2/28 ETA: pics added!
Got to play with several seats at our Salem/Portland (and Seattle) area playdate! I have a 2010 Toyota Yaris 3-door Hatchback. Only played with convertibles, mostly rear-facing. Here is a summary of what we tried:
General consensus: The center seating position is very difficult to work with. No LATCH in this position, so they're all seatbelt installs, and because of the 40/60 split, seats in the middle have to be offset enough that a lot of taller seats push the driver too far forward. I'm 5'4," so I have more flexibility than a lot of people! Also, the buckle stalks are fairly long and rigid, so it was difficult to get a secure installation on some seats. Built-in lock-offs helped. Nearly everything we tried could be installed successfully outboard on the passenger side; some left the front passenger seat usable, others did not.
Radian XTSL:
Too tall for RF center install. Installed RF outboard passenger side with LATCH. Able to achieve ~37° recline. Front passenger seat pushed forward quite a bit. Maybe not completely unusable, but not the most convenient, either.
Here the driver's seat is pushed back all the way, so you can see how far forward the passenger would need to be:
MyRide:
Able to securely install RF with seatbelt in center. IIRC, it pushed the driver's seat up slightly too far. Installed RF outboard passenger side with LATCH and seat belt. Installed a little more upright with seatbelt, but little effort put into either install to achieve different angle. Able to move front passenger seat most of the way back. Installed FF in center with seatbelt. "Fairly upright" for FF, according to Judi.
This is with seatbelt, so a little more upright of an installation:
Same installation, you can see how much more room the passenger would have with the MyRide instead of the Radian:
*apparently at this point I stopped taking pictures
sorry!*
Coccoro:
Unable to successfully install in center. Able to install RF outboard passenger side with LATCH. Able to move front passenger seat most, if not all, of the way back.
Scenera:
Able to successfully install RF in center with seatbelt. At newborn angle, is too tall to move driver's seat back far enough. Pool noodles not necessary!
TrueFit Premier:
Able to install RF in center with seatbelt (with lock-offs) at newborn angle with headrest removed. Able to move driver's seat back to acceptable distance. However, once we put the headrest on, we were unable to install it upright enough to move the driver's seat to an acceptable distance.
SmartSeat:
Base installs easily in center with seatbelt (and lock-off). Too tall RF for front seat.
If anyone that was there and helped remembers anything different than me or has anything to add, please post!
Got to play with several seats at our Salem/Portland (and Seattle) area playdate! I have a 2010 Toyota Yaris 3-door Hatchback. Only played with convertibles, mostly rear-facing. Here is a summary of what we tried:
General consensus: The center seating position is very difficult to work with. No LATCH in this position, so they're all seatbelt installs, and because of the 40/60 split, seats in the middle have to be offset enough that a lot of taller seats push the driver too far forward. I'm 5'4," so I have more flexibility than a lot of people! Also, the buckle stalks are fairly long and rigid, so it was difficult to get a secure installation on some seats. Built-in lock-offs helped. Nearly everything we tried could be installed successfully outboard on the passenger side; some left the front passenger seat usable, others did not.
Radian XTSL:
Too tall for RF center install. Installed RF outboard passenger side with LATCH. Able to achieve ~37° recline. Front passenger seat pushed forward quite a bit. Maybe not completely unusable, but not the most convenient, either.
Here the driver's seat is pushed back all the way, so you can see how far forward the passenger would need to be:
MyRide:
Able to securely install RF with seatbelt in center. IIRC, it pushed the driver's seat up slightly too far. Installed RF outboard passenger side with LATCH and seat belt. Installed a little more upright with seatbelt, but little effort put into either install to achieve different angle. Able to move front passenger seat most of the way back. Installed FF in center with seatbelt. "Fairly upright" for FF, according to Judi.
This is with seatbelt, so a little more upright of an installation:
Same installation, you can see how much more room the passenger would have with the MyRide instead of the Radian:
*apparently at this point I stopped taking pictures
sorry!*Coccoro:
Unable to successfully install in center. Able to install RF outboard passenger side with LATCH. Able to move front passenger seat most, if not all, of the way back.
Scenera:
Able to successfully install RF in center with seatbelt. At newborn angle, is too tall to move driver's seat back far enough. Pool noodles not necessary!
TrueFit Premier:
Able to install RF in center with seatbelt (with lock-offs) at newborn angle with headrest removed. Able to move driver's seat back to acceptable distance. However, once we put the headrest on, we were unable to install it upright enough to move the driver's seat to an acceptable distance.
SmartSeat:
Base installs easily in center with seatbelt (and lock-off). Too tall RF for front seat.
If anyone that was there and helped remembers anything different than me or has anything to add, please post!
Last edited:
