Which compact cars are best to fit more than one car seat?

[name_f]My[/name_f] husband and I currently have a 3 year-old and will be TTC in another month or so. We are planning on getting a new car for my husband in the next 6 months. He does a lot of commuting and city driving so we were thinking of a compact car. We have an SUV which is the main vehicle for toting around my daughter (and future child), but of course, we want to make sure his car can also accommodate them if need be.

We live in the US so our compact car market is more limited than in Europe. Although, in most recent years, we are getting a lot more here. That being said, because they’re new, it’s hard to find a lot of information about how they accommodate multiple car seats.

Here’s some we were considering:

[name_m]Chevy[/name_m] Sonic (hatchback - we do not like the look of the sedan; it also had 5 stars crash test rating which is super appealing)
[name_m]Nissan[/name_m] [name_f]Versa[/name_f] Note (this is the newest model of the [name_f]Versa[/name_f]. We also prefer the look of the hatchback only)
[name_m]Chevy[/name_m] Cruze
Hyundai Elantra
[name_f]Kia[/name_f] Soul (This appears to have the most room and cargo space, but my mom just got one and I feel like everyone has one now so it’s a bit of a yawn)
[name_f]Kia[/name_f] [name_m]Forte[/name_m] (both sedan and hatchback)
[name_f]Kia[/name_f] Rio5
[name_m]Ford[/name_m] Fiesta (prefer hatchback, but sedan isn’t terrible)
[name_m]Ford[/name_m] Focus

We aren’t considering any VW or [name_f]MINI[/name_f] because being in the US, they have expensive parts to fix and maintain.

Any experience or suggestions are welcome. The little I’ve read on these basically all say that a convertible seat fits okay, but infant seats force the passenger seat to be shoved up against the glove box. :confused:

We drive a 2002 VW golf TDI. Its a great car, and gets great mileage, and it is paid for, but a rear facing car seat can only go behind the passenger seat if my 6’5" husband is driving. But I am 5’5" with short legs and I can drive with the rear facing seat behind me, so a lot of this is going to depend on your heights.

[name_f]My[/name_f] two and a half year old is now forward facing, so he goes behind the drivers seat. The baby I sit for goes rear facing behind the passenger seat. The car accommodates both seats widthwise no problem, but there is no room for anyone else to sit back there. It is also as you say, the passenger really has no leg room. On the plus side, this helps us avoid driving if possible, so I save gas money and keep in shape by walking everywhere possible, combining trips, etc.

I would say just bring the infant seat and toddler seat to the dealership. If you are still TTC, this is a good time to do this cause you don’t have an actual fussy baby in tow. Try it out in all of the cars. Then please tell us all what you find!

Different car seats will fit differently in the car. I’ve heard the [name_f]Sunshine[/name_f] Radian (and there may be others) are good for fitting across the car because they are more narrow than the usual bulky car seats but that only works well with forward facing. If it’s the gas mileage that is why you want a compact car, have you thought of a hybrid or electric? Those are pretty handy for people that have to do a lot of city driving and then you can get a car that is a little bigger if you find the rear facing too much of a problem. Rear facing often takes up more space than the infant seats, although those can be difficult also. With your three year old forward facing though, I think if you don’t mind the passenger seat being really far forward I think most compacts should work. There is a website specifically for people asking questions about car seats in specific vehicles car-seat.org, that’s a good place to go to see if there are people who have experience with the cars you are considering.

I had a Hyundai Accent, which is smaller then the Elantra. I never fit two car seats in the back since I replaced it before my daughter was born since it died anyways. But I did fit an car seat and a booster seat for my nephew in it. If you had to put a rear facing behind the driver then the driver did need to be short but that wasn’t an issue for me. [name_f]My[/name_f] [name_m]SIL[/name_m] has a Mitsubishi that she manages to fit two car seats plus a booster across the back after doing some research and picking the thinnest car seats available.

I was trying to convince my husband to look at hybrids, but he doesn’t like the look of any of them. He’s very weird about cars. For my daughter, we already have the Britax Marathon70 in my SUV (she’s still rear-facing and in the center) and got a Safety 1st Guide 65 for his current sedan. I did extensive research to settle on that - I wanted high safety but not too expensive and not too bulky. I wanted to install it rear-facing in his car, but it wouldn’t work so she’s forward-facing; not a big deal being she’s 3. It’s been working out well for a back-up seat and I intend/hope that we will continue to be able to use it in his new car.

The concern is more for a new infant seat because I HATE her Graco Snugride35 that we used when she was a baby. The original intention was to use it for future child(ren) so we got a neutral color but it’s so bulky and heavy that I don’t even want to use it in the SUV either. So, I’d want an affordable infant seat that I could use in both cars. I checked safety ratings and to my pleasant surprise, Safety 1st had a few. Thinking that since her back-up seat in my husband’s car is a good size, maybe one of those infant seats would be as well. I saw that the Onboard 35 reviews said the back was higher than average making it that much more difficult to put into compact cars; it didn’t say anything about the Comfy [name_f]Carry[/name_f] Elite/Plus models. Those are only about $80 which would be perfect because then we could get two - one for each car - for the same price as the one Snugride35 we got and we wouldn’t have to worry about if my husband had to pick up the infant unplanned and worrying about if I have the seat in my car.

So, I guess my question has evolved to not only about which compact cars are best for car seats but also which car seats do you use, especially if you have experience with more affordable models like the Safety 1st or Cosco Comfy [name_f]Carry[/name_f] Elite.

@feberin, any idea what types of seats your [name_m]SIL[/name_m] has?

[name_f]My[/name_f] husband has a Focus hatchback. We all fit (4 year old in shoulder strap booster and newborn in carrier). [name_f]My[/name_f] older daughter sits behind him because he’s taller. I am only 5’4 and I have plenty of leg room with the carrier behind me. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband said recently he wished he got a Mazda 6, but the new model wasnt out when we got the focus. He said it did have a little more room in the back, so might be good to look into.

stephykneejo - What kind of infant carrier do you have? And thanks for the info on the cars. :slight_smile:

I believe she has an Evenflo Tribute as her convertible car seat it has hollow space on the sides that allow a booster seat’s armrests to fit snuggly inside it. The infant seat she uses is made by BRU but she got it on clearance and I just looked at their website and it appears perhaps they are no longer manufacturing it. She also has a low back booster that she actually bought another seat and had to get replace it to find something that not only fit but that would allow enough room for my nephew to actually buckle himself into the car. I don’t remember the name of that one.

Thank you! :slight_smile:

We have a Chicco carrier with the base, not seat belt. [name_m]Plenty[/name_m] of room for it.

I have a Hyundai Accent (2012), and you could definitely fit 2 car seats in it. It also gets really good gas mileage (I get about 35-38 city and 38-48 hwy), and Hyundais have longer warranties than other brands

I’m in the market for a car when I get back home, and I have the [name_f]Versa[/name_f] and Soul on my list.
[name_f]My[/name_f] cousin has a [name_f]Versa[/name_f], which I test drove before I left. [name_f]My[/name_f] cousin in 6’4", his wife is probably 5’11", and they have 2 kids (2.5 and 4.5 years), obviously both in carseats. They have at Diono for the youngest and a Clek Oobr fullback for the oldest.
Everyone fits in no problem, and my SO came to test drive with me and he’s also 6’4". It’s deceptively roomy :slight_smile:
They don’t have the Note though… I’m not sure if there’s much of a size difference.

I have a friend who recently bought an Elantra hatchback and she EASILY fits her sons car seat in there, with room to spare! Her and her fiancee aren’t very tall so there is not much seat moving, but there is a good 6 inches between the car seat and the seat so even if it did have to go back there is plenty of room! She actually had a [name_m]Forte[/name_m] before she got pregnant and traded it in for the Elantra because it had NO room in it. There is no way even with them being short they could comfortably fit in the [name_m]Forte[/name_m]. So I don’t think a [name_u]Rio[/name_u] is an option.
I used to have a Soul and honestly, I kinda wish I had never traded it in, it was an impulse buy and I loved my Soul. There was so much room, multiple car seats could easily fit in there, the trunk space was phenomenal. sigh I miss that car. Lol.