The Acura RDX is Acura’s foray into the compact luxury SUV segment in the United States. It competes with other smaller mid-sized luxury crossovers like the Volvo XC60, Audi Q5, BMW X3, and its own larger stablemate the Acura MDX, among families looking for safe and reasonably fuel-efficient 5-passenger luxury SUVs. I was able to take a closer look at a current- and previous-generation RDX this week in order to see just how family-friendly they were when it came to puzzling 3 car seats across the back row. It was tougher than I was expecting, but it was definitely possible. Before looking at which seats did and didn’t work in detail, though, I’d like to review why it’s a very good idea to use different car seats in different stages, and probably for longer than most parents think is necessary.
For me, everything starts with rear-facing to the limits. What that means is you rear-face your children as long as you can (ideally until 4!), followed by keeping them harnessed for as long as possible (ideally until 8!), and finally using a booster seat until your little ones are big and mature enough to pass the 5 step test for seat belt use (which typically happens between 10 and 12). Your kids might think they aren’t cool by sitting rear-facing longer, using harnesses longer, or being boostered longer, but to me, nothing’s cooler than my kids being alive and uninjured due to following best practices in car seat safety.
After spending several hours installing and uninstalling car seats in a current and prior generation Acura RDX, I’ve got a pretty good idea of which car seats will and won’t fit in one, and feel this is the most complete list of car seats compatible in 3 across configurations with the RDX 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.
2013, 2014, 2015 Acura RDX
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Rainier, Britax Boulevard ClickTight.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Pacifica, Britax Boulevard ClickTight.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Rainier, Britax Boulevard G4.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Pacifica, Britax Boulevard G4.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Diono Rainier, Britax Boulevard G4.1.
Diono Radian RXT (x3).
Diono Radian R120 (x3).
Diono Radian R100 (x3).
Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30.
Tips and Tricks:
The current generation of the RDX is 184 inches long and just under 74 inches wide, making it a rather standard example of a smaller mid-sized crossover. Its interior width suggests a range of car seats will fit inside it without much trouble. However, the back center seat is narrower than it needs to be, which can make installations a bit tricky. That said, as long as you’re using your seat belts, you’ll be able to make a lot of installations work. Save the LATCH system for when you’ve only got one or two seats to deal with.
If you’re using a Diono to rear-face, given the shorter length of the RDX, you’ll want to invest in an angle adjuster (it’s a really cheap investment) to make sure you’re not squished in the driver’s or front-passenger’s seats while rear-facing.
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Acura RDX
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Rainier, Britax Boulevard ClickTight.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Pacifica, Britax Boulevard ClickTight.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Rainier, Britax Boulevard G4.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Pacifica, Britax Boulevard G4.1.
Diono Radian RXT (x3).
Diono Radian R120 (x3).
Diono Radian R100 (x3).
Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Tips and Tricks:
The initial generation of the Acura RDX is 181-183 inches long, depending on whether you’re driving a pre-2010 or 2010 and later model, and just under 74 inches wide in all model years. This means you’ll be able to fit a number of car seats inside it, as is the case in the current generation. Because the back center seat is narrower than it needs to be, you’ll want to choose a narrow seat for that position and save the wider seats for the outboard positions. That said, as long as you’re using your seat belts, you’ll be able to make a lot of installations work. Save the LATCH system for when you’ve only got one or two seats to deal with.
Once again, if you’re using a Diono to rear-face, given the shorter length of the RDX, you’ll want to invest in an angle adjuster (it’s a really cheap investment) to make sure you’re not squished in the driver’s or front-passenger’s seats while rear-facing.
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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.