Car Seats in Lexus RX350 SUV

With triplets on the way and a desire to continue using the same vehicle (Lexus RX350) for a while, we are interested in recommendations for two types of car seats - a convertible and an infant-only-rear-facing with a handle for easy carrying.

For the convertible based on reading on here, it sounds like the Radian 80 is the way to go for a narrow car seat, but would like a confirmation on actual width numbers (think I read 16.5" somewhere).

Also, I didn't find a recommendation for a narrow infant-only-rear-facing car seat with a handle for easy carrying, so some recommendations there would be appreciated.

The narrowest part of the Radian, the base, is 14". The widest part is about 17", I believe. Sometimes 3 Radians across works, other times it doesn't. Do you have a USA Baby or other baby store that sells Radians where you could try them? If three Radians across doesn't work, two Radians w/ a different seat in the middle might actually work better. For example, a seat up on a base such as the Britax convertibles puzzle well w/ the Radian when facing the same direction.


As for infant seats, the Chicco Keyfit base is fairly narrow - 14-15" at the base, 17" or so with the infant seats on the bases. The Combi seats are also narrow. Again, you might want to check them out IRL to see if they fit.

The Radian is definitely the way to go when your babies outgrow the infant seats. They are by far the most narrow seat on the market. With a small suv, I would guess it is probably the only combination of rf and ff seats that would work 3 accross.

As far as infant seats go, I believe the Combi infant seats are pretty narrow as are the Baby Trend infant seats. Your best bet is to take a trip to BRU and see if you can try some seats out in your car.

Here is a link to a great chart of seat measurments.

(Carseat Data website closed - link broken)

The other to consider if you are having triplets is their size at birth. You definitely want a seat that is rated either from birth or from 4 lbs just in case they are tiny.

Thanks for the responses. I think 3 across that are 17" should work, since with a test car seat that was 19" placed in the middle seat, there appeared to be about 17" available to each side, not including hanging over the door handle.

Regarding under 5lbs, I thought there was only car beds for that size - but are there car seats that work as well? I'd rather not have to buy car beds unless necessary.

Unless your babies have special issues or cannot pass their car seat test then they should not need a car bed. Most hospitals actually will loan you a carbed if you need one.

Their are some seats that specifically state in their weight requirements that they are either from birth or from 4 lbs. Most others are from 5 lbs. Many end up just using the seat they have, even if their babies are smaller than 5 lbs, but if you know you are having triplets, then chances of them being below 5 lbs at discharge is higher than normal so a seat that is rated from birth or from 4 lbs would be a good choice.

So, you have 2 things to consider when choosing the infant seat! Something narrow and something rated below 5 lbs. Here is a helpful link that lists all the seats that are rated from birth of from 4 lbs. The Combi Connection is on there but pretty sure it's been replaced with the Shuttle. The Shuttle is from birth according to the Combi site. It's nice and narrow so might be a good option. The Chicco Keyfit is also a good fit for small babies. It'srated from 4 lbs and is relatively narrow. The Britax Companion with the preemie insert foam is a good option as well for a tiny baby but not sure it's all that narrow.

Here is the link.

http://www.saferidenews.com/SRNDNN/...s/ProductLists/Preemie/tabid/145/Default.aspx

and just a reminder - you will sometimes have more room to install three seats if you use the seat belts rather than LATCH. LATCH typically forces the two outboard car seats toward the middle of the car, which can waste space if you don't have much wiggle room.

Thanks again for the information!

I've gotta warn you about the Radian in the RX350. I have an RX330 and spent an hour one morning trying to install one in there and muttered many a foul word. You're going to run into 3 problems with the Radian and the RX: a forced 45* recline angle on the Radian, stiff buckle stalks and plastic in the center seating position where the armrest/console folds down.

There's really not that much front-to-back room to fit a tall seat like the Radian at 45*. Unless you're quite short, the front seats will be pushed uncomfortably far forward. I was able to install my Marathon rear-facing easily, but my dd was older and I was able to put it more upright. The design of the Radian doesn't allow that.

The passenger side back seat buckle stalk is fixed and moves vertically only a small amount (unless they changed it between model years). It may work for installing rf, but it won't work for ff. I also did try installing the seat with LATCH, yes. The problem is that there's no base on the seat and the belt path is quite low. I might have been able to get it to work had I spent another 20 minutes working on it, but I was done.

Then there's the plastic at the bight (crack) in the middle seat. It makes it difficult to install car seats around, so just watch out for it.

If you still think the Radian is worth a try, find a small baby store with a good technician on staff who will help you install the seat and try it out first. I personally don't think a car seat is worth buying if I have to spend more than 20 minutes trying to install it (20 minutes x 3 is an hour!). And don't feel like you need 3 of the same seat. It's nice to have them all matching, but you really need to be concerned more about how they puzzle together. You might find that a Safety 1st Avenue works in the middle and Marathons/Boulevards work outboard.

Good luck with the triplets!

Thanks, we'll look into the larger ones later on, but will keep this in mind. By then, we might go ahead and switch vehicles, just don't want to yet.