Question Fitting 3 into a 2001 Ford Focus

Unregistered · Jun 6, 2010

Hi
We have a 2001 Ford Focus and are having trouble fitting three seats into the back of it. Any advice on what seats to use to make this work? We're in Canada, and the configuration we need, ideally, is:
Booster for a 5 year old
Forward Facing seat for a 3 year old
Infant/Rear Facing seat for a newborn
Thanks!
Lucy

lorismurph · Jun 6, 2010

I'm not totally up on what seats you have available there but here's what I fit at one time:
HB Turbobooster, RF (either Titan or SS1), Graco CarGo.

For me, it was the CarGo that made it work. I'm sure a Radian would work or maybe the Maestro?

unityco · Jun 6, 2010

Radians fit very well in Focuses, and their narrowness really helps fitting three-accross. :thumbsup: You might even want to consider getting two or three; one for your 5yo and the infant. If your buckles are buried in the seat crack (bight) like mine, it will be very difficult for you or your 5yo to reach between the carseat and booster to buckle the belt. Much easier to deal with the up-front harness of a carseat.

I've also had good luck RFing a Radian in our Focus ('06.) With a RF Radian in the middle, I didn't need to move either front seat forward. Radians fit newborns well.

However, they aren't inexpensive seats, so maybe that's not feasible for you. For the baby, you could consider a Cosco Scenera (it's a convertible seat, not an infant bucket.) They're relatively narrow too. I think the Turbobooster is also one of the narrower booster seats. :shrug-shoulders: Also, as mentioned above, the Cargo is a narrower seat. I'm not very current on the relative narrowness of infant seats, so I can't offer you much advice there.

Hope that helps some!

Dillipop · Jun 6, 2010

I rented a Focus a few years ago and was able to get a radian ffing, SS1 center and cargo ffing across the back seat. It was tight, but doable. And I believe I was able to use the SS1 base with it as well. I don't think we could have done it if the cargo wasn't being used with the harness. With a narrower infant seat, you should be able to get a radian or cargo ffing along with a turbo booster or other narrow booster in there.

BookMama · Jun 6, 2010

unityco said:
Radians fit very well in Focuses, and their narrowness really helps fitting three-accross. :thumbsup: You might even want to consider getting two or three; one for your 5yo and the infant. If your buckles are buried in the seat crack (bight) like mine, it will be very difficult for you or your 5yo to reach between the carseat and booster to buckle the belt. Much easier to deal with the up-front harness of a carseat. I've also had good luck RFing a Radian in our Focus ('06.) With a RF Radian in the middle, I didn't need to move either front seat forward. Radians fit newborns well.

However, they aren't inexpensive seats, so maybe that's not feasible for you. For the baby, you could consider a Cosco Scenera (it's a convertible seat, not an infant bucket.) They're relatively narrow too. I think the Turbobooster is also one of the narrower booster seats. :shrug-shoulders: Also, as mentioned above, the Cargo is a narrower seat. I'm not very current on the relative narrowness of infant seats, so I can't offer you much advice there.

Hope that helps some!

I agree with the possibility of keeping the 5YO harnessed, if possible. I actually kept my DS (then 8YO) harnessed in his Radian last fall when our baby was born, because it was easier for him to do in the school pick-up lane than a booster was.

I had no trouble fitting a KeyFit and two Radians in my 2003 Focus wagon (same back seat as the sedan). You might be able to get a Radian, Keyfit and Parkway or Turbobooster (high back) to fit, but I'd definitely try each configuration out if possible. A slight difference in a booster can make it impossible for a kid to buckle, as my DS has confirmed several times.

ninejr · Jun 7, 2010

I haven't tried it yet, but the Baby Trend Flex Loc is now available in Canada it is an a really narrow infant bucket seat. I have been thinking a lot about this for when we will need 3 across in our Focus (right now we only have 2). I am thinking that I will need to get a Radian and a Flex Loc to make it work with my older daughters seat.

Unregistered · Jun 7, 2010

Thankyou, everyone! Very helpful, if slightly mind-boggling. Especially given the impossibility of finding one stockist for all the seats so we get the chance to try things out...

At the moment I'm thinking maybe two Radians, one forward-facing and one rear-facing, for the 3 year old and newborn and hopefully this will allow us to put the 5 year old into a TurboBooster - only because she's desperate to have a booster seat. She's going to be very disappointed if it turns out we have to get a Radian for her, too!

One more question - "SS1" - is that the Graco SafeSeat? I'm not really up on car seat shorthand.

sparkyd · Jun 8, 2010

Unregistered said:
One more question - "SS1" - is that the Graco SafeSeat? I'm not really up on car seat shorthand.

Yes, although they changed the name again and the current models are now called Snugride35 (previously Snugride32 - I think there might be some of those on store shelves).

If you were going to consider an infant seat I was also going to suggest the Baby Trend Flex Loc as it looks very narrow and is less expensive that the other infant seats mentioned. If you can do the Radians and aren't set on a bucket though, that would make the most sense.

BookMama · Jun 8, 2010

My concern with using the Flex Loc, though, is that you can't have the handle in the upright position, which means it will eat up some of the precious front-to-back space in this small vehicle. The KeyFit allows you to leave the handle in any locked position in the car - so you could leave it upright, allowing more front-to-back room.

sparkyd · Jun 9, 2010

BookMama said:
My concern with using the Flex Loc, though, is that you can't have the handle in the upright position, which means it will eat up some of the precious front-to-back space in this small vehicle. The KeyFit allows you to leave the handle in any locked position in the car - so you could leave it upright, allowing more front-to-back room.

Thanks - didn't know that. I've seen one on a table but haven't read the manual or seen one in a car yet. Do you know if the handle is behind the seat when all the way down (like the Evenflo seats), or more underneath it? Just wondering how much room it would actually take up.

ninejr · Jun 9, 2010

BookMama said:
My concern with using the Flex Loc, though, is that you can't have the handle in the upright position, which means it will eat up some of the precious front-to-back space in this small vehicle. The KeyFit allows you to leave the handle in any locked position in the car - so you could leave it upright, allowing more front-to-back room.

I wonder how much room it would really take. I put the handle down with our Snugride every time in our 02 Focus and we don't have any trouble with the front passenger. Is the Flex Loc bigger front to back?

Question Fitting 3 into a 2001 Ford Focus

Unregistered

Guest

lorismurph

Senior Community Member

unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician

Dillipop

Well-known member

BookMama

Senior Community Member

ninejr

New member

Unregistered

Guest

sparkyd

Active member

BookMama

Senior Community Member

sparkyd

Active member

ninejr

New member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics