Ford Fusion for a family of five?

ElaynesMom

New member
Hoping someone can help me out. Our car has died and we are not willing to put any money into it to get it running, so we need a new car. I have a 7.5 y/o booster rider, a 3 year old who I'm willing to rear OR forward face at this point, and I'm expecting a new baby in May who I am willing to use a bucket or convertible seat rear facing for.

My husband only wants to buy new, not used. We cannot afford a brand new van except a Caravan which we do NOT want at all. We are thinking about getting a midsize sedan, possibly a ford fusion as my husband may be able to get a discount through an affiliate program his employer offers. We may look at other vehicles as well, possibly an Accord.

We do not drive a lot, I'm not worried about kids arguing, or space for road trips, etc. I'm only concerned with being able to do a 3 across in a midsize sedan without too many compatibility issues. I am able to purchase all new carseats to get 3 that will fit.

Does anyone have any tips/warnings specifically about 3 across situations in a Ford Fusion, or other midsize sedans? I have looked at the 3 across thread already.

Thanks!
 
ADS

NVMBR02

New member
Hi there!

We bought a Ford Fusion when I was newly pregnant with our third to be our main family vehicle. For us, it worked out pretty well. I had no issues finding a three across that worked and we tried many different seats. It was a bit tougher when we had two booster seats, but we were still able to make it work. Once I got a bigger vehicle, Dh kept the Fusion as his car and we do use with for all 5 of us fairly often. Eventually, we will need to figure something else out since we don't have a headrest in the middle but my youngest will be in a high backed booster at least for a few more years. Our Fusion is a 2009, so not the same body style as the current ones. We did have enough trunk space 99% of the time but we didn't use a big stroller (or a stroller at all most of the time).

We did upgrade to a Honda Pilot when our youngest was almost 3. We did find we needed the extra space then as we had 2 dogs, plus our oldest was getting to a age where carpooling was happening more frequently. I do appreciate the extra space I have now, but for us it really is just extra space most of the time.

Some people find 3 across situations to be difficult, either for space or kids that fight but it really wasn't an issue for us. Our ids fight the same with or with out the third row. :eek::p
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
The Fusion is pretty reasonable for a midsize sedan. It would definitely be one of my top few picks. I have some information here:

http://carseatblog.com/25140/2014-ford-fusion-hybrid-video-review-kids-carseats-safety/

3-across is doable, but how tolerable it will be really depends on your kids;-) For my kids, having one in the third row and a separation between the two in the second row is almost essential for anything over 20 minutes!
 

ElaynesMom

New member
Thank you both for your replies. We decided to purchase the fusion (we get it Wednesday, can't wait to have a working car!). I'm glad to hear it is doable with 3 kids. My husband was pretty insistent on buying new, and financially we just can't swing a van right now. I did check out the review on carseatblog.com, it was helpful.

I'm not overly worried about fighting between the kids, almost all out driving is under 20 mins. It's mostly just school drop off, grocery shopping, driving to my parents/in-laws who all live 5 minutes from us. It's not often we go out of town, except for a day trip here and there. I was surprised at the decent amount of trunk space.

We will likely put my oldest in a graco or evenflo booster outboard, have my middle in a radian centre, and have the new baby in a snugride 35 outboard if we can make it work, though it looks like with a radian centre there will be enough room.

Thanks again :)
 

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