Post by freezorburn on Jan 19, 2015 14:11:20 GMT -5
So we'll be moving back to the states in a couple of months and I'm going to need a car. And new car seat for DS. Anyone have experience with a hatchback or wagon that has decent space for a convertible car seat? I'm looking at the Hyundai Elantra GT vs a VW Jetta Sportwagen. Other suggestions? Want to ERF DS as long as possible. I've dug up some of Nana's old car seat reviews for my short list too.
I think the Chico and Dino with angle adjustors is what's usually suggested for smaller cars. It's it the Combi that's pretty compact, but not great with the height limits?
Post by Lrachelle80 on Jan 19, 2015 14:26:17 GMT -5
How old is she? Average, bigger, smaller than average?
The new Britax Clicktights will RF the longest in the market right now and most people are having success with them in their cars even though they are slightly bigger than the average seat. If I was buying new, that's what I'd get.
Post by brandiewine11 on Jan 19, 2015 14:34:11 GMT -5
I have the Jetta sport wagon (TDI) and I LOVE it. I leased one for 2 years, then bought a newer one. It's fun to drive, has a ton of space, and I just like it a lot. We have a newfoundland dog and she can fit in the back seat with the carseat installed. The rear cargo area has a ton of space. We haven't put a convertible car seat in it yet, but it fits the Britax BSafe infant seat with no problem.
I was going to go test fit a few convertible seats soon (the chicco next fit and britax are on our short list based on nana's reviews). I'll let you know how they fit RF.
PS - Been thinking about you. I hope you're doing ok.
We have a radian rear facing behind the passenger in our golf. We absolutely need the angle adjuster and will need a new one every few months as the foam compresses, but it will keep DS1 rear facing for a while longer. We have DS2 in a Britax roundabout behind the driver. It's a little tighter than we'd like, but still driveable. I'm not sure how much more room the Jetta has, but if it works in a golf, I'm sure it'll work in a Jetta.
How old is she? Average, bigger, smaller than average?
The new Britax Clicktights will RF the longest in the market right now and most people are having success with them in their cars even though they are slightly bigger than the average seat. If I was buying new, that's what I'd get.
DS is 2.5 YO, smaller than average. He is on the skinny side.
Post by love4science on Jan 19, 2015 15:42:47 GMT -5
No, no, no on the Hyundai Elantra GT. We had a 2004 and it was TERRIBLE! Something was always breaking, it went through (very expensive) brakes faster than any car I've owned, and the repairs (which it needed a lot of) were always really expensive because the parts were ridiculous. The head gasket finally gave out in 2013 so we donated it to a local auto repair education program. I have a friend with a 2009 Elantra and she's dumped money into her's as well, including a new steering do-hicky (column? bearings? I don't know but it was expensive).
It's not a sexy car, but we replaced the Elantra with a 2005 Toyota Camry. The trunk actually holds more crap than the hatchback GT, it's more reliable, and has been cheaper to repair. And it does snow very, very well.
Post by rrrrrachel on Jan 19, 2015 15:52:31 GMT -5
My mom has a Jetta it's great. Seats for great. I have a Subaru Outback and it's great. I have the old body style and the backseat is smaaaaaall by I hear the new ones are better. If I was shopping for seats next fit or the ct britax would be at the top of my list. I have two gracos (headwise and size 4 me) and they're quite functional and will rf a long time and all that, but there are just little things that aren't as nice as the other two.
I have a new outback and I love it. Tons of space and extras. Easily fits Chico next fit RF in the back. Forester is smaller but similar. Alas neither are hatchbacks. But I do get about 27 mpg.
I have a new outback and I love it. Tons of space and extras. Easily fits Chico next fit RF in the back. Forester is smaller but similar. Alas neither are hatchbacks. But I do get about 27 mpg.
This. Add me to the Outback love. We also have a Chicco - keyfit though. DH gets about 30 mpg with the outback and we love it for winter and rougher terrain roads.
I have both the diono radian and the new britax click tight. I love the radian for DS1, he is forward facing and love the click tight for DS2, he is rear facing. They both have pros and cons, I think it comes to what you personally like/want out of a seat. the diono will rear face longer then the britax and is low profile on the sides, but we have a hard time getting a good install with it in my 2015 chevy traverse and in the 2014 vw passat we had.
No, no, no on the Hyundai Elantra GT. We had a 2004 and it was TERRIBLE! Something was always breaking, it went through (very expensive) brakes faster than any car I've owned, and the repairs (which it needed a lot of) were always really expensive because the parts were ridiculous. The head gasket finally gave out in 2013 so we donated it to a local auto repair education program. I have a friend with a 2009 Elantra and she's dumped money into her's as well, including a new steering do-hicky (column? bearings? I don't know but it was expensive).
It's not a sexy car, but we replaced the Elantra with a 2005 Toyota Camry. The trunk actually holds more crap than the hatchback GT, it's more reliable, and has been cheaper to repair. And it does snow very, very well.
I had a Camry for a while that I loved. Now I have a Rav4, which I super love. The only non-normal maintenance repairs I've had done on it were minor things. I've had it for almost 9 years now.
I like the Rav, my only real issues with it is that the rear door opens to the side and not a hatch. That's a personal preference thing, though.
The side vs. hatch is part of why I love mine so much. I hated lifting over my head with a handful of stuff. For some reason opening to the side is easier for me. Plus I really like the AWD where you don't have to think about putting it in 4WD.
Post by nanaosaki06 on Jan 19, 2015 18:53:07 GMT -5
If you look up the Kicking Tires car seat tests for each of the cars you are looking at it will help narrow it down. Of the two you mentioned I'd lean towards the Wagon. However, if you want to do the mom hatchback or wagon then there isn't too much options. Mazda 3's are well loved for moms, VW Golf, Volvo XC 70, Toyota Prius, Mazda 5, Fiat 500L, and Mini Countryman are all good family hatchbacks and wagons. Of this list I like the Mazda 3 the best followed by the Fiat and the Mini. As for car seats you'll have to decide based off of the car you get. However, I love my Diono seats with the angle adjuster for my SO's Dodge Dart. The Chicco Nextfit is also a great compact seats. The Britax Click Connect seats are easy to install, but aren't going to last as long unless you get the ultra expensive Pavilion model.
I have a TDI sportwagen and love it! I wanted more cargo space than a sedan but didn't want an SUV and this fit the bill. I have the Chico nextfit, and it fits fine RF behind the drivers seat. I'm not super tall, but I could move the seat back a couple more inches, I think. You can fit two people in the back with the car seat, but it's cozy.
Our britax marathon fits moderately well RF in our Honda Fit. It's better than the infant seat, but my husband isn't super comfy on long drives in the passenger seat in front of it, but it's fine for me. I love our Honda Fit!
Post by nanaosaki06 on Jan 19, 2015 21:34:43 GMT -5
I want to like the Honda Fit, but I can't get over the name. There's a reason why in Europe the Honda Fit is called the Jazz. In Swedish Fit means vagina, I'm not going to drive around in a vagina. Secondly, according to Top Gear, it's an old people car. Other than that I just admire the fun blue colors it comes in.
I want to like the Honda Fit, but I can't get over the name. There's a reason why in Europe the Honda Fit is called the Jazz. In Swedish Fit means vagina, I'm not going to drive around in a vagina. Secondly, according to Top Gear, it's an old people car. Other than that I just admire the fun blue colors it comes in.
An old people car?!? Not where I live. It's a young car here.
Post by velvethelicopters on Jan 19, 2015 21:42:04 GMT -5
Had a Prius with two Clek Foonf in back. Worked fine.
Now have a Honda Ody because fine, I needed more room. My girls are leggy as all get, but very short torso and both have had spinal surgery. I went with Britax Click Tight Advocates. Madeline is 42" and 28 pounds, Victoria is 43.25" and 33 pounds. Both girls were nearly out of the Clek seats. They'll outgrow the Britax CT seats by weight vs height, and I'm fine with that. I realize that it's basically a very limited use FF seat, but it's worth the money to RF longer. I wasn't getting any improvement on RF in the 50 pound limit seats, I'm stopped at 43.99" in overall height and neither girl will likely hit 40 pounds by then. Plus, Britax will bring out the ARB for CT seats soon and then I'll switch to tethering to the back. Kill the rebound with ARB, limit side torsion with tethering to the back.
By now, I'm sticking with Britax. If they can pass testing that allows 40 pounds and 49" tall (maximum of allowed in seat) RF, there's no reasonable way another seat can't pass 50 pounds and 49" RF. As weight goes up, testing dummy height goes up.
Post by nanaosaki06 on Jan 19, 2015 21:48:03 GMT -5
My Dad once suggested I get a Kia Soul, no. I am not a frumpy middle aged woman that has given up on life. The Soul has replaced the PT Cruiser and HHR as the middle aged woman car.
Going to throw this one out, but i love my Graco MySize65s. I've got two of them. Ds is almost 2, and big for his age but hasn't outgrown rearfacing yet.
I don't remember which Graco we had, the one with a bunch of names depending on what store you were at. I wanted to like the Graco so much, but we returned it. I could seriously not hey the harness straps to tighten enough. They were really easy top very uneven, and then the only way to fix that was to take baby out, completely tighten the straps, and then loosen them. We hear this problem when the seat was installed, not when we are testing it in the store. It was a giant pain.I returned it. I figured even if I could get the hang of it, I couldn't trust others who would user it less often to do it right. I looked into some reviews, and apparently I'm not the only one that hat that problem. Graco does have a newer model out tho. The 4ever or milestone or something. I think Nana compared that with the newt Britax and something else in an old post.
Going to throw this one out, but i love my Graco MySize65s. I've got two of them. Ds is almost 2, and big for his age but hasn't outgrown rearfacing yet.
I don't remember which Graco we had, the one with a bunch of names depending on what store you were at. I wanted to like the Graco so much, but we returned it. I could seriously not hey the harness straps to tighten enough. They were really easy top very uneven, and then the only way to fix that was to take baby out, completely tighten the straps, and then loosen them. We hear this problem when the seat was installed, not when we are testing it in the store. It was a giant pain.I returned it. I figured even if I could get the hang of it, I couldn't trust others who would user it less often to do it right. I looked into some reviews, and apparently I'm not the only one that hat that problem. Graco does have a newer model out tho. The 4ever or milestone or something. I think Nana compared that with the newt Britax and something else in an old post.
This was our experience too except we kept it and only use it in DH's truck where the boys rarely are. It's not as big of a deal to mess with the straps in it. I love my Britax so much better. Unfortunately we have the old style, and he's about to outgrow it RF'ing. We're gonna do the BRU trade-in event and get a Chicco Nextfit I think.
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