A Vehicle Equiped to Handle Three Car Seats

Hi! I had the same problem but buying a new car just wasnt an option. I opted for the sunshine kids radian 80 car seat. I fit 3 across in a VW Jetta. 2 regular car sets barely fit! So if you decide to not buy a new vehicle, these will work for you! Also, they go 5-80 lbs! They cost about $250 and they are great!

Hope that helps!!!!!

Hi! One thing that you can do instead of getting a new car is to get new, narrower car seats. The Radian 65 & Radian 80 car seats are supposed to be extremely well made & very safe (with very high harnessing weights--65 & 80 lbs respectively) and are very narrow!

I know several people with VERY small cars who have 3 of them in the back seat!
Hope that helps!

You may get or have already gotten responses telling you that can get 3 car seats in the back seat, but please don't go by that. Find out where your area has a car seat safety check (usually local police or the fire dept) and have them assess your car before you have to make a new purchase. You probably will, but they can give you a safe, legal idea of what you can do. I had the exact same problem when I was pregnant with #3, and my husband's a state trooper and a car seat safety inspector. After a lot of research, we finally had to get a minivan. I know this isn't the info you're probably looking for, but I LOVE my minivan, I never thought I would. It's so much easier to get the kids in and out of the van, and it's front wheel drive, so I have very little problems in the snow. I hope you find what you need.

I have a Honda Pilot, It drives like a car not a truck. I can fit 2 car seats and 1 booster seat with a back in my second row. The Pilot has 4 wheel drive, lots of room in the back, and handles great in all weather. It has all of the advantages of a truck, but drives like a car. Actually when I drop my daughter off at preschool, out of about 20 cars there are 7 Honda Pilots! I think that says alot about the car for families.

Good luck and enjoy!

My brother-in-law has two little girls (5 and 2) and another one due in February. They did a lot of research and decided upon the Toyota Sienna for their everyday car. But recently they also wanted to have a second car on hand and one that fit three car seats in the back. My brother-in-law did what some have suggested and he took 3 car seats to a couple of dealers and he told them right off that he didn't want to even talk about or look at cars that couldn't fit the 3 car seats. He ended up with a honda civic of all things! It is a four door civic and they were able to get the 2 car seats and one booster in without any difficulty.

Good luck!

I always said I would never get a minivan. Well I have one and love it. I only have two kids. The amount of room is wonderful. Get bucket seats in the second row for ease and a row in the back. I have the Toyota Sienna and it comes in all wheel drive. I can't believe I drive a toyota minivan and like it. I will one day go back to the car, when my boys are in college. Ha!

I just want to echo Emma's advice. TONS of people are using the wrong car seat or using them/installing them incorrectly.
At an impromptu stop at a local car seat check, I was shocked to learn that my son (5) should not be switched to a backless booster in the back seat of my Mercury Sable b/c there are not headrests in the back seats...who would think of that? Also, I had been adjusting his seatbelt incorrectly for TWO YEARS! It could have casued serious injury in the event of an accident. Thank God, I never had O..
I was only thinking age/weight/height. A carseat check is INVALUABLE for accurately planning your seats/vehicles.
Also, unless money is no object--definitely get a pre-owned car. You will get more bang for your buck. IMO, new cars are a suckers purchase!

We've had this discussion in my triplet parent group - what vehicle to get that will hold 3 car seats. Few have gone the route of the suburbans, but most go the route of a van, due to cost and fuel consumption. Research the best for safety, which are the Honda Odyssey and I forget the other one, sorry, lol. I have the Honda due to the higher safety issues. I love it! Everyone who I know owns one loves it as well. We have an upgraded one too.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat
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What about an Equinox(sp)by Chevy??My SIL has one and she said you can fit 3car seats in one...not sure i have a trailblazer w/3rd row and love it.

I only have 1 kid, but I drive a Scion XB and could easily fit 3 side by side in the back. That said - almost any car will accommodate three car seats, if they're the slender style car seats. We have been extremely pleased with our experience with the Sunshine Kids Radian 60. It has a narrow profile and has been a real workhorse. (It's been with us on several flights already). If I still had my little Chevy, I could have fit 3 of the Radian 60 in the back seat! (It would have been a bit snug, but it would have worked, if I had needed it to).

My sister-in-law, however, has 3, and they got a minivan and really love it because it affords so much room for everybody...much easier to get all the kids in and out. Her oldest is also 5, and he's in one of the high-back boosters still, if I recall correctly. Their minivan really has all the bells & whistles, and I think it took them a while to decide that they liked it, but now they're definitely attached. So if you're more interested in purchasing a new vehicle than in investing in different carseats, a minivan might just be what you need. (And the one benefit there is that you can fit more than just your family in it if you need to -- whereas with a car, that will never be an option.

You may want to think about putting you 5 year old in a booster seat if he big enough, the low back ones aren't big like the regular car seats or high back booster seats. Depends on the size of your child weather you should change or not. check out CHOP's website on car seats.
http://stokes.chop.edu/programs/injury/educational_advoca...

Otherwise I would just check out cars and look at their sizes that should help. Good luck with your search!

Hi. When I had three in car seats/boosters we broke down and bought a minivan. I like the type with the three individual seats (we had a Transport) or with a three seat bench that you can move from the back to the middle row. We can do that now with our Voyager. As much as I hate driving the typical "mom mobile" with three growing girls it has come in sooo handy and as they are all in their teens now I can't imagine life without a van...what else can you carry two parents, a cello, two viola's, three teens and a greyhound in all at the same time? :-)

When we were expecting our first, we purchased a Ford Explorer with the optional third row. We went with that choice because we wanted room to grow, knowing we would like to have more than one child- plus it gives you seats for carpooling. 5 years and 4 kids later, it has proven to be a very good choice. When we just had 3 kids, we were able to fit 3 full size car seats across the second row. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but it did work. You don't mention if your oldest is still in a car seat or some kind of booster, but the booster seats tend to be smaller and fit better. We can easily fit a booster, infant seat, and full size car seat across the second row.
I know you said you don't want a third row, but it is a nice option in case you want to be able to have other people ride with you. the second row seats fold forward for easy access to the third row. Our problem now is it is only a 7 passenger, and we are a 6 person family- so there is no room for anyone else-nieces, nephews, grandparents, etc:)
good luck in your car search and congratulations on number 3!

While it would be a tight fit, you could it 3 seats in your Jeep. I had a Ford Escape - very similar in size to yours - and am expecting my 3rd next month. I didn't want to buy a new car at all so I posted here and got a lot of great responses as to what brand of car seats would fit 3 across. We realized what a tight fit it would be no matter what, so we ended up with a Pacifica with the 3rd row. It's taken some getting used to, but it's been nice. If you want the post with all the car seat recommendations, let me know and I'll email it to you.

I have to agree with the other post. I did not want a minivan...but now i love it!! The kids all have so much room :-)

I have a mini van I used to hate it I have grown to love it!

My daughter had the same problem with a 5 41/2 and 4 yr old she found that a Dodge Durango was the best since it holds 3 car seats in the back seat and there is still room for her to the grocery shopping and other shopping when needed.

Hi

I have a 2003 Saturn Vue and I have put 3 car seats in my back seat. You will want to try i out though before purchasing it because it all depends on the size of the car seats. I put 1 no back small booster in it along with 2 regular size car seats that are the 3 in 1 seats. I think the newer ones might be smaller but not sure, at least they look smaller. Good Luck!

I have a Subaru 1999 Legacy L wagon which fit 2 booster seats and a front facing car seat across the back seat. It is 4wd and very fuel efficient and low maintenance. I can't assure you about it fitting a rear-facing infant seat, a front facing car-seat, and a booster seat but if you have all 3 take them to a Subaru dealer and try it. My husband has a Subaru Forester and his back seat will NOT fit 3 carseats, so definitely try the full-size wagon and not the sport.

If you are not interested in a Subaru (which we really love by the way) I am sure if you go to a car dealership and bring the 3 carseats you can try them in many different backseats. And remember, if you are getting too big to manuever a carseat in the back seat of a vehicle, get hubby involved in testing the carseats.

Good Luck and Congratulations!

mom always had vans and she just got a ford freestyle and she loves it. allwheeldrive. look it up. good luck

I was very hesitant to get a minivan, and honestly still am not in love it with it, but with three kids (and often friends) it really is practical. Plus it's low enough to the ground that even the 2-year can climb in herself. My biggest complaint, though, is that it's terrible on ice and snow, so for 4WD is important to you, it sounds like a minivan won't be the best fit.

However, if you are in the market for a new car, I would definitely still consider a vehicle with 3 rows of seats. Yes, some (even most) cars will allow you to get three seat across, but it will be very squishy and if you drive more than very short distances I think you'll find the closeness will result in more arguing and such. Plus, kids grow so quickly, so the crowding problem will be ongoing, even after some of them are out of the carseats and boosters. I wouldn't necessarily go buy a new car just to have the third row, but if you're shopping anyway, I personally recommend it.

Also, when you go for test drives, take your carseats/boosters with you. It's sort of a pain, but it's nice to really try putting them in and seeing what the reality will be like. You might be able to fit them, but you're putting the kids in and out frequently, you may find you don't like having to squeeze your hand way down between seats to get everyone buckled, as it will make it more difficult for the kids to buckle themselves in as they get older. And then there's the kid who always seems to unbuckle the belt holding the baby's carseat in instead of the seat for their booster.

Good luck with your decision!

Have you tried 3 car seats in the back of your Jeep? Might not be the easiest or most convenient, but it might work. I had a 1997 Ford Taurus when my kids were little, and I could fit 3 car seats. It wasn't the best, and I didn't do it every day (It was when the kids had friends over.), but it was do-able.

I ended up with a minivan a few years later. I didn't really want something so big, but I LOVE IT!

Hi, I drive a Ford Freestyle, which is great. All wheel drive. It has all the standard features, but is not extravagent... not DVD player or navigation...
I like it because it does have 3 rows, but the middle row is bucket seats like the front row. So the vehicle only seats 6 people. 2 in each row. The middle row being open is nice because you can put bags and boxes, groceries, pets, etc in between the 2 seats in the middle row. It also helps for climbing back to the 3rd row. Both the 2nd and 3rd rows fold down, and so does the passagner front seat (if you want to haul something really long.)
It drives great and seems very safe!

We love it because we HATE minivans... so its sort of a mix between a station wagon and a minivan. Good luck!