HELP finding a convertible car to fit in my car rear-facing!!

[katzzmcd]

Now that website carseatdata.org isn't in business anymore, I don't know where else to get advice. I am looking for a 65lb limit convertible car seat for my 2012 Hyundai Elantra Touring, rear-facing. I have a Safety First Air Complete 65 and it DOES NOT fit rear-facing. I would need the passenger seat to be completely up to get it to fit. We would prefer to have the seat in the center and still be able to seat someone in the passenger seat. If the seat needs to be moved up a little, that is fine. But we use that car for more family outings. I am curious if the First Years True Fit will work rear-facing? The problem is that car seat is not available in a store anywhere near me so I can't "try it out". Any advice? I have googled and no help!!

[Joolsplus2]

Well, the 'good' news is, that Complete Air is probably the tallest, most reclined seat you could have bought, almost anything else should work at least a little better. Britax Roundabout would be a nice choice (though there's not a lot of advertising for 'true side impact' on that seat, it's lined with EPP foam and the lack of internal headwings will make it a lot easier to get a kiddo in and out of the seat in the long haul). The other Britaxes are the same compact shell and would be fine, Marathon has a one-pull headrest that makes harness adjustment easier, and Boulevards have mondo big headrests that may or may not be safer (there aren't really any government standards, just internal testing from company to company, in terms of side impacts). Evenflos also tend to work well, the Triumph or Symphonies should be fine. Graco My Ride is a little on the bulky side for a car that size, I think, plus the harness adjuster tends to stick like glue. I personally also find the True Fit (Premier is the only model I'd consider, honestly, the anti-rebound bar makes it much much easier to reach the harness adjuster) to be a little too bulky, and that was in my minivan (!!!), I don't think it'd be terribly comfy to sit next to in the back. You could also look at something really small, and get a seat with a higher harness weight limit (and converts to a booster later), like the Combi Coccoro or Evenflo Tribute (which I'll admit feels less sturdy than the others, but installs easily enough, and will fit most kids to age 2 rearfacing and 4 forward facing, so you get your money's worth. Coccoro also should last that long)


Hope that helps! What infant seat do you have now and how comfortable is it to sit in front of it?

[BabyBearsMom]

I had a True Fit Premier in my really teeny backseat of my old car and it worked out really well. It was a very nice seat and I liked that when DD was smaller, I didn't have to use the head rest which gave me a lot more room temporarily. It doesn't install as easily as a Britax, but the install isn't impossible. It is a fairly wide seat so it won't give you a ton of space to fit other people in your back seat, but it isn't terrible.


But, that being said, I would probably get a MA70 or BLVD70. The new ones are much more upright than the old ones so they don't take up as much space. The install is super easy and the strap height is really easy to adjust. My DD is currently RFing in a MA70 and an old school BLVD and we like both of them, although DD is defintiely comfier in the BLVD.