baby bunching it in the car: 3 carseats across

Almost two years ago, I did something I swore I would never do:  buy a minivan.  It sucks because this over-sized, unwieldy, un-sexy vehicle is also undeniably convenient when you happen to have small children.  At the time, I drove a zippy little Honda CR-V that I absolutely adored,but it was becoming increasingly frustrating for me to fit our Bunch, their double stroller and assorted diaper bags, and my Costco runs into the vehicle, so we caved on the van front.  Although our minivan is incredibly spacious and convenient, it is neither zippy nor little.  To this day, I experience a twinge of sadness each morning when I watch my husband pull out of the driveway in the CR-V and I revel in doing my weekend errands where I get to "downsize" to the CR-V.  Yeah, my life is kinda pathetic like that.

ANYWAY, there are some intrepid souls that are determined to Baby Bunch without the assistance of a minivan and my hat is off to them.  We recently got a question from a friend who is looking to purchase "a good city car that will fit 3 car seats." Linda and I were at an absolute loss as to what such a car might be, so we thought we'd throw it out to you, gentle readers.  Anyone got any suggestions?

I will say that for a time, we were able to fit 3 car seats across our CR-V (which is built on a Civic chassis) while our youngest was in the infant seat.  Once he moved to a convertible, it became impossible for his older brother to access the seat belt for his booster. Linda can kind of sqeeze 3 seats across in her RAV-4, bu she has the same problem of getting everyone in unless two of the seats are boosters. I do know someone who was able to fit 3 across a sedan by changing to Sunshine Radian car seats, which are a little narrower.  A bit of research has told us that a Honda Accord and Toyota Camery do a good job of putting all three kids next to each other, but with the way cars changes, we're not 100% if that's still true. All that to say, sometimes "fitting" isn't just about the car, it's also about the seats (which, while not cheap, are cheaper than buying a new car!).

Speak up, city dwelling Baby Bunchers - got any suggestions for our urban mama?

Comments

[Maureen]

We were able to fit three across in the Ford Taurus. Once we had four, we had to switch to a minivan!

[Tricia]

We fit three across in our Ford Escape - only one is rear-facing though, the other two were forward facing and now bumper seats.
It's a bit of a tight fit, but definitely workable and I LOVE my Escape!

[Tricia]

Did I say bumper seats? Weird...I meant booster :)

[Lindsey Oliver]

We have two rear-facing seats in the back of our Honda Accord and a third would definitely NOT fit.

[Monica Bartels-Biswell]

Our old Volvo could fit three across. It also had a pop up third row that would fit 2 extra kids. The newer modles are a bit narrow. We now have four and are moving up to a passenger van. We realized that once you are using that third row in a minivan, there is very little cargo space in the back (something we really need). Something to think about if you are concidering a larger family.

With just three we managed to squeeze into our Subaru outback, I mean squeeze! Our older child was out of a car seat, our second was in a booster , and our 3rd was still rear facing. It was quite a job getting that booster buckled in.

Ah, what happened to those days of just shoving all the kids loose in the back hatch?

[Shell]

Sunshine Kids Radian Car Seats are the way to go! We used 2 of these and 1 infant seat across the back of our trailblazer and fit all three across. Now, we have the two radians and 1 backless booster. I must admit that it is a tight fit, but we were able to get out of having to buy a new car.

We did rent a toyota camery a few weeks ago and not only did the 2 radians and 1 booster fit, but there was actually more room in between the seats than there are in our trailblazer!

[MommyNamedApril]

good luck - we're about to upsize to a minivan so we can do the three across and still have cargo space... it's even tough with a minivan though, there's only a couple that let you put three across - most have the captains chairs :-/

i'm actually excited about the minivan, though, (except the cost issue of course). it will be so nice not to be cramped!

[Molly]

Go to car-seat.org forums and check their successful three across threads to see if there are possible seat combos listed for your vehicle! (And for any other carseat questions too.) :) Other than that though, Monica's right, three Sunshine Kids Radians will fit three across in many cars and they're very nice, tall seats with higher weight limits so most kids will fit in them for a good long time. We can get a tru-fit, marathon and a snugride without the base or a backless booster 3 across in our car if we have an extra kiddo but we have an older olds with the big bench seat in the back. :)

[JessPond]

The Ford Escape is a nice smaller SUV, and will fit 3 across, I hear. We had one once, but not since we've had kids.

My friend and I once fit her neice and two nephews' carseats three across in a siebring, and managed to get in everything for a pool run, but I don't reccomend it.

We had to get rid of our Lincoln mkz because of TWO carseats....my enormous (6ft5) husband couldn't fit in anymore. But if you're a smaller family, height wise, it might work and the trunks of Lincolns are ENORMOUS.

I hate vans. A LOT. And therefore we have a Navigator. BUT it's ridiculously expensive, honestly, and we're lucky to be able to afford it (esp after 100k getting these kids HERE, ha ha...ha). What's the best way to ruin a 60k car??? Treat it like a minivan! hahahaha

ha...ha...ha...

[geekymummy]

I ditto the radians, they are great seats. We only have 2 kids, but I know you can get 3 of these seats in a subaru outback.

It is interesting that carseats are so big here, in the UK many families have 3 kids, and most drive pretty small cars, VW golf or honda civic, and the UK car seats can fit three across.

I'm one of three, and my brother used to ride in the trunk of our peugeot wagon! the "good old days"

[JessPond]

Oh yeah, I second the trailblazer/yukon/tahoe idea, too. Those are extremely roomy!

[Alecia]

This topic couldn't come at a better time. We also have a Honda CR-V, which I love, and are trying to figure out how to do 3 across. While I would love the extra room with a minivan, it would be nice to wait a while before needing to buy another car. We currently have 2 EvenFlo Big Kid booster seats, and I'm hoping to fit an infant carrier in between them. What kind of infant carrier did you use in your CR-V? Which carriers are the narrowest right now?

[Michelle]

The Acura MDX fits 3 carseats across.... I have one Britax Roundabout (both back & forwards facing fit). I have one Alpha Elite 5 point harness (it's wide) and I have one Graco booster that uses the car strap. My kids are 1, 3.5 and just turned 5. It's tight, but it works.

[Cara Fox]

We used the Graco SnugRide in our CR-V, Alecia - with one Graco Booster and a cheapy (but narrow - yay!) Cosco convertible seat. It just barely fit all three.

BTW, I'm looking to get rid of my SnugRide and two bases if you want it. : )

PP noted car-seat.org forums can provide more info, maybe?

[Shanna]

We have an Acura MDX that we love, love, love. And we have tried several rental cars that I absolutely hate. I have NOT found any 'sedan' type car that will fit 3 carseats (even boosters) safely and easily- I generally cannot reach the buckle to buckle them in, and the seats are a little sideways and not installed the way they should be.

And the whole point of using carseats is safety, so if they don't fit right, it sort of makes them pretty useless.

[Erin Miller]

We have three kids, two in car seats and one in a booster. When I decided I was done with the mini-van I was determined to find a mid-size SUV that would fit all three on one row, but had a third row for when we have family visiting or friends along for the ride. After a ton of research we were between the Toyota Sequoia and the Honda Pilot. After driving both we ultimately decided on the Honda Pilot because the Sequoia was just too big for me. We are very happy with the Pilot. I can fit all three in the middle seat, which is good, because there isn't much trunk room unless the third row is down. However, being able to accomidate up to 8 people when necessary has been a life saver.

[annie]

For the record we have a Nissan Murano which is built on a Maxima frame. I assume it is similar in size to the Accord or Camry. We have 2 britax marathons in the back and there is no way we could fit a third seat in there, regardless of the type.

[Motherhood Uncensored]

I'm on the record for loathing minivans, however, right now, my kids are so small that it's actually more of an inconvenience. I do dig the automatic doors - what a dream.

I drive a Chevy Trailblazer with a booster (full back), car seat, and car seat carrier for the baby all three across. And I'm actually just used to it. It's easy for me to access all of them when they drop something for the 400th time, and I like have the big trunk space.

[Teneil]

I'm in aus and we will have 3 kiddies in seats -1 booster, 1 forward facing and 1 rear facing
I have a holden commadore stationwagon and my DF has a Toyota Surf. plenty of room...no mini van for us! NO WAY

[Joanne Chamberlain]

My hubby and I have just come home from being out all day trying to juggle car seats - we already have two but even buying three new seats will not fit in our Toyota surf. With new car seat regulations fast approaching a bottom booster is out of the question. So we are turning to the Kia Carnival - plan to have a fourth any way.

[Elle]

I drive a zippy little Mazda 3 sedan and have 2 Radians and a Graco Snugride in the back of my car. (1 outboard FF, 1 middle FF and the Graco outboard passenger side RF).

I am stubborn and will not succumb to the minivan. When I was expecting my 3rd, I did a ton of research and decided to switch from Britax Marathon's (19" wide) to Radians (17" wide which go up to 80+ lbs in a 5 pt. harness). My husband had no choice - he had to trade in his Xterra and he went for the Ford Flex. It's a great crossover that can tow and has tons of great features. (and doesn't look like a total grocery getter.)

One thing I don't understand is why people get so attracted by automatically opening doors?? I just have to click my lock opener and both my daughters (5 & 3) are more than capable of opening the doors themselves without dinging the car next to us and they quickly buckle themselves in.

I can also fit a whole cart of groceries into my spacious trunk, so I'm sticking with this car for the long haul. My next car will be even smaller and sportier hopefully - when the majority of the kids are out of their carseats. My husband will drive the bigger vehicle - and pay for the gas too. :)

[car finance]

Hey, don't call minivans "un-sexy." I find minivans to be very suited for my taste. I'll take a minivan over a sedan any day.

[auto finance]

Compared to sports cars, I suppose minivans are "un-sexy." But then, even mid-range sedans look puny and insignificant beside luxury vehicles.

[JohnReyes33]

Some time ago, I needed to buy a good car for my organization but I didn't have enough money and could not purchase anything. Thank God my dude proposed to get the mortgage loans from trustworthy bank. Hence, I did so and was satisfied with my consolidation loan.

[Used Lincoln MKZ]

There are just some things we can't control. Sometimes being practical just has to be the priority. Of course, it helps if there is a touch of luxury from time to time just to keep things interesting.

[Pandora Bracelet]

Liked you on Facebook, too. =)