'05 dodge neon TF VS EFTA?

I am chronically undecided....and having trouble with my decisions.

I have an '05 dodge neon.
DS is almost nine months - at 7 mths he was 18 lbs and 27 inches

I originally bought an eddie bauer 3-n-1 thinking 5-100 lbs was nice - but also had an infant seat for portability.

The eddie bauer doesn't look as comfy as others, and the height makes it hard to get the right recline in the back seat of the car.

So, I succumbed to advertising of the true fit.

HOWEVER - with the infant seat pad in place, he is JUST under the red line - without it, he has another inch - the seat pad has ALOT of padding under the butt. Without it tho, the straps are a little roomy around the shoulder and he seems to sloppy in the bigger unpadded seat. I thought about trying the snuzzler as the bottom part is not padded as much.

THEN

I was visiting out of state, and got to see the Triumph Advanced and wondered if it would fit better. Time was tight, so I didn't have time to take it out and try it.....also, does it have side impact protection? THEIR website doesn't mention it, but I read it somewhere else?

Overall, the issue is that NO car seat seems to fit RF'ing with my dodge neon, EVEN WITH the front seat all the way forward.

Also - I am anal and got out a level to make sure I got the recline right in the new TF - and it seems like he is VERY VERY reclined, almost laying flat....does that sound right?

thanks in advanced for the input!

Shauburg, a tech on the board here, has some pic's posted of a TF in the Neon. The usual seat in her car is the Radian, and while it installs pretty reclined, it installs well. I don't recall the year of her vehicle off the top of my head though and I'm not sure when it comes to Neon's and body style changes.

If you do a search for her posts - put in Neon and then under user her name, and you should come up with a thread where she posted pic's of the TF to give you an idea of how it fit in her car - you can probably have it more upright. I'd imagine the EFTA would fit pretty well since her car seems nice for installing seats.

As for the SIP of the EFTA. The depth of the shell I believe is the same as the MA - I haven't measured personally, but somebody else mentioned that awhile back. It's lined in lots of EPP foam too. I have both seats and from a SIP standpoint I believe the TF has a good deal more just comparing visually, but without crash test data, or even side impact testing standards to compare them, there's no way to know for sure. Britax's guidelines for a seat to provide good SIP is a deep shell with a rigid outer, and lined with energy absorbing foam. Both seats meet those guidelines... Combined with rf'ing providing excellent SIP in and of itself, I think they'd both be fine. When it came to ff'ing though, I'd predict the TF to have significantly more SIP. Emphasis on the prediction part though.

We actually have my almost 14 month old rear facing center position in our 05 Dodge Neon and it fits great. both the Marathon and the True Fit install well in it with room to spare. We are using the LATCH installation and it was pretty easy. I like the True fit more than the EFTA because of the built in lock offs that the EFTA doesn't offer and the higher weight limit. We do not need either seat pushed up at all and there is still room on either side of the seat for 2 more passengers. Caleb was 11 months, 22lbs and 30 inches when we bought the seat so we have always needed to use the headrest. Even with it on, it fits great in the car. He was above the bottom slots so we didn't need the infant padding. You aren't supposed to use it after the child can reach the bottom slots on their own anyways. We do use the head insert to help when he falls asleep. We haven't had any big issues with the seat. The front harness adjuster is tricky to get to because it is located so far on the front of the seat. It takes little fingers to get between the back of the seat and the car seat but it isn't a huge deal for us. Since it does not need to be at a full 45 degree angle, it is much easier to install the seat.
Here are pics of him in the seat now, when he first tried it out, and when he was first in it in the Neon

http://s367.photobucket.com/albums/oo118/hurleydoll18/

You've received some great advice. I'd also like you to know why it was good not to go with the 3-in-1.

Even if you were looking at the new 50lb limit version, remember they make horrid boosters.

So if you were looking at the new 50lb limit version (harnesses to 50lbs... every single other 3-in-1 on the market only harnesses to 40lbs... the 100lbs is as a booster), it is better for the price as it is then more comparable to the similarly priced EFTA and Truefit, but again, it is still false advertising as it is not the last seat you'd need.


Now, after all of that, all the seats you asked about should perform well in side impacts. The government has no regs on side impacts, but the companies are now testing for them themselves, as Britax has for years.

For fit in a smaller car, both the Truefit and the EFTA have a scoop to their back that makes them fit very well in smaller cars.

Also, remember that once your child is over 4-6mo, you do not have to use the max recline of 45*. Instead, you can forgo pool nooldes/rolled towels or pull the base further back from the seat crack (still having the foot end touch the seatback, though) to allow the seat to sit further upright (you must still keep the seat in the recline position for rearfacing).

that also helps when fitting these seats in smaller cars.

I just wanted to say that I had my decathlon in my '05 neon when I was in the states. Center of the backseat with the front seats all the way back with no problem at all.

I have a Roundabout RF in my '05 Neon behind the passenger seat with it all the way forward.

Overall, the issue is that NO car seat seems to fit RF'ing with my dodge neon, EVEN WITH the front seat all the way forward.

Click to expand...

I've never had a problem fitting a seat RF in the centre position. We even have both front seats all the way back (both DH and I are tall). Have you tried the centre position?

Here's those pics Trudy was talking about. My Neon's a 2001, but the design of the car has not changed. I have not tried the EFTA in there, but the TF fit really well!

Radian RF in 2001 Dodge Neon (puzzles in between front seats slightly touching both seats)


True Fit RF in 2001 Dodge Neon (does not touch the back of the front seats)