Hyundai Tucson 2019 - 3 children

[BeingATwatItsABingThing]

I am 6w pregnant with DC3 - unplanned - and have a Tucson on finance which we can’t afford to change. We’re hoping to save up to replace DH’s Mazda 3 in the next year or so to a 7-seater but that’s not going to be before baby arrives.

DD2 will be 3.5y and is currently in an Axkid Move rear facing seat and DD1 will be 10 and doesn’t have a seat anymore (she’s tall enough to be over the threshold and uses a triangle to keep the belt away from her neck). We have never used isofix bases and have found the seatbelt to be fine.

Does anyone else have three in the back of a Tucson? Which seats do you have? I’m working on trying to fit three seats across because that’ll allow for DD1 to have plenty of space too (although she is currently the width of a pencil!). I’m thinking of having her in the middle seat. Any suggestions or recommendations would be gratefully received. 🙂

Is this (picture) the kind of thing you mean by seatbelt triangle? If so, you should stop using it immediately as they aren't safe - they pull the lap belt up too high so it runs over the soft abdomen where all the major organs are. A seatbelt is designed to route crash forces into the hips and collarbone, which are rigid enough to survive impact without disastrous injury. If a normal seatbelt bothers her neck without this, then she still needs a booster seat - a backless one is fine. But even just the seatbelt without the triangle is safer because the triangle does displace the lap belt.

Bubble bum is the slimmest backless booster, or you could look at Britax Adventure plus if you want a slim high back one for the centre.

In terms of the baby seats, they all tend to be the same width really because of the fact they are mostly compatible with the same buggy adapters. You get a bit more width by fitting with seatbelt rather than base. Or you could look for a seat with a belt fitted base, which again allows a little more flexibility in placement. Maxi Cosi Cabriofix (original not i-size) can be fitted with the Easybase which has the option of seatbelt fit, and fits on most prams.

Another option would be to put the Axkid Move in the centre, if your car allows a support leg to be used there.

Thank you for the advice on the seat belt triangle. I had no idea so we are looking into it more.

The car doesn’t have a completely flat floor and has the ridge in the middle so not sure if the Axkid will be safe in the middle. I could try putting the infant seat in the middle.

Here is a picture of DD with the triangle and without. From the looks of it, the triangle doesn’t bring the belt across her stomach but the seat belt also seems to sit fine without it.

She really is very tall at around 138cm the last time we measured her.

We had a Tucson 2019 plate before having DC3. Ours all needed car seats so unfortunately we had to get rid of it as we couldn't find a single combination that did 2 RF seats and a high back booster. However if your eldest doesn't need a car seat I reckon you'd manage ok. On occasion I managed to squeeze myself in the middle between 2 RF seats (Britax Dualfix and Axkid Minikid) when we took my mum out with us, so a 10 year old should be fine, especially when if you choose a narrower seat than the dualfix as that is huge!

Thank you for this. We’re going to have to make it work! Our infant seat is a Maxicosi Pebble so that will hopefully fit fine. We’ll test it out when we’ve told DD1 she’s expecting another sibling. She has no ability to keep a secret though so can’t tell her yet. 😂

It is definitely pulling it up higher in the second photo - it's hard to see because the triangle covers up the top of her shorts, but it looks to me like it's higher compared to the folds of the fabric. Also you might have pulled it down as you fitted it, but it will ride up during the drive with normal movement, as that slack tightens out of the belt. Granted, it's not as extreme as the effect on very young children.

Even without it it's quite borderline as it is more on her tummy than her pelvis. It also looks to me like her legs might be too short for her bum to be right to the back of the seat and her legs to bend over the edge at the same time - what happens then is that the child of course wants to be comfortable, and the natural, comfortable position is to scoot forward so that the legs can bend and that tilts the pelvis into a different position. If she sits up properly to the back of the seat, the belt probably won't be as much on her neck, but it won't be very comfortable for her without a booster seat to support her legs and knees. I made a very exaggerated example photo of my toddler son sitting on a bus seat to illustrate this issue, the green triangle shows the gap behind his back.

Whether or not she can sit without a booster and the belt is in the right position usually depends on the car. At 138cm it's likely she'll need a booster in more cars than not. 135cm is the minimum to go without and some children will fit in some cars. I remember my eldest fit in one car in the middle seat, which had a shorter seat cushion! 150cm is the height where she should be fine in every car. Between those two heights it depends on the child, the seatbelt and the seat, but the closer to 150cm the more cars she'll get a good fit in.

If you get her to feel the front sides of her pelvis, there are two little nubs of bone, one on each side, the belt should be under that or with the top of the lap belt just resting on it. It looks like it's sitting just above or maybe on but with only the bottom of the belt touching, so def borderline - she doesn't have much more to go - but still not ideal.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t with her when these photos were taken so I don’t know if her legs are further forward than they need to be. DH has taken both of our children to see his parents. I will check properly when they are back.

Thanks for your help @BertieBotts

not the same car but I can fit in the middle seat between an axkid minikid and a besafe stretch in our Audi A6 estate. I am about 165cm and 70kg.

Thank you. It’s helpful to know.