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Car Seats - 3 across.

12 replies

LaVie17 · 17/10/2020 08:28

Hi all, I have a 6 year old, 3 year old and a new baby on the way.
Does anyone know the best, slimmest, car seats that can fit 3 across in the back?
Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
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mangocoveredlamb · 17/10/2020 08:30

Have a look at the multi Mac.

Bitchysideisouttoplay · 17/10/2020 08:32

@LaVie17

Hi all, I have a 6 year old, 3 year old and a new baby on the way. Does anyone know the best, slimmest, car seats that can fit 3 across in the back? Thanks in advance.
What type of car do you drive, as that will help people give advice
starsinyourpies · 17/10/2020 08:39

Exactly same position here! I've been looking at slimmer high back boosters like this one but need to do some car measuring.

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07RP2XR8J/ref=cmswwrsmsscapiiiCxCaFbZ9QRX2E#

teaandlotusbiscoff · 17/10/2020 12:32

How much does the 3yo weigh? And how old will they be when DC3 arrives? I personally wouldn’t recommend the multi Mac as it doesn’t have ERF only up to 13kg which is the same as a standard infant carrier.

What seats are the 6yo and 3yo currently in? And is the 3yo rear or forward facing? Two way elite is rather narrow and Joie Trillo is a rather narrow booster so could work for the 6yo. Also using the baby seat without the base can make it slightly narrower and easier to fit all the seats in.

LaVie17 · 18/10/2020 08:04

Thank you for your replies, the 3yo will be 3.5 when the baby arrives and is currently in a Joie every stage iso fix car seat forward facing, the 6yo is in a high backed booster seat.
We have a Suzuki SX4 S Cross, which has a lovely big boot space, but not a huge middle seat!
I think I'll need to get rid of the isofix seat as it pushes the carseat too far into the middle of the seat? Confused
I'm ideally looking for the slimmest car seats I can find! Thanks for the suggestions @teaandlotusbiscoff

OP posts:
Ohhgreat · 18/10/2020 08:07

First step - check the manual for your car to see if a child seat is allowed in the middle back seat. If the seat is smaller than a normal seat it's likely it wont be allowed. In that scenario you could put baby in the front seat and the second adult in the back.

LaVie17 · 18/10/2020 08:39

@Ohhgreat thank you for this, I didn't even think to check! Manual says it's fine but doesn't recommend reward facing in the middle seat.

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 18/10/2020 09:33

It totally depends on the car and the ages of the children.

The problem is you can't always rely on simply "slimmest", often what is best to do is look at the shape of the different seats as they often have sticky out bits, and find a way to tesselate these best.

Another tip is to take a tape measure and compare both rear side seats - often one is 2-3cm wider than the other, they aren't exactly the same size.

Best thing to do is find an independent retailer who have knowledgeable staff who are happy to stay with you and try umpteen seat combinations in the car until you find the magic combination that does fit. That will get you the best overall result, I think.

In order to do this I'd look up a fairly common car seat brand such as Britax or Maxi Cosi and use their stockist finder to locate stores near you, ignore all of the chains and look for names that seem like they might be independent stores, then contact them directly and ask whether they'd offer this service.

It's a shame you can't rear face in the middle as you can often get the best fit by alternating direction - Forward / Rear / Forward. However you could get a rear facing seat for the 3yo and tesselate them that way - Rear / forward / rear.

In case you decide/need to do it alone, I'd first look at Britax Adventure or Maxi Cosi Rodi as a slim booster for the 6yo. If you have a higher budget and want something more premium, Besafe izi Flex Fix is a good one. The isofix is optional. Which booster do you have at the moment? If it's not super wide it might be worth trying to work with what you have.

Every Stage OTOH is huge (4-8cm wider than most other seats) so I would probably discount that altogether. If you are using forward facing with the harness, you may also want to know that it didn't test very well that way and Which? recommend not using it.

Do you have an infant carrier? These tend to be quite slim anyway but if you need to purchase a new one, I'd focus on getting one which is easy to belt in - probably a Maxi Cosi. Seatbelt fitting gains you a bit of flexibility and space.

If you did want to look at rear facing the 3yo you could look at Britax Max Way / Max Way plus and Axkid Move / Minikid. All 44cm wide. Max Way Plus and Move are both on offer at the moment so cost less than usual. These last until approx 6-7 years so you'd have a good length of use out of them. If you are open to this option then I would recommend you look specifically at Axkid stockists, as most retailers don't stock the larger rear facing seats.

If you get massively stuck for space you could put the 6yo in the centre on a Bubble Bum, as they will have a bit of side impact protection just by virtue of being in the middle between two other seats, but it probably won't be as comfortable for them or support their head if they fall asleep.

RandomMess · 18/10/2020 09:42

Look at the website for the in car safety centre.

They have an on line car seat checker and can probably assist with what fits and is safe.

ivfbeenbusy · 18/10/2020 09:43

I googled and found that you need an age 4+ seat about 43cm wise to be able to get a baby seat either side (we are due twins) - I got a graco junior group 2/3 and it's 43cm wide so fits in the middle seat as we have a proper seat belt there with ample room either side (we have a big standard Ford)

BertieBotts · 18/10/2020 10:32

Britax Adventure and Maxi Cosi Rodi are 42cm :) But also, it totally depends on the car. You can't generalise as to the size. It's very much have a play around and see what fits best.

RachC90 · 26/06/2023 17:31

Hi @LaVie17

Not sure if you are still on the site but we're in a similar position with the same car so was wondering what you decided on in the end?

Thanks,

Rach

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