The Dodge Caliber was a sportily-styled compact crossover wagon sold by Dodge from model years 2007 to 2012. It came after the Neon and was replaced by the Dodge Dart in 2013. It shared a platform with the Mitsubishi Outlander, Jeep Compass, and Jeep Patriot.  Unlike the Dart or the crossover SUVs I just mentioned, the Caliber never really took off in the US, but many parents continue to email me asking which car seats will fit 3 across in a Dodge Caliber, and I figured it was high time I put together a 3 across guide to help all of the parents who haven’t emailed me yet.

The Dodge Caliber still makes a decent family vehicle; it wasn’t very roomy inside, but it could seat 5 and it was more capable than a compact sedan due to the hatchback.

Before looking at which car seats did and didn’t fit in the Caliber in 3 across setups, it’s worth reviewing a bit of car safety, in terms of which kinds of seats to use and when.

My first recommendation for all parents is to start their kids out rear-facing (it’s also the law), and to keep rear-facing long after the law requires them to. Specifically, I suggest keeping children in rear-facing infant or convertible seats as long as possible (ideally until 4!), then keeping them harnessed in forward-facing seats for several years more (ideally until 8!), and then only switching them out of booster seats when they pass the 5 step test (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep kids in the safest kinds of seats for as long as possible to increase their odds of surviving serious car crashes.

With that all in mind, I got to work with my seats to create what I believe to be the most detailed 3 across guide for the Dodge Caliber on the Internet, covering every model year of the crossover / wagon ever made. If you find the list helpful when shopping for car seats, you can shop through my Amazon link below. I’ll add more seats as I test them over time, although I’ll prioritize vehicles currently manufactured over ones.

You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. The Canadian car seat guide is here. 3 across car seat images are taken by yours truly or are courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Dodge Caliber was a small car at just under 174 inches long and just under 69 inches wide. In fact, it’s one of the narrowest vehicles I’ve ever had the displeasure of fitting car seats into. Many folks think you can’t do 3 across in it, but you defnitely can; you need the right seats, though, and you absolutely need to use your seat belts instead of the LATCH system, which will work nicely for 2 seats but not at all when trying for 3. Remember that seat belts are as safe as LATCH, and in some cases, safer, depending on the weight limits of your car seats.

Given the length of the Caliber, if you’re concerned about making things work in terms of front-to-back space, you’ll also want to check out my front-to-back comparison chart for rear-facing convertibles.

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If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.