is the absolute largest available in Australia. Currently looking at a Kluger or Mazda CX9 as they seem to offer the most 2nd row space as far as I can tell but would love to know if that’s the case or if there is anything even larger.
A Hyundai Palisade or Nissan Pathfinder is that next step bigger if you need a heap of legroom