Anyone familiar with Volkswagen cars?

[estelle0702]

I was wondering if anyone knew the width of the Passat and Rabbit? I've read that a lot of people can do 3 across in a Jetta but I can't seem to find anyone that has tried it in either of those other cars. VW doesn't have their backseat width stats anywhere I look.

[desiree_leigh]

I've had older VWs (Golf, Passat, Jetta) and the only one I've accomplished 3 across in was my Passat - it was TIGHT tho and there were a lot of scraped knuckles. Newer VWs I have no idea. HTH!

[jen_nah]

You can get 3 across the new Passat but you will need Radians to accomplish this.

[Defrost]

I've fit 3-across in our '01 Golf, but at least one Radian has to be in the mix.

Width measurements aren't usually very helpful when it comes to 3-across - there's too many other factors. Our Golf, for example, has contouring on the outer edges of the seat which make it nearly impossible to install a carseat on top of the contouring. The contouring removes an inch or two of overall width.

Are you looking to buy one of these cars, or looking to fit 3-across in one you've already got?

[southpawboston]

I was wondering if anyone knew the width of the Passat and Rabbit? I've read that a lot of people can do 3 across in a Jetta but I can't seem to find anyone that has tried it in either of those other cars. VW doesn't have their backseat width stats anywhere I look.

if people can do 3-across in a new jetta, then the same would apply to the rabbit. the rabbit is the same car as the jetta except it has a hatchback.

[estelle0702]

I've fit 3-across in our '01 Golf, but at least one Radian has to be in the mix.

Width measurements aren't usually very helpful when it comes to 3-across - there's too many other factors. Our Golf, for example, has contouring on the outer edges of the seat which make it nearly impossible to install a carseat on top of the contouring. The contouring removes an inch or two of overall width.

Are you looking to buy one of these cars, or looking to fit 3-across in one you've already got?

Looking to buy one. I really wanted a VW car. My sister has a Jetta and she absolutely loves it.


if people can do 3-across in a new jetta, then the same would apply to the rabbit. the rabbit is the same car as the jetta except it has a hatchback.
Are you sure about that? There is also a Jetta Sportwagen that looks very similar to the Rabbit. The Rabbit is cheaper so I hope you're right.:)

[southpawboston]

Are you sure about that? There is also a Jetta Sportwagen that looks very similar to the Rabbit. The Rabbit is cheaper so I hope you're right.:)

yep, i'm sure. the dimensions only differ starting behind the rear doors. trunk versus hatchback versus wagon. everything else is the same on these cars. the rabbit is cheaper because it has a shortened trunk area.

[Defrost]

Yeah, we've been really happy with our Golf, too. :)

I went and checked out some back-seat views of the Jetta and Rabbit. My thoughts, based purely on looking at the pics...

The Jetta seat bottoms are pretty flat, which is good, but the seatbacks have some contouring on the outboard sides that could steal some room. The center seating position looks like it could be tricky because of the buried buckle stalks - you're probably going to have to put a carseat there that will fit between them.

The Rabbit looks almost identical, except the buckle stalks aren't as recessed, which means you might have a better chance of shoving a carseat between them.

What are the ages & sizes of the kids, and are any rear-facing?

[estelle0702]

yep, i'm sure. the dimensions only differ starting behind the rear doors. trunk versus hatchback versus wagon. everything else is the same on these cars. the rabbit is cheaper because it has a shortened trunk area.
Woohoo! Thanks for the info. I should drag all my cars seats out and do some car seat tetris in my sister's Jetta.

Yeah, we've been really happy with our Golf, too. :)

I went and checked out some back-seat views of the Jetta and Rabbit. My thoughts, based purely on looking at the pics...

The Jetta seat bottoms are pretty flat, which is good, but the seatbacks have some contouring on the outboard sides that could steal some room. The center seating position looks like it could be tricky because of the buried buckle stalks - you're probably going to have to put a carseat there that will fit between them.

The Rabbit looks almost identical, except the buckle stalks aren't as recessed, which means you might have a better chance of shoving a carseat between them.

What are the ages & sizes of the kids, and are any rear-facing?

Thanks for checking them out! Because of certain events I don't have a car right now and have been using my mom's van. Oldest is 6 yrs, 57 lbs in a HB Turbobooster, middle is 3 yrs, 34 lbs in a FF Marathon, and youngest is 7 months, 19 lbs currently in a RF Avenue but when I get a car I will buy another seat for him since that one is my mom's seat.

I'm thinking if I get a Radian to FF for my 3 yr old, and RF the Marathon it would work. Then by the time my Marathon expires the 3 yr old will be in a booster or GN and I'll but the youngest in the Radian FF. I really wanted another Britax but I don't think I could possibly fit 2 Britaxs three across with a booster in any car.

[TXAggieTech]

I have done 3 across in a 99 Passat Wagon. One was RFing but the other 2 were FFing. It has been several years so I don't know what seats but that there was zero spare room. It was before I was a tech but I had the checked at a seat check.

[Defrost]

Thanks for checking them out! Because of certain events I don't have a car right now and have been using my mom's van. Oldest is 6 yrs, 57 lbs in a HB Turbobooster, middle is 3 yrs, 34 lbs in a FF Marathon, and youngest is 7 months, 19 lbs currently in a RF Avenue but when I get a car I will buy another seat for him since that one is my mom's seat.

I'm thinking if I get a Radian to FF for my 3 yr old, and RF the Marathon it would work. Then by the time my Marathon expires the 3 yr old will be in a booster or GN and I'll but the youngest in the Radian FF. I really wanted another Britax but I don't think I could possibly fit 2 Britaxs three across with a booster in any car.

You might have better luck than I did, since the vehicle seat is pretty flat in the Rabbit & Jetta, but I couldn't fit a Marathon and Radian side-by-side if one was RF. Both facing the same direction, they fit (because they overlap a bit.) I think you could fit a RF Radian and a FF Radian with a TB, though.

[AlmostFive]

I don't know if this will help or not, since I don't know how the passat seats compare to the jetta, but I can get three across in dh's '01 Passat with similar aged kids to yours. 7 month old outboard in SS1, 4 year old outboard in Graco Platinum Cargo and 6 year old center in backless fpsv. I think we also did it with a RF old style Triumph instead of the SS1.