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.

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.

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).

Diono Radian / RXT (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.

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.

The Subaru Legacy is one of the fastest-growing entries into the mid-sized car market in the United States, and also one of the safest cars on the road. It was one of the nine vehicles predicted to have a driver death rate of zero in the most recent IIHS driver death rate report, and it’s no surprise that it’s highly prized among parents and families looking for safe and reliable transportation for their little ones.

I’d had the chance to test a number of mid-sized cars for 3 across car seat compatibility in the past year, including the Subaru Outback, Ford Fusion, Volkswagen Jetta, Honda Accord, Volkswagen Passat, and Toyota Camry, but it wasn’t until this past weekend that I got the chance to try out the Legacy for 3 across car seat installations. I’ll get into the results in a moment, but before that, I figure it’s a good idea to look at some of the basics in car seat safety.

For me, the basics come down to keeping kids restrained in the safest positions for as long as possible. That means rear-facing as long as your child will fit in a rear-facing seat (ideally until 4!), and then doing the same for forward-facing in a harness (ideally until 8!), and then boostering until your child is ready to pass the 5-step test and use an adult seat belt and seat (which typically happens between 10 and 12). These guidelines are my suggestions after countless hours of research into child safety seat usage, collision survival, and child development.

However, in order to put that information to use, you’re going to need some information on which car seats will and won’t work in your particular vehicle. Here’s what I’ve found works in a Subaru Legacy across a range of years. It’s my goal to make this the most complete list on the Internet, and I’ll keep adding updates on seats that do and don’t work as I try them.

You can check out 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 Subaru Legacy

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).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

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.

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

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.

Tips and Tricks:

The current generation of the Subaru Legacy is 189 inches long and 72 inches wide, which is pretty typical for a mid-sized car. It also means that you can expect most decently narrow seats to fit, even though you’re not going to have as much room as you would in, say, a minivan. As usual, to make many to most of these configurations workable, you’re going to need to use seat belts instead of LATCH anchors all the way across.

2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Subaru Legacy

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

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

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.

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.

Tips and Tricks:

This generation of the Subaru Legacy is 186 inches long and 72 inches wide, which is typical when it comes to width for mid-sized cars. It’s 3 inches shorter than the 2015+ generation, which means you’re going to have a bit less front-to-back room for most installations, so you’ll want to look for more upright seats like the Fllos and Foonfs over the Radians when it comes to rear-facing. Alternatively, you could use the angle adjuster, which buys you several inches and only costs a few dollars on top of a Radian.

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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.

The Acura MDX is a mid-sized luxury crossover SUV that competes with crossovers like the Mercedes M-Class, Volvo XC90, Volvo XC60, BMW X5, and BMW X3, and Lexus RX among families interested in mid-sized luxury SUVs that seat 5-7 individuals. Some of the newest passive and active safety features are present in the MDX, including rollover-sensing side airbags, Electronic Stability Control, good safety scores in moderate front overlap, small overlap, and side impact crash tests, and a roof capable of supporting 4 times the vehicle’s weight. It’s also perhaps the most reliable luxury SUV on the market along with the Lexus RX and GX series, and one of the few made in the US (in Lincoln, Alabama along with its badge twin, the Honda Pilot, and in East Liberty, Ohio). As a result, when I had the chance to borrow a few to test car seats in them, I made it my mission to figure out which seats would work well in the MDX in 3 across setups. Let’s take a look together!

Before doing so, however, it’s worth keeping best practices in car safety in mind. For me, that means rear-facing our youngest travelers as long as we can  (ideally until 4!), and then harnessing them in a forward-facing convertible or combination seat (ideally until 6, 7, or 8!), and then boostering them until they can pass the five step test for seat belt use with flying colors (which typically happens between 10 and 12). Essentially, keeping kids in safer configurations in car seats keeps them safer, and that’s what I’m interested in.

With all that in mind, the good news is that there are a whole lot of car seats that will fit well in an MDX, especially if you use seat belt installations and relatively narrow seats. I’m guessing this is already the most complete 3 across guide for the MDX on the Internet, and I’m not done with it yet.  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.

2014, 2015, 2016 , 2017, 2018 Acura MDX (YD3)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Pavilion G4.

Clek Fllo, Clek Fllo, Britax Pavilion G4.

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit (x3).

Safety 1st Grow and Grow EX Air (x3).

Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 (x3).

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Diono Radian / RXT.

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Marathon ClickTight.

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Boulevard ClickTight.

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Marathon  G4.1.

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Boulevard  G4.1.

Graco Contender (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Recaro Performance SPORT, Recaro ProRide, Graco TurboBooster.

This generation of the Acura MDX is 194 inches long and 77 inches wide, making it the longest, though not the widest, generation of the MDX yet. The width is narrower than that of previous generations by 1-2 inches, which means you don’t have quite as much room for wide 3 across installations, but it’s still wide enough to fit most car seats without trouble. To do any better, you’ll want to look at minivans like the Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna.

2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Acura MDX (YD2)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Pavilion G4.

Clek Fllo, Clek Fllo, Britax Pavilion G4.

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Diono Radian / RXT.

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Marathon ClickTight.

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Boulevard ClickTight.

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Marathon  G4.1.

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Boulevard  G4.1.

Graco Contender (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Recaro Performance SPORT, Recaro ProRide, Graco TurboBooster.

This generation of the Acura MDX is around 189-191 inches long and 78-79 inches wide, which means you have a generous amount of side-to-side space for most 3 across installations. That said, you’ll still want to use the seat belt system to maximize your available space, and depending on which seats you use, you might need to have someone help you put pressure on the seats while pulling the belts out to engage the retractors.

Similarly, if you’re using the Frontier 90, be sure to use it outboard so you can take advantage of the long belt path. The short belt path of the inboard seat is notoriously difficult to use with the Frontier 90.

2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Acura MDX (YD1)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Pavilion G4.

Clek Fllo, Clek Fllo, Britax Pavilion G4.

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Diono Radian / RXT.

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Marathon ClickTight.

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Boulevard ClickTight.

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Marathon  G4.1.

Britax Frontier 90, Britax Frontier 90, Britax Boulevard  G4.1.

Graco Contender (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Recaro Performance SPORT, Recaro ProRide, Graco TurboBooster.

The first generation of the Acura MDX is around 189 inches long and 77 inches wide, which means you have a generous amount of side-to-side space for most 3 across installations. That said, you’ll still want to use the seat belt system to maximize your available space. Interestingly, although it’s narrower than the generation that follows it, it’s the same width as the 3rd generation MDX.

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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.

The Kia Sorento is a mid-sized crossover SUV that competes with other SUVs like the Ford Edge, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota Highlander, Dodge Journey, Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Flex, and Honda Pilot, among families looking for safe, stylish 5 to 7-passenger mid-sized SUVs. It has some of the latest features in safety design in terms of passive safety, including Electronic Stability Control, rollover-sensing airbags, and good safety scores in moderate frontal overlap and side impact crash tests. It also was one of a handful of vehicles in which no drivers died while driving the 2011 model year Sorento between 2009 and 2012.  This is an incredibly impressive statistic, and it made me want to figure out which car seats would fit 3 across in a Kia Sorento. And as a bonus for fans of things made locally, the US Sorento is produced in West Point, Georgia. Let’s see how car-seat friendly it turned out to be!

Before we take a look at the car seats that fit well in the Sorento, though, let’s look at best practices in car safety. I advocate rear-facing your youngest children in infant seats or convertible car seats as long as you can (ideally until 4!), followed by extended harnessing in a forward-facing convertible or combination seat (ideally until 6, 7, or 8!), and then finally using a booster seat until children are physically and psychologically developed enough to pass the 5 step test for seat belt use (which typically happens between 10 and 12). My goals here are to keep your little ones as safe as possible by keeping them as optimally restrained as possible while traveling in a vehicle.

After a bit of work puzzling seats together, I realized that the second row of the Sorento was not a very friendly space for most car seats. However, there are some seat combinations that will work if you take your time and have a bit of patience. 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.

This generation of the Kia Sorento is 184 inches long and 74 inches wide, which is rather typical for 2-row mid-sized SUVs on the market. However, the interior space is not very large, and it feels more like a small SUV on the inside than a mid-sized one when it comes to 3 across space. Similarly, because of the shorter front-to-back length of the crossover, you’ll have to scoot the front seats up a bit if you’ve got taller rear-facing convertibles. For that reason, I’d recommend going with a seat like a Fllo or a Foonf over a Radian RXT if you’ve got taller drivers or want to maximize front-to-back space.

The third row can fit a couple of car seats in forward-facing configurations, but there’s barely any space there (even less than in the Dodge Journeys with 3 rows), so I wouldn’t plan on using seats there unless I absolutely had to.

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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.

The Volvo S60 (known as the V60 in its hatchback version) is a mid-sized luxury car designed to compete with vehicles like the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class, Audi A4, and at times its own stablemate, the Volvo S80. It’s stylish, safe, seats up to 5, and is frequently chosen by families interested in luxury while having access to Volvo’s reputation for safety. Features like ESC, rollover-sensing airbags, and good front, side, and roof crash test scores are present. It’s a well-designed luxury vehicle and I made it my goal to figure out which car seats were most likely to fit 3 across in a Volvo S60. Here’s what I found!

Before going into the details, however, remember that whichever seats you choose, you’ll want to keep infants and very young children rear-facing as long as possible (ideally until 4!), before forward-facing them in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 6, 7, or 8!), and then keeping them in high-back boosters until they’re ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep your little ones safely restrained to give them the best odds of surviving a crash, and these recommendations are designed with survival in mind.

With those guiding principles in mind, I went about testing the S60s I had access to with convertible, infant, and combination seats to see which 3 across combinations were most feasible. Fortunately, there are several combinations that will work with the S60. 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 current generation of the Volvo S60 is 182 inches long and 73 inches wide, which is almost identical to the dimensions of the Volvo XC60 that shares the S60 platform. Many of the 3 across combinations that work in other luxury mid-sized sedans will also work in the S60, and as in those vehicles, you’ll want to use your seat belts instead of the LATCH anchors to make the most of side-to-side space.

Due to the shorter wheelbase of the S60, front-to-back space will be more difficult to come across here than in a comparable-width vehicle like, say, a Subaru Outback. As a result, I’d recommend going with a seat like a Fllo or a Foonf over a Radian RXT if you’ve got taller drivers or want to maximize front-to-back space. If you’d really like a Radian, it would be wise to invest in an angle adjuster.

The initial generation of the Volvo S60 is 180-183 inches long and 71-72 inches wide, depending on the model year and on the trim level. The change in width occurred during the 2006 model year, but it still leaves you with a rather narrow vehicle on the inside. That said, there are still several car seats that will work in 3 across configurations, especially if you use your seat belts instead of the LATCH anchors to make the most of side-to-side space.

Once again, due to the shorter wheelbase of the S60, front-to-back space will be more difficult to come across, which is likely to give you trouble with front-occupant room. As a result, I’d recommend going with a seat like a Fllo or a Foonf over a Radian RXT if you’ve got taller drivers or want to maximize front-to-back space. If you’d really like a Radian, it would be wise to invest in an angle adjuster.

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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.