Can 3 Radians fit in '04 Ion?

U

Unregistered

Guest
I need to go and remeasure the backseat... but I was wondering if anyone knows whether 3 of the Radians will fit into an '04 Saturn Ion? I have 2 FF, (5 and 3 yrs) and a new baby due in June. We'd like to figure out a way to make it work with the car we have, but I hate to buy seats that won't work. My oldest is currently in a Regent, and it takes up WAY too much room to be able to put another seat between them. I would appreciate any input! Thank you!
 
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snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
We used to drive an 04 ION and I know 3 ff'ing would definitely work as long as kiddo's were under the LATCH weight limit. I had made only a hasty attempt at a seatbelt install when trying the seat in the car and hadn't been able to make it work, but also had no experience with the seat at the time.

Getting it to fit rf'ing would definitely be tricky. I know that we were able to get the AO to fit at a newborn recline in the center as it went between the front seats. I'm not sure how much further forward the top of the radian would go though - it might interfere with the front passenger space.

I was able to fit a rf'ing MA in behind the passenger seat at an upright angle for a toddler, here's a picture of what it looked like - note that my dh is 6' tall, so the seat is adjusted for him. He didn't have much room, but it was just enough. (my dd wasn't being the most cooperative model. :rolleyes: )

jan282007014.jpg


In that picture there is also a snugride installed center. It was a very tight fit - I had the MA positioned right against the side of the seat so that the door handle was basically right against the seat when the door was shut. The Snugride did angle very slightly when the seat was snapped on to the base. The MA and snugride really don't puzzle well together at all though...

So I'd say that Radian's outboard you'd probably even be able to get a carrier in the middle. I'd try something like a SS1 that would let you get the baby past a year old and to a point where he/she would be able to handle a more upright angle.

Knowing what I know now, I think I probably could get the radian installed with the seatbelt. I think it would need a locking clip in order to keep the belt locked though. IIRC the seatbelt was tightened enough trying to install the seat that it kept on switching back to the emergency locking mode instead of staying in locking mode. Unfortunately I don't have the car anymore or I could try the configuration out for you...

But the ION does have 3 LATCH positions, so I think with the radians outboard you'd have some good space to work with in the middle and shouldn't run in to any major incompatibility issues.
 

PigeonChld

New member
Thank you so much! Definitely helpful. I hadn't thought about the RF interfering in the front. Do you think the RF could be on the outside, with the FF side by side? My DH is also 6' so he has trouble with seats behind him, but it is doable.

Dumb question, but what is the SS1??
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
SS1 is the safeseat 1 by Graco. :) It has a 30lb weight limit and 32" height limit. Most kids fit it until past their first birthday, some even make it to 2 in it. Of course as they get heavier you don't use it as a carrier anymore, but it does give an option for being able to keep babe at a newborn recline without taking up a ton of front seat space.

You can see how upright the MA is in the picture I showed you. I definitely could've installed it so that it was more reclined, but it would've eaten up a lot of the front seat space. The radian is even taller than the MA, so I really don't see it being able to be installed rf'ing behind the passenger seat for a newborn anyways, especially if your hubby is tall like mine.

The only other thing that might be an option, would be ff'ing radian's driver outboard and center, and then the triumph advance passenger outboard. Apparently the triumph advance doesn't take up a ton of space front to back even when it's installed at a newborn recline. So that might be worth trying out. I think width wise the triumph advance is similar to the MA, I'm not sure where the edge of it would hit the armrest though.

Another possibility would be the Britax roundabout - again you're going to only have limited use from the seat because it's a smaller seat than the Radian, but you might be able to make that work behind the passenger side.

I'd first try outboard radians and a center infant carrier though. If you have babies that aren't usually really tall, you might be able to get away with a keyfit or some other carrier in the middle. My only reason for suggesting the SS1 was because of it's extended use and you'd have a good year before having to figure out how to change the seats around again. :thumbsup:
 

PigeonChld

New member
Thank you again. I'm going to print out the ideas you've given me and hopefully get to a store to test out some different seats and how they fit. I appreciate the help!
 

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