Car seat for second vehicle - Radian Premier in a Civic?

peachesmum · Sep 1, 2008

This is my first post on this forum, so hello. I've enjoyed reading and learning on the site.

We are looking to purchase a second carseat to use in our Honda Civic (1997). We usually drive in our van, but it would be handy to have a second seat in the car to use a couple of times a week.

Right now we have a Britax Marathon in the van. DD is 3 years old, 32lbs and 38.5" tall. She's on the top shoulder height for the Marathon (she's just grown past the second-last slot, so she's got growing room). I would like to keep her in a 5point seat for as long as possible.

All of this has led me to consider the Radian Premier - slightly higher top shoulder strap height yet a fairly compact seat (it would be nice if we could squeeze a person in the back of the civic without removing the car seat). I'd plan to put the Radian in the middle of the back seat.

Does the Radian Premier/ Civic combo make sense? If not, any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

cdncasper · Sep 1, 2008

I have Radians in my civic and they install great in all positions. You would have to use the seatbelt in the center and my tip is to attach the top tether first to make it easier.

Patriot201 · Sep 1, 2008

It should be just fine, but I would definitely test it out.

There could be significant differences between your 1997 and the PP's 2007 or 2008 (I can't remember which she has) Civic.

canadiangie · Sep 1, 2008

Hi,

Since your dd is 3 and doesn't need the infant padding of the Premier, you could always get the base model instead and save some money. Unless you plan on having a baby and will need the infant padding someday? Or is it a "pink" thing and you need the Princess cover?

Either way, just thought I'd mention it.

http://www.babyproofingplus.com/item9100.htm?blnSearch=yes

peachesmum · Sep 1, 2008

Thanks for all of your replies.

canadiancarseatqueen said:
Since your dd is 3 and doesn't need the infant padding of the Premier, you could always get the base model instead and save some money. Unless you plan on having a baby and will need the infant padding someday? Or is it a "pink" thing and you need the Princess cover?
http://www.babyproofingplus.com/item9100.htm?blnSearch=yes

It's a bit of the pink thing

, but I'll rethink it if the only difference is the infant padding (I thought there might be extra padding of some sort for my 3 year old too, but I didn't know because I haven't seen the seats in person). I haven't mentioned the princess thing to dd either, so I still have a choice

bubbaray · Sep 1, 2008

Is your DD FFg or RFg? (I'm assuming FFg b/c the newer Canadian MAs have a RFg limit of 30lbs, the older ones were 33lbs).

What about a FFg only seat like the Frontier? Or, if you willing to wait until ????, the Graco Nautilus?

peachesmum · Sep 1, 2008

bubbaray said:
Is your DD FFg or RFg? (I'm assuming FFg b/c the newer Canadian MAs have a RFg limit of 30lbs, the older ones were 33lbs).

What about a FFg only seat like the Frontier? Or, if you willing to wait until ????, the Graco Nautilus?

I'd like to get the seat within the next two weeks, so waiting is a no go

She's FFg. Convertible would be more useful if we have another child, perhaps, but I'm more concerned about safety, comfort and how it fits in the car (both safety and whether we might squeeze a passenger into the seat beside the carseat). I see that the Frontier has side impact protection - which is safer

The top harness slots are 18" (Radian) and 18.25" (Frontier), so not a lot of difference. I suspect that she'll be too tall before she's too heavy for either seat.

bubbaray · Sep 1, 2008

The Radian does not convert to a booster, the Frontier does. So, while a bit more expensive, you'll get far more use out of the Frontier.

HTH

peachesmum · Sep 1, 2008

bubbaray said:
The Radian does not convert to a booster, the Frontier does. So, while a bit more expensive, you'll get far more use out of the Frontier.
HTH

It does, thanks. Can anyone point me to any sort of comparative safety test of these seats?

CDNTech · Sep 1, 2008

The frontier, however, is a big seat and will take up a *lot* of space in the center of a Civic.

If you plan on having more children, you can easily pass the Radian down to a new baby and get a dedicated booster later on. The Radian will easily last your daughter to 6 or 7 years old and I'm sure boosters will have greatly improved by then that you may want something new anyway.

I have both seats in question and I use to own a Civic (a '99 2 dr SI-R coupe)... I'd go with the Radian in a heartbeat.

You can see comparison pics of both seats in this thread and my youngest son is pretty close to your daughter's size.

bubbaray · Sep 1, 2008

But, when she needs more room in the back of the Civic, she could move her current MA to the Civic and use the FR in the van. In fact, she could do that now....

Not that I'm against the RN (have 2), but if the FR had been available when we got our RNs, I would have purchased those instead.

My DD#1 won't likely make it to 6 or 7 in the RN, BTW. She too moved to the top slots on the MA at 3 and is currently on the top slots of the RN, with about 3/4" to spare. I'm guessing 5, 5.5 for the RNs for my DD#1. She has a really long torso, though.

CDNTech · Sep 1, 2008

bubbaray said:
But, when she needs more room in the back of the Civic, she could move her current MA to the Civic and use the FR in the van. In fact, she could do that now....

Not that I'm against the RN (have 2), but if the FR had been available when we got our RNs, I would have purchased those instead.

My DD#1 won't likely make it to 6 or 7 in the RN, BTW. She too moved to the top slots on the MA at 3 and is currently on the top slots of the RN, with about 3/4" to spare. I'm guessing 5, 5.5 for the RNs for my DD#1. She has a really long torso, though.

The Marathon will be a tight squeeze in the back of a Civic as well. The Frontier is the same width as the Marathon but it somehow still feels quite a bit wider.

My 3 year old is also on the top slots of the Radian and has a shorter torso than his older brother did at this age. We got our first Radian when my oldest was 4.75 years old. He was just over the second from top slots at that time with a close to 16" torso. His legs spent the next year or so playing catch up and his torso is now sitting at 16.25 - 16.5". He still has about .75" left to grow in the Radian at 6.5 years old.

Their torso's really do slow down in growth right around 4 - 5 years old while the legs play catch up. I'd bet you have more time than you think.

bubbaray · Sep 1, 2008

aidensmom02 said:
Their torso's really do slow down in growth right around 4 - 5 years old while the legs play catch up. I'd bet you have more time than you think.

Yup, totally possible! Tam and Jools (on another board) told me DD#1 had more time in the MA than I thought, which was true (I was sure she'd be out of it by the time she was 3). Technically, she still fits in the MA, but only wearing a light shirt, not a jacket or thick pants.

So, yeah, I'm hoping she sprouts some legs soon, LOL.

OP, the RN is a nice seat. Nice low profile. Its not AT ALL that I regret ours, but I just wanted to throw another idea your way in case the RN didn't work out for you or something!

Cheers

peachesmum · Sep 2, 2008

More to think about

I'm going to check out the Marathon in the Civic again - I like the idea of the Frontier and we certainly have lots of room for it in the van. Sounds better than buying a Radian now and then 1-2 more when she outgrows the Marathon & Radian...

The Frontier looks like a nice, comfy seat. I like our Marathon, but can't help but think I'd appreciate the arm rests.

Will see how the Marathon is in the Civic.

Thanks again for all of your time and suggestions!
Lisa

peachesmum · Sep 14, 2008

A quick update. I was all set to buy a Frontier (and they were even on sale), but I just couldn't buy a car seat when I was reading about fraying and other issues that hadn't yet been responded to by Britax.

So, we bought a grey Radian 65 last week and installed it in the Civic today. It's great! DH managed a nice, immovable installation and we really like the size for the Civic. DD likes it too and has lots of room to grow - I'm optimistic that it will really fit her for a few years!

We're set for carseats until she outgrows the Marathon

Car seat for second vehicle - Radian Premier in a Civic?

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