Question Which convertible for long RF in Ford Focus?

[Unregistered]

My son is about to outgrow his infant car seat (Chicco Keyfit 30) by height. Now we're looking for a convertible that can be used rear-facing for as long as possible, but that still fits our Ford Focus comfortably with two adults in the front seats. We were hoping to get a Diono Radian RXT, but it takes up too much space for one of us to sit in the front seat comfortably (we tried that out). Now we're looking at Britax or Recaro seats.

Would any of those work substantially better in our car? Does anyone have experience with that? Also, it seems like many Britax models work until 40 lbs rear-facing, with 35 lbs for the Recaro. How much of a difference is that likely in terms of months of rf usage?

Thanks a lot for any advice!

 

[wendytthomas]

Without knowing your son's age or weight, there's no way to guess the weight time difference.

What size onesie does he wear?

Neither of those seats have a lot of leg room. The Recaro has little internal shoulder room. Kids generally can't make it to 35 pounds because they're uncomfortable in it, and many parents report that it's hard to get a child in and out.

The Britaxes won't get most kids to 40 pounds. They're just too short.

Did you try the angle adjuster with the Radian? I've heard of many people doing Radian installs in Focuses with much success.

Wendy

 

[Unregistered]

My son is 10 months now, he was about 20 lbs at his last checkup a month ago.

Hm... that doesn't sound too great about the Britax and the Recaro.

We only had the Diono briefly to try out in the parking lot. So I'm not sure about what the angle adjuster is. We just had it set with the base, which made a 45° angle, I think. The main issue with the front seat for me was the headrest, which is (at least in our Focus) not adjustable to go back a little, and which was uncomfortable. The back of the seat itself was less of an issue.

Would you mind explaining about the angle adjustment? Maybe I overlooked something... if the Diono doesn't need to recline quite as much, we might be good, as it was a close call. Or if there are other carseats that can be used for a long time rear-facing, I'd look into those as well.

Thank you!

 

[Unregistered]

Okay, I just googled the angle adjuster, and it would never have occured to me that there might be a separate product that could solve our problem! So thank you so much for alerting me to that. That might be just what we need. Should our son outgrow the Chicco for good before his first birthday - well for the little remaining time I'm fine being uncomfortable in the front seat. Is this angle adjuster then safety tested with the seat and all? Just trying to make sure it wouldn't make things less safe...

 

[wendytthomas]

It's specifically made and tested with the Radian. That's the only seat you can use it with.

You can use it under a year old provided he's got good head control (most kids do by six months).

Also, is he in the middle or on the side? The middle will give you more room right now, probably.

Wendy

 

[Unregistered]

Thanks! I think we'll buy that angle adjuster and we should be fine. The baby has good head control, so that should not be a problem. We tried the seat on the side, but in his Chicco he's in the middle, and we may try the middle first when we get the new seat. This was really helpful, thank you so much!

 

[Unregistered]

I have a 2005 ford focus and tried my best to install the britax boulev. and a recaro euro. no matter how tight i pulled the latches, both wanted to tip forward (rear-facing) and the recaro was just too tall--i couldn't see a thing in the rearview. also, the recaro wanted to slide side to side along the latch strap.

i wanted a european car seat, but don't know what to get now. what did you end up with?