Diono - Radian 3R

We have 4 kids and both a mini van (love!) and just bought a model Y after testing out self driving (addicted immediately). Our kids are 3, 5, 7, 11. Configuration is: high back booster (Dionio 3R), and two convertible narrow car seats (Graco Slimfit3 LX). This works for us perfectly as the Graco’s work for all three younger kids, and the booster works for both of the older two, so at this stage we have everyone covered. I disabled the rear screen immediately so they don’t pay much attention to it. Bought seat back covers for the front seats. Full disclosure it’s cozy back there but worth it for me as a daily commuter/school drop off vehicle. Still love our mini van (Sienna hybrid) but as a person who hates driving, the FSD is a dream and worth it.

It’s definitely not a feature I’d normally look for in a car seat for a Civic, unless there were a confounding situation that would make it worth the extra space. If your child is tall or heavy for his age, you’ll need to be more careful to pick out a seat that will last. Petite kids can have more options that will work. For a Civic, I’d probably look at a Graco Extend2Fit. It’s a bit wide but it’s fairly compact front-to-back and should be a good fit. A downside is that the door opening in a Civic is a little tight and the Graco has kind of high sides which can be annoying until the child can climb in with assistance. On the other hand, with the new side impact standards I’m having a hard time thinking of a current seat that will fit well in a Civic and *doesn’t* have high sides. Diono is the only one that comes to mind that hasn’t been discontinued yet, but it’s too much of a space hog to use in a side seat in a Civic. It *might* fit in the center, but the last time I used one in a Civic it was a 2005 model year and the back seats have changed a lot since then so I’m not sure how well it would work. It can be a kinda finicky car seat for installation.

Cosco Scenera is the most recommended car seat, it is small and light and easy to carry through the airport and always fits in airplane seats. It's good up to 40lbs and \~40inches, so some kids will outgrow it by the time they are 3. I'm pretty sure it's US made though. Good Canadian brands are Diono and Clek. Clek Fllo is quite narrow and fits on airplane seats, it's just a bit heavier to lug through the airport. The Diono Radian 3R is also narrow and has the feature of folding flat so it makes it a little easier to carry in a backpack - but it's quite heavy and I find it tricky to install in some cars.

Currently have 3 slim (Diono) car seats in the back of our Outback and the back our a smaller Crosstrek. I thought we needed a new car but new car seats was a much better solution for us.

We have a Nuna exec at home but we're traveling for the first time with our new diono r3. You need to purchase straps but it can be carried like a backpack. It doesn't fit rear facing in economy on an airplane, but it works rear facing or front facing for cars and it's super easy to install. We like it for what it is. Our big guy fits in it with room to Grow

Background: We have a minivan and a second car on its last leg, mazda 3. We have 3 kids, one in a forward facing and two in boosters. We want to find a mid size car that will fit everyone plus some cargo space for a hockey bag. Every newer car we look at we can't seem to get the car seat in the middle seat. The issue is the distance between the center seat belt bases. On my mazda is 14" between them so we can get a forward facing car seat buckled and the other two kids in booster seats can still buckle thier seat belts. The Kia Ev6 and the new Ionic 5 only have 9" between them. Nobody's ass can fit in that. Combines this with the new seat belt bases are rigid with no flexibility. First image is the mazda 3 center seat. Second image is all new cars, it seems. Question: if you have 3 kids with car seats, what second row car fits 3 across?

It works in the mazda3 since the center seat belts are 14" apart and the seat belt bases are flexible. New cars seem to have very skinny widths, 8" between belts and the bases are rigid so the car seat covers the seat belt bases part. The Dino is still 14"wide. Thanks

Thanks. All the cars we looked at are at least 51" at the hips. The issue is the location of the seat belt bases plus on newer cars the seat belt base is rigid and not flexible. Literally the seat belt bases were only 9" apart on the center seat. No car seat would fit between that.

I’ll second this! I had three Diono seats in the back row of a Subaru outback for a few years. It worked rather well!

I have 3 of these across the back of my 2015 Outback. They are a little tight to go in but sit perfectly once in place.

We had 3 Diono Radian car seats fitting in the backseat of a Subaru crosstrek. What’s tricky is when you need some to be rear facing because they lean back far. For that situation they sell a piece of foam that slides under the seat to safely adjust the angle.

We bought a Diono Radian with a backpack travel bag. It folds up and is relatively portable. It’s definitely not lightweight or cheap, but it’s substantial enough to feel safe and we use it in our second car as an every day car seat. There’s cheaper and lighter options, but we’re semi regular travelers so having something solid and comfortable for the kid is worth the extra money and weight. The car seat is a lifesaver on the plane. It’s not explicitly required but strapping her into a familiar seat makes the experience way less stressful. There’s no chance she’d sit still without it.