2008 Subaru Outback

[wjheye]

We have a baby coming any day now, and are having a bit of a dilemma. The Subaru Outback manual recommends putting the car seat in the rear passenger seat. I just took the car seat to be inspected by the CHP, and they recommended putting the car seat in the middle. Any thoughts?

[crunchierthanthou]

The middle is the safest, provided you can get a good installation. Subaru's can be tricky for carseats in the center position, which is why the generally recommend against it. The seat contour and belts aren't all that carseat friendly and LATCH is only allowed in the outboard positions. What seat are you trying to install?

Here's a recent related thread- http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=51887

[wjheye]

Thanks for your answer and link to the other thread. very helpful.
We are trying to install a Maxi-cosi. The CHP officer seemed happy with the fit in the middle, so maybe we'll stick with that. It's just that he also recommended having the handle on the car seat facing forward, so there's not much room to move the driver's seat back.

[Defrost]

Is it installed with LATCH in the middle?

And what does your carseat manual say about the handle position? They've been changing the rules on those recently and the officer you spoke with may not be up-to-date.