3 across in a 2004 Passat (now with update)

[mamamonkee]

So, I'm pregnant. Whee? And trying to figure out what seat we could buy that would puzzle well with our other two seats. We currently have a rear facing 1 year old in an Evenflo Triumph, and a forward facing 3 year old in an Evenflo SecureKid, both outboard.

In searching on my own, people seem to have had luck putting 2 rear facing seats outboard and a forward facing seat in the center. I would like to do a convertible from birth with this baby. My oldest was only 7 lbs at birth, but had 2 cord defects that likely made her much smaller. My youngest was 9.5 lbs at birth.

As much as we would like to, a new vehicle isn't an option for at least another year, and we would LIKE to only have to buy one new seat, but if we HAVE to, I wouldn't be opposed to 2

UPDATE: We are looking into getting a larger vehicle. We measured the usable space in our back seat, and it's less than 4 feet. We wouldn't even be able to fit 3 Radians.

 

[aporthole]

The Combi Coccoro would be my top pick. It has low rear and forward facing limits but it is super compact, slim, and fits newborns well. Once baby reaches the rear facing limits of the Coccoro you could pass down the Triumph to get sine more use out of.

You could also test out a Chicco NextFit. It is quite a bit bigger in width than the Coccoro and just slightly bigger front to back. It is very long lasting though, so if it fits with the seats you have, it would be a great choice.

 

[mamamonkee]

Update: After measuring our back seat, it looks like our only option is getting a larger vehicle.

 

[aporthole]

Update: After measuring our back seat, it looks like our only option is getting a larger vehicle.

Definitely not true. I helped a mom fit 3 across an 05 Golf (2 rear facing 1 forward). There are a few combinations that should easily fit 3 across with your Passat.

 

[katymyers]

Update: After measuring our back seat, it looks like our only option is getting a larger vehicle.

I've done three across in an '03 Passat. It's definitely possible.

 

[Keeanh]

Motortrend says the 04 Passat has 56.7" rear hip room. Is this incorrect?

 

[sirrahn]

I don't think there was a redesign before '04 and we had 3 across an '02 Passat for over year after my older DD was born with no issue. Seats have changed a lot since then, but I can't imagine you won't find something that works.

 

[mamamonkee]

Motortrend says the 04 Passat has 56.7" rear hip room. Is this incorrect?

My husband measured it last night, and he said it was just under 48 inches from each edge of the bench seat.

 

[mamamonkee]

Definitely not true. I helped a mom fit 3 across an 05 Golf (2 rear facing 1 forward). There are a few combinations that should easily fit 3 across with your Passat.

Unless my husband grossly missed on his measurements, I don't know if we could fit anything. There is 13 inches of space between our current seats, and they aren't even the widest seats out there. I tried installing them side by side, and there is NO way.

I'm exasperated because we JUST replaced their seats last month after an accident, and purposely got my oldest child the SecureKid because we were told how slim it was, knowing we wanted to add a third child(not quite this soon).

Regardless, a new vehicle is looking necessary because of our family dynamic. We have 3 dogs and soon 3 kids. We can't very well put the dogs in the trunk!

 

[jwilliams]

Motortrend says the 04 Passat has 56.7" rear hip room. Is this incorrect?

Volkswagen is weird about not listing hip room. They typically only give shoulder room. It's frustrating and tends to lead to third-party sites having inaccurate data.

Anyway, OP, if you are wanting to put off buying a new car for at least a year, I would get a Coccoro from somewhere with an easy return policy and go from there. Something to remember about the measurement between your existing seats is that many seats are narrower at the bottom than their maximum width. The Coccoro, for example, is around 11" at the part that sits on the seat. And even though the seat is around 48" wide, you do have more room as you go up.

Of course, if you do want to purchase a larger vehicle, that's OK too

 

[mamamonkee]

Volkswagen is weird about not listing hip room. They typically only give shoulder room. It's frustrating and tends to lead to third-party sites having inaccurate data.

Anyway, OP, if you are wanting to put off buying a new car for at least a year, I would get a Coccoro from somewhere with an easy return policy and go from there. Something to remember about the measurement between your existing seats is that many seats are narrower at the bottom than their maximum width. The Coccoro, for example, is around 11" at the part that sits on the seat. And even though the seat is around 48" wide, you do have more room as you go up.

Of course, if you do want to purchase a larger vehicle, that's OK too

I so wish I could find one somewhere local, but then at the same time, I don't want to spend that kind of money on a seat that's going to be pretty short lived with my kiddos. Both my girls have freakish torsos. My oldest daughter is already on the second to last slot on the SecureKid, and she's only 3!!!!

A larger vehicle is seeming more and more necessary since we have the family dynamic we do. We occasionally need to take a dog places, and very rarely, all 3, and we would like to be able to visit family that lives far away. At least a minivan will last us a good long while.

 

[katymyers]

There's nothing wrong with getting a bigger vehicle. A minivan was a godsend for us when we had our third. Personally, even when a three across is possible, I find it tiring to deal with one every day.