car seat in a P5

[seatown.P5]

Our baby unit is quickly outgrowing his infant car seat (at only 5 months old, he's a big dude) so we need to upgrade to a convertible seat - one that can be both rear and forward facing.

Thinking of getting the Britax Diplomat because they say it's good for compact cars. Anyone used this particular seat?
http://www.britaxusa.com/products/product_detail.aspx?ID=4

What about the Recaro convertible seats? That'd be sweet, having a Recaro, and I know my son would appreciate it. We spend a good deal of time discussing the cars we see when we're on our walks. For some reason he's drawn to a clapped out Datsun B210 we see nearly every day.
http://www.recarochildseat.com/Convertible-Car-Seats/index.cat

 

[seatown.P5]

No one has a convertible car seat in their P5? There's got to be some parents lurking around this forum... which seats fit? Which don't? Help out a fellow pop!

 

[Nomad]

Yes, carseat in P5 works. We had a Graco car seat in our P5 with the base that you clip the rear facing seat into. It fits in the center section with the bulk of it going between the front seats but you've got a harder time attending to the baby unless you sit back there with them, which we did.
It can fit in the rear side seat but the Passenger seat has to be adjusted and is very uncomfortable for front pass. We were fine with it though. It's cheaper than buying a new car.

It's not too long before they turn around and face forward and then it's more room.

We changed to a normal seat that has the pads that fit little kids up to toddlers. We're still using it. The Eddie Bauer was the exact same as the regular brand one we got too.

His feet hit the front seat and get it dirty but we just deal with it.

Go buy one and if you can test fit it then even better. Just don;t buy some "cadillac" of seats that is super wide for no reason and you'll be fine. They grow fast.

 

[Trevor710]

We are rocking the Safety 1st Enspira. Out of all the ones we looked at it seemed to be the most compact. Its still rear facing behind the passengers seat and it does cramp a bit, but not to bad. We had to scoot the passenger seat forward and sacrifice leg room so we could recline the seat a bit...better on the back. Can't wait until he gets to go forward facing! I wouldn't dump all your money on the Recaro...They grow really fast and even Recaro will tell you they aren't any more safe than other car seats.

 

[poison]

all car seats are are not created equal. britax get the highest ratings, and are very well designed, which can't be said for all models. i bought a britax boulevard, iirc, and it fits 5-60 lbs, so it'll work from the time they outgrow the rear-facing bassinet until they move to a booster. the straps are adjustable without having to remove the seat from the car and rethread everything, it has side impact protection, and when you sit your kid in it you will see they are more securethan with other seats. i am picking up a p5 tomorrow, so i will try to test it out for you. the p5 has more rear seat leg room then my impreza did, so it should be just fine.

 

[turdb0]

I

I'd say just buy one and return it if it doesnt work out for you. My baby is due any day now and the Evenflo travel system I bought 2 weeks ago is already starting to annoy me so I'm thinking about returning it for something else. I already fitted it inside the P5 and it wobbles sideways unless wedged to the back of the front seats. BabysR'US offers a 90 day return policy so that's a good thing...

 

[astraelraen]

From what I've read Britax makes some of the best compact convertible car seats on the market.

The diplomat and roundabout are both "compact" models and made to fit in cars with smaller back seat room. They are relatively expensive though.

We are looking to get one for our Subaru, its backseat doesn't take any rear facing carseat well unless its infant only. Most rear facing convertible carseats are huge when properly inclined, and we would have to put the seats waaaaaaaay far forward in my wife's car.

 

[HatchbackNDN]

Check out the Chico Keyfit system..pretty bad ass...German bastards built it so you know it's strict. That's waht I'm getting for my newborn. They're pretty damn cool looking too.

 

[2slow2go]

I have the eddie bauer 3in1, was pretty cramp'd up front for the passenger, but like someone already stated, they don't sit rear facing very long at all. Before you know it he'll be kicking the $H!T out of the back of your passenger seat...

 

[seatown.P5]

Alright, cool. Thanks for the input everyone.

We've got our little champ in a Graco SnugRide right now, just fits in the P5. The top of the seat hits the two front seats unless they're moved pretty far forward. Even in the middle. But it's a PITA to get in and out due to the smallish rear doors.

I might be getting a 2001 CR-V soon, it should give us a bit more room to fit a convertible seat in it's rear-facing configuration.

So for now I'm leaning towards the Britax Diplomat. Hoping it will fit in the P5 and hold us over until we get a bigger ride. I'd better decide soon, though, Champ isn't getting any smaller.

BTW - congrats to everyone expecting a baby soon!

 

[shadowncs]

Subbing cause I need to buy one of those SOON

 

[Tom03es]

Compact is definitely the key if you are tall. I have 2 kids- one compact seat and one not-so-compact seat that will occassionally get put in my car. With the compact seat in, I don't have to move my seat (6'1") with my 3.5 year old sitting right behind me- but she does push on the back of my seat. With the larger seat installed, I have to move the passenger seat up a little- and that's for my 22 month old.

The primary kid hauler is our 2004 Saturn VUE. Very large rear door openings and a large backseat- no need to move front seats around and plenty of room for 2 of the not-so-compact car seats.

 

[shadow191]

I had a Chico Keyfit. Great car seat for a newborn, but it is really big. It's so convenient though having a base in the car that you can just unclick from. It will barely fit in a P5 though; the seats can't go too far back. We had to keep it on the passenger side as if we put it in the middle, I couldn't drive (I'm 5'10"). It was the same way on our IS350.

Just recently, our baby turned 1, so we swapped it out for some Graco convertible car seats and it's better size wise. At least we can put the seat in the middle now.

Check out the Chico Keyfit system..pretty bad ass...German bastards built it so you know it's strict. That's waht I'm getting for my newborn. They're pretty damn cool looking too.

 

[poison]

Both Britax's fit the P5 when I picked it up today, forward facing. Piece of cake.