Toyota Yaris

teagan1985 · January 2013

Anyone ever successfully fit a baby seat in the back of a 2 door yaris hatchback? DH and I are planning on having a baby in the next year or two, and our primary vehicle is the Yaris. We also have a small (50lb) lab that goes everywhere with us and currently has the whole back seat to himself. I've been looking at small SUVs, but really do love the Yaris and don't want to necessarily buy a new car. How hard is it to fit a car seat in a sub-compact? How much of a pain in the neck is it to maneuver a baby in there with only 2 doors?

ellewoodsSC · January 2013

This is probably not the answer you want to hear, but I'd suggest saving up for a family oriented car ASAP. You might fit a smaller infant seat like the Chicco Keyfit 30 into a Yaris and it will be challenging with a 2 door situation, but you are going to have a very difficult time with a rear-facing convertible. Don't forget the bulky stroller, diaper bag and other misc items that typically accompany a baby in addition to a large dog.

ETA: our secondary car is a 2-door sportscar left over from DH's bachelor days and we never use for getting around with a baby because it's so inconvenient.

cast920 · January 2013

It can be a challenge, but it's not impossible. I have a 2 door Mini Cooper and currently have a combi Coccoro convertible rear facing. Infant seats will fit, you just need one that doesn't take up a ton of front to back space. I think the smallest one would be the cybex Aton, but I've never played with one.
With DD in the RFing convertible, I climb in the back holding her, sit on the backseat, and buckle her in. When she was really little I just sat in the back with her.
When we travel we just put the roof box on. Our "big" car is a 4dr Honda fit, so we are used to small cars.
I personally don't think you need to ditch your car for an SUV, but you will need tomake that decision for yourself.

JaynieByrd · January 2013

I had a 2 door Yaris up until right before Christmas, and I agree with PP that while it wouldn't be impossible to get a carseat in the backseat, it would be really, really hard. I really loved my Yaris too, and I didn't want to part with it, but I honestly didn't think I'd be able to get a carseat in/out of it without physically crawling (at least partially) into the backseat. In the end, I traded it in for a crossover.

if you really want to know before getting rid of your Yaris, maybe you can borrow a carseat from a friend or family member and try it out. And don't forget to add a few extra pounds to factor in baby!

gimmietimmies · January 2013

Radian rf in a Mini Cooper here. I also got the beast, aka Graco Snugride 35 back there, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you do plan on keeping the car, the Maxi Cosi Mico is probably the most compact infant seat. And if you can get that back there, you might have a few rf convertible options. Because the Yaris is such s compact, I highly suggest posting on car-seat.org, the techs are likely to have accurate recommendations.

teagan1985 · January 2013

Thank you all for the advice and recomendations! We are saving up for a cross-over, so we will see. I hear that some baby stores will let you try out the carseat, so that might have to be a plan as well. I pride myself in living out of that damn Yaris for our month-long camping honeymoon, and being entirely able to climb from the front seat to the trunk without getting out of the car. Would also need to factor my own post-pregnancy weight into how much i can maneuver.

jerseygirl81 · January 2013

We're having a similar problem with our hatchback, even though it's a 4-door it's proven to be nearly impossible to fit a second carseat in the back. We're most likely getting the Cybex Aton, but we're going to try out the new Maxi Cosi Prezi this weekend. Those are two of the smallest ones (front-to-back) around. I'm not willing to buy a new car, we're just going to have to deal with it.

Hope you can find a solution that works for you!

aboynamedbarry · February 2013

I had an 08 2 door Honda civic, I think its probably similar size if not slightly larger than the Yaris but the hatch might make a difference in size? All that to say I could put an infant carrier seat in there reasonably easily and did so for quite a while while nannying. However, I was faced one day with a rear facing convertible. Once I actually got it in, which was really really difficult, I couldn't actually get the kid in by myself. I had to actually get IN the back seat and have someone else hand him to me. Absolutely NOT possible for me to do by myself... I called my husband right then and told him we absolutely had to get a 4 door before we had kids.

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