3 Car seats in the back of a LEAF is possible

[Darren]

Apparently, we weren't the only ones that were interested in how the LEAF performs as a family car.

This morning we were picked up by:

Engadget - http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/29/nissan-leaf-gets-the-family-review-treatment-gets-high-marks/

Autoblog - http://green.autoblog.com/2010/12/27/busy-mommy-media-tests-nissan-leaf-video-family-children/

Treehugger.com - http://www.treehugger.com/files/201...-young-children-car-seats-strollers-trunk.php

 

[margie100]

We recently were able to get a hold of a Nissan LEAF to try out car seats and strollers in the trunk. The full results are here. http://busymommymedia.com/2010/12/putting-the-nissan-leaf-to-the-test/.

Basically if your car seats are any wider that the 17” wide Radian XT’s, 3 seats will not fit. You simply will not be able to close the rear doors.

Most strollers should be fine but some will require removal of the cargo cover.

I will be glad to answer any additional questions as well as Nissan was kind enough to let me spend quite a bit of time with the vehicle.

Has Nissan disclosed the maximum weight allowed on their LATCH connectors? Car seat manufacturers say it is 40 pounds unless otherwise indicated by the car company. The Radian XTs will hold kids up to 80 pounds in the 5-point harness, and I'd like to put three in for the school carpool. I'd prefer to use LATCH if possible.

Thanks!

 

[Steve]

I should point out one thing for people who are thinking about getting the Leaf to cut environmental impact. You should also carefully consider the impact of having more children. I know this is considered "not PC" - but this has the largest environmental impact of any other choices we may make ...

The smart ones need to reproduce. Haven't you seen Idiocracy?

The way I look at it, those who are thinking about energy independence, conservation and alternative fuels are exactly the people who should be having kids.

This has been an interesting thread. While I don't have three carseats, I have three kids, one in a carseat and another who is a moose. They fit okay in the back of a Ford Focus, but I was concerned about the Leaf.

 

[Darren]

Has Nissan disclosed the maximum weight allowed on their LATCH connectors? Car seat manufacturers say it is 40 pounds unless otherwise indicated by the car company. The Radian XTs will hold kids up to 80 pounds in the 5-point harness, and I'd like to put three in for the school carpool. I'd prefer to use LATCH if possible.

Thanks!

I will likely be meeting with my Nissan contact tomorrow at CES. I do not believe that Nissan has issued an official statement but I will ask.

BTW there are only 2 sets of LATCH points in the LEAF. They are in the outboard positions so the middle seat will have to use a seat belt regardless of the LATCH weight limit in the LEAF. Also, the placement of LATCH points makes for a very narrow center seat. I would likely recommend 3 seat belts.

UPDATE My meeting didn't happen today but I will get to the bottom soon.

 

[margie100]

We recently were able to get a hold of a Nissan LEAF to try out car seats and strollers in the trunk. The full results are here. http://busymommymedia.com/2010/12/putting-the-nissan-leaf-to-the-test/.

Basically if your car seats are any wider that the 17” wide Radian XT’s, 3 seats will not fit. You simply will not be able to close the rear doors.

Most strollers should be fine but some will require removal of the cargo cover.

I will be glad to answer any additional questions as well as Nissan was kind enough to let me spend quite a bit of time with the vehicle.

I'm less than three weeks from my delivery, so I have at least one more question:

If you put Radian XTSLs in the middle and one of the sides, would a 9-year-old child be able to sit in the last spot? (I'm worried that one of my carpool kids will outgrow the 53 inch height limit on the seat before the other two do.) If he rides with a vest, will he be able to get to the seatbelt?

Thanks!

 

[garygid]

You might go to the next LEAF-Gathering near your area
and taks two car seats and one kid?
It is highly likely somebody would be willing to help you try "them" out.

 

[rainnw]

Besides the 3 sunshine radians, I have another configuration that works well:

1x Babytrend Flex-Loc (extremely narrow and competitively priced carseat)
2x generic cheap-o booster seats (no back)

There is actually enough room for the two boosters on each side to buckle with enough room. If the nissan LEAF seatbelts were not so irritating, the kids could easily buckle themselves.

front seats can be pushed all the way back without hitting the handle in its "car" position.

The babytrend flex-loc is very narrow. I am not sure how it compares to the radian in width, but its very similar and another good option if you have two older children and a baby.

Unlike the sunshine radian, the babytrend flex-loc can actually be bought with little difficulty. This is something you will find at baby's r us (and probably only at this store, as they bought the company)

The babytrend flex-loc is priced between $99 and $129. As a Britax brat, i did not even bother looking at these "cheaper" carseats until i realized that this would be my only chance of taking this kid home with us from the hospital.

 

[P71VIC]

This thread actually sealed the deal for me on going ahead with the Leaf when I did. I have two small kids with the possibility of a third God willing.
While the Leaf will not be the preferred vehicle 2 adults and 3 children to take in my household, it does need to be able be used in that capacity upon occasion.


This all said, I am pulling Mr. Mom duty tomorrow with my wife doing job related training for the day. I am taking the day off work and filling in for her normal Tuesday responsibilities. This has me watching my almost 5 year old daughter, 2 year old son, and driving 18 miles with them in the morning to pick-up a friend's 2 year old son to watch him for the day as well.

While I want to get the seats mentioned on the parent post, I also want to forgo the expense of a whole new round of seats when I already have plenty of money invested in the ones I already own, especially just for occasional third child needs.

Enter the BubbleBum booster seat!. This is a narrow, inflatable booster seat gives me back the precious inches needed to get the other seats I had already bought in the back seat. The hard boosters we have all have arm rests that contribute to adding up to too much width. At $40 it is much cheaper of a solution that works for now than the suggested Raddians.

Sorry for the bad lighting in the garage tonight, but pictured is a Britax Marathon, a Chico Key Fit 30, and a BubbleBum.

I'll try and get a better picture and a review from my motley crew tomorrow.



Untitled by RpryceM, on Flickr

 

[kovalb]

Did anyone else notice how the rear seat belts do not push into the seat cushion on the 2013 LEAF? Now they can be easily latched with one hand.

 

[P71VIC]

Did anyone else notice how the rear seat belts do not push into the seat cushion on the 2013 LEAF? Now they can be easily latched with one hand.

that is excellent! My four year old often complains and needs help with her seat belt because of this.

 

[rainnw]

Im glad they fixed that. Buckling is such an ordeal in the 2011.