'12 Corolla, tall parents, 2 kids

Here's the situation:

DH's job is relocating us overseas. We're wanting to get our car seat situation settled and take the seats with us not knowing what's available there.

DH and I are both 6' or taller, so need the front seats all the way back or at least 2nd from the back on the passenger side.

We currently have a 26 month old DS who is VERY tall, 97% for height at 2 years old and 80 something % for weight. Over 36" and 30+ lbs. He's all torso, so sits taller than his height would indicate, too. We have 2 FFing Marathon Classics for him that were purchased new around the time he was born, so they shouldn't expire for about 3-4 years. The straps are set to the highest harness position, but he's probably got an inch or so before I'd worry that he's outgrowing the seat in that respect.

DD is only 2 months old. We want to leave her infant seat home and put her RFing in a convertible seat. I expect her to be similarly tall to DS.

We're hoping to save some $ and get a smaller car on the transportation stipend his employer is providing--probably a new Corolla. (We just sold our 2005 Corolla before DD was born and know that we can fit DD rearfacing in the Marathon in the center comfortably in a Corolla.) Assuming that's what we select:

Can we fit DS FFing in a Marathon outboard and DD RFing in the center in a Marathon?

If not, what seat do you recommend that we purchase? And who gets a new seat to minimize replacements going forward?

Thank you! This move has my mind hurting, so an easy solution is much appreciated.

(And don't tell me we can fit DD RFing behind one of our seats. We know it won't work, we're too tall!)

I would get a seat you can install more upright, and brace against the front seat (like the Britax or Diono seats.) I could rf a Scenera behind my drivers seat in a Ford Focus and I am 5'9 and had the seat all but one click back. Your probably not going to get 2 Marathons next to one another and if your son is on the top slot of his at 2 yrs old then your probably going to need a Frontier to harness him to booster age, and its huge. I would look at a Radian (with angle adjuster once shes older with good head control), the Radian can be installed as upright as you need it. The Radian will last much longer then a Britax convertible, my daughter is 101% for height and outgrew her Classic Marathon around age 3 ffing.

Thanks for the thoughts.

After some more digging, it's looking like DD in the center in the Marathon and DS outboard in a Radian maybe.

However, I've seen mixed information as to whether I can puzzle those 2 seats together or not. Some say yes but I see some posts about 3 across using a Radian, Marathon and another seat--often another Radian.

Hi, just want to mention that a new Corolla will most likely forbid allowing a rear facing carseat to touch the front seatbacks due to potentially interfering with the sensors for the advanced front airbags, and if so, bracing/touching the front seatbacks won't be an allowable option. This is assuming you're getting a U.S./Canadian market Corolla with advanced airbags which does have the restriction against touching front seatbacks, not sure if it would be applicable for Corolla models available abroad if you're acquiring the car locally after your move, but double checking the airbag and child restraint sections of the car's owner's manual is advisable for any vehicle model you're considering purchasing.

If you haven't tried it yet, a Radian with the angle adjuster might be good for your RFing seat. That thing has really surprised me, and it's a good seat for the tall. Britaxes and Radians are generally said to puzzle well together the same way (ie both RF).

My other driver is 6'9" and I'm 5'9". We drive small cars: a Honda Accord and a Mazda 3 (awesome tall person car, incidentally).The Corolla is a no-go, generally, for the 6'9" driver, even without kids, so I don't know much about the new ones. Our set up is that we have to have a place behind the driver for the tall person to sit in back with the kiddos. He just can't fit in front of anything, so he sits behind me when I drive. It's our only option.

Also, it's kind of impressive what room you can buy by sitting as upright as possible when in the front seat (so seat back, but less reclined). You're safer, I've grown to like it, and you really do get yourself a few inches.