The Scion xB is (was, since its discontinue in 2015) a small car popular with people interested in saving gas, reducing their environmental impact, buying affordable vehicles, and hauling large things with small spaces. It competes with other small sedans and hatchback wagons like the Ford Focus, Toyota Prius, Toyota Corolla, Kia Soul, Hyundai Elantra, and Honda Civic. It’s also a pretty popular vehicle with young families, which is why it’s important to know which kinds of car seats are compatible with the xB, especially when trying to install 3 car seats across in a Scion. Here are the results of my research, several scraped knuckles later!
I always like to begin by advocating best practices in car seat safety, regardless of the vehicle involved: rear-face as long as possible (ideally until 4!), and then forward-face as long as possible (ideally until 8!), and then booster until a regular belt fits your child (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep our kids safe by keeping them restrained in the right kinds of seats at the right ages.
However, for this information to be helpful, you need to know if a particular car seat will fit in your particular vehicle. Here are my experiences fitting a range of seats inside various years of the Scion xB. I’ll periodically update each page as I try more seats in more positions, as it’s my goal to make this the most thorough list for the Scion xB online.
You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. Canadians can see recommended car seats here. 3 across car seat images are courtesy of Wikipedia.
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Scion xB
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Britax Boulevard / Marathon, Combi Coccoro, Kiddy CruiserFix Pro.
Graco Snugride 35, Kiddy CruiserFix Pro, Diono Radian / RXT.
Britax Boulevard / Marathon, Chicco KeyFit 30, Kiddy CruiserFix Pro.
Tips and Tricks:
This final generation of the Scion xB is 167 inches long and 69 inches wide. Make no mistake; it is a small car. However, it’s definitely possible to do 3 across successfully in it, especially with the use of seat belts for each seat. Because of how short the vehicle is front-to-back, if you’re going to rear-face with a Radian, you’ll definitely want to consider the angle adjuster so there’s enough room to keep the driver and front-passenger happy; it’s cheap and it makes a world of a difference in a car as short as the xB.
2004, 2005, 2006 Scion xB
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Graco HeadWise 70, Baby Trend Flex Loc, Graco My Ride 65.
Tips and Tricks:
This generation of the Scion xB is 155 inches long and 67 inches wide, which means fitting 3 across will be more of a challenge than it is in nearly any other sedan on the road. It’s definitely possible, though, as long as you’re using the right seats. Once again, you’ll absolutely want to use seat belts to have a chance with these installations; save LATCH for when you’re only dealing with one car seat.
As is the case with the following generation xB, because of how short the vehicle is front-to-back, if you’re going to rear-face with a Radian, you’ll definitely want to consider the angle adjuster so there’s enough room to keep the driver and front-passenger happy; it’s cheap and it makes a world of a difference in a car as short as the xB.
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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.