When families with three or more children face the impossible choice between buying a larger vehicle or compromising on their preferred car, there’s a solution that most parents don’t know exists. What Car magazine’s comprehensive 2025 child car seat review highlights exactly this dilemma and showcases how Multimac offers a practical alternative that keeps families in the cars they love.
What Car’s latest testing reveals a challenge familiar to many growing families: how do you safely transport three or four children without being forced into a seven-seater SUV or MPV? Their experts tested 26 different child car seats across five categories, but when it came to accommodating multiple children in a standard vehicle, they found that traditional single seats simply don’t solve the problem.
This is where Multimac stands apart.
In their detailed 2025 guide, What Car specifically highlighted Multimac as the innovative solution for families facing this predicament. Rather than joining the exodus to larger, less efficient vehicles, families can maintain their preferred car while safely seating three or four children side by side.
What Car’s testing team examined how Multimac founder Kevin Macliver – a mechanical engineer who became a father of four in 199 – engineered a seat system that would enable all his children to sit together in one vehicle. The result was a child seat unit that took over a decade of development before gaining approval for sale in 2008.
Today, Multimac carries the prestigious R129 safety accreditation, placing it on par with the latest single child car seats for safety standards. This certification matters, especially given What Car’s emphasis on safety in their testing methodology.
What Car’s experts provided insight into the practical aspects of using Multimac:
The Multimac system is secured using two robust tether straps that bolt directly into the vehicle floor, complemented by two support legs at the front.
While What Car notes that the system is considerably heavier than single child seats, they emphasize a crucial advantage: once the tethers are installed, the entire Multimac unit can be lifted in or out of the car in under a minute.
This quick-release capability addresses a common concern about permanently modifying your vehicle. The tether mounting points can be professionally installed, but the day-to-day use remains remarkably straightforward.
One of Multimac’s most impressive features, highlighted by What Car, is its compatibility with virtually any vehicle. The seat unit is offered in seven different sizes, enabling fitment across an extraordinary range of cars – from compact city cars like the Mini to luxury vehicles like the Rolls-Royce.
This versatility means families aren’t forced to choose their car based on child seat compatibility, as is often the case with traditional seat configurations.
What Car’s testing protocol is rigorous. To assess the Multimac’s real-world performance, their experts installed a four-seat version in a Tesla Model 3 – a vehicle not typically associated with large family transport – and evaluated it using both baby and toddler crash test dummies.
Their findings were revealing. Despite the narrow appearance of the Multimac seats when configured for four children, What Car’s testers found that the seats provided ample room for both children, with good support throughout. This challenges the assumption that fitting multiple children across a single bench requires compromising on individual seat comfort or safety.
What Car’s feature specifically examined the Minimac infant carrier, Multimac’s solution for families with newborns. Their assessment highlighted several key features:
Safety and Design:
Practical Considerations:
This modular approach means that as children grow, parents can adapt individual seat positions without replacing the entire system.
What Car emphasised that each of the three or four Multimac seats can be individually tailored for children from birth up to 150cm tall. In theory, the publication notes, this could be the only child car seat system a family ever needs to purchase – a significant departure from the typical progression through multiple seat types as children grow.
As children outgrow the Minimac, they transition to forward-facing seats with five-point harnesses. The system offers various headrests and low-profile seat cushions, allowing taller children to sit lower and maintain proper positioning as they develop.
One of the most striking sections of What Car’s feature addresses the investment required for a Multimac system. Starting at £2,099 for the four-seat version, the initial price tag might appear substantial. However, their value analysis reveals a different picture.
When calculating the cost per child per month—assuming use from birth to 12 years old—the four-seat Multimac works out to just £3.64 per child monthly. This figure becomes particularly compelling when compared to the costs What Car cited for other seats in their testing:
The Multimac’s value becomes even clearer when considering that most children require multiple seat changes as they grow. Traditional approaches might involve:
For a family with three or four children, this progression multiplies accordingly—not just in cost, but in the complexity of managing different seats, installation methods, and safety standards.
What Car’s 2025 testing placed exceptional emphasis on safety, weighting it 25% more heavily than other factors in their overall ratings. Their experts specifically highlighted that Multimac has achieved R129 safety accreditation, the same stringent standard that the latest generation of single child car seats must meet.
This certification is particularly significant given What Car’s warning about second-hand seats. Their exclusive research revealed that 15% of parents who bought child car seats in the past year opted for second-hand options – potentially putting 300,000 children at risk. Recent European testing found that 90% of randomly purchased second-hand seats failed regulatory standards in crash tests.
Multimac’s current safety certification, combined with its direct purchase model, ensures families receive a system meeting contemporary safety standards without the hidden risks associated with unknown history or degraded components.
What Car’s broader 2025 car seat guide tested seats across five categories, from infant carriers to high-back boosters. Throughout their comprehensive testing, one theme emerged consistently: standard seating solutions struggle to accommodate three or more children in typical family vehicles.
The magazine’s experts tested seats in both a Skoda Kodiaq seven-seat SUV and a Ford Fiesta small hatchback, assessing everything from installation ease to crash safety. However, for families wanting to avoid the move to larger vehicles, Multimac represented the only solution that allowed multiple children to travel safely in cars they already owned.
While What Car’s feature doesn’t delve deeply into the financial implications of purchasing a seven-seat vehicle, the costs extend far beyond the initial purchase price:
For families who don’t actually need seven seats for most journeys, the Multimac offers a way to optimize their vehicle choice for their actual lifestyle rather than a few specific scenarios.
The inclusion of Multimac in What Car’s prestigious annual car seat review represents significant recognition from one of the UK’s most trusted automotive authorities. The magazine’s testing methodology is thorough, incorporating:
For Multimac to be highlighted in this context validates the engineering approach that Kevin Macliver pioneered nearly three decades ago. It also brings this solution to the attention of families who may have assumed their only option was to change vehicles.
What Car’s 2025 guide rates individual child seats across different categories, with top performers including:
These are all excellent seats for single-child configurations. However, What Car makes clear that for families needing to seat three or four children, none of these individual seats solves the fundamental space challenge. This is where Multimac’s unique proposition becomes invaluable.
What Car’s consumer editor Claire Evans emphasises that practical features matter enormously: “easy access to simple fitting instructions and adding colour coding to areas that are used for fitting or adjustment are also hugely important, because they make it easier for parents to ensure the child and seat are installed correctly.”
She also notes that 69% of child seats in the UK are being used incorrectly, according to surveys by Child Seat Safety and police. The Multimac’s professional installation of tether points helps address this concern, ensuring the foundation of the system is correctly secured from the start.
The What Car feature helps frame the decision for families considering their options. Multimac makes most sense if:
For families with access to two vehicles, Multimac offers another advantage: the quick-release system means you can move the entire seat block between cars in under a minute, once tether points are installed in both vehicles.
What Car’s 2025 testing revealed several encouraging trends in child seat safety:
Multimac’s R129 certification ensures it meets these evolving standards while addressing the specific challenge of multiple-child transport that traditional seat manufacturers don’t tackle.
What Car’s decision to feature Multimac in their comprehensive 2025 child car seat guide represents more than just product coverage. It’s recognition that growing families face a genuine dilemma that deserves a practical solution.
For nearly 30 years, Kevin Macliver’s engineering innovation has offered families an alternative to the assumption that multiple children automatically require multiple rows of seats. The What Car feature brings this solution into the mainstream conversation, helping more families discover that they don’t have to choose between the car they want and the family they’re building.
The £2,099 starting price for a four-seat Multimac might initially seem substantial, but What Car’s analysis reveals its value: £3.64 per child per month from birth to age 12. More importantly, it’s the cost of keeping the car you chose for your lifestyle, rather than accepting the compromise of a vehicle selected primarily for its ability to accommodate three individual car seats.
As What Car’s testing demonstrates, when it comes to safely transporting multiple children in the car you actually want to drive, Multimac isn’t just an option – it’s the solution.
Ready to discover if Multimac is right for your family? Visit our website to explore the full range of configurations, check compatibility with your vehicle, and learn more about professional installation options.
Read the full What Car feature: Best car seats 2025: the safest child seats for newborns and toddlers
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