Piglet
05-17-2006, 10:08 AM
I went to test drive minivans yesterday and fell in love with the 2006 Honda Odyssey (all the safety features I really need plus more ability to rearrange seats). Okay, so option #1 is to buy a $40K (Canadian) minivan. After the sticker shock, I got to thinking about option #2... is there any way to sit 3 seats across in either of my existing cars - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe and 2000 Mazda Protege?
Here are my current seats (including grandparents' seats) to choose from:
Fisher Price Safe Embrace (currently RF in Hyundai - will only fit in outboard spots thanks to middle "hump")
Britax MA (currently RF in Protege in passenger outboard position)
Cosco Scenera (currently RF in grandpa's car)
Evenflo Vision (currently harnessed FF in Protege middle seat - can be harnessed to 48 lbs in Canada)
Graco Turbobooster (high back) (currently in Santa Fe outboard because middle only has lap belt)
Fisher Price Grow With Me (currently used as booster in MIL's car)
Evenflo backless booster (currently in grandpa's car)
Graco Snugride with base (old car seat about to expire this June, not in use, but I have been using the base for testing fit with the other seats)
DS1 is almost 5 years old, 41 lbs and 105 cm. DS2 is 14 months and is 24 lbs. There is no DC3, but we are strongly considering one :)
I am in Canada, so my choices of seats are limited. I know that the Scenera is narrow and would probably work well with the other seats, but I would really hate to not use the FPSE or the MA when I love them so much. I also think the Evenflo booster is narrower than the Graco, but it is backless, so I would not want to use it in a car without side air bags (one of the major safety features I want in a new car). I played with my seat combinations and got the Graco, Snugride base and FPSE to fit in the Santa Fe, but you can not buckle the booster for anything! I got it buckled without DS1 in it, but it would be very hard to do with him in it! I am willing to buy new seats (thinking of the Britax Parkway) if that would help. If DC3 came on the scene in 9-ish months, I might need to move DS2 FF by then potentially (doubtfully, but he is a good eater, LOL).
Thanks for any and all suggestions (and for reading this long-winded post),
Here are my current seats (including grandparents' seats) to choose from:
Fisher Price Safe Embrace (currently RF in Hyundai - will only fit in outboard spots thanks to middle "hump")
Britax MA (currently RF in Protege in passenger outboard position)
Cosco Scenera (currently RF in grandpa's car)
Evenflo Vision (currently harnessed FF in Protege middle seat - can be harnessed to 48 lbs in Canada)
Graco Turbobooster (high back) (currently in Santa Fe outboard because middle only has lap belt)
Fisher Price Grow With Me (currently used as booster in MIL's car)
Evenflo backless booster (currently in grandpa's car)
Graco Snugride with base (old car seat about to expire this June, not in use, but I have been using the base for testing fit with the other seats)
DS1 is almost 5 years old, 41 lbs and 105 cm. DS2 is 14 months and is 24 lbs. There is no DC3, but we are strongly considering one :)
I am in Canada, so my choices of seats are limited. I know that the Scenera is narrow and would probably work well with the other seats, but I would really hate to not use the FPSE or the MA when I love them so much. I also think the Evenflo booster is narrower than the Graco, but it is backless, so I would not want to use it in a car without side air bags (one of the major safety features I want in a new car). I played with my seat combinations and got the Graco, Snugride base and FPSE to fit in the Santa Fe, but you can not buckle the booster for anything! I got it buckled without DS1 in it, but it would be very hard to do with him in it! I am willing to buy new seats (thinking of the Britax Parkway) if that would help. If DC3 came on the scene in 9-ish months, I might need to move DS2 FF by then potentially (doubtfully, but he is a good eater, LOL).
Thanks for any and all suggestions (and for reading this long-winded post),