Convertable Carseat in Small Car

We have a 2001 Jetta and it is a very small car in my opinion. We bought the Eddie Bauer convertible car seat and it is a big car seat but since it can be used for such a long time we bought it anyway. My husband is 5'9" and I am 5'5" so we are still able to fit both of us in the front seats with this car seat in the center of the back seat. It is usually a $200 car seat but we found it at BJs for $99! So we bought 2, one for each vehicle.

Good luck!
~A.

1 mom found this helpful

I have a 2004 Honda Accord, so maybe a little more room, but we have the Radian Sushine Kids 60 (that's actually how much the kid can weigh before needing another carseat). It's not very wide and the sides are actually low (cuts down on the overall width of the carseat). I'm happy with it and my son seems to like it. It's actually considered just as safe as the Britax, for a lot less money.

1 mom found this helpful

We also have a 4-door Civic, and we bought an Evenflo Titan convertible car seat. It fit into our car just fine! We have been happy with it so far.

I LOVE my Britax seats (Marathons are awesome!) but for a really small car, I have heard that Radian 80's are FABULOUS! They are very well made & are very narrow--you can fit 3 in the back seat of even very small cars!

We have 2 small cars, an older Chevy Prizm and a new Mazda 3, and our Graco ComfortSport car seats fit great in both of them, both front and rear-facing. I think it actually fit better in my tiny old Prizm, just due to the style of the rear seats (the Mazda has more rear leg room). Plus the ComfortSports are CHEAP. You will have to buy the 40 pounds+ backless boosters eventually, but they are cheaper than the difference between the Graco seat and most others on the market...

B.,
I'm not going to offer specific child seat advice, but I wanted to mention that it is a GREAT idea after switching car seats to go to a free car seat check in your area. Usually local police departments/state police barracks has a certified person to do the inspection. You would be AMAZED to see that tons of people have their child's car seat installed incorrectly! For example: if your car does not have head rests in the back seats, it's very important to keep a belt-positioning, high backed booster when they are a little taller.
Google "car seat checks" for your city. Hey, it's free and only takes about a half hour.

I have a 2008 Civic 4 Door
My daughter is rearfacing in her Britax Decathlon (a big seat) and it fits just fine. I have it behind the passenger's seat and my husband ( who is 6 feet) can sit up front with no problems.
Go to Babies R Us, they will let you take the seats out of the store to try in your car.

Also check out the website
www.car-seat.org
The people on that board will be able to help you with ANY car seat questions you may have.
Good luck

Britax is very wide but may work. Try the Graco line. We had the Graco Platinum CarGo. The problem is you'll need another car seat with the new state laws in place. Britax is one of the few that now uses the 5 point harness until 80lbs or so, where others go only to 40 with a few going to 60 or so. Your best bet is to measure the maximum area in the back, preferably the middle back seat if possible, then go online and check the car seat dimensions to match. If you use the back middle seat, you'll be able to fit most any seat there.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

I have a Mini Cooper and we use the Britax Marathon. My son is 2, and we have it forward facing, we never used it in the backwards position, only in the forwards position. I forget what we used when he was a baby... wow, time flies!

Believe it or not, we have a Britax Boulevard in the back of our Nissan Sentra, rear facing, in the center. It fits perfectly. There are no problems with it being too tall. It is wide, but as of yet, we don't have to put another car seat next to it. Good luck with your search!

Hi, ok w/ any good store, they will tell you which car seats will fit in your car. Or you can ask to try it out... I know that Babies r us and Toys r us will let you take the seat and try it out in the car... safest way to know for you and baby.

You probably want to stay away from the 3 in 1 seats that will take you through the booster stage as well. Those are the ones that have really high backs which makes installing them rear-facing a challenge. We love our Britax Roundabout. It's so easy to install and seems to be really comfortable. It's pretty skinny too - that was our big consideration as we have 3 seats across the back of a station wagon.