The Hyundai Sonata is one of the most popular new mid-sized sedans on the market, competing strongly with more established offerings like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. The latest iterations of the Sonata feature a plethora of safety features, including electronic stability control, side curtain airbags, excellent safety scores, and even electronic braking to aid in front crash prevention. As a result, much like the Ford Fusion and Subaru Legacy, it’s becoming an affordable and favored choice for families seeking safe transportation for their little ones.
I borrowed a few Sonatas this weekend and put them through their paces in order to see how well they did in the all important metric of 3 across car seat installations. My results of the seats that did and didn’t work are summarized below. Before that, however, it’s worth taking a look at why it’s important to use certain seats at certain times with our children.
First of all, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are safest when rear-facing. I recommend rear-facing as long as you can (ideally until 4!), before forward-facing them in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once they outgrow their harnessed seats, I suggest keeping them in high-back boosters until they’re physically and psychologically ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). What we want to do is keep our kids restrained in the safest positions for as long as possible to increase their odds of surviving crash forces.
Keeping these ideas in mind, I set to work to find which infant, convertible, combination, and booster seats would work best in 3 across combinations in the Hyundai Sonata. I found several good options and a few great ones. 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.
2015, 2016, 2017 Hyundai Sonata (LF)
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 Hyundai Sonata is 192 inches long and 73 inches wide, which is comparable to dimensions in most mid-sized cars on the market. As a result, you can expect to install most narrow seats in 3 across configurations without much trouble.
Remember that the seat belt installation is the best way to maximize your side-to-side space when attempting 3 across installations. It’s not as fast as a LATCH installation, but it will give you more room, and every inch can count.
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Hyundai Sonata (YF)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Graco Contender (x3).
Clek Foonf (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:
This generation of the Hyundai Sonata is 190 inches long and 72 inches wide, or 2 inches shorter and 1 inch narrower than the 2015+ generation. Seat installations, however, are comparable, even though you have a bit less room to work with side-to-side and a bit less front-to-back.
If you’re installing a Diono seat rear-facing, you might want to look into the angle adjuster in order to have more room for front seat occupants. Alternatively, you might want to use a Clek convertible or Graco convertible since both aren’t quite as tall.
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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.