Question Best convertible for Ford Focus?

My husband and I have a Ford Focus, which is absolutely not a family-friendly car, but it's what we have and we can't replace it right now. When #2 is born in March, our daughter will be about 18 months, in her convertible car seat, and still RF. This has been the plan all along, except that we weren't planning for another car seat to be in the back with her. Her infant seat was great, but was too long to allow anyone to sit (at all. not just "not in comfort," but "not at all") in the front passenger seat. I just sucked it up and sat in the back with her, which was also fine because she liked the attention and I liked being able to see her at all times.

Anywho, her convertible car seat does allow for someone to sit in the seat in front of it (not very comfortably, but it's possible), so it can move to behind the driver's seat when #2 is born. But this time, the front passenger seat will absolutely have to be usable, or else I'll have to ride on the roof or in the trunk (or take a cab, as my oh-so-hilarious husband suggested). So, I need suggestions on convertible car seats that'll work in the back of our small car.

Originally, I asked this question in another forum, asking for infant car seat suggestions. I had no idea that convertible car seats can often fit children from 5lbs, so if it'll work out better, we'll just skip the infant one and go straight to the convertible. People on that forum gave a few ideas, and suggested that I ask here for suggestions, too.

If it helps to know, I'm 5ft11, and my husband is 6ft4, so it really, really needs to be a very narrow seat. If I were 5ft7, I'd be able to just buy another convertible like the one we have for our daughter, but while it works for short trips, I can't reasonably say I'll be comfortable with being smashed into the front seat for 2+ years (nor is that even safe for me). Also, from their advice, we were leaning towards the Maxi Cosi Priori, but I'm nervous about the only 4-star review on Amazon, and our BRU doesn't have one in stock to check if it does, in fact, fit in the back seat of our car, so more opinions on it would be wonderful.

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to car-seat.org!

What seat do you have for your ODD? Will you be installing the new baby's seat next to hers?

The Priori will fit small infants well. Since you seem to have some potential "tall" genes, though, you may also want to look at the Pria 70 (also made by Maxi-Cosi). The Pria 70 will last longer RF and FF than the Priori and it installs more upright externally while being more reclined internally for small babies due to the Tiny Fit insert. (The review on carseatblog.com should give a good feel for the seat.)

Another option that will RF and FF for about the same time as the Priori would be the Combi Coccoro. The advantage of the Coccoro is that it's also narrow, so it would be more likely to fit well side-by-side with other seats. It's also lightweight and has a stroller frame that it snaps onto for easy transport.

Thank you so much for the speedy reply!

Right now, DD is in a Cosco but I don't remember the specific model right now (and downstairs is way too far away for a pregnant lady at 2am!). If the new seat fits in the middle, then we're aiming to install it there, but our current convertible won't fit in the middle safely. We've had it checked at the fire department, and it's a no-go. If the new seat will fit in the middle, then great; that's where it will go. Otherwise, it'll just have to be behind the driver's or passenger's seat. (I think they said smaller babies are best on the right side of a car? I could be backwards on that.)

I looked for the Maxi-cosi Pria 70 that you suggested, and it's $250 on Amazon. Yikes! My husband when I tell him that price! Obviously, if it goes up to 70 pounds, that'll be a huge benefit, though, since that means it'll last a lot longer than the Cosco that we'll have to replace when DD is near 40lbs. I guess it'd be too much to ask that a compact, safe car seat also be price savvy!

Thank you again. I have no idea what we'd do without forums like this one online to get advice on safe car seats from!

Hi, glad you found us!

One of the reasons the Pria is so pricey is that it's new, and the features available are unique (being able to install the seat itself more upright while still having the baby inside at a 45-degree angle). You could point out to your dh that it's still much cheaper than a new car.

As far as who-goes-where, you should first arrange your seats to ensure you get a good install in whatever seating position, and also focus on making sure everyone can ride safely. Side-or-center can come after that, because the other two are higher priorities.

Another seat to consider is the True Fit. I've had mine in a Focus and had enough room in front of it, but it also has a removable upper seatback, so you could use it fully reclined for your newborn, and when he/she is big enough to need the upper seatback, install it more upright.

What year is your Focus? We had an '06 wagon (although I believe the back seat for size was the same as the sedans,) and I found we were able to install a Radian beautifully in the centre position; we didn't need to move either front seat forward at all. :thumbsup: It wasn't at a 45° newborn recline, though. DS's main ride back there in his RF days was an Evenflo Titan. (Short shell, so not a long-use seat; I wouldn't recommend it, though it did fit fine.) I've also had a 'classic' Britax Marathon RF there too with no issues.

There are many new options on the market, but I thought my experience might give you a good idea of the range and size of seats that CAN fit RF in the centre of the back seat.

Just wanted to add in... you said your other seat is a Cosco, would it by any chance be a 3in1? These are notoriously bad for taking up a lot of room (and also make awful boosters, btw). And they have that pesky level line which Dorel (the parent company for Cosco, Safety1st, Eddie Bauer, others?) insists must be level to ground which makes it all worse - do you have the seat at the 45 degree angle? Many other brands allow the seat to be installed more upright as the baby gets older. My friend had a Cosco 3in1 in her Focus (can't remember the year) and I was quite uncomfortable being that close to the dash... and I'm only 5'2" so I cannot imagine how you feel!

If you have DD's seat reclined to 45degrees, and if you do consider something like the TrueFit, I would be very tempted to use it for the baby with the headrest off and then trade their seats when the baby fits the Cosco by height. Then you can install the TF (or whatever seat) more upright for your older DD and have at least one person be comfortable. I would actually be even more tempted to sell the Cosco and get two new seats that work better. :twocents:

I was able to get 2 RF Radians in a 2012 Focus side by side with room for a
3rd passenger. They installed nice and upright so front seat passengers had space too.

I have an 03 Ford Focus wagon and had a Graco Myride rear facing behind the passenger (me, I'm short) and a headrest removed True Fit behind the driver (DH, who is 5'11" and likes his seat very far back.)

Here's a pic - neither seat is braced, though it looks like it in the pic.

I drive a 2002 Focus and have had a bunch of seats in it. Im 5'9 and can still fit to drice with them rfing. I can also get 2 Sceneras and a marathon, or a scenera, marathon and snugride 22 in at once. The Scenera takes up alot of room rfing because of the required recline, and so does the Snugride. The Marathon fits best rfing behind the drivers seat of the 3. My SIL has an alpha omega elite that takes up a huge amount of room, and I wouldnt use it even before there were the 3 girls (i watch my.dd and my 2 nieces frequently.)
Can you go try out seats at BRU?
Here is the 3 of them in the focus (sil is ok with the pic!) The car is parked on a hill and I was standing up on the slope, so its a strange angle

We have an 02 focus. DH is 6' and I am 5'9". We have been able to install a Britax marathon (old style), a Graco MyRide, a graco snugride 22, a graco safeseat (same as the current snugride 32/35), and a radian rear facing behind both the driver and the passenger. It is a little tight with the radians, but still do able. The one thing that made the most difference was to put the seat back (of the front seats) more upright and slide the seat further back. That way your knees aren't eating the dash.

To answer questions-

We have an '07 Focus. I've been in a '10 Focus, and that backseat seemed far bigger than ours. I don't know about other years.

I honestly couldn't say if the seat is at a 45 degree angle. It's something I'll check next time we're in the car. When we had the car seat inspection, our little one was a wee little one, so they set it up for her "then" and we still have it set up the same way, complete with the pool noodles. The inspector had planned to use one noodle, as he said he does in most cars, but apparently our Focus has deep seats (I'm sure this is standard for Focuses, and not something special just for us!), which required that he tape three noodles together like a triangle, to make it "level for an infant." He did say we could take them out once she was older, but as he didn't specify how much older, we've just left them in.

Thank you again, so much, for the great replies. I was a little worried at first, because before posting anywhere I Googled, "best car seat for Ford Focus" and one of the links it returned was to a forum where a woman was told flat out, "Get rid of the car; it's not safe for kids" which translated to me, "If you can't get a new car, you're a terrible mom." But you've all been amazing.

We're going to make a trip to BRU probably later this week to see a few of their options in our car. I just didn't want to go up there without any idea at all of what might work, and say, "Oh, well, can we just try them all?" I didn't think that'd sit too well with them! But they *are* doing their great baby gear trade-in event, so it's the perfect time to buy from them, if we're able to find something that works for us.

I've written down every model that's been suggested here. If anyone else comes along with another idea, or more comments on models already mentioned, feel free to add in anything. I really can't say enough how much I appreciate the help!

I dont know about your yearof focus, but my 2002 got awful side impact ratings thats probably what she was refering to. With the sizeof the backseat though, I dont think you could fit 3 across and and of the seats with large headwings, but you could look into it. Car seats in this country are not tested for side impact protection though, so its all manufacture claims about how much extra protection there is.

You can also look at the evenflo Titan elite or sport, is around $100 and it goes 5 to 50 pounds