scatterbunny
New member
We got our Madison Regent today (thanks, Tumblebug518 ), and we all love it. It makes me hate my 1999 Ford Windstar's long, rigid buckle stalks on the middle row captain's chairs, and it makes me hate the Regent's stupid recline bar and required short belt path for a child my daughter's size, but the good news is, it's definitely compatible in the third row, all positions.
I am leaving it in the middle of the third row, even though it turns the three-seater bench into a one-seater. I still have my middle row captain's chairs for passengers, and I only have one child, so it'll work 99% of the time. For the times I have more than two backseat passengers, I'll move the Regent outboard.
All images can be clicked to enlarge.
I took some pics of H in just the seatbelt outboard in the third row, seated next to the Regent installed in the center of the third row, to show how tiny a person would really need to be in order to fit next to the carseat. These pics also show why a child this size (97th percentile for height for her age, I think about average/slightly above average for an 8 year old girl) should not ride in just a seatbelt. The lapbelt is riding too high on her tummy (which would/could cause serious internal damage/death in a crash), the shoulderbelt is digging into her neck (at the very least it causes discomfort, at the worst it could cause serious injury/death in a crash). Her knees actually do bend at the edge of the seat, just barely, and the tips of her toes also barely touch the floor of the vehicle. There's absolutely no way she's safe to ride like this, of course.
She fits the seat great, and proclaims that it's super-comfy, and "soft as a kitten". She actually begged to take a nap in it, it was so comfortable. She has about 1.25 to 1.5 inches of torso height to grow, which I think is fine. It should last a solid year, with her consistent growth pattern, maybe a bit longer, if we're lucky. She's 6 years, 11 months old, 51.5 inches tall and 60 pounds (last time I checked, she was 97th percentile for height and about 90th for weight).
The top slots measure 19.5 inches for me, with a standard tape measure, pressing down slightly to simulate the weight of a child. I did make sure to push a finger into the actual slot in the seat shell, not just the slot in the cover.
I am leaving it in the middle of the third row, even though it turns the three-seater bench into a one-seater. I still have my middle row captain's chairs for passengers, and I only have one child, so it'll work 99% of the time. For the times I have more than two backseat passengers, I'll move the Regent outboard.
All images can be clicked to enlarge.
I took some pics of H in just the seatbelt outboard in the third row, seated next to the Regent installed in the center of the third row, to show how tiny a person would really need to be in order to fit next to the carseat. These pics also show why a child this size (97th percentile for height for her age, I think about average/slightly above average for an 8 year old girl) should not ride in just a seatbelt. The lapbelt is riding too high on her tummy (which would/could cause serious internal damage/death in a crash), the shoulderbelt is digging into her neck (at the very least it causes discomfort, at the worst it could cause serious injury/death in a crash). Her knees actually do bend at the edge of the seat, just barely, and the tips of her toes also barely touch the floor of the vehicle. There's absolutely no way she's safe to ride like this, of course.
She fits the seat great, and proclaims that it's super-comfy, and "soft as a kitten". She actually begged to take a nap in it, it was so comfortable. She has about 1.25 to 1.5 inches of torso height to grow, which I think is fine. It should last a solid year, with her consistent growth pattern, maybe a bit longer, if we're lucky. She's 6 years, 11 months old, 51.5 inches tall and 60 pounds (last time I checked, she was 97th percentile for height and about 90th for weight).
The top slots measure 19.5 inches for me, with a standard tape measure, pressing down slightly to simulate the weight of a child. I did make sure to push a finger into the actual slot in the seat shell, not just the slot in the cover.