My wife and I just took possession of a new Mazda5 GT (LOADED!) to help cope with our 18-week-old twins. Unfortunately, the Chicco car seats we have are great, but they require us to move the front seats up about 3-4 notches and that really cramps me as the driver. I am looking forward to when the boys are able to get into convertible seats and though that is about 7-9 months away (they're small), I am looking into what to buy now as we have credits in some stores from returned baby items. In order to avoid the cramped feeling for the driver, I was wondering:

Do you have a RF car seat that allows you to leave the front seats fully back? If so, which one?

I looked online for about six hours in the last couple of days (boy, I wish I could get that sleep back!) and the most common response to the smallest footprint for a RF car seat was either Evenflo's Triumph Advance or Graco MyRide . . . do you have either of these installed? Do they allow you lots of room?

Finally, have you ever fit a RF seat (or an infant seat) in the third row with the middle row with some form of child seat?

Thanks!

 

Hi,

I'd encourage you to post your question at car-seat.org. We have lots of car seat techs and experienced parents (some of whom own Mazda 5s!) who can help you determine the best convertible seats for your babies.

Hope to see you there!

Coleen
CPST

 

I'm a carseat tech, and I have an '07 Mazda 5. If you post this question at car-seat.org, you'll get more answers; there's lots of people there with Mazda 5s.

Here's a little about my own experience, though. I've never used infant seats in mine, because my kids are all older, but I've installed a couple just to see how they fit, plus I haul around two Graco Snugrides that I use for demo purposes. The Mazda 5 actually has quite a bit of room compared to most cars, so I'm guessing you must be pretty tall?

Also, are you installing the infant seats with the 2nd row seats pushed all the way back? That usually gives me plenty of room for the Gracos I haul, as long as I don't have anyone riding in the third row. My front seats are never reclined more than 2-3 clicks, though, even when my 16 is riding there (he's 6'2").

The two convertibles that you mentioned as taking up less space aren't going to help much at this point, because at 18 weeks, your babies need the full 45-degree recline to protect their airways (aka so their heads don't flop forward) and both of those convertibles will take up at least as much space at that angle as your Chicco seats. They would be good options once your babies are older, though, and can tolerate being more upright.

And yes, you should be able to install one of the Chiccos in the 2nd row behind the passenger, and then install the other in the third row on the driver's side, because you could move the 2nd row seat in front of it up a bit to make room for it. Just follow the instructions in the Chicco manual for a seat belt install instead, because the 3rd row doesn't have the lower LATCH anchors. You should also be able to load the 3rd-row carseat through the back hatch, especially if you fold down the unused half, but you wouldn't be able to haul anything that way (like a stroller).

 

I've only installed a few infant seats, a grayco snugride (was my nephew) and a maxi cosi mico (my son's). I actually had much more space in each of the cars they went in (Mz3, old protege, and an Elantra) with the snugride as it seemed to have the seat mount into the base closer to the back of the seat it was in, vs. the maxi cosi that mounted into the base further forward.

Like others have said you can play with different mounting options such as using a single middle row and back row seat, however that limits your storage capacity and puts one of your children only feet away from the back of the car should you be struck in the rear. Closer to the center is always better with that in mind.

When your kids are old enough and you go to convertible seats you can try mounting different ones (or get advice like the others mentioned) to see which will fit best for you. Remember the newest safety recommendations are keeping your child rear-facing for at least two years, and really as long as it's possible to sit them that way, even if their legs are bent or they're kicking the seat. A front facing child is five times as likely to have severe injuries from a frontal crash than a rear facing.

As much as I love the 5 (my father has one which we're occasionally in) this is one downside to not having a middle seat in the second row as you can't have the seat stick between the front seats at all.