# rear facing convertible car seat



## mr_raider (Aug 13, 2011)

Anyone manage to stuff in a rear facing convertible car seat, like Diono Radian or Britax Marathon? How much front leg roomis lost?


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Having driven compact cars for so many years, we've ended up putting the rear facing car seat in the center of the back seats. This way the back of the seat fits between the front seat backs a bit and you don't lose so much front leg room. We've always used Britax Marathons for the grandkids and I use the inside LATCH mounts for the car seat. This lets Momma easily reach the little one to replace lost Binkys or bottles. I've also taken the rear restraint strap and fitted it under the rear seat cushion to help in case of a violent rear end collision.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

It was back in the 70's GM came up with there own baby car seat. Send us a letter, 17 bucks shipping prepaid. Wish I kept it, rear facing and a very practical design. Would be great if the car manufactures provided these rather than having all this aftermarket stuff that can drive you nuts trying to install them.

Son avoided these convertible seats for this exact reason. 0-1 year old, 1-4 year old, and then the booster. Another idiotic thing, these laws should be federal and not state. But have yet to hear about a violation issued when crossing a state line.

Yet another observation, the smaller the kid, the larger the car seat. Granddaughter graduated to a booster seat when she turned four, the smallest of the bunch.

Hate to say these, but the Cruze is the worse vehicle I have ever owned for attaching a baby car seat. Those clips are buried deep. Could never to that without a pair of extra long, long nose pliers. Far easier to attached those to my 88 Supra, even has clips for that top strap. So use that car instead.

Could buy a Caddy CTS for three times the price, that will give you an extra inch of rear floor space.


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## Josie12 (Dec 11, 2013)

I'm with Jim Frye on this.. rear facing convertibles have gone in the middle in my car too! Saves the front seat passengers from getting squished I've used Britax Marathon and I can say it does well in small cars.

Diono Radian can work too.. it has a narrow base and fits in most cars. It does have a tall shell but that can be taken care of using the angle adjuster (you'll have to buy it separately). It will make the seat a little upright, thereby saving you a little front leg space.

Features wise also they are both good.. though, Radian has a better weight/height range and it can be used as a booster too.
Marathon on the other hand is easier to install and its pretty comfortable.

Here's a little comparison between the two:
Britax MARATHON 70-G3 vs Diono Radian RXT 

There are other small seats that you can consider... you can check them out using this Car Seats Finder


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

In Wisconsin, state law say one year for the rear facing seat. So with grandkids, much smaller wife gets the less than one year old behind her seat, I get the over one year old with a front facing seat.


Never had a vehicle worse than this Cruze for installing baby car seats, those clips are really buried deep. Ha, wife keeps the grandkids in the house while I am doing, doesn't want these little darlings to hear their grandpa cussing while doing this.

But solved this by using my Supra instead. And who designed these crazy safety belts with that plastic push button clip. Wife can't even depress those, and heaven helps us if she breaks a finger nail. Looked at seats in the 30 to 300 buck price range. All use these stupid clips.


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## Dragonsys (May 27, 2013)

The seat should be in the middle, it is actually safer there and a recommended location for most manufacturers. This places the child the furthest from any impact zone.


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## Bampton Rose (Dec 12, 2013)

The American Academy of Pediatrics now advises parents to keep toddlers in rear-facing car seats until age two, or until they exceed the height and weight limit for the car seat, which may be well past the second birthday.


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## giggleooza (Jul 23, 2014)

mr_raider said:


> Anyone manage to stuff in a rear facing convertible car seat, like Diono Radian or Britax Marathon? How much front leg roomis lost?


My kids love the Britax Marathon. It's rated high here 5 Good Value Kids Convertible Car Seats 2014 . I like how sturdy and compact it is .


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