All posts by Mike

3 Across Installations: Which Car Seats Will Fit in a Honda Fit?

The Honda Fit is a minicar that parents purchase for a wide range of reasons. Some buy it to save gas, while others buy it because it’s cheap. Still others like it for the hatchback or the ability to park it almost anywhere. Whatever the reason, it’s important to know what kinds of car seats it can fit and which combinations will allow you to fit 3 in a row across it. That’s part of why I’ve spent a while trying out all kinds of seats in the Fit to see which ones puzzle best.

Whether you’re driving a Honda Fit or one of its competitors, like the Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Prius C, Toyota Yaris, or Kia Rio, the rules for keeping your children safe while strapped in are basically the same. These are what I call the basics of best practices in car seat safety: rear-face as long as possible (ideally until at least 4!), and then forward-face for a while longer (ideally until at least 5!), and then booster until a regular belt fits your child (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep your children in the safest seat configuration for the longest time possible, which is important no matter what you’re driving.

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 Honda Fit. I’ll periodically update each page as I try more seats in more positions.

You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. Canadians can find recommended seats here. 3 across car seat images are courtesy of Wikipedia.

fit - 2015 - publicdomain2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Honda Fit

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Graco Affix, Graco My Ride 65, Graco Affix.

Graco Affix, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Affix.

Graco Affix, Diono Radian / RXT Harmony Literider.

Tips and Tricks:

The current generation of the Honda Fit is 160 inches long and 67 inches wide, or 2 inches shorter than the previous generation. This will make it slightly easier to 3 across but significantly more difficult to retain front-to-back room for front seat passengers compared to the previous generation.

There is still a good amount of space left for front seat occupants with the triple Coccoro installation. Use the seat belts for all three seats, as you’re not going to have a useful amount of space with LATCH.

fit - 2012 - publicdomain2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Honda Fit

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Graco Affix, Graco My Ride 65, Graco Affix.

Graco Affix, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Affix.

Graco Affix, Diono Radian / RXT Harmony Literider.

Tips and Tricks:

This generation of the Honda Fit is 162 inches long and 67 inches wide, or 5 inches longer and 1 inch wider than the previous generation. This will make it slightly easier to 3 across and significantly easier to retain front-to-back room for front seat passengers compared to the previous generation.

There is still a good amount of space left for front seat occupants with the triple Coccoro installation. Use the seat belts for all three seats, as you’re not going to have a useful amount of space with LATCH.

fit - 2007 - publicdomain2007, 2008 Honda Fit

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Tips and Tricks:

This initial US generation of the Honda Fit is 157 inches long and 66 inches wide, making it the smallest and most difficult version of the Honda Fit sold in the US to use for 3 across installations. However, it’s still possible to make things work in it, although it’ll be a struggle. You’ll absolutely need to use seat belts instead of LATCH, and the seats are definitely going to be in contact with each other. As long as you can get independently tight installations, however, that is fine.

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Send me an email at carcrashdetective [at] gmail [dot] com.

Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 Review: Why Buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85?

I fall for a comfortable and safe car seat every time, especially if it’s one with decent potential as a rear-facing seat and with a good range as a forward-facing seat. Maxi-Cosi demonstrated its potential in both arenas with the Pria 70, and when I heard the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 was on the way, I knew I had to give it a try.

Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 – What’s the big deal?

The Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is a convertible car seat with a pretty common rear-facing range but a rather impressive rear-facing range. Being a convertible seat means that it can be used in two configurations, including as a rear-facing infant seat, and as a forward-facing seat. A TinyFit system is not yet available, although I’m sure it isn’t far behind. At any rate, it has one of the highest forward-facing weight limits available in any convertible currently on the market. The goal as stated by Maxi-Cosi is to enable parents to forward-face their children for longer than they would have been able to with the Pria 70. Is it worth it? Let’s see!

Buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon.

Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 Limits for Weight and Height

Rear-facing: 14-40 pounds. Your child’s head should not reach past 1″ below the top of the main shell and should be less than 40″ in height.

Forward-facing: 22-85 pounds, and between 34 and 43″ in height. The tips of your child’s ears need to be below the top end of the shell. Your child should be at least 1, and it’s recommended that s/he is at least 2. Of course, research into car safety indicates children should remain rear-facing for as long as possible (the average is 4 years in Sweden, which posts the lowest child fatality rate on Earth), and after rear-facing, the child should remain forward-facing as long as possible. Thanks to the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85, that’s a lot more possible.

Dimensions of the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85

The seat is 20″ wide and weighs around 20 pounds. It’s not the lightest seat on the market by a long shot, but it’s not bad for a convertible.

Using the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85

A look inside the box will reveal an attractive and elegant car seat packed securely and well mated to the space around it. As with the previous Pria 70, there are 9 harness height options available that span 9.5″ at the lowest setting and 17.5″ at the highest setting with small steps in between. Something I liked about the Pria 70 that Maxi-Cosi kept with the Pria 85 is the ability to raise and lower the harness height from the front of the seat, whether or not the seat is currently installed. You simply squeeze the handle back and pull it up or down as desired. It is called the Perfect Fit harness height adjustment and is designed to be used with one hand. Micro-adjustments are also possible so the fit is easier.

There is a red handle behind the seat restraint (see the image to the left) that is the recline adjuster. You can choose between several different positions; the positions that you choose will determine the angle at which the seat is tilted. The rear-facing adjustment is described as a “deep rear-facing adjustment”, and it is designed to make a correct rear-facing install easier and faster, which is always a good thing when you think about how the vast majority of car seats are installed incorrectly.

Other things I like about the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 include the fact that it includes a no-rethread harness adjust in addition to the no-rethread headrest. Other small but significant features include the addition of harness holders, which are designed to hold your harness straps away from you while loading a child. These are increasingly common on higher-end car seats, and while they don’t make a safety difference, they do make a significant convenience boost, so I’m a fan of them.

The installation of the seat itself is straightforward, and there is a one click LATCH system included that works intuitively. Keep in mind, however, that as is the case with just about every convertible seat, you can achieve a safe install whether you use a LATCH system or a seat belt. Personally, I almost always prefer the seat belt install since it makes installing multiple or three seats across a much easier affair. Similarly, I often find that the seat belt is the only way to achieve a safe center seat install, and the center seat is the safest seat. You can and are strongly encouraged to tether while forward-facing, although it’s not required. Here’s an article on why tethering while forward-facing is a great idea.

Oh – I also like the fact that there’s an integrated cup holder. Sometimes it’s the little things. Similarly, there are machine washable and dryer safe seating pads and harness covers included, while the CosiCushion fabrics and padding are really comfortable. Then again, Maxi-Cosi seems to have figured out a while ago how to make their car seats comfortable.

Buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon.

Why Buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85?

This is the meat and potatoes of this car seat. The Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is one of several seats in the United States that allow you to rear-face a child for up to 40 pounds. This isn’t as good as it gets anymore, but it’s still decent. Every pound is precious, as the longer you rear-face, the safer your child is. In the US, parents tend to turn their children around into the line of fire at 1. In Sweden, this typically isn’t done until 4. Children in Sweden are far less likely to die in car crashes than children in the US. It makes that much of a difference. This alone is reason enough to buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85.

However, the primary reason why I’m a fan of the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is because the seat will work well with larger and older children due to its 85 pound weight limit. This is almost as good as it gets for a convertible car seat; the only convertible seats that currently offer higher forward-facing limits are the Diono Rainier and Pacifica at 90 pounds. The Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is a smaller seat than either of these, which makes it easier to fit in smaller vehicles. Be sure to check out the 3 across guide to see which kinds of car seats are likely to fit in your vehicle.

The biggest strike against the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is the fact that there are seats that allow you to RF significantly longer by weight. I’m also not a fan of the fact that you can’t use it with infants from day 1, the way you can with a number of other convertibles, due to the 14 pound minimum weight. I’m sure Maxi-Cosi will soon release a Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 with a TinyFit insert the way they did with the Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 with TinyFit, and that will take care of this concern nicely. For now, though, you’ll need an infant seat to start things off if you have an infant who weighs less than 14 pounds.

However, if the ability to practice ERF, practice EH, or extended harnessing, and enjoy ease of installation are important to you, the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 will give you what you’re looking for. Finally, I do like that the seat is FAA approved for aircraft use. I also like that it is made in the United States.

I recommend the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 wholeheartedly. You can buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 here in three colors. Canadians can buy it here.

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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.

3 Across Installations: Which Car Seats Will Fit in a Honda Civic?

The Honda Civic is one of the most popular vehicles on the road, and is driven by people from all walks of life, including parents. However, being a smaller vehicle, it can be a challenge to find out which car seats fit and don’t fit well inside it, especially if one is trying to install 3 car seats across in a Honda Civic. Here are the car seats I’ve tried and verified as seats that puzzle well in Civics of different model years. Basically, you’re looking at a tight fit for most of them, simply because it’s a small car, but it’s definitely possible, just as it’s possible in a Corolla, Cruze, Focus, Elantra, Dart, and many other small cars.

You know the basics of best practices in car seat safety: 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). These are the recommendations I provide to keep kids as safe as possible through each developmental stage.

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 Honda Civic. I’ll periodically update each page as I try more seats in more positions.

You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. 3 across car seat images are courtesy of Wikipedia.

civic - 2016 - publicdomain2016, 2017, 2018 Honda Civic (FC1, FC2)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Tips and Tricks:

Honda finally made a significant dimensional change to the Civic in 2016 by switching to a different global platform. What this means is that the Civic is now  both longer (more than 182 inches) and wider (almost 71 inches) than any previous Civic, which translates into more space side to side and front-to-back for 3 across installations. It also means that anything in the previous generations should fit in the current generation with more space. What I’ve listed above are just some of the seats I’ve tested so far. As before, you’ll want to use seat belts to make things work internally, although you’ll be able to get away with LATCH when dealing with just one or two seats.

civic - 2012 - publicdomain2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Honda Civic

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco TurboBooster.

Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Nautilus.

Britax Parkway SGL, Cosco Scenera, Diono Radian / RXT.

Britax Parkway SGL, Britax Boulevard / Marathon, Diono Radian / RXT.

Graco Snugride 35, Cosco Scenera, Diono Radian / RXT.

Graco Snugride 35, Britax Boulevard / Marathon, Diono Radian / RXT.

Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Boulevard / Marathon, Diono Radian / RXT.

Combi Coccoro, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Britax Boulevard / Marathon, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Boulevard / Marathon.

Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Boulevard / Marathon, Diono Radian / RXT.

Britax Parkway SGL, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Parkway SGL.

Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Parkway SGL, Diono Radian / RXT.

Tips and Tricks:

I grouped close to a decade of Civics together here because they’re all still basically the same size, which means that seats that worked in the older years will still work in the newer years, except that you might have a tiny bit more room to work with. If things change, I’ll make a new list. But for now, the Civic has remained basically 67-69 inches wide and around 177-179 inches long for a long time.

Radian / RXT – yes with or without the angle adjuster. It can also fit RF in the center rear seat without touching the driver’s or passenger’s seat, although this will naturally depend on the height of the driver and passenger. It also puzzles well next to a Graco Nautilus. It can puzzle with a Britax Parkway SGL if the Radian is center and the Parkway is outboard with great difficulty.

Graco Nautilus – yes. It also puzzles well next to a Diono Radian RXT.

Britax Parkway SGL – yes in the outboard position. It can puzzle with the Diono Radian when the Radian is in the center, but only with great difficulty due to the need to buckle the booster.

civic - 2001 - publicdomain2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Honda Civic

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Baby Trend Flex Loc, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Marathon 70.

Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Baby Trend Flex Loc.

Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Parkway SGL.

Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT , Combi Coccoro.

Tips and Tricks:

Radian / RXT – yes with or without the angle adjuster. It will puzzle well with an adjacent Radian when one is outboard and one is the center if the outboard Radian is forward-facing and the center Radian is rear-facing. Two Radians can also easily be installed in the outboard positions while rear-facing. You can manage a secure 3 across installation with Radians in this generation of Civics with great difficulty, at least when forward-facing.

Britax Frontier 90 – yes, but it will not puzzle next to a center rear-facing Radian if the Frontier is outboard; you won’t be able to close the door.

Britax Parkway SG – yes in the outboard position. Can puzzle with the Diono Radian when the Radian is in the center, but only with great difficulty due to the need to buckle the booster.

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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.

Britax Advocate, Boulevard, and Marathon ClickTight Preview with Review on the Way: Easiest Rear-Facing Seats Yet?

Update: My review of the Britax Advocate ClickTight is here!

I’m always interested in news about new car seats, and Britax has confirmed what Amazon.com recently revealed: Britax is extending their ClickTight system of car seat installation (previously seen on the Frontier 90 and Pinnacle 90) to a new convertible car seat line! These seats are going to be game-changers per Britax, and I think they’re right, especially when it comes to the ease of installation. Why?

Well, the seats, for starters, are going to be brand new, and will bring a range of new features to the table. You can still buy the G4 convertibles, such as the Britax Advocate G4, Boulevard G4, and Marathon G4, but you’ll also be able to choose the Britax Advocate ClickTight, Boulevard ClickTight, and Marathon ClickTight. You can read my review of the Britax Advocate G4 here and I’m already working on getting my hands on a copy of one of the newest ClickTight seats!

Why should I choose a ClickTight seat?

Essentially, the ClickTight seats make it super-easy to install a Britax car seat with a seat belt. I’d say it’s easier than a LATCH install, and that’s saying something. At the same time, it doesn’t take up any more space than a typical seat belt install, while being substantially easier to do correctly. No more struggling to get a seat weighted down and twisting buckle stalks about…it just works. For me, that reason alone would be enough to consider one of these. However, there are some additional goodies and reasons to do so…see below.

When will they be available?

Right now, Britax says the seats will be available in late September, although if you pre-order the seats, you will likely be able to get them a bit earlier. They are expected to start shipping the seats to stores in three weeks!



What are the differences?

The Britax Marathon ClickTight is not going to be that different from the Britax Marathon G4. Per Britax, the top harness height will remain virtually identical at 17.7″, while the top seated shoulder height will only marginally increase to 16.95.” The general height limit for the seat will also barely change, increasing by an inch to 50.” The height limit for rear-facing will increase a nudge as a result to around 25″ tall as long as the 1″ shell height rule is involved. The weight limit for rear-facing will remain from 5-40 pounds, while the forward-facing range will also remain unchanged at 20-65 pounds.

In other words, the big change is the ClickTight system for an easier installation. You can see what the new Marathon ClickTight will look like thanks to the image on the left. I like the purple tones already. However, things get better…

The Britax Advocate ClickTight and Britax Boulevard ClickTight will see a big boost to their height ranges, from 17.5″ all the way up to 19.5!” This will place the new seats in very rarefied air when it comes to convertibles currently available on the market. Similarly, the seated shoulder height rises to 18.65″ while the overall height limit will now stretch up to 54.” This is great news for anyone interested in Extended Harnessing, or EH, which refers to maximizing the amount of time a forward-facing child can spend harnessed before moving to a booster seat. It is important to note, however, that the rear-facing weight limits will remain the same at 5-40 pounds, while the forward-facing weight limits will also remain unchanged at 20 to 65 pounds. However, thanks to the height increases, it is now much more likely that children will actually have the time to reach these weight limits.

Besides that, what makes me super happy about the updates to the seats is the fact that the seats will no longer be dependent upon the outer shell in order to set the limits for height when rear-facing. Instead, the inner shell will now be the benchmark for the 1″ rule. As a reference, that’s about 1″ underneath the harness height adjustment lever. As a result, the maximum seated height limit might actually be up to 27″ tall, which again makes it even more possible to engage in extended-rear facing to the weight limits of the seat.

Why No Higher Weight Limits?

It is disappointing that higher weight limits do not accompany the higher height limits in the new Britax convertibles. However, hopefully Britax will make this a priority in their future car seats. Until then, it’s definitely an improvement to have seats that make it more likely for children who use them to reach the maximum weight limits. If you’re looking for the highest car seat weight limits, however, you’ll want to look at Clek and Diono right now.

Easiest Rear-Facing Seats Yet?

I’m excited at the possibility of the three Britax convertibles (the Britax Advocate ClickTight, Britax Boulevard ClickTight, and Britax Marathon ClickTight) becoming the easiest extended rear-facing convertibles to install on the market, even surpassing the Chicco NextFit! That would definitely be a game changer, since approximately 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly throughout the United States. Whatever makes it easier for parents to install car seats is something we should celebrate, and Britax is clearly taking steps to make this a reality.

We’ll have to wait and see if they’re as easy to install as Britax claims they will be for the average parent. I’ve already pre-ordered one of each and am anxiously awaiting their arrivals.

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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.

3 Across Installations: Which Car Seats Fit a Subaru Outback?

The Subaru Outback is one of the most popular hatchbacks or mid-sized cars in the United States today. It competes with models like its sedan twin, the Subaru Legacy, as well as with the Honda Accord, Volkswagen Passat, Hyundai Sonata, and Toyota Camry among families interested in safe and reliable transportation for their children. It’s an attractive vehicle with a lot of storage, and I made it my goal the past weekend to figure out how many car seats I could fit into it, especially when it came to 3 across installations in the Subaru Outback. Here are the results of my research. However, before discussing what did and didn’t work, it’s worth reviewing some basic tenets of car seat safety.

If you’re a reader of the Car Crash Detective, you already know the basics of best practices in car seat safety: rear-face as long as possible (ideally until 4!), and then forward-face as long as possible (ideally until 6!), and then booster until a regular belt fits your child (which typically happens between 10 and 12). These guidelines are my best ideas about what it takes to keep kids as safe as possible at every stage of development.

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 Subaru Outback. I’ll periodically update each page as I try more seats in more positions.

You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. The Canadian recommended car seat list is here. 3 across car seat images are courtesy of Wikipedia.

2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Subaru Outback

outback - 2015 - publicdomainGuaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Peg Perego Flex 120 (x3).

Maxi-Cosi RodiFix (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Foonf, Chicco KeyFit 30.

Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Fllo, Chicco KeyFit 30.

Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.

Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro, Diono Radian / RXT.

Cybex Aton 2, Combi Coccoro, Chicco KeyFit 30.

Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Britax Boulevard G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Britax Marathon G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Tips and Tricks:

This generation of the Subaru Outback is 190 inches long and 72 inches wide, which means 3 across installations will not be any easier than they were in the previous generation, but that there will be slightly more room to play with in terms of front to back space than there was in the previous generation. The leg room makes a big difference in comfort, and as a bonus, this is also the safest Outback generation yet.

As before, you’ll definitely want to use your seat belts to maximize the effective space in the back row; save LATCH for when you’re only installing car seats in the outboard positions.

2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Subaru Outback

outback - 2010 - publicdomainGuaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Peg Perego Flex 120 (x3).

Maxi-Cosi RodiFix (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Foonf, Chicco KeyFit 30.

Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Fllo, Chicco KeyFit 30.

Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.

Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro, Diono Radian / RXT.

Cybex Aton 2, Combi Coccoro, Chicco KeyFit 30.

Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Britax Boulevard G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Britax Marathon G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Diono Radian RXT(x2), Graco Click Connect 35 (thanks Steve!).

Tips and Tricks:

This Outback generation is 188 inches long and 72 inches wide, making it significantly wider than the previous generation. As a result, 3 across installations should be slightly easier than in the past. Once again, however, you’ll want to prioritize seat belt installations.

2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Subaru Outback

outback - 2005 - publicdomainGuaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Peg Perego Flex 120 (x3).

Maxi-Cosi RodiFix (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Britax Marathon, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Snugride 30.

Combi Coccoro, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Cocorro.

Combi Coccoro, Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT.

Britax Boulevard, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Snugride 30.

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Marathon, Diono Radian / RXT.

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Boulevard, Diono Radian / RXT.

Tips and Tricks:

This Outback generation is 189 inches long and 68 inches wide, which does make 3 across installations more difficult than in later generations due to the width. However, if you take your time, use seat belt installations, and go with the narrow seats recommended above, it’s definitely feasible to get 3 across here as well.

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can buy my books here or do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can shop here for Canadian purchases.  It costs nothing extra to do so, but when you shop through my links, a small portion of your purchase, regardless of what you buy, will go toward the maintenance of The Car Crash Detective.