Seat suggestions for tight three-across in a Subaru Impreza?

oakster

New member
I think I've looked under every rock but just wondering if I'm missing anything else I should try. I need to be able to fit two boostered kids (can ride in five-points too) and one three-year-old who can ride RF or FF (usually rides RF, but fine turning him FF for the limited times we need the three-across). Car is a 2015 Subaru Impreza [backseat is essentially the same as the Forester].

Right now I have a successful three-across with an Evenflo Amp High Back booster, a RF Combi Coccoro, and a Frontier. The Coccoro is just about outgrown RF, though (I would prefer to use it FF at this point since child is 35" and just at the 1" above head mark) but when I turned it, I couldn't fit the Amp in level enough that I was comfortable with it.

What's a good seat to try subbing out for one of these? The Frontier is pretty wide but hugs the door well so there's not much wasted space on that side--but an inch or two might make a difference. We also own a Maestro and a Marathon G3 but neither seems to be too helpful in this mix. I think I need replace the Coccoro with something equally narrow that might puzzle better with the other two, though I can also get something to use where the Frontier is. I think the Amp is already one of the narrowest HBBs so not sure there's a better option there (except maybe a second one?)

In an ideal world, I'd love to avoid buying a new convertible since we're almost done with them. I would like to eventually own a LATCHable booster, so if there's something that might be a good fit there (Defender maybe...?) that would be great.

DS1 is 5y10m, 44", 40 lbs. DS2 is 3y, 35", 30 lbs. Carpool kids in the third seat vary but all ages five and six, and most ride in highback boosters in their own cars.

Any ideas? Thanks!
 
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lgenne

New member
I know you said no convertibles, but my first thought is a forward facing Evenflo Sureride in the center. Its shape puzzles really well with low profile forward facing seats. It might be the only thing you have to buy to make this work.
 

oakster

New member
Thanks! I'm open to a convertible if it's really the only option--just not keen on it since we are almost done RFing and already own two (with only one car!) I did discover that the Coccoro is just about outgrown FFing too, though, so I can replace both that and the Maestro with a SureRide, since those are primarily travel seats anyway. I would rather replace them with a combination seat if there's one that might fit, though.

Any other thoughts? Thanks!
 

MelodyoftheForest

Active member
Does your son or carpoolers ride in the Frontier? If it is yours, and your older son is capable of sitting in a Bubble Bum in the center, you could put your younger son in the Frontier in harness mode. That way DS1 could ride in the Amp when it is just your kids in the back, and the Bubble Bum just going to school, which I assume is a short ride. I know that is a series of ifs, but I wanted to give you something else to consider!
 

jjordan

Moderator
I was also going to suggest a narrow backless booster. Really highbacks are not shown to add safety directly, only indirectly as far as the back can serve as a physical reminder for the child to stay in position. Of course head wings can potentially help in side impact crashes, but I am assuming (perhaps mistakenly) that a 2015 Subaru has side airbags, and either way, putting the backless booster in the center would mitigate that risk as well. If not the Bubblebum, another narrow backless might work. We have a Cosco Topside in our 3-across.
 

oakster

New member
Thanks! Yes, it does have side airbags in the back. A backless booster could work too. My kids usually ride in the Marathon and Frontier, but the Marathon doesn't play well with the other seats when we need to get a third in. We carpool infrequently (not daily--usually a week at a time a few times a year) so I'm okay switching them back and forth, though. I did briefly look at the Bubble Bum and decided against it because of the four-year expiration date, but can reconsider that too. Our Marathon expires in early 2019 so was planning to move DS2 into the Frontier at that point and hopefully use whatever booster we have full-time for DS1 then (when they would be ages 4 and 7), so at that point we'd like to be able to keep an extra booster in the back for a quick three-across when needed. Both kids are petite so will likely be in boosters for a while. I'll look for a LATCHable NBB that might be narrow enough to fit, since we'd like to have that anyway for regular use.
 

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