The Volkswagen Jetta is one of the most popular European mid-sized cars sold today in the United States and the top selling VW across the globe. In the US, it offers a German competitor to standouts in the market like the Honda Accord, Subaru Outback and Subaru Legacy, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Altima, Chevrolet Malibu, Toyota Camry, and Toyota Prius V, as well as a cheaper alternative to its stablemates the Volkswagen Passat and Volkswagen CC. Available in both sedan and station wagon versions, the Jetta is frequently chosen by parents interested in safe ways of transporting their children and families in daily life. This post is about my efforts to find which car seats fit best in the Volkswagen Jetta, along with reviews of those seats and how they work in 3 across configurations.

In my experience, the best protected children in vehicles are the ones who rear-face as long as they can (ideally until 4!), and then forward-face as long as feasible (ideally until 8!), and then booster until they can use a regular seat belt (which typically happens between 10 and 12). These guidelines keep your children as safe as possible by keeping them in the right orientations as long as possible.

However, in order to make the best decisions regarding rear-facing, forward-facing, and boostering, it’s essential to know which car seats will and won’t work in your Jetta, which is precisely where this guide comes in. I rented several recent Jettas and went through my collection of car seats to find which car seats would and wouldn’t puzzle well in a Jetta. My results are below, and I’ll continue to update them as I find more seats to test.

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

2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Volkswagen Jetta (A6, Typ 1B)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

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

Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Clek Foonf, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

This generation of the Volkswagen Jetta is 182 inches long and 70 inches wide, which means it’s going to be a bit tougher to achieve a 3 across installation than you’d expect from a mid-sized car, which are typically around 72 inches wide or even wider. That said, it’s more than possible to get a good set of installations, especially if you’re willing to use 3 sets of seat belts instead of LATCH anchors, which tend to take up more room than seat belts.

These installations apply equally to the sedan and SportWagen (hatchback station wagon) version of the Jetta.

2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Volkswagen Jetta (A5, Typ 1K)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

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

Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Clek Foonf, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

The 2005-2010 generation of the Volkswagen Jetta is 179 inches long and 69 inches wide, or 3 inches shorter and 1 inch narrower than the following generation. What this means is that you’re going to have a bit of a rougher time in 3 across installations with this generation than you would with the current generation, and that practically speaking, it will feel like a small car instead of a mid-sized one on the inside. That said, it’s still possible to get a range of seats in if you use narrow ones and stick to the seat belt system for all installations.

If you’re going to buy one of the Radians above and use it to rear-face in this generation of the Jetta, I’d definitely recommend also picking up the angle adjuster. It’s a cheap but super functional accessory for reducing the space the Radians take up, and it will make driving or being a front-seat passenger much more pleasant.

1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Volkswagen Jetta (A4, Typ 1J)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

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

Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

Clek Foonf, Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro.

The 1999-2004 generation of the Volkswagen Jetta is 172 inches long and 68 inches wide, or 7 inches shorter and 1 inch narrower than the current generation. Once again, this generation of the Jetta will feel like a small car instead of a mid-sized one on the inside, and in this case both the EPA and IIHS classify it as a small car. That said, it’s still possible to get a range of seats in if you use narrow ones and stick to the seat belt system for all installations.

If you’re going to buy one of the Radians above and use it to rear-face in this generation of the Jetta, I’d definitely recommend also picking up the angle adjuster. It’s a cheap but super functional accessory for reducing the space the Radians take up, and it will make driving or being a front-seat passenger much more pleasant.

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 Mercedes M-Class SUV (since renamed the GLE-Class), which includes models like the ML350 and ML550, is one of the most popular mid-sized luxury SUVs sold today in the United States, competing with SUVs like the Acura MDX, Acura RDX, Audi Q5, Audi Q7, BMW X3, BMW X5, Volvo XC60 and Volvo XC90. Many professionals with families choose it when looking for a stylish yet safe mid-sized SUV for their families. I’ve written about it as one of the safest SUVs you can buy for side impact protection, and it’s about as good as it gets in that regard. It’s also one of the safest SUVs as measured by actual driver death rates.

Despite their maintenance costs, the M-Class SUVs represent a good choice for families with large budgets who are interested in transporting up to 3 children. I borrowed an ML350 this past week in order to figure out which car seats would fit well and which wouldn’t in one. However, before discussing what I found for 3 across installations, let’s take a look at some of the important elements of car seat safety, in terms of rear-facing, forward-facing, and appropriate boostering.

In my experience, the best protected children in vehicles are the ones who rear-face as long as they can (ideally until 4!), and then forward-face as long as feasible (ideally until 8!), and then booster until they can use a regular seat belt (which typically happens between 10 and 12). These guidelines keep your children as safe as possible by keeping them in the right orientations as long as possible.

However, if you’re going to make the best use of best practices, you need to know which car seats will and won’t fit well in your Mercedes M-Class. That’s why I wrote up this 3 across installation guide, and why I write so many car seat reviews and test out my recommended car seats in every vehicle possible.

If you’re in a hurry and want the best, pick up 3 Clek Fllos or 3 Clek Foonfs for 3 across; they offer the highest rear-facing weight limits combined with the narrowest seat widths among mainstream convertibles. However, you can make things work with a number of other car seats, which I’ve described below. You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. The Canadian recommended list is here. 3 across car seat images are courtesy of Wikipedia.

2016 Mercedes GLE-Class (W166)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Maxi-Cosi RodiFix, Britax Marathon G4, Diono Radian / RXT.

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

The initial generation of the GLE-Class is the M-Class under a new name. As with the prior M-Class, it’s 189 inches long and 76 inches wide, which means you’re going to have a relatively easy time achieving 3 across installations with most car seats from a side to side perspective. As usual, try seat belt installations if you have trouble with LATCH setups, as you’ll have more room with seat belts than you will with LATCH anchors. Keep in mind that Mercedes doesn’t allow you to borrow outboard LATCH attachments when installing a seat in the center position.

2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Mercedes M-Class (W166)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Maxi-Cosi RodiFix, Britax Marathon G4, Diono Radian / RXT.

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

This generation of the Mercedes M-Class is 189 inches long and 76 inches wide, which means you’re going to have a relatively easy time achieving 3 across installations with most car seats from a side to side perspective. As usual, try seat belt installations if you have trouble with LATCH setups, as you’ll have more room with seat belts than you will with LATCH anchors. Keep in mind that Mercedes doesn’t allow you to borrow outboard LATCH attachments when installing a seat in the center position.

2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 Mercedes M-Class (W164)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Maxi-Cosi RodiFix, Britax Marathon G4, Diono Radian / RXT.

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

This generation of the Mercedes M-Class is also approximately 189 inches long and 76 inches wide, which means that just about any car seat combination you can fit into the current generation will also fit into the prior generation, with very few exceptions. The rule about not borrowing LATCH anchors remains the same, and I’ll continue to recommend using seat belts to make the most of your space, although with this kind of width, you’re unlikely to need it.

1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Mercedes M-Class (W163)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Maxi-Cosi RodiFix, Britax Marathon G4, Diono Radian / RXT.

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

The initial generation of the Mercedes M-Class is 181-183 inches long and 72 inches wide, which means it’s about the width of a mid-sized vehicle. This will easily be the most difficult generation of the M-Class to achieve successful 3 across installations in, but it’s definitely still possible, especially when you consider all the car seats people are able to fit into mid-sized cars. My recommendation of turning to seat belts over LATCH installations will be most important here.

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 Forester is a popular small all-wheel drive SUV chosen by a number of young professionals and families interested in a small, AWD SUV with strong safety features. It competes with offerings from other manufacturers like the Honda CR-V, Jeep Patriot, Nissan Rogue, and the Ford Escape. Even though it’s not a minivan, the truth is that you can fit a surprisingly large number of car seats in a Subaru Forester if you’re willing to take the time to fit them in. I spent the last weekend in my garage trying out car seats in a current generation Forester in order to see which car seats would and wouldn’t puzzle together. Before we get to that, however, let’s review some tenets of car seat safety: rear-facing, forward-facing, and boostering.

Perhaps you already know the basics of best practices in car seat safety: rear-face as long as possible (ideally until at least 4!), and then forward-face until at least 5, and then booster until a regular belt fits your child (which typically happens between 10 and 12). These guidelines keep your children as safe as possible by keeping them in the right orientations as long as possible.

However, in order to make use of that information, it helps to know which car seats are going to fit well and which ones will give you trouble in your Subaru Forester. That’s where my 3 across installation guide comes in handy, and why I run this car seat blog.

In short, if you want to do 3 across, you can’t go wrong with a set of Fllos or Foonfs. However, there are more car seats that will work, and work well, and I’ve tried to list them below. This isn’t a complete list, of course, and I’ll add more seats as I try them.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.

2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Subaru Forester

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Peg Perego Flex 120 (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

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

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Britax Parkway SGL, Combi Coccoro, Chicco KeyFit 30.

Chicco KeyFit 30, Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Britax Parkway SGL.

Chicco KeyFit 30, Britax Marathon ClickTight, Britax Parkway SGL.

Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Fllo, Britax Parkway SGL.

Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Foonf, Britax Parkway SGL.

Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Rainier, Britax Parkway SGL.

Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Pacifica, Britax Parkway SGL.

Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Olympia, Britax Parkway SGL.Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Parkway SGL.

This generation of the Subaru Forester is 181 inches long and 71 inches wide, which means it’s around the size of most other small SUVs in the current market. It also means you should be able to achieve 3 across installations without too much trouble side to side, although you might have some challenges when it comes to front to back room.

The installation with the KeyFit 30, Parkway SGL, and Boulevard ClickTight is doable, but it’s going to be a difficult one to achieve. It’s much easier to go with the Fllo, Foonf, or Rainier instead of the Boulevard for that set of 3 across combinations, since the aforementioned seats are all narrower than the 18.5″ wide Boulevard ClickTight.

2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Subaru Forester

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Peg Perego Flex 120 (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Combi Cocorro (x3).

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

Tips and Tricks:

This generation of the Subaru Forester is 180 inches long and 70 inches wide, or one inch shorter and narrower than the following generation. It’s still possible to fit 3 Floos, Foonfs, Radians, and Coccoro’s, however, as well as a few other seats with a bit of work. Again, make seat belt installations a priority.

2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Subaru Forester

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

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

Combi Cocorro (x3).

Tips and Tricks:

The second generation of the Subaru Forester is 175-176 inches long and just over 68 inches wide. I’m going to be honest; it’s a very, very tight fit to get pretty much anything to work in a 3 across setup. However, it’s possible with the right seats, and the right seats are the ones above. There are other combinations that might work too; these are just the ones I’m sure of. Naturally, you’ll want to use seat belts on all three seats.

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.

The Ford Focus is one of the most popular small cars currently available in the United States, competing with offerings like the Chevrolet Cruze, Honda Civic, Kia Soul, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Prius, and Scion xB among families interested in smaller yet quality vehicles for life in urban and suburban environments.

The current generation of the Ford Focus is available in both sedan and hatchback options, making it a competitive model for families with greater storage needs than those typically available in small-sized cars, with the exceptions of the Soul, Prius, and xB, which come with hatchbacks by default. I borrowed one this weekend in order to see how it would do when it came to fitting 3 car seats in a Ford Focus. My results are below.

Before reviewing the results, however, it’s a good idea to remember what we’re looking for when it comes to using car seats in vehicles. 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). Keeping children in safer restraints for longer amounts of time reduces their odds of injury or death in car crashes.

However, to make use of that information, the first step is to figure out which car seats are and aren’t going to puzzle well in the Ford Focus, which is where the guide below comes in. It’s not a complete guide, and I’ll certainly be adding to it more in the future, but for now, it gives you a good idea of the kinds of car seats that are and aren’t likely to fit in your Ford Focus, particularly if it’s the current generation model. The good news is that you can definitely fit infant seats, convertible seats, combination seats, and booster seats in the Ford Focus, and even fit 3 of them across without too much trouble.

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.

2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Ford Focus

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).

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Contender (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Cybex Aton 2, Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT.

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

Tips and Tricks:

This generation of the Ford Focus is 179 inches long and 72 inches wide in the sedan version and 172 inches long in the hatchback version, making it very similar to the current generation Ford Escape in its 3 across capabilities. You’ll want to prioritize seat belt installations to give yourself more room than what you’d have available in LATCH installations. The Snugride / Radian / Radian fit will be tighter than the Aton 2 / Radian / Radian fit, but both should work.

2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 Ford Focus

Guaranteed 3 across installations: 

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Contender (x3).

Tips and Tricks:

This second generation of the Ford Focus is 175 inches long and 68 inches wide, or 4 inches narrower than the third generation Focus. Practically speaking, this means that you’re going to have much less space for viable 3 across installations than you would in the current generation, although it’s definitely still possible to get several seats there with patience and judicious use of seat belts.

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 Ford Escape is one of the most popular small SUVs available today in the United States, and is a common SUV of choice for small families and young professionals. It competes with small SUVs like the Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester, Mazda CX-5, and Toyota RAV4 among parents interested in a safe and economical means of transporting their children to school, home, and around the various areas of everyday life. As a result, I was happy to have the chance to look into how the current generation of the Ford Escape did when it came to fitting multiple car seats.

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 at least 6!), and then booster until a regular belt fits your child (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep kids restrained as safely as possible for as long as possible.

However, you’re going to need to know which car seats in particular will fit in your Ford Escape in order to make the most of best practices, which is why I’ve spent a few weekends putting together this list of car seats that will fit in a Ford Escape. You’ll see the usual suspects here, in terms of Radians, Foonfs, and Fllos, but there are also NextFits, Frontiers, and other seats present. The basic idea is that there are a number of seats you can make work in 3 across configurations in the latest Escape as long as you’re willing to work for it a bit.

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

2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Ford Escape

Guaranteed 3 across installations: 

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3). 

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Ford Escape

Guaranteed 3 across installations: 

Tips and Tricks:

This generation of the Ford Escape is 175 inches long and 71 inches wide, or about 3 inches shorter and 1 inch narrower than the current generation. However, it’s still possible to fit a decent range of car seats into it, especially if you’re willing to use seat belt installations.

As with every generation of the Escape, however, given the rather short length of the crossover, you’ll want to keep your front-to-back space in mind if you’d like to use the Dionos; I strongly recommend getting the angle adjuster so you won’t make driving your Escape or sitting in the front passenger seat a negative experience.

2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Ford Escape

Guaranteed 3 across installations: 

This generation of the Ford Escape is 173-175 inches long depending on whether you have a pre-2005 or 2005 or later model, and 70 inches wide, or about 0-3 inches shorter and 1 inch narrower than the following generation. However, it’s still possible to fit a decent range of car seats into it, especially if you’re willing to use seat belt installations.

As with every generation of the Escape, however, given the rather short length of the crossover, you’ll want to keep your front-to-back space in mind if you’d like to use the Dionos; I strongly recommend getting the angle adjuster so you won’t make driving your Escape or sitting in the front passenger seat a negative experience.

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.