The Infiniti Q70, which is also known as the Nissan Fuga overseas, is the current flagship of Infiniti, the luxury division of Nissan. The Q70 is basically a renaming of the long-running Infiniti M, and comes with FWD and AWD versions like its full-sized luxury sedan competitors, including the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Volvo S80, Volvo S90, Acura RLX, and Lexus GS.
Like the vehicles it competes with, the Q70 hits the ground running with a range of top notch crash scores and safety features, including side airbags and ESC, as well as frontal crash protection in the latest models. As a result,even if you aren’t an executive or business-type, the Q70 is worth considering if you’re a parent interested in one of the safest sedans money can buy. As a result, I got up close and personal with the latest generations of the Q70 to see just how car-seat friendly it would be for interested families.
Before looking at which car seats did and didn’t fit in the Q70 in 3 across setups, it’s worth reviewing a bit of car safety, in terms of which kinds of seats to use and when.
For me, the most basic and essential part of car seat safety involves rear-facing. It’s the safest position we know of, and the longer our kids rear-face, the safer they’ll be, regardless of what kind of vehicle they travel in. I recommend 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 Infiniti Q70 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 taken by yours truly or are courtesy of Wikipedia.
2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Infiniti Q70 / M (Y51)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Diono Radian RXT (x3).
Diono Radian R120 (x3).
Diono Radian R100 (x3).
Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Tips and Tricks:
The current generation Q70 / M is 194 inches long and just under 72 inches wide, which gives you a decent, though not the greatest, amount of interior room to work with for many 3 across situations. Due to the substantial doors and padding in the Q70 interior (for safety and comfort), the back row isn’t the widest, but it’ll often be wide enough as long as you’re willing to use your seat belts instead of LATCH for the installation. Remember that seat belts are as safe as LATCH, and in some cases, safer, depending on the weight limits of your car seats.
Because the Q70 isn’t one of the longest vehicles out there as far as luxury sedans go, you might find yourself compromised on front-to-back space, especially if you’ve got taller drivers or passengers. If you’re interested in which safe seats take up the least space, you’ll definitely want to check out my front-to-back comparison chart for rear-facing convertibles.
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Infiniti M (Y50)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Diono Radian RXT (x3).
Diono Radian R120 (x3).
Diono Radian R100 (x3).
Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Tips and Tricks:
The 2006-2010 generation M (e.g., the M35, M45) ranged from 193-194 inches long and just under 71 inches wide, making it a more challenging vehicle to use in 3 across setups than the succeeding generation, although you can certainly get a wide variety of seats in it with seat belt installations (LATCH will just rob you of back row space). Remember that it’s okay if your seats are touching after an installation as long as each seat is independently tight (a seat should not become loose if an adjacent seat is removed).
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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.