seats for 3 cars

[tesslouise]

Here's what we've got:
A 2010 Mazda5 the kids ride in most often
A 2007 Ford four-door pickup truck that the kids ride in occasionally
A 2007 Ford Focus that the kids do not ride in now but DD1 will ride in to school every day once it starts

In the Mazda, a Britax Pinnacle for DD1 (age 5, 41.5 inches tall, 31.5 lbs.) and a RFing Chicco NextFit for DD2 (turns 2 Sunday, about 24 lbs., will learn height Monday)

In the truck, an expired hand-me-down Britax Decathlon for DD1 that (obviously) needs to be replaced (don't worry, she hasn't ridden in it since it expired in July) and a RFing Evenflo Triumph Advance for DD2

In the Focus, no seats yet

Not installed, a hand-me-down (yes, trusted source) Britax Boulevard CS manufactured in 2009 (so it will expire in November 2015) that I am cleaning right now (I won't wash the straps, don't worry). I can get a second Boulevard from the same friend, as her kids are now in boosters.

Either DD can ride in a Boulevard (assuming DD1 isn't too tall?) but that leaves us one seat short if we want DD2 to be able to ride in the Focus.

Do I want a cheap convertible for DD2 or a cheap harnessed seat (like the currently out-of-stock Harmony Defender) for DD1?

How will the Boulevards fit in the Focus? RFing or FFing? I'm not worried about fitting anything in the truck, it's huge.

Ease of use is important, the EFTA works beautifully but the NextFit makes my MIL crazy as it has to have the harness loosened and tightened again to get DD2 in and out of the seat. Is the EFTA still made? Because I hated how it fit in the Mazda but it does install nicely in the Focus.

I won't even ask about three-across until I'm actually pregnant....

 

[murphydog77]

With those seats you have, I would probably get a combo seat for dd1. Harmony has been out of the Defenders for most of the summer now--have you tried buying directly from them? The Evenflo SecureKid would be a good alternative option and I think the Nautilus goes on sale often. September is baby month, so nearly everything goes on sale.

The older style Britax seats usually fit really well in all kinds of cars, so I wouldn't worry about the fit in the Focus. I'm pretty sure I saw the EFTA on Evenflo's website the last time I was on there.