Car seats and Subaru's

To those here with mini-me's and are still driving Subaru's, I'm looking to hear experiences/recommendations for convertible car seats.

Junior is about 2 months shy of a year and we're looking at upgrading his seat status in the near future. We're currently still rocking him in the infant seat but the room that it kills in the WRX is obnoxious. Unfortunately I'm guessing a convertible seat won't be much better. Ideally we get a new family vehicle but we're still just a little ways off that.

Anywho, I had my eye on a sweet blue Recaro setup back before he was here. Of course we didn't need it at the time and now it's discontinued. We have a Recaro infant seat/stroller combo that I dig, but we've found it almost impossible to find "parts" (extra seat base), because it's apparently discontinued as well. As much as I'd love to stick with a "cool" one, it's probably time to get something normal that's easier to find if something happens.

Long story short, seeking advice on specific brands/models that you've liked in general and also maybe some tips for cramming them into a small-ish vehicle.

Thanks!

 

Our daughter turns 1 tomorrow...

We have a Graco infant seat in my wife's '04 Outback. It still requires the seat in front of it to be pushed forward more than we'd like, extremely uncomfortable for both of us (I'm 5'11" and my wife is 5'10") in the driver's seat so we put it on the passenger side.

We bought this EvenFlo one last fall for my car, as it's rated very well by consumer reports, especially for the price. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ISS2KVI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is even bigger, and requires the seat in front of it to be pushed forward even further. Manageable in the front passenger seat of my cars (XT6 and Celica, no passenger front airbag), but I'm on the lookout for something else for the Outback as she's going to be too big for the infant seat any second now.

 

Dang. That's not really what I was hoping to hear... Haha. I'm 6'6" and my wife's only 5'7" ish. I was under the assumption that the Outbacks had significantly more room in the rear seats.

 

I have a 2017 WRX and have two Britax Marathons in back, front facing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B013...236_SY340_QL65&keywords=britax+car+seat&psc=1

It still fit reasonably well rear facing, but had to encroach on passenger side legroom a tad. The Click-tight system uses the existing seatbelt and is super quick to install and remove. It's a bit more than many other seats, but it's very sturdy and has internal strap extensions to fit a growing kid.

I also have a couple seat back protectors since kids always like kicking things and it's been a salty winter so far...

 

Yeah, unfortunately that's not gonna happen anytime soon.

 

I'm very interested in seeing the new Ascent and what kind of rear room it has. I'm cool with two boys and don't want any more kids, but my wife wants to try for a girl... We all know who's going to win that argument, so there's another carseat for me in the future. I understand the Ascent will offer mid row captain's chairs, which would be a great option vs a bench for getting into the 3rd row.

 

Guy I work with has five boys...good luck. And you know it is your sperm's fault for having two boys so far.

 

More room, but not significantly.

FYI, my mom's 2012 Impreza has about the same back seat room as our '04 Outback. So the newer cars did have more, but I suspect you'd have to get to 2010 or so to get noticeably more room in the back.

 

Well, I can tell you our experience. Whether it's helpful is questionable.

My daughter is now a bit over 3. We kept her in her infant seat (Chicco keyfit 30) until she was about a year. Really the only reason we didn't longer is the seat was in a car accident and they tell you to junk it after. But it kept her safe!

After that, we moved her into an Evenflo Symphony DLX, but still rear facing. (https://www.target.com/p/evenflo-174-symphony-dlx-convertible-car-seat/-/A-15261759) It fit passably in my 2010 Impreza that I had at the time, but fit very poorly in our 2006 GD wagon. The front passenger seat had to be slid forward too much to be usable.

So, we got an SJ Forester. Problem solved.
It actually fits very well in the center position which is allowed by Evenflo, but technically not Subaru even though there is a center tether anchor. The LATCH is spaced perfectly and it fits great, so I can't find an issue with it.
You can still squeeze people in the back on either side of it.

She was rear facing until a bit after the age of 2 at which point her legs became too scrunched so I converted it to forward facing. Now that she's forward facing, it fits much better anywhere, including in our Honda Fit.

However, you should keep your kid rear facing as long as possible. Even though you can move them forward facing after a year (I think) it's safer to keep them rear facing until they can't physically fit rear facing anymore. At a year, their neck muscles still aren't very strong compared to the size and mass of their noggin.

Anyway, the Evenflo is a nice seat. The ratcheting LATCH tethers make swapping easy and it's pretty easy to convert it to front or rear facing. But it's QUITE big. That's what you get when the seat can grow with them. The upside is, you don't have to buy as many seats. It'll last her until she's 110 pounds when used as a booster w/seat belt. Which, for her will be like 12 years old since she's such a peanut.

I think as long as your kid's seat is facing the rear, you'll have some difficulty unless you can gain some legroom by way of a different vehicle. You may just need to tough it out for a while until they switch to front facing.

 

As much as I don't want to say it out loud here, I think we're gonna explore other brands. Even if it's semi temporary.

 

Crown Vic

 

Meh. After a decade and a half of nothing but Subarus I got a Honda. It happens. I wanted cheap, mechanically simple, efficient transportation.

Strict brand loyalty is overrated.

Though the Fit will probably be replaced eventually with a BRZ...

 

I used a Chicco keyfit 30 in my 99 OBS and our 04 WRX. It was cramped in either but it worked. We switched to convertible car seats when my daughter got older and we have had a Safety 1st, a Chicco and a Recaro. The Recaro provided the most room but I have been able to cram 4 adults in my 08 Outback with both the giant Safety 1st and the somewhat smaller Chicco. None are perfect, and I have found them cramped in most vehicles, regardless of make/model. Now that my daughter is 5, and a little taller I switched her to a Chicco convertible booster and their is loads of room for her and passengers. The car seat “mod” is one that is tricky in any vehicle.

 

Can't tell if serious or not, but that's honestly high on the list. Haha. I had a '00 Interceptor for a few years and honestly kinda miss the rwd, v8 action. Yeah it's a tank, but they're pretty dang reliable. And huge. And affordable.

 

Right now we're between vehicles as we don't trust the Acadia - lots of room and nice features, lacks dependability. So now we are trying to cram 3 kids under 6yo into a pontiac Vibe and/or my wrx.
Fortunately they're all front facing now. The wife just got some pretty narrow graco's from target, but they're still a little too wide to fit all 3 kids in the back of the vibe.
I'd really like to try the Ascent, but that's out of our price range for a couple years.

 

We've been talking about a used Yukon for a while, too. Gas mileage is obviously gonna be crap but the trade off is a ton of room and also the towing capability to haul home another sick/dying Subaru.

 

Yep, I've been looking at many other brands lately. I bought a Ford E-150 conversion van this last fall for road tripping. And my in-laws (who live in South Carolina) will probably have me buy something for them to use while they're in town. Since they have 2 very young grandchildren up here (my niece is nearly 4 months old), and my sister- and brother-in-law live on a minimum maintenance road, that's probably going to be a Suburban.

 

This was our "kid" Subaru for a few years until it just got too dang small with a third kid on the way. (Dang margaritas!) I remember paying the seller $50 over asking price for it. I had to have it. I think we bought it in 89 or 90 and paid $3150. Loved driving this thing.

 

I hate to say it, but if you want space and still want passable fuel economy, you can't beat a minivan.

Toyota even makes one with all-wheel-drive.

 

Think we've always used Gracos and Safety 1sts. When you switch to high back boosters, I would highly recommend one that has reading lights on it (my kids loved them, and don't have to use the dome lights). And just remember, the safest place for a car seat is the middle hump (protects them from both side impacts, plus you get a little bit more leg room in the front seat). They can switch to front facing when they're 3 Was a pain in the ass before LATCH, but any car newer than 1 Sep 2002 is federally mandated to have it now. Just sucks if you're hauling more than one kid in the back. Now my junior (6) rides on the passenger side in the back so I can see him at all times. Big strollers when they're little (going to be hauling around a bunch of stuff, even more so if shopping), and an umbrella stroller for when they're older...they get lazy and don't want to walk after a while. Recaro ones look cool, the newer ones not so much, and lots of reviews on how uncomfortable they are. Old guidelines said flip them forwards at 1 or 20 pounds, the new guidelines say to keep them rear facing until they're 2. 75% more likely to survive a collision if they're rear facing because their head and neck is supported.
http://www.parenting.com/article/car-seats-safety

 

My dad's '00 Honda Odyssey doesn't comfortably have enough room for the infant seat behind the driver, neither did the '17 Chrysler Pacifica we rented last summer to drive to the Black Hills.

 

Strange. My brother in law, who is 6'2" had no issues with a couple generations of Odyssey or an older Chrysler minivan. 4 kids of various ages.

 

I don't see that happening in the near future. At least let me hit 40 first...

 

Yeah, I'm already over that. (barely) I'm just waiting for the Rapture at this point.

 

Yup. The Sienna is a great family car. I routinely borrow my parents' van for road trips since it has the built-in DVD player and everyone can ride in comfort. My dad is eyeing a new Sequoia and my mom is dying for a granddaughter so they plan to give us the Sienna when my dad gets his new truck this summer. Granddaughter or not, I think they just want more kids running around to spoil.

 

So my butting into this thread continues. Going back to the 84 wagon, I failed to mention that I had to sell my daily, which at the time was a factory orange 1972 Jeep Commando with a white hardtop and black soft top. Now, to be clear, I could fit comfortably two car seats back there, it was just getting the kids in and out of the truck which completely sucked. Can anyone picture this particular vehicle?

 

Man, you've had some weird ones. Did the car seats just get strapped to the floor back there?

 

There was a backseat. Lap belts only.

 

My parents had a Dodge Ram panel van that later got transformed into a conversion van. I remember going to the grocery store with my mother as a tot and I was using the transmission well cover between the two front seats as a backrest. Later my dad would just lay a blanket on the floor and me and my brother would just roll around. Gotta love the 70's.

 

...and I never wanted a minivan...my wife bought one a few years ago, now she's in the market for another one. You can't beat road tripping in one if you have children. Period.

 

My dad was big into Volkswagen's when I was little. I remember specifically one trip to SD in the winter, probably mid 90's. I was about 10. It was so cold I laid on a big dog bed on the package shelf or whatever above the engine in the back, cuz that was about the only warm place in the thing. Definitely no seat belts... Haha.

 

I live out in the country with a 1/4 mile driveway that often drifts over = no minivan. Not enough ground clearance. Plus we have a trailer camper that we need to tow. If anything, I'd like a truck for towing and getting around when it's really bad. But then, car seats and dogs...

 

You just need the right minivan:

 

If ground clearance is a problem, some of the king cab trucks have as much backseat space as cars. Or the new Navigator, it's only 100k.

 

I saw that too...$100k or greater Ford that isn't a GT...eff me.

 

For anyone in the car seat dilemma, we have been really happy with the Diono Radian seat. We are looking at our first Subaru and will soon be testing our Dionos in an Outback. They are super narrow, comfortable for the kids, and highly rated for young to ridiculously old age for kids to still be in a car seat. For backward facing you can buy an angle adjuster to get some more legroom for the front passenger...see links below.
https://www.target.com/p/diono-radian-rxt-all-in-one-convertible-car-seat/-/A-53131249
https://www.amazon.com/Diono-60320-Radian-Angle-Adjuster/dp/B006I1QTYQ

 

Bumping this back up to the top! I'm getting tired of moving toddler car seats around between our Mazda, Corolla, and my Scoobie WRX. I'm on the hunt for a narrow, but still obviously super safe option for the WRX. We've had all Graco gear up till this point and while its readily avaiable and well rated, their stuff is super mega bulky.

It looks like the Diono seat linked above isn't available anymore. Any reccomendations from the fellow Scoobie Dad community on a narrower car seat option? ideally something that would allow 3 wide in a pinch in the backseat.

 

bump!

 

I belive this is the seat my wife has in her Jeep. It is pretty narrow though compared to the cheaper one we have in my wagon.

https://www.amazon.com/Graco-SlimFi...0bcb797c11ffd&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

 

There is also this Dino. I have not used it or own one. Personally I think it lacks bolster on it but it may work for some cases.

https://www.amazon.com/Diono-Radian...0c0ff33a&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl&th=1

 

Unfortunately it looks like these are long discontinued but I inherited a pair of these from someone on here a couple years ago. Basically zero frills except for the fact that it says Recaro on it, but they're super compact and lightweight.