3 across in 2005 Mazda3, specific question

Hi,

We will soon welcome #3, and want to know if we can get three carseats in the back of our 2005 Mazda3, or whether we need to get a larger car. We are hoping to make our current cars work for the next couple of years, and wait to get a bigger car until our kids are older and our needs really change (carpooling, one kid in a booster, etc). We're fine buying a new car seat or two if we need to -- way cheaper than a new car!

When baby arrives, our kids will be:
4-yo, 37 lbs, FF
2.5-yo, 35 lbs, FF
newborn, infant seat RF

The seats we currently have are:

Britax Roundabout 50 (we have two of these)
Diono Radian (we have two of these)
Graco Snugride32 with base

We will put the newborn RF outboard on the passenger side. (We can't put baby RF behind driver, b/c driver would then not have enough leg room to drive.)

I'm wondering if we should try the two Radians side-by-side FF for our 2 older kids, and whether the Snugride32 would fit? Or should we look at a more compact infant seat?

What are the most compact infant seats out there that are high quality?

Or.... should we just give in and buy a larger car??

Thanks very much!

PS. If the Snugride 32 is too wide and we do get a new infant seat, we'd want one with a base that will 'click in' to the base or to a stroller snap-n-go. Thanks!

Generally the Radian and Britax seats (and other convertibles on a base like the Graco Myride) fit nicely together when facing the same direction. So to start I'd try the Roundabout FF driver's side, the FF Radian in the center and the infant seat on the other side.

My SIL has a 2003 Mazda 3 so I think it is the same body style. She can do 2 radians and a SR32. She had the SR32 on the passanger side and it is doable but you have to move the seat up to make room for it.

I think you could do FF roundabout, FF radian and SR32

I know you can do FF radian FF Radian, SR32.

The new SnugRide 35 Click Connect is narrower and lighter in weight. It's base is a lot less wide and curvy than the SR32 base is.

Hi there!

I drive a 2005 Mazda3, and I have two kiddos. But I also have a very tall husband who has to sit in the back, and sometimes we take a friend along with us, so I've done some experimentation with three across just because we always have one seat center. I can NOT get two FF radians side by side in this car because of the flare at the top. I could squeeze them in there but could not get them independently tight. I can get one radian FF and one RF (which would work since your middle child will likely fit in a RF radian for at least another year).

Right now I have a Frontier center and a RF coccoro on the side. I can just barely squeeze in a snugride 22 WITHOUT the base on the other side. I'm pretty sure it would not fit with the base. Not sure how the Snugride 22 and the 32 compare, but I would be surprised if any infant seat base would fit next to the Frontier.

If I were you I'd try for Snugride on the passenger side, baseless if necessary, FF radian center and RF radian behind the driver's seat. I would use the angle adjuster for the RF radian, but there's no prohibition on touching the driver's seat. Mazda says you may not touch the passenger seat, so I'd go for the larger RF seat behind the driver. If the Snugride didn't fit I'd look at using a coccoro from birth for the newborn. They are very small convertible seats (it's the only thing I can sit in front of comfortably in this car that works for a newborn) and they puzzle well with the FF radian. I'm only 5'9" but I just couldn't sit in front of a infant seat in this car--the coccoro solved that problem for me.

Remember that in three across situations, seat belt installations can allow you to position the seats further out than the LATCH connectors. And that we need all three seats to be independently tight, so you can install the middle seat, check for tightness, install the outside seats, then remove the middle seat and check that the outside seats are tight.

ETA: you know what? I looked at my notes, and I didn't take any (I'm good with other people's cars and seats but lousy with my own). I might be misremembering the two FF radians thing. I certainly can't get a FF radian next to a Frontier, and I certainly got a RF radian next to a FF radian, but I'm not sure I tried my hardest to get two FF radians side by side. SO it's worth a shot, though of course the recommendation is to RF to the maximum of the seat, so we'd recommend that your 2.5 year old be RFing anyway.