The Subaru Legacy is one of the fastest-growing entries into the mid-sized car market in the United States, and also one of the safest cars on the road. It was one of the nine vehicles predicted to have a driver death rate of zero in the most recent IIHS driver death rate report, and it’s no surprise that it’s highly prized among parents and families looking for safe and reliable transportation for their little ones.
I’d had the chance to test a number of mid-sized cars for 3 across car seat compatibility in the past year, including the Subaru Outback, Ford Fusion, Volkswagen Jetta, Honda Accord, Volkswagen Passat, and Toyota Camry, but it wasn’t until this past weekend that I got the chance to try out the Legacy for 3 across car seat installations. I’ll get into the results in a moment, but before that, I figure it’s a good idea to look at some of the basics in car seat safety.
For me, the basics come down to keeping kids restrained in the safest positions for as long as possible. That means rear-facing as long as your child will fit in a rear-facing seat (ideally until 4!), and then doing the same for forward-facing in a harness (ideally until 8!), and then boostering until your child is ready to pass the 5-step test and use an adult seat belt and seat (which typically happens between 10 and 12). These guidelines are my suggestions after countless hours of research into child safety seat usage, collision survival, and child development.
However, in order to put that information to use, you’re going to need some information on which car seats will and won’t work in your particular vehicle. Here’s what I’ve found works in a Subaru Legacy across a range of years. It’s my goal to make this the most complete list on the Internet, and I’ll keep adding updates on seats that do and don’t work as I try them.
You can check out the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. The Canadian recommended car seat list is here. 3 across car seat images are courtesy of Wikipedia.
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Subaru Legacy
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).
Diono Radian RXT (x3).
Diono Radian R120 (x3).
Diono Radian R100 (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Britax Boulevard G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Britax Marathon G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Britax Pavilion G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Foonf, Chicco KeyFit 30.
Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Fllo, Chicco KeyFit 30.
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro, Diono Radian / RXT.
Tips and Tricks:
The current generation of the Subaru Legacy is 189 inches long and 72 inches wide, which is pretty typical for a mid-sized car. It also means that you can expect most decently narrow seats to fit, even though you’re not going to have as much room as you would in, say, a minivan. As usual, to make many to most of these configurations workable, you’re going to need to use seat belts instead of LATCH anchors all the way across.
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Subaru Legacy
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Britax Pavilion G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Britax Boulevard G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Britax Marathon G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Foonf, Chicco KeyFit 30.
Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Fllo, Chicco KeyFit 30.
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro, Diono Radian / RXT.
Tips and Tricks:
This generation of the Subaru Legacy is 186 inches long and 72 inches wide, which is typical when it comes to width for mid-sized cars. It’s 3 inches shorter than the 2015+ generation, which means you’re going to have a bit less front-to-back room for most installations, so you’ll want to look for more upright seats like the Fllos and Foonfs over the Radians when it comes to rear-facing. Alternatively, you could use the angle adjuster, which buys you several inches and only costs a few dollars on top of a Radian.
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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.