[songbird45]

How can you figure out which car seat is likely to fit in the car? I have a 2001 Corolla which is not a very large car. I sort of want a convertible seat so I can get away with one seat for a long time, but they all look so huge, I don't know if they'll fit in the back seat. Does anyone have a small car and can give me recommendations?

Mods, if this belongs somewhere else feel free to move it.

 

[bemommy]

THis is a good place to start http://www.carseatdata.org/

 

[LindsC]

I have a smaller car (a Kia Rio) and we have an Evenflo Triumph Advance. I had no problems getting it installed in the middle seat rearfacing. The only problem with the small car is that when the seat is rearfacing behind one of the front seats, that seat needs to be moved far enough forward to accomodate the seat and then the person sitting that seat is very short on space.
This is what we are about to run into. We are going to turn Ds's seat forward facing (he is almost 2) when we install the infant seat. Ds's seat will be behind the driver's seat and the baby's seat will be rear facing behind the passenger seat since there isn't often anyone sitting there.

I woul check out the link that was posted above though. It has tons of great information.

 

[User101]

Moving to Family Safety

 

[jillmamma]

Another thing you can do is try going to a Babies R Us and many of them will allow you to try out the car seats in your car to see if they fit. I would think that most car seats would be okay in a Corolla though.

 

[Friday13th]

I have fit a True Fit, a Marathon and/or an Uptown RF in a Corolla with no difficulty. The True Fit has a removable headrest for smaller babies which is helpful.

 

[DahliaRW]

For newborn in a small car I would definitely do a true fit. With the removeable headrest, it'll take up a lot less room front to back when you have to have it installed at 45 degrees. By the time your LO weighs enough or is tall enough you have to put the headrest back on, they will have better head control and you can install the seat more upright so it takes up less space. The true fit also has some really nice padding for newborns/small babies.

 

[TheGirls]

I'd try a TrueFit. I have one in my Mazda Protege (also a smaller car). It fits MUCH better than a baby bucket because it has no base. By the time you need the headrest, you can install it more upright to save space.

 

[songbird45]

thanks everyone! we're going to babies r us to try out car seats and then we'll decide. the TrueFit isn't even on the babies r us website so I wonder if it's been discontinued or something.

 

[Friday13th]

Here it is, http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=3137030

Target also carries it in stores.