The Nissan Armada is the largest SUV Nissan makes, which makes sense since until 2016, it shared a platform with the Nissan Titan, which is the largest pickup by the Japanese automaker. Built for the US market in Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi factory factory (and now built in Yukuhashi, Japan), it competes with other mega-SUVs locally like the Chevrolet Tahoe, Dodge Durango, GMC Yukon, Toyota Sequoia, Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Ford Expedition, as well as with some extra-large variants like the Chevy Suburban. However, being a Nissan, it’ll last longer than most of them. It’s also one of the safest vehicles you can buy as judged by IIHS driver death rates, and was one of the few vehicles to make the “zero” driver death list (in its 4WD configuration) for ’05-’08 model year vehicles. Its upscale equivalent is the QX80 (formerly QX56).

As a result, it’s no surprise that the Armada is a popular vehicle among families interested in safety, utility, and reliability. It seats 7-8 passengers, depending on which trim specifications you’ve purchased, and is one of the hardiest vehicles on the road. However, I wanted to figure out just how well it did when it came to fitting car seats across the 2nd and 3rd rows.

Before going into which seats worked (a lot of them) and which ones didn’t (very few), let’s take a quick look at which kinds of seats you’ll want to use with your children, when you’ll want to use them, how you’ll want to face them, and why.

For me, the most basic and essential part of car seat safety involves rear-facing. It’s the safest position we know of, and the longer our kids rear-face, the safer they’ll be, regardless of what kind of vehicle they travel in. I recommend keeping children in rear-facing infant or convertible seats as long as possible (ideally until 4!), then keeping them harnessed in forward-facing seats for several years more (ideally until 6, 7, or 8!), and then only switching them out of booster seats when they pass the 5 step test (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep kids in the safest kinds of seats for as long as possible to increase their odds of surviving serious car crashes.

With that all in mind, I got to work with my seats to create what I believe to be the most detailed 3 across guide for the Nissan Armada 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 taken by yours truly or are courtesy of Wikipedia.

2016+ Nissan Armada (Y62)

The second generation Armada is longer than the first at just under 209 inches. Its width also swells slightly to just under 80 inches. As with the first generation, the world is your oyster when it comes to car seat compatibility, if not in fuel economy or city parking feasibility.

As a result, you’re once again going to be able to fit pretty much anything you want inside it in the 2nd row (as long as you don’t want captain’s chairs again). Similarly, you’re going to be able to fit a great many seats in the 3rd row as long as you’re willing to use seat belts in both rows as needed. To be honest, you’ll probably be able to get away with using LATCH on multiple seats, but do keep in mind that some seats will be wide enough to make using seat belts the better option.

As with the first generation, the generous amount of room between the 1st and 2nd row also means you shouldn’t struggle with front-to-back room, although you’ll struggle more with the installation of rear-facing seats if you try to use them in the 3rd row. Forward-facing seats won’t be an issue in any of the rows, although you will have to deal with a limited number of tethers available in the Sequoia overall. Remember that you always want to tether forward-facing seats to limit head excursion.

The first generation Armada comes in two lengths: just under 207 inches long (between 2003 and 2007)and just  under 208 inches long from 2007 onward. Its width expanded from just under 79 inches before 2007 to just over 79 inches after 2007. In other words, you’re dealing with a huge SUV, which is a good thing when it comes to car seat compatibility.

As a result, you’re going to be able to fit pretty much anything you want inside it in the 2nd row (presuming you didn’t opt for 2nd row captain chairs in the Platinum level instead of the standard bench seat). Similarly, you’re going to be able to fit a great many seats in the 3rd row as long as you’re willing to use seat belts in both rows as needed. To be honest, you’ll probably be able to get away with using LATCH on multiple seats, but do keep in mind that some seats will be wide enough to make using seat belts the better option.

The generous amount of room between the 1st and 2nd row also means you shouldn’t struggle with front-to-back room, although you’ll struggle more with the installation of rear-facing seats if you try to use them in the 3rd row. Forward-facing seats won’t be an issue in any of the rows, although you will have to deal with a limited number of tethers available in the Sequoia overall. Remember that you always want to tether forward-facing seats to limit head excursion.

—

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.

The Chevy Volt is one of the more interesting plug-in hybrids on the market now. If you’re looking to spend as little money on gas as possible, it has few affordable competitors–namely other small hybrids like the Toyota Prius and a handful of dedicated electrics like the Nissan Leaf and Ford Focus Electric. If you have the patience to wait for it, the Tesla Model 3 will be a competitor someday, but it might take a while. The closely-named and all electric Chevy Bolt is also expected to be  a competitor when released. However, until then, the Volt will continue to gain a following among families interested in fuel-efficient transportation that doesn’t come in a Prius and has a longer range than a Leaf.

The first generation Volt was an interesting vehicle, but it only had two seats in the second row, which made it impossible to use with more than 3 passengers (one in the front passenger seat and two in the back row). A lot of families passed over it as a result, whether due to already having larger families or wanting to keep the option available of having more kids. Chevy finally fixed this in the second gen Volt, making it a theoretically 3-across-friendly vehicle. I made it my goal to see just how realistic this was.

Before looking at the results of fitting 3 car seats into the Volt, however, let’s take a look at some elements of best practices in terms of when and for how long to use infant seats, convertibles combination seats, and booster seats in vehicles.

For me, car seat safety starts with rear-facing your kids as long as you can (ideally until 4!). That’s the safest position and is worth doing as long as possible before forward-facing your little ones in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once they outgrow their harnessed seats, I suggest keeping children in high-back boosters until they’re physically and psychologically ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep kids as safely restrained for as long as possible, as it’s far too late to do anything for your child’s safety in the moment before a collision.

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 Chevy Volt. This list is likely to be the most complete on the Internet so far; there just isn’t that much information out there on car seats in plug-in hybrids and electric cars yet, though I’m trying hard to change that. 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.

The Ford Expedition is the largest SUV sold by Ford, which makes sense since its T platform is based on a modified F-150 platform. Built for markets around the world in Ford’s Louisville, Kentucky factory, it competes with other mega-SUVs locally like the Chevrolet Tahoe, Dodge Durango, GMC Yukon, Toyota Sequoia, Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Nissan Armada, as well as with some extra-large variants like the Chevy Suburban. It even comes in extra-large versions like the Expedition EL, which replaces the now-discontinued Ford Excursion. While it’s not the most comfortable SUV on the road, it definitely has one of the largest cargo and hauling capacities you can buy while transporting up to eight passengers. Its luxury equivalent is the Lincoln Navigator.

As a result, it’s no surprise that many turn to the Expedition for its hauling ability and passenger-seating capability.  Prior to 2007, you could seat up to 9 passengers in certain trim levels (those with front bench seats), although you’re limited to “only” 8 passengers from 2007 onward. With that in mind, I wanted to figure out just how well it did when it came to fitting car seats across the 2nd and 3rd rows.

Before going into which seats worked (a lot of them) and which ones didn’t (very few), let’s take a quick look at which kinds of seats you’ll want to use with your children, when you’ll want to use them, how you’ll want to face them, and why.

For me, the most basic and essential part of car seat safety involves rear-facing. It’s the safest position we know of, and the longer our kids rear-face, the safer they’ll be, regardless of what kind of vehicle they travel in. I recommend keeping children in rear-facing infant or convertible seats as long as possible (ideally until 4!), then keeping them harnessed in forward-facing seats for several years more (ideally until 8!), and then only switching them out of booster seats when they pass the 5 step test (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep kids in the safest kinds of seats for as long as possible to increase their odds of surviving serious car crashes.

With that all in mind, I got to work with my seats to create what I believe to be the most detailed 3 across guide for the Ford Expedition 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 taken by yours truly or are courtesy of Wikipedia.

2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Ford Expedition (U324)

The 3rd generation Expedition is just over 206 inches long and just under 79 inches wide, which means it’s ever so slightly longer and no wider than the second gen. Once again, you’ll be able to fit pretty much any combination of car seats in the 2nd or 3rd rows as long as you’re willing to use seat belts instead of LATCH. The 3rd row isn’t as wide as the 2nd row, so I’d start with the 2nd row for installations and move on back unless you need to keep the 2nd row clear for adults or to make 3rd row access easier.

A notable change in this gen compared to the previous 2 gens is that the 9-passenger option for the Expedition has disappeared due to the 1st row only coming with bucket seats instead of with a bench option.

2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Ford Expedition (U222)

The 2nd gen Expedition is just under 206 inches long and just under 79 inches wide, which means you’ll be able to fit pretty much anything you try to in the 2nd and 3rd rows as long as you stick with seat belts. You’ll be able to fit a lot of seats with LATCH anchors too, but to get extra flexibility in 3 across setups, I usually just go with seat belts from the get go to save me time and frustration.

This is the last generation of the Expedition that comes with the optional 9th seat via a 1st row bench. It’s also the first gen to feature manual stow-away seats in the 3rd row, a feature common on minivans.

1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Ford Expedition (UN93)

The 1st gen Expedition is just under 205 inches long and just under 79 inches wide. The width remains essentially the same through all three generations, which means you have about the same amount of room to work with no matter which Expedition you’re driving with. It also means that the seats that will fit in one will fit in pretty much any other Expedition.

—

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.

The Jeep Commander is no longer manufactured, having been replaced by the Dodge Durango. However, many parents continue to email me asking which car seats will fit 3 across in a 5 or 7-passenger Commander, and I figured it was high time I put together a 3 across guide to help all of the parents who haven’t emailed me yet. If you came here looking for the related Jeep Grand Cherokee 3 across guide, here it is. The Commander was designed as a WK Jeep Grand Cherokee counterpart, so if you’ve got one, you’ll have a good chance of fitting seats in the other.

The Jeep Commander is still a great safe used family vehicle, with good frontal crash scores, stability control, roll mitigation, and side curtain airbags. However, if you’re reading this, you probably want to know how the answer to this question: how does the Commander do when it comes to providing room for 3 car seats of varying sizes across the 2nd row? That’s what I set to find out.

Before looking at which car seats did and didn’t fit in the Jeep Commander in 3 across setups, it’s worth reviewing a bit of car safety, in terms of which kinds of seats to use and when.

Car seat safety starts with rear-facing. It’s the safest position we know of, and the longer our kids rear-face, the safer they’ll be, regardless of what kind of vehicle they travel in. I recommend keeping children in rear-facing infant or convertible seats as long as possible (ideally until 4!), then keeping them harnessed in forward-facing seats for several years more (ideally until 8!), and then only switching them out of booster seats when they pass the 5 step test (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep kids in the safest kinds of seats for as long as possible to increase their odds of surviving serious car crashes.

With that all in mind, I got to work with my seats to create what I believe to be the most detailed 3 across guide for the Jeep Commander on the Internet, covering every model year of the crossover / SUV ever made. 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, although I’ll prioritize vehicles currently manufactured over ones.

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 taken by yours truly or are courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Jeep Commander was just under 188 inches long and 75 inches wide, making it a good choice for 3 across setups in the 2nd row. Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to get 3 across in the 3rd row even if you do have a 3rd one, since the Commander is at best a 7-passenger vehicle. The 2nd row isn’t the widest, but it’s definitely wide enough as long as you’re willing to use your seat belts instead of LATCH for the installation. Remember that seat belts are as safe as LATCH, and in some cases, safer, depending on the weight limits of your car seats.

Given the length of the Commander, I wouldn’t expect you to have much trouble with fitting most seats in rear-facing configurations in terms of front-to-back space, but if you’re concerned about making things work, you can also check out my front-to-back comparison chart for rear-facing convertibles.

—

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.