The Dodge Charger is a fast, big, and large American full-sized car, and one frequently chosen by police departments around the country as cruising vehicles. Competing with the Ford Taurus, Toyota Avalon, Chevrolet Impala, and its Chrysler twin the Chrysler 300, the Charger is also frequently chosen by families interested in full-sized vehicles for safe family transportation. The latest versions of the Charger include some of the latest safety features on the market, including electronic stability control, side curtain airbags, excellent safety scores, and even basic electronic braking to aid in front crash prevention.
Given its reputation as a “fast car,” I decided to test its family-friendliness by seeing how many car seats I could fit into one, or rather, how well it did when it came to making 3 across car seat installations feasible. You can scroll down to see what I did and did not get to work. Before that, though, let’s look at which kinds of seats are best to choose for kids of different ages and why.
First things first: the youngest children, including infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, are safest when sitting in rear-facing positions in infant seats and convertible car seats. I’d recommend doing so for as long as you can (ideally until 4!), before forward-facing them in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once they outgrow their harnessed seats, I suggest keeping them in high-back boosters until they’re physically and psychologically ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). Keeping your kids in these configurations maximizes their odds of surviving car crashes.
With this in mind, I tested convertible, booster, combination, and infant seats to figure out which car seats work best in 3 across setups in the Dodge Charger. It’s my goal to make lists like these the most comprehensive on the Internet. 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.
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 courtesy of Wikipedia.
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Dodge Charger
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Diono Rainier (x3).
Diono Pacifica (x3).
Diono Olympia (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).
Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Foonf, Chicco KeyFit 30.
Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Fllo, Chicco KeyFit 30.
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Graco Contender (x3).
Clek Fllo, Graco Head Wise 70, Diono Radian / RXT.
Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT.
Clek Fllo, Graco Head Wise 70, Graco Head Wise 70.
Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65, Diono Radian / RXT.
Tips and Tricks:
The current generation of the Dodge Charger is 200 inches long and 75 inches wide, which is wide enough to fit nearly any combination of car seats you can think of 3 across. It’s 3 inches longer and 1 inch wider than the previous generation, which also increases its friendliness for 3 across and gives you more space for front-to-back installations. That said, it can still feel a bit cramped when using particularly wide seats like the Britax ClickTight series, so you’ll want to use your seat belts instead of the LATCH anchors to take full advantage of the space.
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Dodge Charger
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Graco Contender (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).
Tips and Tricks:
The prior generation of the Dodge Charger is 197 inches long and 74 inches wide, or 3 inches shorter and 1 inch narrower than the current generation. That said, it’s still plenty wide enough to fit a range of infant, convertible, combination, and booster seats, especially when using seat belts instead of LATCH anchors to buy more space.
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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.