The Saturn Outlook is one of the GM Lambda SUVs, which includes its badge quadruplets the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia. Unlike the aforementioned full-size SUVs / crossovers, the Outlook is no longer manufactured in the US since GM phased out the Saturn brand. However, many parents continue to email me asking which car seats will fit 3 across in a Saturn Outlook, 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.
The Outlook is still a great safe used family vehicle, with good frontal crash scores, ESC, and side airbags in all three rows. However, if you’re reading this, you probably want to know how the answer to this question: how does the Outlook do when it comes to providing room for 3 car seats of varying sizes across the 2nd and 3rd rows? That’s what I set to find out. The short version is that you can basically expect any car seats that fit in the other versions of this SUV to fit in this SUV.
Before looking at which car seats did and didn’t fit in the Outlooks 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 Saturn Outlook 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.
The Saturn Outlook was just under 201 inches long and just over 78 inches wide, making it a great choice for 3 across in both the 2nd and the 3rd row if you bought the 8-seater. If you bought the 7-seater, you’ll have to make 3 across work only in the 3rd row. Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to add an extra seat if you don’t have the bench option. The 3rd 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 Outlook, 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.
The Ford Freestyle and its badge twin, the Taurus X, are no longer manufactured in the US, having been replaced by the Ford Flex. However, many parents continue to email me asking which car seats will fit 3 across in a 7-seater Taurus X or Freestyle, 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 Taurus sedan 3 across guide, that’s here.
The Freestyle / Taurus X is still a great safe used family vehicle (although there’s still fervent debate over whether it was actually a station wagon, SUV, or crossover), with good frontal crash scores and side airbags in the later Freestyle years and all Taurus X years, as well as ESC in all Taurus X years. However, if you’re reading this, you probably want to know how the answer to this question: how does the Freestyle / Taurus X do when it comes to providing room for 3 car seats of varying sizes across the 3rd row in the 7-seat versions? That’s what I set to find out.
Before looking at which car seats did and didn’t fit in the Freestyle / Taurus X 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 Ford Freestyle / Taurus X on the Internet, covering every model year of the wagon / 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.
The Ford Freestyle / Taurus X was 200 inches long and 75 inches wide, making it a good choice for 3 across in the 3rd row if you were lucky enough to buy the 7-seater. Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to add an extra seat if you don’t have the bench option. The 3rd 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 Freestyle / Taurus X, 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.
The Buick Encore and its GM twin, the Chevrolet Trax, are two of the best selling new entries in the hotly contested US small SUV and crossover market. Known abroad as the Opel Mokka and Vauxhall Mokka, it competes in the US with a range of compact and subcompact crossovers like the 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 Encore / Trax does very well from a safety standpoint on paper, boasting good small overlap, moderate overlap, and side crash scores, as well as a good roof score, side airbags, and ESC. But how does it do as a family vehicle?
For me, a successful family vehicle is one that can fit 3 car seats across the back row. Not every family has children, and not every family has 3 of them, of course, but this is a question that comes up time and time again on the Internet, and I’m on a quest to answer it for every vehicle sold in the United States.
Given the small size of the Encore / Trax, I knew it was going to be a challenge to fit 3 car seats across the back, but with the success I’ve had in a number of other small cars and SUVs, I was more than willing to give it a try. The bad news is that there aren’t too many seats that will fit side to side or front to back. The good news is that there are several that will, and they aren’t all expensive ones. Before we take a look at which seats would and wouldn’t work, it’s worth reviewing some essential elements of car seat safety.
The safest configuration we know of when it comes to vehicle safety is rear-facing. This goes for adults as well! Rear-face your infants, toddlers, and preschoolers for as long as possible (ideally until 4!), before forward-facing them in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once they outgrow their harnessed seats, it’s best to keep them restrained in high-back boosters until they’re physically and psychologically ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). We want our little ones in the safest positions we know of for as long as possible to give them the greatest advantages in a collision.
With these guiding principles, I made it my job to figure out which car seats were most likely to work in the Encore I had available. All of the information below applies equally to the Encore and the Trax, which are more or less identical in their back seat configurations. It’s my goal to make this list the most thorough 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.
The current and only generation of the Buick Encore / Chevy Trax is just under 169 inches long and just under 70 inches wide. To put it simply, it’s a very compact crossover. This means that not only will you struggle with side to side installations; you will also find it a challenge to get front-to-back space.
Using your seat belts instead of the LATCH system will be essential to make the side to side issue work with the seats I’ve listed above, while consulting my list of convertibles that leave you leg room will help with the second issue of front-to-back space.
For example, if you’d like to use one of the Radians, you’ll definitely want to consider the angle adjuster, or you’re not going to have much front-passenger space, and it’ll be a less than enjoyable experience for tall drivers or passengers.
The Kia Sportage is one of the least expensive small SUV-style crossovers you can buy today in the United States. It competes with a range of more expensive alternatives like the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue, Mazda CX-5, Subaru Forester, Ford Escape, Jeep Compass, and Jeep Patriot. The modern Sportage is equipped with several notable safety features, including good moderate overlap front and side impact scores, a good roof strength score, and side airbags and electronic stability control, or ESC. However, the Sportage continues to be dogged by a poor small overlap score, which Kia will need to address in the redesign of the Sportage, and soon.
That said, the Sportage is still frequently chosen by families interested in an SUV or crossover-type vehicle in a short and nimble package, which meant I was interested in finding out how friendly of a vehicle it would be in terms of 3 across car seat installations.
The bad news is that there’s not very much room for car seats in terms of front-to-back space in any generation of the Sportage. The good news is that it’s a surprisingly wide crossover that’ll give you plenty of options for 3 across installations in terms of width. Before going into the details, here are some suggestions about when to use various types of car seats, whether you’re driving a Sportage or behind the wheel of any other kind of vehicle.
The safest configuration we know of when it comes to vehicle safety is rear-facing. This goes for adults as well! Rear-face your infants, toddlers, and preschoolers for as long as possible (ideally until 4!), before forward-facing them in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once they outgrow their harnessed seats, it’s best to keep them restrained in high-back boosters until they’re physically and psychologically ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). We want our little ones in the safest positions we know of for as long as possible to give them the greatest advantages in 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 Kia Sportage. It’s my goal to make this list the most thorough 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.
The current generation of the Kia Sportage is just over 176 inches long and 73 inches wide. As with prior generations, the length means you’re going to struggle with front-to-back space with a lot of the car seats you install if you’ve got taller drivers or longer car seats; you’ll want to check out the guide to short convertibles if you’ve already got a seat that you’d like to compare to the ones on this list. That said, the good news is that at 73 inches across, the Sportage is as wide as a number of mid-sized SUVs, and will offer a decent number of options when it’s time for 3 across setups. As usual, be sure to use your seat belts instead of the LATCH system to make the most of the space you have.
As before, because of the length of the vehicle, if you want to make the most of your money, I’d strongly recommend Radians due to the minimal amount of space they take up with angle adjusters; your legs and front-row passengers will thank you.
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Kia Sportage (SL)
The third generation of the Kia Sportage is 175 inches long and 73 inches wide. The length means you’re going to struggle with front-to-back space with a lot of the car seats you install if you’ve got taller drivers or longer car seats; you’ll want to check out the guide to short convertibles if you’ve already got a seat that you’d like to compare to the ones on this list. That said, the good news is that at 73 inches across, the Sportage is as wide as a number of mid-sized SUVs, and will offer a decent number of options when it’s time for 3 across setups. As usual, be sure to use your seat belts instead of the LATCH system to make the most of the space you have.
Because of the length of the vehicle, if you want to make the most of your money, I’d strongly recommend Radians due to the minimal amount of space they take up with angle adjusters; your legs and front-row passengers will thank you.
The 2005-2010 generation of the Kia Sportage is 171 inches long and 71 inches wide. Once again, the length means you’re going to struggle with front-to-back space with a lot of the car seats you install if you’ve got taller drivers or longer car seats; you’ll want to check out the guide to short convertibles if you’ve already got a seat that you’d like to compare to the ones on this list.
As usual, be sure to use your seat belts instead of the LATCH system to make the most of the space you have.
Because of the length of the vehicle, if you want to make the most of your money, I’d strongly recommend Radians due to the minimal amount of space they take up with angle adjusters; your legs and front-row passengers will thank you.
The Hyundai Tucson is a small, cheap, and energetic SUV-style crossover sold in the United States. Currently in its third generation, it competes with luminaries in the compact crossover market like the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Outlander, Subaru Forester, Ford Escape, Jeep Compass, Kia Sportage, Jeep Renegade, and Jeep Patriot. The Tucson, which is also known as the ix35 overseas, shares its structure with the Kia Sportage as well as with the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte, and is frequently cross-shopped with the aforementioned vehicles by people interested in compact, safe, and fuel efficient transportation.
I looked into the current and previous generations of the Tucson to figure out just how friendly they were when it came to the all-important task of fitting 3 car seats across the back row. Given the smaller size of the Tucson, I was expecting a challenge, but was pleased to find out a number of car seats could be made to work without too much of a struggle. Before looking in depth at which seats did and didn’t work, it’s worth taking a look at basic elements of car seat safety.
The safest configuration we know of when it comes to vehicle safety is rear-facing. This goes for adults as well! Rear-face your infants, toddlers, and preschoolers for as long as possible (ideally until 4!), before forward-facing them in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once they outgrow their harnessed seats, it’s best to keep them restrained in high-back boosters until they’re physically and psychologically ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). We want our little ones in the safest positions we know of for as long as possible to give them the greatest advantages in 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 Hyundai Tucson. It’s my goal to make this list the most thorough 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.
The current generation of the Hyundai Tucson is just over 176 inches long and just under 73 inches wide, making it the largest generation of the Tucson yet. However, it’s still not going to be the easiest vehicle to work with when it comes to 3 across installations, although it’s definitely still possible with the right seats. The bigger challenge is likely to be the front-to-back space; because of how short the Tucson is, you’ll have to choose seats carefully to have an adequate amount of leg room left over in the front row if you’re planning on rear-facing your little ones.
I’d recommend checking out the space-saving convertible comparison guide to compare seats you might already have to the ones on this list. If you’re looking for my recommendations, I’d strongly suggest Radians due to the minimal amount of space they take up with angle adjusters; your legs and front-row passengers will thank you. Of course, be sure to use your seat belts instead of LATCH to make the most of your side-to-side space.
The 2010-2015 generation of the Hyundai Tucson is 174 inches long and just under 72 inches wide. The narrow width of the Tucson means you’re going to have your work cut out for you when it comes to 3 across installations, although it’s definitely still possible with the right seats. The bigger challenge is likely to be the front-to-back space; because of how short the Tucson is, you’ll have to choose seats carefully to have an adequate amount of leg room left over in the front row if you’re planning on rear-facing your little ones.
I’d recommend checking out the space-saving convertible comparison guide to compare seats you might already have to the ones on this list. If you’re looking for my recommendations, I’d strongly suggest Radians due to the minimal amount of space they take up with angle adjusters; your legs and front-row passengers will thank you. Of course, be sure to use your seat belts instead of LATCH to make the most of your side-to-side space.
The initial generation of the Hyundai Tucson is 170 inches long and 71-72 inches wide. The narrow width of the Tucson means that once again, you’re going to have your work cut out for you when it comes to 3 across installations, although it’s definitely still possible with the right seats. As in the following generation, the bigger challenge is likely to be the front-to-back space; because of how short the Tucson is, you’ll have to choose seats carefully to have an adequate amount of leg room left over in the front row if you’re planning on rear-facing your little ones.
Once again, I’d recommend checking out the space-saving convertible comparison guide to compare seats you might already have to the ones on this list. If you’re looking for my recommendations, I’d strongly suggest Radians due to the minimal amount of space they take up with angle adjusters; your legs and front-row passengers will thank you. Of course, be sure to use your seat belts instead of LATCH to make the most of your side-to-side space.
35,000 Americans will die this year on the road. You don't have to be one of them. A car seat and car safety blog to promote best practices for families.
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Saturn Outlook
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Ford Freestyle / Taurus X
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Buick Encore / Chevrolet Trax
2017 Kia Sportage (QL)
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Kia Sportage (SL)
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Kia Sportage
2016, 2017, 2018 Hyundai Tucson (TL)
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Hyundai Tucson (LM)
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Hyundai Tucson