Best Seat for 2-year-old in Lexus hs 250h (small hybrid)

[Kerry]

When my daughter outgrew her infant seat, we got her a Combi Coccoro to fit in my small hybrid (Lexus hs 250h), and I can't imagine anything taller than that fitting rear-facing and leaving any leg room for a passenger in the front seat. We absolutely could not get it to install in the center -- there's no lower latch, and when we tried using the seatbelt, we just couldn't get it not to move all over the place, no matter how tight we got it. I think it is because the bump in the center is relatively pronounced. But the car manual doesn't say not to install there, and there is a top tether latch thing, so they must at least contemplate FF installs in the center.

Now, as a tall 21-month-old, I can see that she doesn't have a whole lot longer rear-facing in the Coccoro. I think we can make it to her 2nd birthday in February, but not much beyond that. Ideally, I would love to keep her rear-facing in my car (we can certainly keep her rear-facing in her Boulevard in my husband's car), but I just don't see how that would be possible unless there is a seat comparable in height to the Coccoro that fits well in back seats with centers with pronounced bumps. Has anyone found anything like that? Barring that, is there anyone out there with a Lexus hs 250h (or anyone else who has encountered a similar "bump" problem) who has found a car that installs well FF center?

 

[Phineasmama]

Just out of curiosity have you ever tried to put the Boulevard back there in the center?

 

[Kerry]

We haven't tried the Boulevard in my car yet, but it sounds like we should, based on some posts I've been reading here. I noticed that the base has sort of a curve in its design, so maybe that will accommodate the bump. We'll just have to see what kind of impact it would have on the front seats. Any other seats you'd suggest?

 

[Phineasmama]

If you're putting it in the middle, you could also try the Graco MySize 70, or one of the Evenflo convertible seats like the Triumph or Momentum.

I mean, it's probably easiest to try the Britax in there first since you already have one! But BabiesRus/ToysRus will usually let you try seats out in your car in the parking lot too It might just be a little bit of trial and error to see which one fits best in the middle and installs nicely with the middle seat belt.

 

[Phineasmama]

Oh the Maxi Cosi Pria 70 is another good one, I'm not sure how many stores actually carry them though. They are supposed to have them at some babiesrus, but they have them at BuyBuyBaby too.