Question Can't decide what to buy

U

Unregistered

Guest
I am having a difficult time figuring out where to go from here...

My cars are both small -but I need help with fitting 3 kids in the back of an (older) Acura TL (no latch). My preference is the kids are in 5 point harness carseats as long as possible, but with 2 Marathons my 12 year old step son can barely fit in between. Plus the Marathon's only have 2-3 inches in torso height left since they tend to be small...but their height is in their torso. They both LOVE their Regent's in our other car - but there is no way to fit my step-son in that car with them (it's smaller than the Acura too)

The kids are 3 1/2 (DD) and 4 1/2 (DS), 33 pounds each and 38 and 39 inches tall. So I'm not really worried about the actual weight capacity since they will probably be 9 or 10 before they hit 65 pounds. They are not special needs specifically, but do have chronic health problems and I need to be conservative with safety because their bodies cannot handle being injured. So my preference is they are in five point harnesses until at least 8ish if not longer. They also tend to sleep in their car seats because we have long drives to pick up my step-son...

Any ideas on the best option for me? I have looked at Frontier, Radian 80 and Nautilus online. Are there other options - any reason one is better than the other? It was easy to move to the Regent last year for the other car but I can't make a decision right now at all. I also have a little bit of time so I can wait if something new is coming out in the next six months or so...

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
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mommyto4kiddos

Senior Community Member
With a small car, I would go with 2 radians next to each other with the older kid in the middle so he/she can help buckle. Then a booster if he fits for the big kid on the other side.
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
Is there a lap-only belt in the middle position in the TL's back seat, or a lap-shoulder belt? If it's lap-only belt, then a harnessed child restraint should be installed there because that's about all that a lap-only belt is truly considered safe to do. A lap-only belt alone doesn't provide adequate crash protection for the 12 year old, nor for an adult passenger for that matter, because it doesn't restrain the torso/upper body, and this can contribute to head/neck/spinal injury and abdominal trauma referred to as "seatbelt syndrome." :( If it's a lap-only belt in the center, the 12 year old would be best protected using a lap-shoulder belt outboard in the back seat, either alone or possibly with a belt positioning booster seat if he doesn't pass the 5-step test to properly fit in a lap-shoulder belt alone.

The Radian is narrow enough that it would improve your odds of fitting two carseats side by side with room for the 12 year old, but I can't speak to the Radian's installation compatibility in the TL. :eek: Ideally someone with actual experience installing in a TL could chime in with more specific recommendations for you.
 

Evolily

New member
The radian puzzles well with the marathon (radian sits low, marathon sits high) so you might be able to put a marathon and radian side by side IF you can get a good install with the radian and get both independently tightened.
 

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