Prius C with a little one?

we have two kids - 6 and 3, and the four of us fit just fine in the C. its actually kinda cosy and nice, and we like it. very happy with the C so far. also note that the C gets highest crash ratings from the NHSTA-

 

I wish I could say. LATCH has been around a decade and I still shake my head when a brand new model is released with new and clever ways to make the anchors more difficult to find and access.

Did they release them recently? I can't seem to find them.

 

my bad, it was IIHS, not NHTSA - here is the link:


IIHS-HLDI: Toyota Prius c

 

No problem here with 2 kids...

 

What *brand* car seat works best with the Prius C? We'd like one that accommodates newborn-60lbs.. So, at first it will be rear-facing.

Thanks!

 

Even models within the same brand vary greatly as far as compatibility goes.

Given the limited legroom, you might start with this to see which convertible carseats might fit better than others:
http://carseatblog.com/22818/

Many convertibles do not fit newborns well, however. One that does and was also a good match for legroom is the Maxi-Cosi Pria 70, but ONLY when purchased with the TinyFit insert. Another one that works very well for newborns and for small cars is the Combi Coccoro, but it is not as large as others, and will not last as long for older kids as most other convertibles. The Britax 70 G3 convertibles also tend to fit small cars well, but require the optional infant positioning insert to fit newborns. Finally, the Chicco NextFit is another one to consider that works well for small cars and newborns, too. There are likely others, but these come to mind off the top of my head.

 

Thank you! We went with the Pavilion Britax 70 G3.

 

Be sure to buy the accessory Infant Positioning Insert if you use it for a newborn! It's about $12 shipped from Amazon. Installing it is relatively easy, but go slowly as you can rip the foam if you are not careful.

 

I usually try and hook the latch to the side of the latch hook rather than the front.

 

If you plan on keeping a current-year model Prius C for the long-term, I can chime in & say that we have an 8-year-old who still requires a car seat (or a booster; currently an upright Evenflo car seat), and he's got no problems sitting behind me & buckling himself in every single day. I drive him to/from his school every week day.

He is a "smaller" boy, around 50lbs; but he doesn't kick my driver's seat (and my seat is set back decently; am not terribly tall, but need my seat back decently to be comfortable driving) and we've had zero issues. We've even had myself driving, my wife in the front seat, and an adult passenger in the back seat next to my son in his car seat & all were comfortable. Sure, cargo space is at a minimum, but with any size car seat (from infant to older child), I think a Prius C would be fine…especially if you have just the one child like us.

 

Thank you!

Thank you for the fyi concerning the Britax Infant Positioning Insert. Might there be any need to additionally obtain the Britax Head and Body Support Pillow?
Thank you!

 

We have this rear facing Britax Chaperone car seat:


It is rated great for safety but it is probably about as large as you can get. We put it behind the passenger seat which doesn't leave too much room for a passenger. Still, I've ridden in the passenger seat okay and I'm 6 feet tall. It's fairly cramped. About an hour was comfortable enough, but it continued to feel claustrophobic so I traded driving during the 2-3 hour trip. Often, one of us will ride in the backseat, but this one particular trip we also brought a stroller that was rather big and needed to fold down the split rear seat to fit it. I could have fit the stroller better without folding the seat if I had simply removed the cargo cover, but I was feeling lazy.

As long as you have a second car for extra space if you really need it, the C will do just fine.

Also, I have no problem with the LATCH system to install the base. It was difficult the first time sticking the latches between the seat and back foam, but after realizing there are hidden holes in the seat fabric/foam, it was super easy after that. I'm sure many others have the same problem locating the real place to insert the latches.

 

Newborns are easy. Just latch the carrier base to the middle rear seat. When they get older the various car seats need a little more room. Not impossible, but more difficult if you need to fully utilize all 5 seats in the car.

Here how it looks like in the back configured to fit my 5 and 3 year olds. A small child (old enough to not require a car seat) may be able to fit in that middle rear seat as it is:

 

Thanks! Would you be willing [please] to offer a picture of Britax Chaperone car seat seeing this in the car?

Is placing the Britax Chaperone car seat a possibility?

 

I don't think the car seat is the problem for Prius C because it has plenty of space in the back seat but the stroller might be the biggest problem to fit in the trunk! I can't fit Chicco stroller in the trunk, so I can only carry those light weight umbrella stroller with my Prius C.

 

I haven't got a picture yet, but maybe over the long weekend. I'll try to get a picture of the passenger seat as well.

 

Thank you!

 

Here are pictures. As you can see it works okay with the large rear facing seat on the base. The rear seat is comfortable for a passenger and they can see the baby. The front passenger seat loses a lot of room but you can still manage to sit there. That is my wife, she is 5' 7".

 

I think the front passenger seat in this car is the spot with the least foot room in the car.

 

Thanks for the pix


iPhone ? - now Free