2012s - Passat, Tiguan, Fusion, Outback, or Forester (oh my!!)

elyrayday · Nov 9, 2011

Hi All,

My hub and I just spent the day looking at 2012 cars that would hopefully fit a growing family of ERFers. We currently have a 10 month old and want 3 kids eventually, so we have a long way to go as far as our backseat space needs. We are essentially looking for a car-seat-mobile

The current contenders have us very confused. We would love your thoughts about these choices. Keep in mind we position our front seats at a 6' person's depth. For this reason, back seat room to fit the seats is very important to us (as is overall car safety).

Passat - seems to have tons of rear space. Never tried to install a car seat in this type of car, but looked so roomy that we think it could work.

Fusion - Thought this would be THE car for us (especially since they are selling them nearby for ~ 17k, which is 5k cheaper than Passat's best deal). We thought the back seemed cramped next to the Passat. Would love to save the money, but can a family of 5 ERFers with tall parents really make this work?

Outback - Back seat space seemed somewhere in between? Noticed there is no middle hump these days. Not sure what to think. And is being higher up safer these days?

Forester - They did not have any on the lot. Older models seem to be notorious for hard installs, although not sure about the 2012.

Tiguan - As far as we could tell, same as the Outback?

That is the most sense we could make of things. Please let us know if you have any insight into back space for seats. Also any latch/tether/seatbelt issues with these models that we should be aware of.

Thanks!!!!!

BananaBoat · Nov 9, 2011

Run far away from the Forester if you want to ERF multiple kids. It's a great car...but not for families.

The Outback on the other hand is MUCH better space-wise for ERF & 3-across.

todzwife · Nov 9, 2011

SuzaBanana said:
Run far away from the Forester if you want to ERF multiple kids. It's a great car...but not for families.

The Outback on the other hand is MUCH better space-wise for ERF & 3-across.

Yes yes this! The forester is FANTASTIC if you don't have kids in carseats. But I'd look at the new Outbacks if you want a Subaru.

elyrayday · Nov 10, 2011

Re: NOW - 2012s - Passat, Tiguan, Fusion, or Outback (oh my!!)

Ok, great, thanks. The Forester is off the list!! Thought maybe the newer ones might not be problematic. Good to know that they still are.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the other models we are considering? Maybe some insight into Passat vs Fusion or Tiguan vs Outback.

In general, we see pros of sedan as safer projectile-wise whereas the CUV appeals in its flexibility as well as it's height. Still not sure which way we would go unless there is a difference for car seats.

henrietta · Nov 10, 2011

We have a much older Passat, but having read lots of threads about them over the years, and including that my friend works on the line that produced the newest one, I've seen newer ones too. The backseat is fairly roomy. We have 2 boys. We did use the Passat w/rearfacing carseats, and never had a problem. We've had Britax, Evenflo Triumph, Evenflo Triumph Advance, Evenflo Tribute, and a Cosco AOE all rearfacing in there at one time or another. I've never done 3 across in it, but others have. It just depends on the type of carseats. The Evenflo Triumph Advance or Momentum and the Learning Curve TrueFit are less friendly to a tight three across, whereas the Diono/Sunshine Kids Radians and the Safety First Complete Air are more three across friendly. Puzzling different types of seats usually works best OR three Radians. BUT the Radians may not allow for as much front passenger room b/c they don't sit very upright (when a baby can sit up and heads into toddlerhood, their carseat can be as upright as 30 degrees, as long as they are comfortable and the carseat manual allows it).

There is a "3 across" thread on here somewhere. You can look up the makes and models of vehicles your looking at and check it out. Also, keep in mind that at some point, the oldest one will likely be forward facing....or even moving up to a booster seat while the younger two are either still rearfacing or still harnessed. You'll want to be able to fit them all then, too. Boosters can be tough to buckle in a super tight 3 across, but you can usually figure out an arrangement that will work with the right seats.

hths

henrietta

NVMBR02 · Nov 10, 2011

We have a 2009 Fusion and we really like it. I can get 2 RFers easily but the third would probably be difficult if you or your husband are tall. I am 5'7" and can sit with a RFing Radian behind me and still be comfortable. My DH is 5'11" and he can not. I do have my seat a little closer to the wheel than most people though because it is a stick shift and I can not push the clutch all the way in if I m not a tad closer to the steering wheel.

HTH!

elyrayday · Nov 11, 2011

Mommyto2 said:
We have a 2009 Fusion and we really like it. I can get 2 RFers easily but the third would probably be difficult if you or your husband are tall. I am 5'7" and can sit with a RFing Radian behind me and still be comfortable. My DH is 5'11" and he can not. I do have my seat a little closer to the wheel than most people though because it is a stick shift and I can not push the clutch all the way in if I m not a tad closer to the steering wheel.

HTH!

Thanks for the input. Good to know that 3 is a no-go for the fusion.

At the same time, maybe 2 ERF would get us through the next few years ok since we only have 1 so far. Not sure what to think about our family planning

Something that would be helpful to know though is with the fusion, what type of rear-facing seat would be the 2nd seat? Outboard passenger side is usually fine in all vehicles for us (I can sit pretty far up, no problem). But we have found that even a RF in the middle seat requires a very generous back seat since the space between front seats is so narrow and my DH's seat is back so far. If your DH was driving (5'11"), what seat would fit in the middle seat of the fusion for ERF? The fusion is so so so much cheaper than our other options...

elyrayday · Nov 11, 2011

henrietta said:
We have a much older Passat, but having read lots of threads about them over the years, and including that my friend works on the line that produced the newest one, I've seen newer ones too. The backseat is fairly roomy. We have 2 boys. We did use the Passat w/rearfacing carseats, and never had a problem. We've had Britax, Evenflo Triumph, Evenflo Triumph Advance, Evenflo Tribute, and a Cosco AOE all rearfacing in there at one time or another. I've never done 3 across in it, but others have. It just depends on the type of carseats. The Evenflo Triumph Advance or Momentum and the Learning Curve TrueFit are less friendly to a tight three across, whereas the Diono/Sunshine Kids Radians and the Safety First Complete Air are more three across friendly. Puzzling different types of seats usually works best OR three Radians. BUT the Radians may not allow for as much front passenger room b/c they don't sit very upright (when a baby can sit up and heads into toddlerhood, their carseat can be as upright as 30 degrees, as long as they are comfortable and the carseat manual allows it).

There is a "3 across" thread on here somewhere. You can look up the makes and models of vehicles your looking at and check it out. Also, keep in mind that at some point, the oldest one will likely be forward facing....or even moving up to a booster seat while the younger two are either still rearfacing or still harnessed. You'll want to be able to fit them all then, too. Boosters can be tough to buckle in a super tight 3 across, but you can usually figure out an arrangement that will work with the right seats.

hths

henrietta

Thanks! The Passat is our favorite car at the moment, but there does not seem to be much room for negotiating and the average price paid is higher than we had hoped. Good to know that the spacious back seat was not our imagination.

cookie123 · Nov 11, 2011

If you're planning 3 kids before another new car, get a minivan. You'll thank me later.

elyrayday · Nov 11, 2011

cookie123 said:
If you're planning 3 kids before another new car, get a minivan. You'll thank me later.

Yeah, I have thought about it. The vans just have such low mileage and are not cheap either. Driving a van with 1 little one seems like overkill - especially for our 4 hour trips to grandma's house once a month. Our current cars are nearly 10 and 15 years old. I am thinking we will probably need to replace the second car by the time 3rd kid arrives. That is the idea anyway....

cburf · Dec 19, 2011

I'd recommend checking out the Mazda5. We were in the same boat as you when we bought one new in 2009 and now have 3 kids ages 5 and under and are pretty happy. I am 6'2 and the knee space in the mazda5 is a little tight but manageable, and we travel to Grandma's house about 300 miles a few times per year and I'm fine. The good things are that it gets better MPG than a minivan, looks cooler than a minivan, and costs less than a minivan. The only bad thing we've found is that cargo space with 5 people is pretty slim so you might want to consider a roof top carrier.

cburf · Dec 19, 2011

Also, Ford will supposedly be releasing a vehicle soon that will seat 7 and is supposed to similar if not a direct clone of the Mazda5. I heard it will be called the C-Max or something.

Jeanum · Dec 19, 2011

Welcome to car-seat.org and thanks for your input about vehicles.

Ford intends to sell only the 5-passenger C-Max hybrid and plug-in hybrid models in the U.S. rather than both 5- and 7-passenger C-Max versions. Ford changed course on the 7-passenger C-Max and designated it for availability overseas only a while back, after teasing us all with the 7-passenger version with sliding doors at the U.S. auto shows earlier in 2011. (Can you tell I'm still bummed about Ford's decision? I was hoping for a 7-passenger C-Max hybrid with sliding rear doors to be on the market in the U.S.

)

2012s - Passat, Tiguan, Fusion, Outback, or Forester (oh my!!)

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