Cars that cannot safely have a car seat

BiffRuffle

New member
A friend was telling me a couple weeks ago that there are some models available that one cannot safely and properly install a car seat. She didn't recall the models/brands. Since my wife and I are currently looking for a new-to-us vehicle, I was wondering if anyone knew of any vehicles that prevented a RF seat from being installed safely?
 
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safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
A friend was telling me a couple weeks ago that there are some models available that one cannot safely and properly install a car seat. She didn't recall the models/brands. Since my wife and I are currently looking for a new-to-us vehicle, I was wondering if anyone knew of any vehicles that prevented a RF seat from being installed safely?

Most current vehicles will be able to have a seat installed safely in some position. Some trucks without airbag shut off keys or backseats may not be suitable for rfing seats.
 

Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
If you list the types of vehicles that you are considering, some folks on here may be able to give you additional info on compatibility. Most vehicles can accommodate some type of seat of each type -- it's usually a matter of SPECIFIC child (age, size)/seat (width, height, angle)/vehicle (space, seat depth, belt and tether locations) incompatibility rather than GENERAL incompatibility between the vehicle and all child seats.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
There are also a few sports cars or other very small cars that either have no back seat or have back seats so small it's nearly impossible (or actually impossible) to install car seats. Some of those disallow rear-facing car seats in the front.

But any typical "family" car should be fine, in general.
 

AllieK

New member
I can tell you from experience the Ford Mustang is pretty hard to get a car seat installed in! My husband had a 2010 and we tried to install a Graco Snugride base & a Britax Marathon RF and neither worked. The back seat is just very small & very bucketed. Needless to say we no longer own that car! :p
 

BiffRuffle

New member
Thanks, all! I was hoping there'd be some we could remove from consideration... but the net is still awfully wide. We currently have an 01 Chev Impala that's rapidly falling apart, and our stroller barely fits in the trunk - basically, it's either stroller or luggage. It's just my wife, myself and our 11 month son, in a Graco Click Connect 35 RF seat. We're looking for something newer and with ample cargo space, probably a small SUV or crossover or hatchback/wagon... so our vehicle options are overwhelming right now.
 

jess71903

Ambassador
Hi and welcome to car-seat.org! Can you give us a price and year range? I'll tell you that you will probably have better luck with people room with a sedan rather than a small SUV. Some of them are seriously small on the inside. We fared well with 2 kids with a stroller and luggage + hunting and/or fishing gear in an Explorer. Mine was an '06. They updated to the new body style in 2011 I think. I currently have an '05 Expedition, but I'm gathering that that's more than what you're looking for.
 

BiffRuffle

New member
Ideally, we'd like a vehicle that would have a purchase price that works out to about $1000/year, assuming a 15 year vehicle life-span. So, for instance, a 2010 for $10,000, an 08 for $8000, etc. I think the most we could do is probably $12000, so probably something between an 07 or so and a 2012. So, our choices are very wide
 

thepote

New member
A good place to start as you look at used car listings would be with crash test ratings. The crashworthiness of the car is your first line of defense.

Www.iihs.org and www.safercar.gov are the websites for that. They both crash test cars and looking at both sets of results on a particular car will give you a good idea of it's safety.
 

AllieK

New member
A 2014 or 2015 Kia Soul might be worth looking into. It's about $15k new and the 2015 is an IIHS top safety pick. It has tons of legroom, hatch back and nice trunk/storage space. I have 2 mommy friends who have this vehicle, one of them fits her double stroller in the trunk easily and the other can fit her dog's crate, stroller and diaper bag back there.
 

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