smaller car recs that accommodate rear-facing car seat?

AustinBride06

When it rains it pours... not only is our house literally falling apart ($5000 worth of foundation work needed ASAP) but DH's car is about to die.  I need help finding a smaller, sporty car w/ 4 doors and enough room for a rear-facing car seat.  Hatchback preferred.  

DH's shortlist so far:

Subaru Impreza Wagon

VW GTI

Mazda3 s 5-door

Nissan something

I wanted him to like the Subaru Outback but he didn't like the transmission and thought it was too big.  He didn't like the Toyota Matrix or the Honda Fit.  But after some info from eltwirpo about her GTI/carseat fit, I'm a little worried that none of these are going to work anyway since my DH is at least 6'1".

Any recommendations or know any cars like these that just do NOT work with a carseat? 

angelaggie

My sister drives the new Chevy sonic and loves it. I'm not sure about the car seat though. Maybe you could take one in and try it? They offer a hatch back version. 

My Jetta is awesome and fits a rear facing just fine. I think the golf and gti are similar on interior size.  

angelaggie

Oh and my brother is 6'3" and fits fine in all the VWs. He drives a 2004 Jetta. Still in great condition. 

ec3under4

I am not sure about any of the specific cars but I have found that it really depends on the actual carseat. I can get a britax boulevard rear facing in any car that I have tried it in, although it can be tight for the person riding in the front. However, I have had a lot of trouble getting a sunshine kids installed rearfacing because it is just so long that it makes it almost impossible for the person in the front. 

mrs.wildman

I have an older version of the Mazda3 (The Mazda Protege5) and the carseat sucks in it. Actually, the seat isn't a problem, it's having a passenger in the front seat that just doesn't work with RF. We just switched DD to FF, and it's now fine. If/when we have #2, we will definitely have to replace my car. 

My parents have the Subaru Forester and it works really well with RF carseat. Also a bit bigger - DH got the Hyundai Elantra Touring and we LOVE it. It's super spacious with the car seat, and leg room up front, and we'll be able to add a #2 no problem. Best part was how cheap it was for the size and it comes with a great warranty too. AND good gas mileage. 

katattack

My DH used to have the Impreza pre-baby.  I thought it was a bit small. Now, he has the Outback and he can fit her car seat (it was great RF too - a Britax Marathon) and even the dog in the car at the same time with no issue.  The Outbacks are bigger than they used to be, but they're great cars.

gofurr25

My BIL is 6'7" and they got a Nissan Versa. It was one of the only small hatches he could fit in. They love it. At one point they had two rear facers in it. 

MrsJayOK

We have a 2005 Mazda 3s - 4 door. Since it is just the three of us, the car seat wasn't an issue. We can have our seats back with leg room in the front as long as the seat is in the middle of the backseat. I don't know if the new cars are the same size though.

AustinBride06

DH decided he reeeeeeally wants the GTI so we borrowed a friends' infant seat and base and are going to see how it fits in there. 

Car seat question... Say it only has LATCH on the sides. Is it safer there or in the center? Can I use the center-most LATCH points from either side w the seat in the middle?  Can the seat touch the car seat or seats in front of it? Am I missing something, is there something to hold down the front of the seat or base? What do you do differently if you don't use the base?

And um...there's a car seat in my car, y'all. 

angelaggie

AustinBride06:

DH decided he reeeeeeally wants the GTI so we borrowed a friends' infant seat and base and are going to see how it fits in there. 

Car seat question... Say it only has LATCH on the sides. Is it safer there or in the center? Can I use the center-most LATCH points from either side w the seat in the middle?  Can the seat touch the car seat or seats in front of it? Am I missing something, is there something to hold down the front of the seat or base? What do you do differently if you don't use the base?

And um...there's a car seat in my car, y'all. 

The safest spot is where it fits. I was really worried about not having it in the center but now I'm fine with it on the passenger side. DO NOT use the center most latch points of its not a designated center latch. That's a big no no. I'm pretty sure if the seat is installed correctly (level), then it can touch the front seat. Don't believe me though. That's a guess. And I thought you had to use the base? But I don't think anything is used to hold down the front.  

AustinBride06

angelaggie:

AustinBride06:

DH decided he reeeeeeally wants the GTI so we borrowed a friends' infant seat and base and are going to see how it fits in there. 

Car seat question... Say it only has LATCH on the sides. Is it safer there or in the center? Can I use the center-most LATCH points from either side w the seat in the middle?  Can the seat touch the car seat or seats in front of it? Am I missing something, is there something to hold down the front of the seat or base? What do you do differently if you don't use the base?

And um...there's a car seat in my car, y'all. 

The safest spot is where it fits. I was really worried about not having it in the center but now I'm fine with it on the passenger side. DO NOT use the center most latch points of its not a designated center latch. That's a big no no. I'm pretty sure if the seat is installed correctly (level), then it can touch the front seat. Don't believe me though. That's a guess. And I thought you had to use the base? But I don't think anything is used to hold down the front.  

Cool, thanks.  I think for my car at least, we'll have to put it in the center using the belt instead of LATCH.  We'll see with the new car... I'd just much rather it be in the center for safety and also comfort of the rest of the people in the car.  I have more installation questions, but I'll be back to ask those much, much later.