Multiple Car Seats with 2013 Subaru Crosstrek

L

LWest

Guest
Question: Car Seats with Subaru Crosstrek - are multiple carseats possible? We are in the process of purchasing a convertible car seat and what I need your collective wisdom for is this - as we tested convertible car seats in our car, it seems as though it may be impossible to fit two carseats in our car without putting the front seats way up (car seats only seem to fit comfortably in the middle seat). We do want to have another child in the future. Has anyone seen multiple carseats in our car? We’ve done a lot of research for convertible seats and while some are narrower or shallower, we haven’t seen any be drastic enough to make a difference. Should we be looking at a very specific convertible option, or should we resign ourselves to purchasing a new car for more kiddos? For reference: we have a 2013 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid, I am 5'8", my husband is 6', and we have a 9 month old. We currently have a Chico Keyfit 30 and are looking at purchasing a Britax Boulevard ClickTight. Thanks for any insight! (PS I know that people have fit multiple car seats in smaller cars, but the geometry of our backseat just feels smaller than even smaller cars. Google says some people have done it but its hard - so I wanted to hear if it could actually be done by people who aren’t wizards!)
 
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wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The Boulevard ClickTight is very compact when upright. How did you have it sitting that you couldn't use the front seat comfortably? It should fit without an issue behind a front seat when you have two. Or forward facing if your kids are a few years apart.

Wendy
 

oakster

New member
We have a 2015 Subaru Impreza Sport, which is the same as far as the backseat goes. Two seats is actually pretty easy though it is a smaller car so it's good to stick to seats that are as compact as possible. We had an even smaller car before we bought this one so fortunately already had two of the shallowest convertibles front-to-back. (We have a Britax Marathon G3 which works well, and also had a Combi Coccoro which was great; both allow the front seats to go all the way back. The newer Clicktights would also be good, as Wendy suggested, as would the Chicco NextFit.) We almost always have our seats in the outboard positions behind driver/passenger and that has worked fine, although granted the adults in our family are not as tall! Three across in this car is a beast, though, so that's something to consider if you think you'll need to do that at some point. We can just barely fit a small adult in between our regular seats (Britax Marathon and Britax Frontier Clicktight) but I wouldn't want to do it regularly. When we need three carseats we have to swap in a narrower seat in place of one of the Britaxes, though it is possible with the right combination. It's gotten a little easier now that our older child can ride in a booster (especially as it is most often his friends/classmates who are riding with us) but it still requires some strategizing. Good luck!
 
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U

Unregistered

Guest
I have a regular 2013 crosstrek with a marathon in the center seat. Honestly, I find this car miserable to install many brands of carseats in the center because of the hump, but the Britax is one of the few that fit. We were looking at the graco extend 2 fit so I can keep my guy rear facing longer, and it just won't work. I do have to have the seats a bit forward to add a second carseat on one side, but still comfortable enough. I wonder if the hybrid version has less legroom to begin with to make room for the battery?

Note on buying a new car if you go that route. I found this in my search for info there as I am looking to replace my crosstrek with a similarly sized small suv. The 2018 Rav4 and Honda CRV are 100% impossible to use all 3 backseats if you install a carseat in the middle. And with 2 kids, if you put them both on the sides, no one could get to the middle seat. So you essentially have a 4 person car if you have any carseats. I prefer using the middle seat for him as it is the safest place in the car. They cross the belts so that you cannot buckle the passenger side back seatbelt as it is located under the carseat. (Carseat lady gives a better explanation of this if you want.) After nap, we are off to see how a carseat fits in the 2018 crosstrek.

I now see why mini vans are so popular. Sigh!
 

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