Anyone know of an infant car seat that installs in the LR4 correctly/easily? All the friends with ankle biters drive Volvos and VWs and other awfulness, so their recommendations don't do much for me. Figure it needs to fit the car as well as it fits the kid....
Car Seat Recommendations
- Thread starter LR4ME
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The rear seat in the LR4 is relatively tight to begin with so keep that in mind. We have 2 seats in our LR4 - a Britax Marathon and a Graco SnugRide rear-facing infant seat. The Britax seems to work well for us. The Graco itself works fine although severely limits the front seat mobility. I'm 6'1" and there is no way the Graco would work behind my seat. With the Graco in place, the front passenger seat has to be moved forward considerably - works ok for my wife although she is only 5'4". Taller passengers have more leg room sitting between the car seats or in the 3rd row than in the front row with the seat forward. Not sure if this is an issue with all rear facing convertible seats or just this one.
holygrail
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Sunshine Kids
I'm glad I can help, b/c six months ago I had the same issue. Although Britax and Graco are great seats, they are kind of big. I had the Graco in my BMW 335i...and before you know it, the baby outgrew the Graco. My kid outgrew the 22 lb and the height limit before he reached 8 months of age. Our Dr said, although he's beyond his height does not mean you can put him in a forward seat before 12 mo. of age. Basically, even for a big baby boy, his bones aren't hard as a older kid same size.
That said, I looked and researched a seat I wished I known about when my baby was born. The company is called "Sunshine Kid" and the one that color matches my BMW and LR4 is the "Sunshine Kids Radian 80SL Convertible Car Seat." For me, the price was $300 last Thanksgiving 2009. So, I took a Bath and Beyond 20% coupon, and went to a BuyBuyBaby store and got it for $240. The normal price went down to $269 so take 20% off from that. Go find a 20% Bath and Beyond coupon. Take a look below
http://sunshinekidsbaby.com/?gclid=CIup0cK-hqMCFRY75QodgE3dbQ
What is great about this seat is that it does indeed fall under the "best 5-seats" category. Here's what's good about it:
- one stop seat: holds 05-80 lb baby/kids.
- Can be used in both positions: Forward (up to 80 lbs) and Rear-facing (5-45 lbs)
- Has thethers, latch, and superlatch system. No seat belts necessary. Can also be used with seat-belts for older cars
- Is one of the most narrowest seats (definitely narrower than Graco and Britax) with plenty of shoulder room. Can fit three seats side by side in most mid-size cars.
- It is the only car seat in the market that has a metal frame.
- It has two head protection features. The outer wings are permanent (energy absorbing ePS foam), and the inner wings can be moved up and down to the height of your infant or 5-yr old kid.
- Seat is firm but comforable, kinda like the seats on the LR4 vs a Cadillac...or European seats vs American seats.
- It is Airline compliant. Fits the seats of an airplane, including its belts.
- The seat folds in half and can be carried like a bookbag.
- Seat bottom can be used as a booster seat later on.
One draw back:
- Sunshine Kids are heavy. I believe it's like 22 lbs, but worth the sturdy construction.
All my friends bought them after they've seen mine. We tried an experiment. We put three side-by-side in the back seats of a BMW 535 and both doors closed! The LR4 is even wider than the 5-series Bimmer so you will not have to do much front seat adjustments. Look at the specs and measurements on the link above. I hope i've been some help. I highly recommend the 80SL. Once my 2011 LR4 comes in, I'm getting my second one. My kid is now 32 lbs and 18 months old and loves the seat.
v/r,
Chris.
I'm glad I can help, b/c six months ago I had the same issue. Although Britax and Graco are great seats, they are kind of big. I had the Graco in my BMW 335i...and before you know it, the baby outgrew the Graco. My kid outgrew the 22 lb and the height limit before he reached 8 months of age. Our Dr said, although he's beyond his height does not mean you can put him in a forward seat before 12 mo. of age. Basically, even for a big baby boy, his bones aren't hard as a older kid same size.
That said, I looked and researched a seat I wished I known about when my baby was born. The company is called "Sunshine Kid" and the one that color matches my BMW and LR4 is the "Sunshine Kids Radian 80SL Convertible Car Seat." For me, the price was $300 last Thanksgiving 2009. So, I took a Bath and Beyond 20% coupon, and went to a BuyBuyBaby store and got it for $240. The normal price went down to $269 so take 20% off from that. Go find a 20% Bath and Beyond coupon. Take a look below
http://sunshinekidsbaby.com/?gclid=CIup0cK-hqMCFRY75QodgE3dbQ
What is great about this seat is that it does indeed fall under the "best 5-seats" category. Here's what's good about it:
- one stop seat: holds 05-80 lb baby/kids.
- Can be used in both positions: Forward (up to 80 lbs) and Rear-facing (5-45 lbs)
- Has thethers, latch, and superlatch system. No seat belts necessary. Can also be used with seat-belts for older cars
- Is one of the most narrowest seats (definitely narrower than Graco and Britax) with plenty of shoulder room. Can fit three seats side by side in most mid-size cars.
- It is the only car seat in the market that has a metal frame.
- It has two head protection features. The outer wings are permanent (energy absorbing ePS foam), and the inner wings can be moved up and down to the height of your infant or 5-yr old kid.
- Seat is firm but comforable, kinda like the seats on the LR4 vs a Cadillac...or European seats vs American seats.
- It is Airline compliant. Fits the seats of an airplane, including its belts.
- The seat folds in half and can be carried like a bookbag.
- Seat bottom can be used as a booster seat later on.
One draw back:
- Sunshine Kids are heavy. I believe it's like 22 lbs, but worth the sturdy construction.
All my friends bought them after they've seen mine. We tried an experiment. We put three side-by-side in the back seats of a BMW 535 and both doors closed! The LR4 is even wider than the 5-series Bimmer so you will not have to do much front seat adjustments. Look at the specs and measurements on the link above. I hope i've been some help. I highly recommend the 80SL. Once my 2011 LR4 comes in, I'm getting my second one. My kid is now 32 lbs and 18 months old and loves the seat.
v/r,
Chris.
VHousad, HolyGrail
Thanks for the recommendations and info. One of the few tasks allocated to me has been the research and purchase of a car seat, so this info is gold.
Will start going to some of the local big box and baby stores, see if they have floor models of the various suggestions I can trial install before I buy. The missus and I are both well over 6' tall, so space is a major consideration...
Matt
Thanks for the recommendations and info. One of the few tasks allocated to me has been the research and purchase of a car seat, so this info is gold.
Will start going to some of the local big box and baby stores, see if they have floor models of the various suggestions I can trial install before I buy. The missus and I are both well over 6' tall, so space is a major consideration...
Matt
holygrail
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Sunshine Kids
I'm glad I was of help. One more thing...when I went to the dealership, we had the seat put in to test. I would install the seat in the middle seat. I know people have different opinions whether to put it behind the front seats or in the middle. Our Dr recommended the middle in case of a side impact. I'm less worried about a rear or frontal collision. As long as the seat is secured correctly and you baby has the five-point harness on, you'll be fine. Also the benefit of placing your seat in the middle is so you can still use the side seats to get to the third row. The middle row seats split 35-30-35, and the SL80 fits perfectly smack in the middle 30 portion. The dimensions are: 28.5”H x 17”W x 16”D. The outside width is 17" wide and the inside shoulder is 13" wide. I'm not over 6' tall but only 5'08" but I still had inches to spare behind my seat. I hope that'll paint a picture for you.
I've attached two pictures. They are not the Sunshine Kids SL80, BUT the SL80 does everything that this Graco does, only better and more space efficient. These pictures is only to give you a visual how much space there is behind your passanger seats, but I recommend the middle.
v/r,
Chris
I'm glad I was of help. One more thing...when I went to the dealership, we had the seat put in to test. I would install the seat in the middle seat. I know people have different opinions whether to put it behind the front seats or in the middle. Our Dr recommended the middle in case of a side impact. I'm less worried about a rear or frontal collision. As long as the seat is secured correctly and you baby has the five-point harness on, you'll be fine. Also the benefit of placing your seat in the middle is so you can still use the side seats to get to the third row. The middle row seats split 35-30-35, and the SL80 fits perfectly smack in the middle 30 portion. The dimensions are: 28.5”H x 17”W x 16”D. The outside width is 17" wide and the inside shoulder is 13" wide. I'm not over 6' tall but only 5'08" but I still had inches to spare behind my seat. I hope that'll paint a picture for you.
I've attached two pictures. They are not the Sunshine Kids SL80, BUT the SL80 does everything that this Graco does, only better and more space efficient. These pictures is only to give you a visual how much space there is behind your passanger seats, but I recommend the middle.
v/r,
Chris
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