Canberra the Land of Subaru Drivers????

I'm hoping a Subaru owner can help me out here... DH and I are looking at buying a new Subaru Forrester. We currently have one but I here the new model is bigger. we are wanting to see if three car seats would fit but currently only have two. So I have two parts to my question...

1) Does anyone here have a configuration of booster, baby rear, baby forward facing in there car (Forrester, or X-Trail... our other option)

2) Does anyone have an old ratty car seat lying around that they no longer want or one i could borrow merely to see if it fits in my car?

I'm not preggers yet but we will be leasing it for three years so want to make sure it is going to work. I've measured three out in a line and I think it will squeeze in (130cm) but I'm not prepared to sign a contract based on my dodgy measurements.

tia.

jen

absolutely suburus are too small for 3 car seats! they are such narrow cars.

i would take one for a test drive, take it to a baby shop and ask them to try a seat and see what fits.

good luck!

Don't know if this is of any help to you but we are looking at selling our Liberty because three car seats (one reversible and two boosters) do not fit at all. The Tribeca (the largest in the Subaru range I believe), though bigger than the Liberty is no wider. If you check the dimensions of the Forester against those of the Liberty, and if they're about the same, then I'd be very surprised if you'll have any luck.

I have a friend in Sydney with a forrester and I think she had 3 car seats in the back.. BUt I could be wrong , I will email and ask.. My sister is in the process of working out how to fit two booster and a capsule in her xtrail.. ( will ask how she went)..

We have friends who have a Mazda Tribute with three seats in the back.

Something else to look for is the location of the hooks to installing them. We have a Nissan Murano and while we could fit three seats in the car width wise, the hooks are located at the very rear of the boot so it is annoying just having one seat hooked up in terms of taking up boot space. In the Mazda Tribute the hooks are located in the roof so it is much better for loading prams, groceries, etc!

Funny you should mention the Mazda Tribute - DH just a few minutes ago told me (via messenger) about his workmate sitting next to him right now who he is talking to about cars, who has one and said that he wants to sell it because it is a complete "gas guzzler". He said that literally you can see the fuel tank needle plummet as you back your car out of the driveway.

I think that is the case with ALL 4WDs - they are pretty heavy.....

Yes and no ... I've been researching these for the last six months and I could tell you which ones are better than others, and believe me, some are ALOT better than others.

Which is why we've narrowed our car hunt down to just the one model and are prepared to wait if necessary (afterall, #3 isn't on the way as yet .)

I know you can fit them across the back of a Territory. A good friend has three in hers. But the slimline seats.

I've also been told that three car seats can fit comfortably across the second row in a Territory. But I've also been told by a couple of friends of ours who have one that they are very heavy on the fuel too (which is a shame given that they are very nice looking cars).

gollygar what 4WD do you know of that would fit three across and is good on the fuel? I had a forester but it wasn't big enough for 3 across (I really liked that car though), I now have a sedan but would like the 4WD but the thought of the fuel puts me off.

Toyota Kluger!

Thanks, I will have to look into this car myself (and I do like toyota's, everyone I have had has always been so reliable)

I just looked up its fuel consumption and it is 12.3 litres per 100kms (combined - urban and highway), the forester was only 9.5 and so is my Camry..... what do most 4WD's use???
I already spend around $180 per fortnight on fuel I would hate to think what it would be with a 4WD!

Alot of them are up over 14 per 100kms ... all in this category use more than a Forrester (or in my case my Liberty) but that's because most are V6's and the car size and weight is quite a bit bigger. That's the trade off which I've accepted.

Can't help with the Subaru info, but I can say I would be surprised if you could fit three seats across the back of an X-Trail. There isn't much room between DD1 and DD2 in the middle of my X-Trail. Granted, DD1 has the Platinum AHR (so a 'big' seat), but I don't think it's going to be much different when she goes into a booster. Maybe if you had three narrow seats (??SnS Compaq), but even then I'm not sure they would fit.

I do love my car, but I know I would have to get something else if we want to go for #3. Otherwise, I think it is great.

Also, we had a Mazda Tribute for a few years. Good car space (and features) wise, and the PP is correct about anchors being out of the way of the cargo space, but it is a fuel guzzler and very expensive to service too. Not a car we would buy again.

HTH

Pamela
DH
& our 2 girls

NOT TRUE that you can't fit three seats in a subaru (or an xtrail)- I had three across the back of my IMPREZA sportswagon. I had a SnS discovery, a SnS compact rear facing in the middle and a Infa-vario kids with an H harness.

We took the car to the seat place and tried a few combos, the compact would even fit when turned around, along with two infa-vario kids, one on each side.

I believe the infa is similar in size to the sns hiliner, but cheaper. (both are tethered).

The biggest pain was doing up the seatbelt on the booster, but it's no biggie really. I now have the same combo in my Xtrail and it's great to have the bolt points just behind the seats rather than stretching across the boot space as they did in my impreza.

I 'd my subaru- NEVER had a problem in 10 years, great with the all wheel drive. But we're on unsealed road now and it was just too low to the ground.

I think the forrester is a similar width, it's so worth trying seats out, you might just be surprised.

chezsta you couldn't have summed it up better ... we have a S&S reversible for 15mo DD and a Pegasus for DS. If we have #3, DD will go into the Pegasus that we have in DH's car currently and baby will go into the S&S. We have put all three car seats into the back of our RX and they just don't fit.

Now you might well have more luck with the skinnier compacts or whatever they're called, but I'd prefer my children to not only have a bit of breathing room but room to stretch (epecially on longer trips).

I'm none too happy that none of the Subaru's are wide enough as I love my RX too. Sure, I could go for the Tribeca and put DS in the third row but then I wouldn't have much cargo space. And besides, the Tribeca is a bit of a guzzler too and it's not getting the best of performance reviews.

We're going with the Toyota as this is another "brand" that we've only ever heard good things about. We test drove a Kluger yesterday and were convinced that this car would suit our family in it's current capacity and with any future expansions.

Can't comment on the Subaru's but do have a car seat (reversible) lying in the shed if you want to borrow it for trying in cars (its an IGC GoSafe)

I'd be careful about "advertised" combined fuel consumptions. The Nissan Murano has an advertised combined fuel consumption of 12.3L/100km as well - but if you intend driving around town more than you drive on the highway you will end up doing more like 13.5 - 14L/100 km, consistent with the Territory, etc.
Unfortunately thats the compromise you make with a heavier vehicle.

I personally would try smaller car seats and a subaru, less petrol, cheaper on the pocket and most importantly better for the environment - or some other cheaper car to run. I know when I was growing up there was three kids and we were in a mazda capella (I know this is no good for car seats but when we were older it was fine) - as for long car trips we use to hire a car. This is what I am planning to do when my kids get older, everything is going up and I just can't justify spending that much on petrol just so there is more space on a holiday when I can hire a bigger car for this time - cheaper all up even taking into account of the rental price and less km's on my car and therefore less maintenance cost - more money to have more options to be a SAHM or part time and spend more quality time with my kids!!

Today I saw a Liberty with 3 carseats in it. there was a compaq rear facing in the middle and 2 Safe and Sound Hiliners (I think) on either side. Putting the baby in the middle was a bit of a PITA for the mum but she said she didnt mind too much because she loved her car so much

Helen, DH and I love the Kluger too, just can't afford one right now! Haven't taken one on a test drive, but checked it out at the Canbera Show and fell in love!

Cheers
Riss

OK so I have measured the back of both new models of the Forrester and the XTrail from seat end to seat end. One is 137cm(Forrester) and one is 142cm(xtrail)... I then went and got the measurements off the net.

The SnS Compaq seems to be one of the smallest on the market at 44cm. So in theory I could fit three of these accross the back of either.

I have found a booster seat that still looks safe (don't want just the base... I want a full chair) that is 40cm. I'm going to go and test out three carseats tomorrow and see how we go. Im a little more confident after reading through the restraint thread what some people seem to fit three carseats in is truely amazing (I wish some people would post photos so I can see if it is 'safe').

I like the look of the Kluger but we are currently trying to decrease our expenditure. I know it is only say 7k difference but in the end that is still 7k.

After the recent snow dump all DH seems to care about is how it is going to handle the drive to Thredbo or Perisher... .

I'll let you know how I go getting my existing compaq, my friends booster seat and her compaq in. Goodbye turnatot... I loved you!

fat*freddys*cat: thanks for the info... makes me slightly more confident.

Given your concern about fuel consumption and $s on petrol, do you have to have a 4WD?

Could a turbo diesel (with heaps of torque and strength) fit the bill?

If so, I can recommend the Peugeot 309 wagon turbo diesel and at 5.5 litres per 100 kms, it is a fantastic car around town and on longer drives (we did 8000km to far north QLD and back on 5 tanks of fuel). DD is in a SNS Meridian and my mum and I were able to sit in the back with her reasonably comfortably. Anchor points are close to the back seat so heaps of space for luggage.

HTH, Alison

I'll leave this one for a PP because as the OP I don't have any concern for fuel (well DH doesn't) our current fuel guzzler (Forrester Turbo) gets to the petrol station and then I close my eyes and shudder to think what I'm paying.

Re. the Turnatot. I couldn't use mine properly for #3 as you need the gap between seats for it to turn IYKWIM. So I didn't use the turning at all with #3 and I missed it heaps as well

I've got a Toyota Avensis and I can fit my Turnatot and two of the new Maxi Riders in without any problems at all. I think that the new Kluger would be the same width (maybe even wider) not sure on the first model. I love the new one. It looks great. I also love that it has the anchor points built into the middle row...so no straps going into the floor. It is also good on fuel consumption.

I'm a Kluger driver and I am very happy with it. When we had our third last Nov, we did extensive research into all the cars. My DH went round all the car dealerships with his tape measure and is convinced that the Kluger has the most width across the back seat, thus capable of three car seats. Anchor points are also on the back of the seat, so don't impinge on boot space; also if you want to use third row of seats, you don't have an anchor belt in your face (as was drawback with Honda Odessy).

I have three seats permanently in back - two 5 point harness seats and a rear facing baby; all work fine. third row is great for when we have extra in car - throw in booster seat on those rare occasions as they are short trips.

Fuel consumption - no idea of how many kms to litre, but it is $$$ to fill up - but probably only do it 3 weekly as usually only driving around town.

Only regret with Kluger is that we wished third row of seats was split so we could have third row in use, as well as fit pram in.

But understand all the dilemmas that have been discussed in PP's - there is always compromise that must be made when trying to find ideal car!

That's really interesting. I just guessed it would be the same as the Avensis. Our third row is split. So you can have one seat up and one down.



Totally agree with you there. Was a major drawback for us too. We also hated the beige interior