The Volkswagen Passat is a popular luxury European mid-sized car that competes with the cheaper Jetta as well as with Japanese offerings like the Honda Accord, Subaru Outback, Toyota Camry, and Toyota Prius V. Available in both sedan and station wagon versions, the Passat is a popular choice among parents who want safety, luxury, and versatility when transporting their children. I borrowed a few sedans and wagons this weekend in effort to see which car seats could fit 3 across in a Passat without too much trouble.
In my experience, the best protected children in vehicles are the ones who rear-face as long as they can (ideally until 4!), and then forward-face as long as feasible (ideally until 8!), and then booster until they can use a regular seat belt (which typically happens between 10 and 12). These guidelines keep your children as safe as possible by keeping them in the right orientations as long as possible.
However, to make the best use of this information, you need to know which car seats will fit well and which will give you trouble when you try to fit them into your Passat. I put all of my car seats together and spent time installing and uninstalling them in my garage this weekend in a variety of Passats in order to make this 3 across guide. If you find it useful, you can show your support by shopping 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 Volkswagen Passat (B7)
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).
Recaro ProRIDE, Diono Radian / RXT, Harmony Literider.
Recaro ProRIDE, Britax Boulevard, Harmony Literider.
Recaro ProRIDE, Britax Marathon, Harmony Literider.
Recaro ProRIDE, Britax Advocate, Harmony Literider.
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Clek Foonf, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.
Tips and Tricks:
This generation of the Volkswagen Passat is 192 inches long and 72 inches wide, which means that 3 across installations won’t be any easier in this generation, by width at least, than they were in the previous generation. However, thanks to the additional 4 inches in length compared to the previous generation, there should be significantly more front-to-back space for passengers with long legs.
These installations apply equally to the sedan and SportWagen (hatchback station wagon) version of the Passat.
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Volkswagen Passat (B6)
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).
Chicco KeyFit 30, Graco Snugride 30, Chicco KeyFit 30.
Britax Marathon, Graco Snugride 30, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Snugride 30, Diono Radian / RXT.
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Tips and Tricks:
This generation of the Volkswagen Passat is 188 inches long and 72 inches wide, which means 3 across installations will be a lot easier than they were in the previous generation. In fact, they should be comparable to 3 across installations in any other mid-sized sedan on the market.
These installations apply equally to the sedan and SportWagen (hatchback station wagon) version of the Passat.
1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Volkswagen Passat (B5)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Graco MyRide 65, Safety 1st Complete Air, Graco MyRide 65.
Clek Foonf (x3).
Britax Frontier 90, Britax Marathon, Britax Parkway SGL.
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Tips and Tricks:
This generation of the Volkswagen Passat is approximately 184 inches long and 68 inches wide, which means that 3 across installations, while possible, will be on the tighter end, to put it mildly. As usual, look to seat belt installations over LATCH installations for additional space whenever feasible.
These installations apply equally to the sedan and SportWagen (hatchback station wagon) version of the Passat.
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.