How Many Car Seats Fit In The Back Of A Sedan?

Written by Meredith on June 16, 2008 | Comments (0)

That's the question every parent with more than 2 kids wants to know!

Gone are the days when you could pack 5 kids in the rear of a wood-paneled station wagon.

Today's new car seat laws make it harder to fit 3 kids in a large sedan.

Here's how this pregnant momma plans to get all 3 kids in the back of a Toyota, along with car seat resources to help you plan...

I buy Britax.

I've tried a bunch of car seats, and I think Britax offers the best in stability and comfort.

Those seats don't move an inch!

However, this safety commitment doesn't work well for 3 kids. Not in a row, and not in the back of a Toyota! I tried.

Here's what I'm planning to do:

The Big Kid's Seat: Our 6-year old will have to leave his 5-point-harness Britax Regent/Husky in the garage. A backless booster seat won't take up nearly as much room, and his little sister can climb over it when exiting the car. (Still thinking about the Radian 5-point seat...see below.)

The Middle Kid's Seat: The 2-year-old is currently in a Britax Roundabout, forward facing. We'll move her seat to the middle and hope she doesn't pinch the new baby too much!

The Baby's Seat: #3 will be in another Britax Roundabout, rear-facing, on the driver's side of the car. There won't be an inch of extra space between seats, but I should be able to strap the baby with ease when unlocking the car doors.

What, no infant carrier seat?

I gave up the Graco Snug Ride. The rear-facing Roundabout offers just as much angle and coziness, without the back-breaking load. A Maya Wrap sling gets the baby from car to store and back without waking...most of the time.

Can you fasten a booster seatbelt with so many car seats together? Are there slimmer car seats instead?

To date, there's only 1 skinny 5-point carseat that holds kids to 80 pounds (the weight required by law). The Radian 80 is helping big families fit 3 kids across the back of a standard mini-van.

It's not cheap: $249 at Amazon. Of course this pales in comparison to the cost of the next bigger vehicle!

You may want to buy one locally just for the ability to try it in the car. USA Baby Superstores keep them in stock.

---> Here's a review of the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 at the Celebrity Baby Blog.

Online Reports Of Cars That Hold 3 Car Seats via Car-seat.org: