How much room do I need?

We're still shopping for a new vehicle. My husband loves the Chev Equinox and the Hyundai Tucson. I'm not so sure. We have to fit a Natilus, rear facing scenera and possible a backless booster in the back. My oldest will be 10 by the time we get the new vehicle, and if she passes the test, won't need her booster. Is there a way to measure how much room we'll need in the backseat? The equinox is about 51 inches of rear hip room, and the tucson is 53.4.

Take your seats with you when you vehicle shop. It's the best way to actually verify that you can fit the seats in terms of width *and* actually reach between the seats to buckle the booster. Also, make sure you do a mock buckling of the Nautilus too.. as down the road when you use it in booster mode you will have to reach between it and whatever is next to it.

I cannot recall if the Tuscon and Equinox have middle head restraints (headrests) in the back. Given that eventually your 10y/o will be riding in just a seatbelt you need to make sure that she has a headrest behind her head, and that wherever she is sitting has a lap/shoulder belt (not a lap-only belt). I don't think either vehicle offers just a lap-only belt in the back, but it's something you need to think about and check on as you shop for this future vehicle.

If whatever you buy does not offer a middle headrest your oldest child will need to sit on the side (outboard). With that in mind, you will have a Scenera and Nautilus right next to eachother... which takes me back to my original point: you need to make sure you can buckle the Nautilus when in booster mode down the road.

Doing a safe and comfortable 3-across is very doable these days, but it often takes some extra forethought and planning. :thumbsup:

HTH's

Thanks for your info.

I knew that headrests were important, but I hadn't thought about how many were in each vehicle. I guess we'll have to look for adjustable/removable headrests in all 3 rear seating positions. We plan on having this vehicle for quite some times, so at some point, all of our children may be riding with a seatbelt.

Thanks again!

We went yesterday and looked at some vehicles. The Equinox only has 2 headrests in the back. They Tucson has 3, as does the honda CRV and the Kia Sorento. So many decisions!!!

I can tell you right now that you won't get a booster, Nautilus and Scenera across in a Tucson, and even if the 10 year old doesn't need a booster, there won't be enough space between the two seats for her to fit.

The seats are curved to accommodate adult butts. You lose about 8-10" of hip room total because of this, which is why hip room is a completely pointless measurement when you're trying to determine 3-across practicality.

Thanks for the info. I will pass it along to DH.

Now that i know that hiproom is pointless, is the measurement for shoulder room any better?

3monkeys said:

Thanks for the info. I will pass it along to DH.

Now that i know that hiproom is pointless, is the measurement for shoulder room any better?

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Nope, same problem. The seat curves up on the side, making it difficult-to-impossible to scootch a forward facing seat *more* outboard.

Basically, you need to try it, and generally, you need seats that are friendly for puzzling, and the Nautilus rarely is.

Thanks!

We were hoping to stay away from another mini-van, but it's not looking good! Do you know if the CR-V and Sorento have the same problem?

We really liked the equinox, but the lack of headrests in the back ruined it for us. now we're back to square one