seats compatible with PT cruiser?

rowena___.

New member
greetings all! i'm new here, but have been reading the forum for a few days to see if i can find the information i need. so far, i haven't found it, please forgive me if i'm asking something that has already been covered.

we have a 2001 PT cruiser, and a 3.5 year old who is about to outgrow her evenflo triumph by weight. we are trying to decide on a new seat but can only find one seat locally to try in our car, the britax marathon. while it is definitely fine, we'd like to know if another seat might work well too.

the seats we would like to know about are the britax regent (i understand it is also huge), the radian 65, or the safeguard go. none of these is available locally to try in person, so we'd appreciate any feedback about these seats in our particular car.

at this time we do not anticipate needing to put a second car seat in the back, but we often need to fit more than two adults in the car and are hoping one of the smaller seats will fit.

thank you!

rowena___. MAMA of ella
 
ADS

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
GOod news is my 2005 LATCH manual says you can LATCH in the center & there are top tether anchors.... I haven't actually seen the inside of this vehicle, but if I were you I'd find an online store with good return/exchange policy that carries the Regent & Radian : that way you can try whichever you like the appearance of 1st & if it doesn't work, hope the other will -- if neither does then the Marathon/Dacathalon/Boulevard should according to the carseat compatibility database or there's the Cosco Apex to consider as well.
 

supercrunch

New member
My dh used to have a 2001 PT Cruiser, and I loved how flat the backseat was. It made it so easy to get a tight install.

At different times we had a baby trend latch-loc infant seat, an Evenflo Triumph, an Evenflo Vanguard, and Evenflo Chase and a Britax Roundabout in there.

We didn't have any higher weight seats when we had the car...but I would think that it should be fairly easy to get a good install with just about anything, barring any potential seatbelt stalk type issues. (we always used latch, so we never experienced installing with a seatbelt in the PT cruiser)

I recall back headrests, so the Apex should be an option as well as the Radian and Regent. You could try an Apex out if you have a Babies R Us near you.

But honestly...if you have it in the budget and plan on keeping her harnessed as long as possible, I would go straight for the Regent. I believe it's the safest bet for the longest time :)
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
I've had a Radian in a PT Cruiser. I don't know what year it was, but probably a 2004 or 2005, as it was a rental car and it had few miles. No, must have been a 2005. I don't recall any problems at all, and the seat was solid and fast to put in.

Wendy
 

seatchecker

Senior Community Member
Hi Rowena! :D Everyone here has great advice - you'll be amazed at how much they know and how many people will pop up with the same car as you. Good luck searching - call me when you find a seat and we'll get together. :thumbsup:
 

rowena___.

New member
Hi Rowena! :D Everyone here has great advice - you'll be amazed at how much they know and how many people will pop up with the same car as you. Good luck searching - call me when you find a seat and we'll get together. :thumbsup:


hi karen, i wondered if i'd "see" you here! i'm trying not to bother you anymore. :)

thank you all for your responses, karen actually has a radian i could try if our lives/schedules ever actually coincide.

budget for us, like for anybody else, is always a consideration but where the car seat is concerned, we would rather find what is best and then come up with the money for it.

does anybody have a recommendation for an online retailer?

i've been ready to make a purchase for a few weeks now but my husband is very reluctant to commit until he has actually seen the seat installed in our car and then seen ella in the seat. (you should have seen us shopping for the one we have now--what an ordeal--he is a fantastic husband but he can shop a woman to the ground AND since part of his job is safety inspection, he has pretty particular standards).

it was so much easier before she was born--he didn't have daddy protection mode yet. :D
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
My mom has an '02 PT Cruiser and the MA fits great in it rock solid. I haven't tried our Regent in it so I can't say for sure but I can't see why it wouldn't.

I did have difficulty with a Radian 65 when using the seatbelt to install and just getting a solid install. It installed within the 1" min requirement but I couldn't get a rock solid install like I can with the Marathon.

Those are the only 2 HWH that I have tried in her vehicle but have had a bunch of 40lbs convertible seats in there.
 

rowena___.

New member
thank you all so much! after some careful thought and the arrival of our tax refund, we are ready to buy britax, which brings up another question:

the marathon sits up high, about as high as the triumph we have now, and my concern is that ella would end up really high in the car as she grows. on the other hand, the regent sits so low that i wonder if she will be uncomfortable, not being able to see out the front window (she doesn't get car sick per se but does get queasy if she hs a restricted view).

the other thing i keep thinking is that in the next 6 years, car seat R&D will continue and it might be that advancements will be made that will make the regent less desirable as she grows older.

what do you guys think? is the regent worth the investment for long-term use, or would it more practical to go with the marathon and then move on when she outgrows it?
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
We have the Marathon in my mom's PT Cruiser and I don't think the height is an issue at all. Just to let you know I did have to remove the headrest to get a good install just so you know. My dd is tall for her age (95% for height) and has plenty of room between her head & the roof.

We have a Regent but I haven't ever tried it in my mom's car so I can't say how the visual sight would be.
 

rowena___.

New member
thanx jen nah! ella is also tall (97percentile). do you have your seat installed in the side of the seat, not the middle? or does your mom's cruiser have a head rest in the middle? ours does not, but from time to time i need to move the car seat to the side so i can fit another adult in the back.
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
thanx jen nah! ella is also tall (97percentile). do you have your seat installed in the side of the seat, not the middle? or does your mom's cruiser have a head rest in the middle? ours does not, but from time to time i need to move the car seat to the side so i can fit another adult in the back.

The MA is in the driver outboard but my mom also has my older dd Parkway in there too and can't get them side by side. So, Both girls are in the outboard position.
 

seatchecker

Senior Community Member
Rowena: BRU will let you take one to the car and install it. That would be the best bet, 1st to see how much growing room she has and 2nd to see how the height works in the car. Also several mamas have one - I know Walker uses a Marathon - so they might let you borrow one to see how it works. Abigail was very close to being too tall when it first came out, so we never got one, but it is avery nice seat. I think you will be happy either way. The Regent will give you more growing room but take up enough space that only 1 other person can fit in the back seat.
 

rowena___.

New member
thanx karen! i wish BRU had a regent i could try. :/ with either seat, if it is positioned in the middle then NOBODY can fit in the back seat unless they are very skinny, i myself get squeezed pretty tight. with the seat to one side, one adult can fit. so i guess it boils down to that being the case with this car regardless.

i hate this car. :) it is not what i wanted, this was supposed to be rudi's car when we were adopting the big boys (teenagers--no car seats).

by the time i get the van of my dreams :D ella will be old enough to drive it herself.
 

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