The Volvo XC70 is one of the last few large wagons sold in the United States, and one of the safest ever made. Soon to be replaced by the V90, it has few competitors in the US market; only vehicles like the Subaru Outback, Volkswagen Jetta wagon, Audi A4 wagon, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon readily come to mind. While not as popular as the Outback, it still holds its own in many wintry parts of the US. Its sedan counterpart is the S80 (and was the S60 in the past), while its smaller Volvo wagon counterpart is the V60.

Like the S80, a range of top notch safety features and crash scores are present in the XC70, including side airbags, ESC, and frontal crash protection in the latest models. As a result, it’s no surprise that a number of safety-conscious families look to the XC70 to keep their families protected while on the road. As a result, I took the time to check out the XC70 to see just how car-seat friendly it is for interested families.

Before looking at which car seats did and didn’t fit in the XC70 in 3 across setups, it’s worth reviewing a bit of car safety, in terms of which kinds of seats to use and when.

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 Volvo XC70 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.

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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 Honda HR-V is a mini SUV recently brought to the US market to compete with other subcompact and compact crossovers like the Chevrolet Trax / Buick Encore,  the HR-V’s larger brand sibling Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue, Mazda CX-5, Subaru Forester, Ford Escape, Jeep Compass, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tuscon, Jeep Renegade, and Jeep Patriot. The market is crowded, but it’s a popular one among small families interested in fuel economy, maneuverability, and hatchback practicality.

I got a hold of an HR-V and liked what I saw. Based on the similarly-sized Fit, it looks small on the outside but is surprisingly roomy on the inside, and comes with the latest safety features we’ve come to expect in new vehicles in the US, like good crash scores, ESC, and side impact airbags. However, what most interested me was whether I’d be able to stuff 3 car seats into the back row without spending half the afternoon scraping my knuckles. Is it possible? Read on to find out!

Before we dive into which seats did and didn’t work in the HR-V, though, why not join me for a quick read of what’s important to do and when (and why!) when it comes to car seat ages and stages.

For me, 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 Honda HR-V 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.

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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 Ford C-Max is one of the many new family-focused hybrids to hit the US market in recent years. Based on the Ford Focus and designed to replace the Ford Escape hybrid, it competes with a range of small cars sold in the US, including the aforementioned Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Kia Soul, Chevrolet Cruze, Mazda 3, Dodge Dart, Toyota Prius, Scion xB, Volkswagen Golf / GTI, and Subaru Crosstrek. In the hybrid segment, its small car competitors are the Prius, the Chevy Volt, and the now defunct Honda Insight. It’s relatively affordable and gets good mileage. But how does it do on car seats?

That’s what I decided to find out. On paper, the C-Max is a good, safe, family car. It seats five (a seven seater exists outside of the US but hasn’t been brought to this market yet), has good frontal and side crash test scores, features ESC and side airbags, and has an acceptable small overlap score. But there are many vehicles out there that look better on paper than they are in practice. I wanted to make sure the C-Max wasn’t one of them when it came to fitting 3 car seats across the back row.

Before we dive into which seats did and didn’t work in the C-Max, though, why not join me for a quick read of what’s important to do and when (and why!) when it comes to car seat ages and stages.

For me, 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 Ford  C-Max 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.

The Lexus GX, known as the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado outside of the US, is one of the most popular mid-sized luxury SUVs sold in the United States. It competes with a range of 3 row luxury SUVs like the Volvo XC90, Acura MDX, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, Buick Enclave, Land Rover Range Rover Sport, Cadillac Escalade, Audi Q7, and Infiniti QX60. It’s also reliable that pretty much all of the rest put together, being based on Toyota architecture (much like its smaller and larger twins, the RX and the LX).

As a result, it’s no surprise that the GX in its various iterations (e.g., the GX 470, GX 460, GX 400, etc) is a popular vehicle among families interested in safety, luxury, and Lexus reliability. It seats 7-8 passengers, depending on which generation you’ve purchased, and is one of the safest 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 row (and 3rd row if you’ve got a 1st gen 8-seater).

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 GX / Land Cruiser 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.

The second generation Lexus GX is currently just over 192 inches long and just over 74 inches wide. As a result, you’re going to be able to fit a lot of car seats in 3 across configurations in the 2nd row, but you’ll only be able to fit 2 across in the 3rd row, because the 2nd gen GX is only a 7-seater instead of an 8-seater. That said, as long as you use your seat belts instead of the LATCH anchors, you’ll be able to fit most common seats there, including the ones I’ve described above.

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 definitely struggle with the installation of rear-facing seats if you try to use them in the 3rd row. Fortunately, you can either slide or tilt the 2nd row to access the 3rd row, which makes getting back there at least a little easier.

The first generation Lexus GX is just over 188 inches long and exactly 74 inches wide, which makes it about 4 inches shorter than the generation that follows it. Because the interior dimensions are about the same in the 2nd row, however, you’ll be able to fit pretty much all the seats of the current generation there.

Additionally, if you have the 8-passenger GX, you’ll be able to squeeze a few seats (the Radians and the Clek seats) into the 3rd row in 3 across setups, although it will be a very tight fit. As usual, use seat belts for all installations instead of LATCH to avoid frustration and make the installations possible with wider seats.

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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 Volkswagen Touareg is one of many mid-to-large SUVs available for families in the US. A larger counterpart to the Tiguan, it competes with a range of 2-row crossovers, including the Nissan Murano, Ford Edge, Dodge Journey, Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe, Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain, Jeep Cherokee, and Jeep Grand Cherokee. It shares the same platform as the Audi Q7, which stands to reason since both are ultimately made by Volkswagen. In 2017, it was replaced in the US market with the slightly larger Atlas, which I review here.

As a result, the Touareg is frequently considered by families interested in safe and capable transportation, particularly when there’s a need for impressive towing capabilities. I took a look at the Touareg across both generations to figure out how well of a job it does when it comes to installing 3 car seats in the back row. The Touareg comes with great safety features, including good moderate overlap front and side crash scores, a strong roof, ESC, side airbags with rollover sensors, and daytime running lights. These are all features every vehicle made in this century should have, but when it comes to car seats, we don’t want to assume things will work because the vehicles themselves are good.

Before we figure out which seats I was and was not able to make work in the Touareg, let’s take a look at which kinds of seats should be used, when they should be used, for how long, and why. If you know all of this already, feel free to skip down to the guides below.

For me, 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 Volkswagen Touareg 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.