3 Across in a Hyundai Sonata or Sante Fe

I have a friend that is needing to downsize to a smaller vehicle. She is looking in to trade her big SUV for an 03 Sonata or about an 02 Sante Fe. She has 3 kiddos, a 55-60 lb 6 year old, 35 lb almost 4 year old, and a 24 lb 18 month old. She is needing to do this as cheap as possible. She currently has the 6 year old in a Turbo, the 18 month old RFing in a Scenera, and the almost 4 year old is in a harnessed Cosco HBB but I'm pretty sure she's outgrown the harness, as she's just under the top slots in the Scenera.

She doesn't have much money to spend at all, but she's assuming she'll need to buy a Radian. The 6 year old is so not booster ready maturity wise, but I'm not sure we have much of a choice right now. She can't afford to buy 2 Radians, and I'm not sure what else could work.

Seats she currently has between family
members-
Cosco Harnessed HBB
Cosco Scenera
Cosco Summit
Graco Comfortsport
Evenflo Generations (40 lb version)
Graco Turbo Booster

I am thinking a Turbo, FF Radian, and a RF Scenera should at least work right? We have an 02 Sante Fe we can play around with, but the back seat is small and I can't see getting 3 across in that car easily. Does anyone have experience with an 03 Sonata?

I have experience with an 03 Santa Fe and an 08 Sonata.

I really don't see her doing three across in either vehicle with the seats she has now.

She *might* be able to get the Turbobooster in the Santa Fe with two Radians. I do remember trying to put a Radian next to a Scenera in the 03 Santa Fe and failing, but that was a while ago and I'm more experienced now.

The problem with both vehicles is that the seats are sooooo contoured. They just aren't 3-across friendly.

Sounds like we may need another playdate, this time at a car dealership!

Dang. That sucks. Unless I can find 2 uber cheap Radians, she can't afford to buy 2 Radians, and if she did... It'd be best to put the 2 older girls in them and keep the Scenera for the baby. The 6 year old does not sit well in a booster.

Hmmm.. maybe she can find a different car.

In my '06 Sonata I can do a FF'ing RN (center) RF'ing Scenera (Passenger preferred because then the center and pass car seats buckles are together so the booster user doesn't accidentally unbuckle one) and I haven't tried the TB outboard but the Olli, PW, and Monterey all work so I would imagine the TB would also. It is tight and difficult but possible.

Try a Maestro instead of a Radian for the FF child -- it should save her almost $100.

Ya, I've got the kia version of the sonata, and it's hell. the seats curve in way deep on the sides, so you lose over a foot of usable space, which makes 3 acrosses almost impossible. I've done a few, but they're not pretty, and in the cases of the boosters, i SO would not do that every day, a complete PITA to buckle.

I do know you can do turbo, RF titan, Turbo, or tb/rf aoe/tb. In place of one of the turbos, you can maybe do a gen 65 or maestro, which would buy you some room for the 4 yo, or im sure you could do a radian there. if you can make the 6 yo booster ready, tb, rf seat/radian would almost certainly work.

I HAVE gotten a frontier to work in the situation, but thats an expensive fix. i can get frontier/rf titan/turbo. the radian is cheaper.

K I have a lil hope now got a 3 across.

The 6 year is no where near booster ready. But she has rode in a booster got awhile now, and fits well. She just can not and will not hold still. Constantly getting out of the shoulder belt to get something, mess with her brother or sister. We even lock the seatbelt and she'll still move. She rode with me a couple times and I had to tell her every 2 minutes to sit back. We tried to explain if she doesn't sit back with the shoulder belt on her ALL the time, if they get in a crash she will fly out of the car and be hurt really bad. She acted shocked but it didn't work. I just don't see her learning anytime soon. But mom can't afford to replace her seat as well.

She couple apply for KDM for the almost 4 year old, but that would be a long wait right?

She can apply, but the wait will be about 6 months. Sorry, but since I helped provide new car seats for those nasty things she had it there, I won't be putting my seats in her car for 6 months. Yeah, I am mean.

If the 6 yo isnt booster ready, using a vest for her would be the easiest solution.

I just brought that up to Codi. On the phone with her now. She doesn't think mom will use it right. I am thinking put one kid in the front, so the fighting will stop.

I have an 05 elantra, so I am going to guess that the backseat is slightly smaller than the sante fe or sonata. I was really concerned about getting 3 across, however, I was able to get radian outboard, companion with base center and monterey outboard. It is going to be a biznitch to get the monterey's buckle done, but ds (7) isn't in the car nearly as often as the other 2 might be. Any place I've tried my monterey, I've been able to fit my backless turbo, so it should work, even with the back (which is less wide than the monterey's.)

If the companion works, I'm going to guess that a scenera would work in the center. Make sure that you put the booster on the side that only has the female end of the buckle for the outboard seat. In my car, that's the passenger side. Too much chance to unbuckle one of the other seats otherwise.

Dillipop said:

I have an 05 elantra, so I am going to guess that the backseat is slightly smaller than the sante fe or sonata. I was really concerned about getting 3 across, however, I was able to get radian outboard, companion with base center and monterey outboard. It is going to be a biznitch to get the monterey's buckle done, but ds (7) isn't in the car nearly as often as the other 2 might be. Any place I've tried my monterey, I've been able to fit my backless turbo, so it should work, even with the back (which is less wide than the monterey's.)

If the companion works, I'm going to guess that a scenera would work in the center. Make sure that you put the booster on the side that only has the female end of the buckle for the outboard seat. In my car, that's the passenger side. Too much chance to unbuckle one of the other seats otherwise.

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I know you mean well, but unless you've had these particular cars, you can't really compare. Even though the Elantra or Spectra is smaller than the sonata/optima, the large cars actually have LESS usable back space because of the way the seats curve in at the outside...if you aren't familiar with it, you just aren't familiar with it. There are 3-acrosses in much smaller cars, fits, civics, corollas, etc, that WILL NOT WORK in a sonata, because of the blasted seats. It's.....mindbogglingly frustrating,



OP - i have, due to extreme circumstances, a 3 -across in my car now that is a FF turbo, FF titan, RF CA. Knowing that it fits opens up some possibilities i think for other arrangements. IT sucks though, buckling the booster is impossible, but if iut were replaced with say a radian with internal harness, it wouldn't be awful..plus, there are narrower options fo teh CA whichg opens up possibilities....but my finger is cut and my lip is fat from messing with them, lol.

I think what we are going to do is have mom apply for KDMF for both older girls. She should be able to get 2 Radian's from them. She is now a newly single mom leaving a very bad relationship, so they are very strapped for money and currently trying to get all the welfare stuff lined up so they can move out of her mom's house. So until then, she really doesn't have money to buy any other seats.

Judi and I talked about it, and I think until she can get the KDMF seats, she can just have the oldest harnessed kiddo (the almost 4 year old) in the front seat with the Summit or something with the seat all the way back, then the 2 kiddos in the back in the Turbo and Scenera. Most cars should fit 2 Radians and a Scenera. When she goes car shopping, I am going to try to go with her and bring 2 Radians and her Scenera and figure out what'll fit.

Her 4 year old is very aggressive and it constantly hurting the baby and doing things to her sister. So it would probably be best for now to have her separated from her siblings anyway.

bobandjess99 said:

I know you mean well, but unless you've had these particular cars, you can't really compare. Even though the Elantra or Spectra is smaller than the sonata/optima, the large cars actually have LESS usable back space because of the way the seats curve in at the outside...if you aren't familiar with it, you just aren't familiar with it. There are 3-acrosses in much smaller cars, fits, civics, corollas, etc, that WILL NOT WORK in a sonata, because of the blasted seats. It's.....mindbogglingly frustrating,

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The elantra has the same issue in the backseat as the sonata. I'd say we lose at least a foot of space due to the bolsters and the elantra is a smaller car. It is not 3 across friendly at all. I know what you are saying about how they are different cars and all, but they pose the same problems- those bolsters take up way too much space. A seat that's frame sits far away from the back- like the marathon, actually work well with the bolsters, since you can push the seat closer to the door- the seat and the bolster kind of mesh together. But even with that, you still lose 3-4 inches of space between the seat and the door. The radian with it's flat back can't be moved closer to the door and leaves a good 6 inches.

I am a huge Hyundai fan(I have had two and love them) but I am wondering if she would consider a more 3 across friendly car or SUV.

The issue with the KIA/Hyundai sedans is not the total width available in the back bench, but because the outboard positions have sloping seating areas and angled seatbacks that render good compatibility/installation very very hard for 3-across situation.

The outboard seating areas angle/dip from the outside toward about 1/3 of the seating area and then level off toward the centre of the bench. In addition, the seatback for the outboard positions angled in. These 2 things make the 'levelled' and 'straight' area for the outboard position really hard - the CRS has to be narrow enough to fit into that levelled area. At this time, the gap between the centre and the outboard booster seat is almost impossibly small or non-existent for doing up the seatbelt.

This is what I mean (and it's my KIA Magentis which I'm told had the same platform as the Sonata)





HBB and LBB with arms are almost impossible for me to get a good fit.

This is with the old Britax PW and typical of HBB with the width of the HBB too wide and the side blocking the access to the seatbelt stalk.


Trial with a LBB Turbo. See how the arm of the Turbo blocks the seatbelt stalk?


The old Britax SR/C is narrow enough to sit nicely in the 'levelled' and 'straight' seating area, but the high arms blocks the seatbelt stalk. We made this work for a couple of rides but ds had to stand in front of the seat, held the seat flush to his bum, dh or I would clip in the seatbelt, ds sat down and we help him to shimmy the booster and himself into position. Not something to do everyday and 2-3 times a day with 3 kids, especially in cold weather.


We finally got a Clek arm-less Oto and it works for us. Although the seatbelt stalk is actually 'behind' the seat, but it's accessible and the Oto LATCHed in that position. Looks crooked in this pic, but it's the angle of where I was standing taking picture. The seat is in nice and straight and you can see how angled the side of the seatback is too.


So we had Oto, rf RNXT, Oto for a while. I would have used the Ride Safer vests if that was my only option.

Who would have thought a largish sedan like this would be such a challenge to fit 3 across

Given the ages/sizes of the 3 kiddos, I think 3 carseats would work. When you have a booster in the mix, it gets challenging. 3 Radians might work. Or some harness seat for the outboard position with 'small' or 'curved' seatback to mold/fit into the Sonata's angled seatback.