Which car for 3 across with a booster?

reissgirl

New member
DS1 FF Britax Boulevard; 6yo
DS2 RF Diono Radian; 3yo

We only have one car, used primarily by me doing the usual SAHM driving - mostly city driving. We need to buy a new car with the following priorities in mind:

1) AWD since it rains here a lot, and we go skiing.

2) Can fit a third kid in center for carpool, preferably in a high backed booster.

Are there any hatchbacks or crossover SUVs that will comfortably fit a booster in the middle? We have a 2011 CR-V now (lease ending) and it takes lots of muttering and scraped hands to buckle a center booster! We're considering the Pathfinder, Highlander and Sorento since they have third rows, but would really like to figure out if we can get away with a smaller car. I could do 3 across in Radians but they're so heavy and such a pain to get a good install. I dread having to swap out DS2's Radian, but I could un/install DS1's Britax all day long without complaint. Plus the Radian straps and headrest are not easily adjustable for carpools.

I recently drove a Honda Pilot and was amazed by how roomy the second row is! Does that exist in a two row vehicle? Thanks!
 
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cantabdad

New member
I recently did a ton of car shopping and research, and it seems that among most 2-row SUVs with AWD, you are basically going to be in the same boat as with the CR-V -- in other words, a 3-across is possible, but you'll need to be a little creative, and it will need to involve at least one Radian (or similarly narrow seat) and will probably still involve some scraping of knuckles!

The Subaru Legacy/Outback will give you slightly more room for a 3-across than most of the compact SUVs, but it really is just a smidge. The Volvo XC70 also has a little more space.

Folks have reported that a 3-across isn't possible in the Toyota RAV4 due to seatbelt overlap and that this wasn't fixed in the recent redesign. Conversely, the Toyota Venza (a sort of wagon-y looking vehicle that defies easy description) has AWD and a very roomy backseat and should give you much more leeway.

The absolute roomiest backseat I can think of would be a full-size sedan, something like a Ford Taurus or Chrysler 300, both of which have an AWD option, but these are expensive and might not be quite what you're looking for when you talk about wanting a "smaller car."
 

reissgirl

New member
I test drove an outback. The back seat did look roomy, but I am concerned about all three tethers being in the roof. I haven't tried installing seats, but it seems like that would significantly block visibility.

What did you end up buying?
 

cantabdad

New member
We bought an Outback. Having the tether anchors in the ceiling is definitely not the best layout; I much prefer it when they are located on the seatbacks.

For us it's not a huge issue, since neither of the kids is using a FF seat right now (the older one is in a booster, younger one is RF).

In terms of visibility -- last year I did a long road-trip with one tethered carseat and the ceiling-mounted center seatbelt both in use -- so a total of two straps coming down. It did reduce rear visibility a little bit, but I personally did not find it to be a major issue while driving.

I think you know this already, but I'd caution that the Outback isn't wide enough to do an easy-peasy 3-across with typically huge Britax seats. You'd really need something like the Pilot for that.

But for us, it's adequate for the occasional visiting kindergarten friend or mother-in-law, and we did not want to go any bigger due to our tight driveway (and fuel economy, of course). At various points, I have done Radian-Radian-adult, Marathon-Bubble Bum-Oobr and Marathon-adult-Oobr.
 
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