The Kia Optima is a sharp mid-sized family car closely related to the Hyundai Sonata. It competes in the US with a number of family sedans like the Ford Fusion, Chevy Malibu, Honda Accord, Subaru Legacy, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, Volkswagen Jetta, and Volkswagen Passat among parents who want safe and affordable family transportation without venturing into minivan or crossover territory.
The newest generation of the Optima includes a range of modern safety features including good crash test scores in all areas except for in the small overlap test, where it has an acceptable score. It also features ESC and side airbags while costing significantly less than the majority of other mid-sized sedans currently on the market. In other words, it’s a good car. But how does it do when it comes to fitting 3 children in 3 car seats across the back row?
That’s the question I aimed to find out this weekend. I was able to round up a few generations of the Optima to put them through their paces with some of my best car seats. Before looking at the results, though, it’s worth reviewing which kinds of seats (e.g., infant seats, convertible seats, combination seats, and boosters) should be used, when, and for how long with our kids.
First of all, car seat safety begins with rear-facing. It’s the safest position for both children and adults, and I recommend rear-facing your kids as long as you possibly can (ideally until 4!) before turning them forward. Once you start forward-facing, I also suggest keeping that up as long as possible (ideally until 8!) before you start using booster seats. When you do booster, I recommend keeping that up until your kids can pass the 5-step test for using the adult seat belt (which typically happens between 10 and 12). It doesn’t take expensive seats to keep your kids safe; it mostly takes the right restraints for the right amount of time.
With that in mind, I set out to try all of the car seats at my disposal to see which 3 across installations would fit well in a Kia Optima, and put my list below together. The good news is that there are a range of infant, convertible, front-facing harnessed, and booster seats you’ll be able to get into the back row without trouble.
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.
2016, 2017 Kia Optima (JF)
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).
Graco Contender (x3).
Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).
Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Foonf, Chicco KeyFit 30.
Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Fllo, Chicco KeyFit 30.
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Clek Fllo, Graco Contender, Diono Radian / RXT.
Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT.
Clek Fllo, Graco Contender, Graco Contender.
Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65, Diono Radian / RXT.
Tips and Tricks:
The current generation of the Kia Optima is 191 inches long and 73 inches wide, or one inch wider than the previous generation. What this means is that you’ll be able to fit a number of infant, convertible, combination, and booster seats inside, especially if you remember to use your seat belts for all 3 seats instead of the LATCH system. The main issue you’re likely to run into involves the narrowness of the center seat and the sloping of the outboard seats. Don’t let that deter you; use your seat belts and drive those seats outward to get the space you need to make your middle installation work.
If you’re using booster seats, you’ll naturally use the seat belts for those anyway. I’m a fan of LATCH for when it comes to one or two seat installations, but when you want to install three or two seats next to each other and there isn’t much space, you’ll do best if you use your seat belts.
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Kia Optima (TF)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Snugride 35, Diono Radian / RXT.
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro, Evenflo Triumph.
Tips and Tricks:
The 2011-2015 generation of the Kia Optima is 191 inches long and 72 inches wide, which makes it very similar in length and width to the average mid-sized sedan. What this means is that you’ll be able to fit a number of infant, convertible, combination, and booster seats inside, especially if you remember to use your seat belts for all 3 seats instead of the LATCH system. The main issue you’re likely to run into involves the narrowness of the center seat and the sloping of the outboard seats. Don’t let that deter you; use your seat belts and drive those seats outward to get the space you need to make your middle installation work.
If you’re using booster seats, you’ll naturally use the seat belts for those anyway. I’m a fan of LATCH for when it comes to one or two seat installations, but when you want to install three or two seats next to each other and there isn’t much space, you’ll do best if you use your seat belts.
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Kia Optima (MG)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Snugride 35, Diono Radian / RXT.
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro, Evenflo Triumph.
Tips and Tricks:
The 2006-2010 generation of the Kia Optima is 187-189 inches long and 72 inches wide, or 2-4 inches shorter than the following generation. What this means is that just about every seat that will fit in the following generation will also fit in this generation, even though you’ll have a little less front-to-back space. Once again, use your seat belts for any installations that you have trouble with, and you’ll be able to get them to work. Remember that seats are allowed to touch each other as long as they’re independently tight.
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Kia Optima (MS)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Snugride 35, Diono Radian / RXT.
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro, Evenflo Triumph.
Tips and Tricks:
The first generation of the Kia Optima is 187 inches long and 72 inches wide, or 0-2 inches shorter than the following generation. What this means is that just about every seat that will fit in the following generation will also fit in this generation. Once again, use your seat belts for any installations that you have trouble with, and you’ll be able to get them to work. Remember that seats are allowed to touch each other as long as they’re independently tight.
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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.