Need Narrow Toddler Carseat

Updated on November 30, 2010
A.D. asks from Aurora, CO
10 answers

Does anyone know of a NARROW front-facing carseat for a toddler? I want to fit 3 carseats into the back of my Jetta rather than be forced into buying a bigger, less economical car. Shouldn't a five-seater car fit a family of five? I have two normal-sized carseats (meaning hugely wide) and I want to buy one that will fit in the backseat with those two. If anyone has any clues about a brand that might work, I'd greatly appreciate it!!

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A.F.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I know about this. Unfortunately, we got a bigger car from family instead of solving the problem. I can say, however, that it probably won't be possible unless you get all 3 new carseats instead of trying to fit one with the other two bigger ones. There's just not enough space in the back of a sedan, and they just can't safely make them much smaller. Hope it helps.

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D.K.

answers from Denver on

There is no such thing as narrow. Carseats are made to keep kids alive and made wide for a reason. Carseats are a pain but the reason they are big and bulky is to protect your children.

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A.K.

answers from Pocatello on

I was recently on an airplane with a lady that had a very narrow looking car seat, it fit on the airplane seat. I think they are made for airplanes but the might work in cars too. He son was probably a year old. You might look into airplane car seats.

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B.M.

answers from Denver on

what about the Cosco Scenera 5-Point Convertible Car Seat its cheap but highley rated.. and i think its narrow! i have a saturn VUE- but it used to fit in my saturn SL (pretty small) Good luck

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J.S.

answers from Denver on

Hi my name is J.. We have a 5 year old son and twin 4 year old girls and we actually just had to buy an SUV because our girls needed to switch to boosters which require shoulder belts which there were only 2 of in the back of our cavalier, 1 of which our son was already using. Just something to think about for the future, you might possibly have to go bigger. Before they needed the boosters we fit 3 graco car seats tight, but comfortably in the back. Hope this helps!

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K.D.

answers from Denver on

We are moving to Italy and will need three car seats. The Jetta is very popular over there. We did some shopping when we were over there last and found that Europe has LOTS of more economical car seats. Most were by the same makers as we have here. Some we European makers, but that sell here as well. You might get on some websites and see if you can special order. The prices in the store seemed comparable to what you would pay here. The British websites would probably be the best (usually end in .uk instead of .com). Sometimes you can effectively translate a website, but our experience is that the website doesn't work right and you loose links. I'm sorry, but I don't remember the names of the companies we looked at. My husband will be there before the kids and I arrive, so we are just going to buy them there.

One feature that many of the seats there had were the sides adjusted, so while you have two kids, they could have more room in their seat and then you can make it more narrow when you need. You might keep in mind, too, that your son will be going into a booster soon, and they are more narrow, even with the back if you get one like the Graco that the back comes off for when they get older. I hope you find the right seat!

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L.B.

answers from Denver on

Evenflo Titan, and it's top ranked by Consumer Reports, and not too expensive. It's 17" wide, and we use 2 of these and a wider 19" wide one we bought for our first born. You may want a bigger car eventually so they don't drive you crazy messing with eachother! And you'll need room for that double or triple stroller :) I have the best minivan in the world and it's all wheel drive for snowy mountains!

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R.M.

answers from San Diego on

Car seat Travel Vest, or try getting three Radian car seats. My girlfriend puts two Radians and one Britax Roundabout in the back of her Hyundai Sonata.

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S.L.

answers from Boise on

My friend had this exact problem with her Toyota Corolla. She couldn't shut the door with three car seats in the back! So she went to the local fire station and they told her to buy...
...the same exact car seat that I already had for my son.
It's the Cosco Touriva. I bought it because it was $40 on sale at ShopKo. I looked it up at WalMart.com and it looks like they have renamed it the Scenera instead of the Touriva. It looks basically the same, but I can't be sure if the width would be the same.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8054494
Which child do you need it for? That seat is convertible, so my sons both used it backward when they got too big for their infant seats. My large-for-his-age 22 month old is still using it. My oldest used it until he was almost 2, then I switched him to his bigger one just because he could, not because he was too big for the other. My other friend had the same seat and a son the same age (well, a week older), and he was in that car seat until he was 3 1/2.
If you need a forward-only facing seat with a 5-point harness (my 4 year old's had that, but we took out the harness and it turns into a shoulder-belt booster seat), I'm not sure, because ours is huge, even with the cup holder taken off. I don't know why it has to be so wide--my butt even fits in it fairly comfortably, and I'm not exactly petite! (I'm 5'9" and have been addicted to chocolate lately...)

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O.L.

answers from Denver on

A friend just introduced me to the Radian carseat by Sunshine Kids. I haven't used one myself (I did try one at a local store, but we haven't decided yet about purchasing a 2nd seat--we've got a Britax Marathon now) but they are supposed to be narrow enough to fit 3 across a back seat.

They're also constructed with a steel frame and come in two versions... one with a weight limit of 65 lbs, one with a limit of 80 lbs.

I found a bunch of customer comments at http://www.elitecarseats.com/Sunshine-Kids-Radian.pro.

Good luck!
O.

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