Convertible for 2008 Subaru Outback - have twins

M

morrisa

Guest
Hi - We are looking for two convertible car seats for our 5.5 month old twins that will fit in our 2008 Subaru Outback. Since the car seats will initially be rear-facing and will go behind the driver and passenger seats, I wanted to get input on which seats we should look at that might give us a little more leg room up front. I am tall, and with their rear-facing infant seats and bases currently, we are crammed in the front-seat. Would like to try to avoid such a tight fit for the next go round if possible.

Also, Grandma currently sits in between the two infant seats in the back and it would nice to find convertible seats where this is possible, too. Someone recommended the Radian to me, but they seem to have mixed reviews for rear-facing use, and our babies are average to above average in height and weight, and after reading the reviews, I am concerned about long-term fit for bigger children. I'm also considering the Britax Roundabout. What else should I look at?

Thanks!
Andrea
 
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bombedier

Senior Community Member
For longer term fit, you want to get something with a nice tall back so that you can get the maximum amount of rear-facing time the seat allows. That would mean something like a Britax Marathon, or an Evenflo Triumph Advance. The Radian is also great, however, given you have limit amount of room, the Radian's rear-facing attachment back is pretty reclined and take up more room than some other seats.

You can install your seats at 30 degrees recline if your children can hold their heads up - at 5.5 months, I would assume this would be the case for your twins. That will also help with the space.

Now, putting Grandma in the middle is going to be tricky as you can't really get to the middle of most bench seats when you have two rear-facing seats outboard. I would recommend that someone younger take that position and Grandma sit up front.

Rear-facing is 5 times safer than forward-facing, so you do want to get seats which rear-face to 35lbs with the tall seat backs. This also means when you turn these seats forward-facing, you are more likely to get a longer harnessing time from them - 50lbs for the Triumph and 65lbs for the Marathon, though most children outgrow the Marathn forward-facing by height prior to reaching 65lbs.
 

solmama

Active member
From what I understand Radians can be a challenge to install in Subarus (maybe Splash will chime in here). They also take up a lot of space rear-facing.

You may also want to look into the First Years Truefit ($180). The headrest can be removed up to 22lbs, or 1" from the top of the shell. 35lb rf limit, 65lb ff, 17+" harness height. Lockoffs to make installation easy. Harness adjusts without uninstalling the seat.

The Truefit has the tallest shell of all the convertibles on the market (27"), then the Recaro Signo (26.5"), Radian (25"), EFTA (24"), and the Britax convertibles are next with a slightly less than 24" shell. The headrest angles up, so it fits in the same space as the EFTA did (in our vehicle, at least).

The Roundabout, while a great seat and the favorite of lots of folks here, won't last you long rear-facing or forward facing as the other seats mentioned.

I don't know how well someone will fit between 2 Truefits, or Radians. G'ma must be a slender lady!
 

diaperjoys

New member
I too would recommend looking at the True-Fits. The whole removable headrest thing really makes it like two carseats in one - first a compact convertible, which can be properly reclined and still give enough legroom for upfront passengers. Then, when the babies are bigger (and able to be more upright) the extra section gives some phenomenal shell height for extended rear facing.

I just installed a True-Fit for my rear facing 2yo, and I think it may be replacing the Marathon as my new favorite seat. :)
 

NatenMaddiesMommy

Senior Community Member
While the Marathon (and the other 65lb Britax convertibles) are great they can be a pain to install rear-facing in the backseat of a Subaru unless you are pretty short. I'm 5'8" and I couldn't drive the vehicle comfortably with 2 Marathons installed rear-facing. I drove it, I just wasn't very comfortable :D

You can go with the TrueFit like others have suggested, but if you know these convertibles will not be the last seat you will buy your child, you can consider the Britax Roundabout and Diplomat since they are a tad more compact than the other Britax convertibles. The still rear-face to 35lbs, but only harness forward-facing to 40lbs. Once your children are forward-facing and outgrow the 40lb capacity you look at the Britax Frontier or Graco Nautilus as the next step.
 

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