Ford Focus Wagon?

Hi there. Our little girl has outgrown her infant car seat (she is very tall for her 9 months - 30", but only 19 lbs), and we need to buy a new car seat that will fit both her and our car. Any suggestions on a convertible car seat, with great safety ratings, that fits well into a 2002 Ford Focus Wagon? We'll use it RF for as long as possible, and will then use the same seat FF. Thanks for your advice!

Hi! and welcome.

First things first, we do not know how seats compare in terms of safety. Our system is a pass/fail setup so all seats on the market are "safe". The best you can do is compare based on ease of use, fit, longevity, cost effectiveness and features like EPS foam, padding etc.

That said: for a very tall child who is on the light side, you could look at:

- First Years TrueFit: On sale at Zellers until the 24th for $150 or other patterns or the Rebound version elsewhere, like at TRU/BRU, usually around $199 to $250 for Rebound models. RF to 35lbs or 1" of hard shell over the head, very tall shell, FF harness to 65lbs and top slots at ~17.5-18", built-in lockoffs, 7 year life. Fits small spaces well, can be installed as upright as 35* from vertical for older children.

- Sunshine Kids Radian - usually ~$269-$329 depending on model. Comes in basic version, Premier and XT. It RF to 40lbs(basic) and 45lbs(Premier and XT) and states a height limit of, I think, 40" for RF (do some research of your own around here on Candian height limits vs the 1" rule), also very tall shell, FF harness to 65lbs with 18" top slots, 8 year life. Very narrow. The XT has headwings, to be used only with the top 2 (3?) slots. CAN be a bear to install in some vehicles, and can resist adjustments to RF recline angle (can be up to 30* from the vertical), but there are many tricks to get it in. Check here for your vehicle: Radian Successful Install Thread. Depending on the fit with the vehicle, it can go into surprisingly small spaces, but not always or maybe even often. If it's in your budget, though, it's worth a try.

- Safety 1st Complete Air: usually ~$239-$269?? depending on store, I think Walmart is lowest. It RF to 40lbs and states a height limit of 36" for RF (so not huge, again, do some research of your own around here on Candian height limits vs the 1" rule), also very tall shell, FF harness to 50lbs with 18" top slots (most seats are outgrown by height well before weight by average kids, so it's probably plenty in your case), 8 year life (pretty sure). Very narrow. Easily installs very upright (up to 30* from vertical).

The new 3in1s from Dorel (Cosco, Eddie Bauer, Safety 1st) which RF to 35lbs and FF to 50lbs (check, some are still 30lbsRF/40lbsFF) are not a horrible choice, but have a stated RF height limit of 32" and can sometimes be a bit of a pain to install. They have an 8 year life, ~17.5" or so top slots, and tend to make pretty horrible boosters. They don't tend to get recommended much.

You might see the Graco MyRide recommended a lot, it's a great seat, but not for taller kids so I would skip that one.

You might also see Britax convertibles as an option, they are not currently recommended much because of the high price coupled with lower height or weight limits compared to other seats, and a short seating area which limits RF leg room (not a safety issue but still a factor when deciding on seats).

Have a look at the options and see what you think. :thumbsup:

I have a 2003 Ford Focus wagon (same body as the 2002). I've used a number of seats RF in this vehicle, and I can't think of any that didn't fit well. The Radian, Britax convertibles, My Ride all installed particularly well. The Radian can be tricky in some vehicles, but the compressible (squishy ) seats of the Focus allow you to install it at a great angle. :thumbsup: