Rear facing in real life
Many parents wonder how the Swedes keep their kids rear facing until age 4 or longer. How does a parent fit one, two, or three rear facing seats in the rear and still have room left in front? Is a large car necessary or will a mid size, or small car, work as well?
The Swedish rear facing seats are unique since they have tall seat shells but still don’t need much room. A regular mid size car will keep a toddler or two rear facing in he back seat until age 4 or longer. Space in the front will still be fine. A good example are the photos below with a DuoLogic and a Britax Hi-Way in a normal VW Golf, a regular mid size car.
This is surprising to most parents, a common myth told by organizations who hate rear facing is that a rear facing seat in the rear means no space left in the front regardless of car. Just yesterday a worried parent emailed asking about using DuoLogic in a Volkswagen Passat, a large family car. She had just spoken to a very well known organization who told her “there is no way it will fit”.
Not only will it fit well in a Passat, there is lots of room in the front seat. DuoLogic and the compact Britax Hi-Way will also fit nicely in much smaller cars, such as a VW Golf. This car is one of the most common in the world, two Swedish rear facing seats in the rear seat with plenty of room in the front is no problem (see photos above, click for larger size).
These incorrect statements by organisations, who know next to nothing about rear facing seats, are of course confusing for parents. Leg space in front seat is an important consideration when choosing a car seat since we want the whole family to be comfortable in the car. If you have questions about how rear facing Swedish car seats fit your car please email us at info@carseat.se and we’ll help you out.
Hi,
My son has 6 months and still fits in is infant car seat. But i am thinking of buying a rear facing car seat for when he doesnt fit in its current seat anymore.
I have a 2006 volkswagen polo and my husband has a 2000 renault clio and i dont know which car seat to buy. Some coleagues of mine recomended the britax brand and in a recent visit to a store, the attendent recomended Besafe. Which is the best brand and model?
Adicionally, is it best to change my 6 months baby to one of this chairs ou should i maximize his time in his current chair?
Best regards,
Hi, I am wanting to purchase the Britax Multi-Tech car seat but unsure if it would fit in a Renault Clio 4 door 2004 model.Can you help?
Also on this model they use tethers, what
Thanks
Kerry: Multi Tech will fit in a Clio. It will be a bit tight in front seat though since Clio is a small car. Our normal recommendations for smaller cars such as Clio are Britax Hi-Way and DuoLogic. Both are compact seats lasting rear facing to around 4 years of age and a height of about 110 cm.
Enjoy your weekend.
/Håkan
https://www.carseat.se