Diono Radian - does it fit well in the backseat of a car? We drive a toyota matrix and are looking for a carseat that will fit in the backseat and not force the front seat to be pushed all the way forward. Anyone with experience here? Diono Radian - does it fit well in the backseat of a car? We drive a toyota matrix and are looking for a carseat that will fit in the backseat and not force the front seat to be pushed all the way... » Read More Diono Radian - does it fit well in the backseat of a car? We drive a toyota matrix and are looking for a carseat that will fit in the backseat and not force the front seat to be pushed all the way forward. Anyone with experience here? « Show Less
633390
I got the angle adjuster and it really did add a few inches so the front seats didn't have to be all the way forward.
633391
Matrix has fairly decent room, but you should be leaving 1" clearance to the back of the seat in the rear-facing position so you will definitely have it somewhat forward. If your passenger seat usually has a 6'+ person in it they may not be particularly comfortable. Still, worth it to keep the seat rear-facing until 2. US is way behind changing their rear-facing recommendations.
2234067
I have this same question...I have a toyota corolla and after reading the consumer reports review, I definitely want this seat...BUT I'd hate to order it and find that it's too big to fit in my car. As a side note I was surprised to find this seat rated better overall than both the Graco My Ride 65 and the Britax Roundabout on the Consumer Reports website.
636048
I have a Toyota Yaris. It does not fit from floor to roof. I could only use it with the back seat folded down. The seat does not fold down flat so it wasn't tight despite giving all the force we could give. It requires two people to adjust. It proved to not work in my car. Want to buy a used one?
386375
If you end up liking this car seat then I'm glad it works out, but I irge you to try it before you take it with you. I thought I would love it and ended up hating it. I ended up buying the Chicco NextFit and have loved it.
1414405
Check with the manufacturer of your current seat. They might have a simple solution to fix your space issue. If not then I would get another car seat that fits your car better. Whatever you do always make sure you're installing your seat safely. As others stated this is supposed to be only used for the Diono seats. Good luck!
902085
I found that my 5yr old grandson had more room to grow in the Diono. The Britax fit too snug - I felt it couldn't accomodate him as well now or when he's 6 or 7. Hope this helps you.
1871808
It fits rear-facing in the back of our 2004 Honda Civic and 2005 Toyota Matrix. As mentioned in my review of the seat, in the Civic, we had to put it behind the driver's seat because when behind the passenger seat it blocks sight out of that window (which is needed for a lot of highway driving). The windows in the Matrix are of a size that the window isn't completely blocked, so the seat can go behind the passenger seat easily. I am 5'7" and have enough room with the seat installed behind the driver's seat; at 6'1" my husband has barely enough room, but it's doable for short distances. So while I am not sure of the dimensions of the rear seat of a Corolla, I'm not imagining that it is a whole lot smaller than a Civic. It should fit fine if you install it behind the passenger seat, that is, if you have a large-ish back passenger window or if seeing out of it is not a concern for you. If you are tall and have to put it behind the driver's seat, this may be a problem. (Note that once forward-facing, it won't block the window and can go behind the passenger seat easily since it also takes up less room in that position). It really isn't that much larger than many other good seats on the market. Having a small car is a challenge with a lot of seats. So while neither of our cars has a lot of room left over after installing the seat, it does fit. Hope this helps without directly answering your question.
1588958
I had it rear-facing in a Saturn, and I found it difficult to get my almost-2-year old in the seat without hitting her head on the door of my car. However, my daughter is pretty big and was almost 30 pounds at the time. The seat fit perfectly fine in the car however. I now have it forward facing in a PT Cruiser and am still able to fold down the other 2/3rds of the back-seat next to her. I am able to see out of the back perfectly. I find that the seat is very sturdy. I turned my girl around before she was 2, but I consulted my local DMV car seat specialist and he said he saw no problem given her size and the safety of the seat. I had it rear-facing in a Saturn, and I found it difficult to get my almost-2-year old in the seat without hitting her head on the door of my car. However, my daughter is pretty big and was almost 30 pounds at the time. The seat fit perfectly fine in the car however. I now have it forward facing in a PT Cruiser and am still able to fold down the other 2/3rds of the back-seat next to her. I am able to see out of the back perfectly. I find that the seat is very sturdy. I turned my girl around before she was 2, but I consulted my local DMV car seat specialist and he said he saw no problem... » Read More I had it rear-facing in a Saturn, and I found it difficult to get my almost-2-year old in the seat without hitting her head on the door of my car. However, my daughter is pretty big and was almost 30 pounds at the time. The seat fit perfectly fine in the car however. I now have it forward facing in a PT Cruiser and am still able to fold down the other 2/3rds of the back-seat next to her. I am able to see out of the back perfectly. I find that the seat is very sturdy. I turned my girl around before she was 2, but I consulted my local DMV car seat specialist and he said he saw no problem given her size and the safety of the seat. « Show Less
2169873
Yes. I had it in my scion tc and it fit, it was snug, but the corolla backseat is bigger than the scion. I had it in the middle as well. Its such a nice carseat.
2239935
Hi Morgan, I don't think it will fit rear facing in the back. I wouldn't fit our vehicle rear facing. If we made it fit we would have to have the front seats pulled completely erect. We have it front facing and it fits. However, there isn't any shoulder room for the passengers sitting on the sides. We have 3 series bmw and the car seat takes up 60 percent of the backseat. We have it in the middle backseat and my husband can't sit in the backseat comfortably. His shoulders don't have enough room, he has to sit slanted. We don't mind, because we read in the reviews how it saved the child in an accident. We normally sit in the front seats anyway. I hope this helps you.
116505
I have a honda fit (same size as a prius) and have had a heck of a time finding a seat to fit this, especially with 3 kids! I had the graco comfortsport, it didnt fit well either rear or forward facing, went with the graco myride 65, same issue and its HUGE! tried a cheap cosco from walmart and it fit fairly well forward and not too bad rear facing but it was so flimsy I didnt feel it was going to hold up in case of a crash. Alot of my friends have the britax marathon or advocate so I decided it was time to try one but our finances dont allow a new seat. I found a used (spare seat that was never actually used) for super cheap from a local mom so I bought that and it fits PERFECTLY in our fit. It was a bit hard to get to fit that way so I had to roll up a towel but he will be forward facing pretty soon so not that major of a problem too me, all our seats have to have rolls. I would recommend this seat in a heartbeat, Im not a fan of the colors of any of the britaxs but you can always find a cover on ebay to custom fit! I also love the velcro to hold the straps so Im not digging around under his butt for the straps. I have a 14 month old who is 25 pounds and 33" tall.
1486062
I drive a Toyota Camry. It fits fine, but my partner is tall and he can't put the seat as far back as he would without a car seat. But it's still fine and it doesn't prevent him from driving or being a passenger in my car.
197254
This is the best car seat!! But on the large side. We installed in a 2008 Lexus RX350 in the backseat on passenger side
711039
My husband works for Mini and comes home every few months with a different demo: Countryman, Cooper - and the answer is most definitely YES! He's currently driving the Cooper S hardtop and we have two kids in the backseat; one in the Diono radian and one in a booster (However....there would STILL be room for two of these Radian carseats in the backseat).This is one of the best car seats I've seen among the many seats I've seen. We've traveled with it (fits on plane seats) easy to carry...and same safety rating as Britax. Highly recommend.
405920
I have an Acura TL 4-door car and the car seat fits well. I am 5'6" and fit comfortably in the front seat, did not have to move the front seat up at all. I also have a Buick Enclave SUV with 2nd row bucket seats. Those seats are not very deep and the B-Safe base fits perfect. Anyone going to the 3rd row seats has to get in before the car seat is placed in the base though. Once the seat is in it's too tight to squeeze past unless I move the front seat up. I originally bought the Chaperone, but returned it for this one....big difference in size!
1221908
I believe only the Chicco Keyfit/Keyfit 30 (Chicco's infant carrier carseat) will work. Their carseats are a different size than most (most are made to also fit in the top portion of a grocery store shopping cart, Chicco's do not) so other brand's carseats won't fit in (at least not correctly and securely). I have the Chicco carseat already and I have the opposite problem - when I look at info for double strollers made by other brands the Chicco has limited options of what it will fit into.Graco makes double strollers and you might check to see if the Graco carseats fit into Baby Trend double strollers as well. I believe only the Chicco Keyfit/Keyfit 30 (Chicco's infant carrier carseat) will work. Their carseats are a different size than most (most are made to also fit in the top portion of a grocery store shopping cart, Chicco's do not) so other brand's carseats won't fit in (at least not correctly and securely). I have the Chicco carseat already and I have the opposite problem - when I look at info for double strollers made by other brands the Chicco has limited options of what it will fit into.Graco makes double strollers and you might check to see if the Graco carseats fit into Baby... » Read More I believe only the Chicco Keyfit/Keyfit 30 (Chicco's infant carrier carseat) will work. Their carseats are a different size than most (most are made to also fit in the top portion of a grocery store shopping cart, Chicco's do not) so other brand's carseats won't fit in (at least not correctly and securely). I have the Chicco carseat already and I have the opposite problem - when I look at info for double strollers made by other brands the Chicco has limited options of what it will fit into.Graco makes double strollers and you might check to see if the Graco carseats fit into Baby Trend double strollers as well. « Show Less
30713
I have this stroller and did use a graco carseat. It "sits" in there fine, we used the seat belt of the stroller and hooked it to where the seatbelt goes through the carseat. It did intrude on the other kids space, and it COULD fall out if hit very hard. It worked fine for us, though!