3 cars seat in a car

[Unregistered]

I have 3 children - 15 month old twins and a 3-year old daughter. My daughter will be in a car seat for another 9 months or so before she gets into a booster. I buying a 2nd car (we already own a mini-van) any suggestions for a sedan that we hold 3 car seats in the back seat? Any SUV suggestions? I would rather not get another minivan or an SUV?

Thanks

Steven

[Jeanum]

The Chevrolet Impala has a huge backseat and 3 sets of LATCH anchors, and the Saturn Vue small/midsized SUV also has 3 full sets of LATCH anchors. The Vue could hold 3 seats but it's not as big of a backseat as the Impala. Really, depending on the width of the carseats, even smaller cars could fit 3 seats across. It's a matter of finding the right combination of carseats that would mesh well together kind of like a puzzle. I drive a Sienna now but used to own a Saturn Vue. My DH drives a 2002 Saturn L100 mid-sized sedan (no longer made but available used) and his car also has 3 full sets of LATCH anchors and could hold 3 carseats if they weren't overly wide ones. HTH.

[CPSDarren]

Most any vehicle with a wide 3rd row should work for 3-across. Most full size sedans have a "Hiproom" specification for the third row of 54" to 57" and that should be very adequate. Be sure to try your carseats first, since sometimes seatbelt locations and seat cushion shape may cause a problem even in a wide back seat.

I have some recommendations for safe minivan alternatives in this thread:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=4847

[scatterbunny]

The Ford Taurus is also a nice, wide car with good crash test scores.

And something I thought I'd mention: your 3yo may be "big enough" to move to a booster in a few months, but she's safest still harnessed. And the funny thing is, boosters are not any easier to buckle in, especially next to other carseats. It is just too hard to fit your hand down by the buckle to get it buckled, and young kids can rarely do it themselves. My dd will be 5 in June, and you can see in my signature that she rides in both a harnessed seat and a booster. The harnessed seat is, by far, easier to get her in and out of.

[Longhorn Lady]

Not a Mazda 626, I can tell you that much ;)

I have a TB, a MA, and a Scenera, and there is no way that any combination will get all three of them in the backseat at one time.