Small car, Britax rear facing?

C

Christine

Guest
We have a small 4 door Ford Focus and was wondering if Britax Marathon or the other decathalon will fit rear facing. We are expecting new baby in July and am thinking of skipping the whole infant car seat. We have a two year old in the middle f/f in a Evenflow Triumph. I had no idea they should ride rear facing for as long as possible. I guess I wont be able to put either car seat in the middle? I have read some reviews on some other websites that said when Britax is rear facing behind passanger seat passanger seat has to be pulled forward all the way not allowing anyone to sit there. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Splash

New member
It will fit just fine. A convertible seat actually takes up LESS room lfront to back than an infant seat does.
If nothing else, you can put your 2 yo in the Britax and the baby in the Triumph, since it has such a low seat shell.
 

Lea_Ontario

Well-known member
We've got a Marathon rear-facing, passenger side outboard, in a 4-door Cavalier, which is only slightly larger than the Focus is.

I sit in the front passenger seat most of the time, and while I would prefer to have the seat a little farther back, I've still got enough leg room to be comfortable.
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
According to the online carseat compatibilty database at (Carseat Data website closed - link broken) the Marathon fit RF in the center and passenger outboard seat in a 2000 Focus, and it also fit FF and RF outboard and FF center in a 2002 Focus wagon. It should be workable for you but maybe not side by side with the Triumph depending on how the carseats mesh/puzzle together for you. HTH.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Yes, it should fit. And I always thought you could brace Britax seats against the back of the driver/passenger seats. Anyone know if that is correct?

Also, I would still get an infant seat. The majority of infants do not fit in the larger convertible seats. Remember, the straps need to be at or below their shoulders, never above when rear facing. The bottom slot on most infant seats starts at 7", while the Marathon/Decathlon/Roundabout start at 10.

I had 2 large babies (both over 8lbs, 1 was 21.5" and 1 was 22") and both were right at the bottom slot of their infant seat. There is no way they would have been able to use the Boulevard we have. They also don't recline as far back as infant seats. And proper recline is necessary for young infants to ensure their heads don't flop over and they can breathe properly.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Yeah, they won't fit side by side. You could put the older child in the Marathon (or Decathlon or Sunshine Kids Radian, which fits in that car and is very narrow) and the younger one rearfacing in the Triumph, which has VERY low bottom slots and a GOOD recline for an infant, without being too tall and taking up any front passenger leg room)
 

skipspin

New member
I agree that Triumph should be a good convertable seat for a full-term newborn. Just saw a new baby in one this past week and it looked great!

Also, if your daughter is still under 33 lb she could RF in the Marathon/Radian/Decathalon. Because you wouldn't need the 45' recline since she is older. My DD was FFing at 12 months, but I turned her RFing at 15 months when I learned the benefits and she has been RFing until this past month when I found out she weighed 32 lb (and gaied two in two weeks! eek). She is almost three and I was afraid she would exceed 33lb and I wouldn't know so I turned her FFing :-( So last week she said, "Mommy, I want my big blue seat (Wizard) backwards in the Jeep again so I can wave at the cars....." Maybe I will invest in a scale. LOL.
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
I managed to RF our Marathon in our 96 Cherokee. It's extremely tight, and had to go behind the passenger seat, but it's doable. Not something I'd want to have to do frequently, but doable. lol
 

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