Extended Rear Facing in Toyota Echo

I own a 4-door Toyota Echo. My wife and I are both quite tall, so the front seats need to be all the way back. Here are the measurements:


My goal is to rear face as long as possible. I don't care about the portability of an infant seat. I was hoping to just be able to get a convertible seat, but I believe none of the tall ones will fit at the 45°-angle needed for a newborn. So is my best option to get an infant seat, then once that's outgrown switch to a convertible seat with an upright angle? Will even that fit??

The dimensions that a seat actually requires when installed seem to be very hard to come by.

A few thoughts- one here is a great resource:

http://carseatblog.com/22818/the-ul...ertible-space-comparison-review-size-matters/

Unfortunantly a lot of the seats aren't available in Canada! No Next Fit, Milestone or 4Ever - not sure about the Pria and the Safety First Guide 65 doesn't fit newborns well.


But sometimes the Diono Radian is narrow enough it can fit in between the two front seats at the newborn angle.


And I think the reason why they don't list the dimensions that a seat is because it can vary so much from car to car, how sloped the seats are, or if the seat belts are forward for the bight, etc.

Hi there,

The reason that measurements might be hard to come by is that carseats can take up a different amount of room depending on which vehicle it's being installed in. The shape/slope of the vehicle's seats can result in a carseat being installed more reclined or more upright. Some carseats have rules about what recline angle the seat must be installed with, and there is sometimes a range of angles that are acceptable. Sometimes a taller convertible (infant/child) seat can take up less 'front to back' room than a shorter shelled infant seat because as you know, the seat can be installed more upright for older infants and toddlers. Yes, you might be better off with an infant seat first given your situation. One other thing to consider is that to save room, you can install your infant seat without the base, and just leave it in the car. This would likely take up less room than installing it with the base.

That all said, these sites might be helpful to you:
http://vicarseattechs.com/our-favourite-seats/infant-seats/
http://vicarseattechs.com/our-favourite-seats/infantchild-seats/

And Clek's measurements might be of interest to you also. The Foonf and Fllo are ones I would check out: http://clekinc.ca/convertible_child_seats/model_comparison/

I haven't worked with a lot of infant seats recently, but maybe try the Britax B Safe, and Keyfit.

For convertibles, I would also look into the Graco MyRide, Britax Click Tight convertibles, and maybe Peg convertible and Diono Radian with angle adjuster (the Radian is a very tall seat and the angle adjuster is only allowed once child is sitting upright unassisted and has complete head control, so appropriate only if you decide to get an infant seat first). I would suggest going to a store with both tall parents and try installing different seats in your vehicle. Sometimes you can achieve a bit of room by making the adult front seat less reclined. Also look at your vehicle manual to determine whether rear facing carseats are allowed to touch the back of the front seat. Some car's airbag sensors make it unsafe to touch or brace against the front seat.

Good luck with your search!

From the above list in post #2, only the Diono Radian, Maxi Cosi Pria and Safety First Guide are available in Canada : )

Alison's Mom said:

Hi - just so you know, these are great seats available in the US, but none of them except the Diono Radian and Maxi Cosi Pria are available in Canada : )

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Yea I went back and just edited my post after I realized I missed that the OP was in Canada - but thanks for catching that!

1mommy said:

Yea I went back and just edited my post after I realized I missed that the OP was in Canada - but thanks for catching that!

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Thanks! Then I edited my post after remembering the Guide is also available here!

Hmmmm....as far as I know, the Cybex Aton is still the smallest (front to back) infant seat on the market and so my first thought was going to be to suggest getting that seat for now and then maybe (hopefully?) by the time it is outgrown the Nextfit will be available in Canada? These were the only seats that would comfortably fit in our Subaru Impreza (and we tried a LOT).

However, even that idea might not work. I see that your front-to-back space is 24" and the Aton is 25" without the base and 26" with the base.

Argh. And I see that the Cybex Aton isn't available in Canada either.

Is the Combi Coccoro available in Canada? It won't let you RF as long as possible, but it might at least buy you some time and maybe something else might come out?

The Combi Coccoro isn't available in Canada.

1mommy said:

A few thoughts- one here is a great resource:

http://carseatblog.com/22818/the-ul...ertible-space-comparison-review-size-matters/

Click to expand...

That's very helpful, thanks. It looks like the Peg Perego Convertible and the Britax G4 series have the smallest exterior depth with high weight limits. I think I can try at least one of those out in town and take it from there.

Jared said:

That's very helpful, thanks. It looks like the Peg Perego Convertible and the Britax G4 series have the smallest exterior depth with high weight limits. I think I can try at least one of those out in town and take it from there.

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Keep in mind that both will be outgrown by height Rf long before your child hits 40 pounds so if you want to Rf to 4 you may need to buy another convertible especially if you end up with a tall child.

Hi! Do you have a Sedan or a hatchback? I used to have a HB and there is not much place, but its doable!

I had a Britax B-Safe infant seat that made me eat the dash! The Chicco Key fit or Safety 1st Comfy Carry might fit better, but I didn't try them.

As for convertibles, anything that DON'T require a 45° angle will fit. I've had a Britax convertible and a Diono Radian with Angle adjuster (was braced against my front seat).

The new Britax Click Tight might be a good fit...

Alison's Mom said:

From the above list in post #2, only the Diono Radian, Maxi Cosi Pria and Safety First Guide are available in Canada : )

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Is the Pria in Canada? I remember seeing that it was supposed to come and a few websites had it listed but not available, but I thought it didn't end up coming to Canada (yet? Maybe later?). I've never seen it for sale anywhere.

kaitlyn said:

Is the Pria in Canada? I remember seeing that it was supposed to come and a few websites had it listed but not available, but I thought it didn't end up coming to Canada (yet? Maybe later?). I've never seen it for sale anywhere.

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Hmm, you might be right. I had heard talk of it coming to Canada, and then did a quick search and found this http://www.juniorbaby.com/en/product/maxi-cosi-pria. But looking at it more closely now, none of them are in stock. . . .

Yeah I was fairly certain it never actually ended up here yet. I'm curious to see if it ever will.