Question Rear-facing convertible for 6'8" dad

Hello,
I'm looking for a new rear-facing convertible car seat for my son who is 13 months old (30" and 23+lbs at his 1yr checkup).
A few months ago, when he was beginning to look squished in his infant seat (Graco Snugride 35), I decided to get a convertible for him.
My choice (based on editor reviews at car-seat.org) was the Truefit Premier. While it's a great seat, it seems to take up a ton of space front-to-back when positioned in "zone 2" (35-degree angle).
I drive a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria (not a small car by any means), and with the seat rear-facing in the middle, I have to put my driver's seat uncomfortably forward. With the Truefit placed behind the passenger's seat, it renders the passenger seat unusable (ie - about 5" between seat and dash).

I've been snooping the forums here, and from what I've deduced, my 2 best bets for a shallow (front-to-back) replacement would be a Marathon 70 or a Complete Air. Would these provide me a significant increase in space compared to the Truefit premier?

My second question is regarding the Truefit premier installation, while the manual instructs the seat should be at a 35-degree angle for toddlers (zone 2), is there a possibility I could angle it more upright to provide me more room in the front?

Thanks in advance,
-Hopelessly Squished

How many children do you need to get back there?
The easiest solution is to go ahead and move the seat to behind the passenger side
There is a very slight reduction in safety by not being in the middle, but in this situation, it's probably the best solution.

But then he can't have a passenger.

First of all, kudos to you for keeping your son rearfacing longer than a year! Awesome job.

Those seats are the ones we usually recommend. I might also look at the Evenflo Triumph 65 and Graco MyRide -- depending on the contours of your seats, they may go in more upright. Generally speaking, though, the TrueFit is one of the best front-to-back fits out there.

The only other suggestions I would have are 1) bring your seat bottom further back, but put your seat more upright -- that gains more room in the backseat, gives you more leg space, and makes you safer, too. Or 2) perhaps go see a tech, who might have some ideas on how better to fit your family safely into the vehicle.

If none of those work, then yes, put it behind the passenger side and if you have someone else with you, they can ride in the back with your son.

HTH

Do you have the ball "floating" in zone 2? If so, the seat is probably more reclined than it needs to be. The ball can rest on the bottom frame of the angle indicator and still be at 35* or more. If you post a pic, someone here can check your angle for you. You may be able to go more upright.

FWIW, I had my TFP installed behind the passenger in my DH's Corolla--a small car--and we could still safely accommodate a front seat passenger.

ETA: To answer your second question, although you may be able to angle the seat more upright than you have it, you cannot go more upright than the 35 degrees specified by the manufacturer.

I haven't been able to compare the marathon70 with the truefit premier in my car, but I do know that it takes up less front-back space (by several inches) compared to my original Britax convertibles, which I believe are usually comparable to the space taken up by truefits.

It might help to check that the front seats are upright (ie not reclined), as that is a factor that is often overlooked.

If you have a Babies R Us nearby (or other large baby store), you can probably try several seats in your car to see what works.

Our Boulevard 70 (basically the same frame/shell as the Marathon 70) actually takes up less front-to-back space than our Chicco Keyfit infant seat. However I've read here that tall kids may not fit rear facing in the Britax seats for as long as they would in other convertible seats. Our girl is petite and has been since birth, so this isn't a huge worry for us.

My BIL is 6'5" or something like that and drives a Ford Fusion, but his kids are both in forward facing seats because they turned them at 1 year, so I'm afraid I can't use them as an example. I know when they had one FF and one RF, the RF seat was behind the front passenger side because there was just no way he could have the front seat at a safe distance from the steering wheel with a RF seat behind it.