# How do car seats fit?



## lbeard87 (Mar 29, 2016)

Wife and I are considering the Atlas to replace our 2007 Honda Pilot. We currently have two kids in car seats, one in a rear facing convertible seat and one in a high back seat that converts to a booster. We only have two kiddos but life is full of little gifts, so just in case we have end up with 3, has anyone put 3 car seats across the middle row yet? It's really tight in our pilot and we'd like to have the flexibility for an additional car seat in the middle if needed. When we get serious and start test driving, we will likely test ourselves, but as anyone with kids will attest to, they are a pain in the rear to uninstall and I frankly do not want to test install in an Atlas until we have to. 

also, are the LATCH placements logical and easy to access? Any input is appreciated!


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## jkueter (Feb 12, 2008)

My kids are bigger now, but the latch points look a lot easier to access than they were when my kids were in car seats. The third row also has easy latch points. 3 across should fit fine if needed (I think there is pic of that on the VW website somewhere).


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## vwbugstuff (Mar 27, 2004)

http://www.vw.com/models/atlas/section/design/


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## cofre_atlas (Jun 20, 2017)

The car seats fit pretty well. I used to have a Mazda6, which my wife hated because we couldn't put our rear-facing car seat in the middle position as it would cover all the other seatbelts, essentially making a mid-size sedan a 3-seater. No such issue with the Atlas, and the kid loves being able to see more of the road as I drive because of the higher seating position.

Check out https://www.cars.com/articles/2018-volkswagen-atlas-car-seat-check-1420695923847/. The Atlas got top scores in all tested features.

BTW, installing seats in the Atlas is WAY easier than in any other car I test drove. The latch hooks are very easily accessible, and not hidden waaay down in a hole like in most cars.


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## lbeard87 (Mar 29, 2016)

vwbugstuff said:


> http://www.vw.com/models/atlas/section/design/


Thanks for this. I did see that prior to posting, but as many of us know, not all car seats are created equal and my big concern is that just because VW says it can fit 3 across, does not necessarily mean you can. All very dependent on the car seat manufacturer and mix of front and rear facing seats. 

Appreciate all the feedback from everyone. Certainly hoping not to need that setup, but glad it looks possible if we need it.


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## lbeard87 (Mar 29, 2016)

cofre_atlas said:


> The car seats fit pretty well. I used to have a Mazda6, which my wife hated because we couldn't put our rear-facing car seat in the middle position as it would cover all the other seatbelts, essentially making a mid-size sedan a 3-seater. No such issue with the Atlas, and the kid loves being able to see more of the road as I drive because of the higher seating position.
> 
> Check out https://www.cars.com/articles/2018-volkswagen-atlas-car-seat-check-1420695923847/. The Atlas got top scores in all tested features.
> 
> BTW, installing seats in the Atlas is WAY easier than in any other car I test drove. The latch hooks are very easily accessible, and not hidden waaay down in a hole like in most cars.


Super helpful. I feel your pain with the rear facing seat. That's one of our biggest annoyances with the Honda Pilot, can barely reach the center seat to put the infant in, and when rear facing behind driver or passenger, the seat has to be halfway towards the dashboard! Also looking forward to ease of third row access if we go this route.


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## Bluemeansgo (May 14, 2017)

lbeard87 said:


> Wife and I are considering the Atlas to replace our 2007 Honda Pilot. We currently have two kids in car seats, one in a rear facing convertible seat and one in a high back seat that converts to a booster. We only have two kiddos but life is full of little gifts, so just in case we have end up with 3, has anyone put 3 car seats across the middle row yet? It's really tight in our pilot and we'd like to have the flexibility for an additional car seat in the middle if needed. When we get serious and start test driving, we will likely test ourselves, but as anyone with kids will attest to, they are a pain in the rear to uninstall and I frankly do not want to test install in an Atlas until we have to.
> 
> also, are the LATCH placements logical and easy to access? Any input is appreciated!


We have a car seat in the middle right now but it's one of the sunshine kids ones ( narrower than most ). With that seat in , we have no problem with two booster seats either side and we can even flip the bench seat forward. On the test drive my 4-year old fell asleep in her car seat and we had her in the passenger side single chair. I was able to flip the seat forward (with her still in it) to get access to the back seat without waking her. It was pretty funny to see the salesguy's face... he said it was the first time someone had flipped forward the seat with car seat AND child in it. 

I know you're meant to take the child out, but you're not going to slam your kids head into the front because of the angle and the 5-point harness keeps them in there.

I'd say the flip forward is a bigger positive than needing to put three across... because once your first is big enough you can always put that one in a booster seat in the back.


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## JeremiahSOW (Apr 9, 2007)

I have an infant seat with two boosters all in the middle row. No issues. My only gripe is that the third row does NOT have the latch system. Would have been nice. The booster seats we use have the latch system and I like the idea of it. So unfortunately, no kids will be riding in the third row until they don't need a booster anymore


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## Drive by (Mar 13, 2017)

And in a few years the dual USB charging ports will keep the teens entertained


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## Seattleatlas (Jul 6, 2017)

*3 across*

So I have 3 kids under 3 right now and have 3 across in the second row using 2 Diono radian rxts and one britax infant seat (we also have that setup in a BMW X3). When the time comes to be done with the infant seat I will have to add another diono radian to use as rear facing. With my current setup I can still tip the seat forward to allow 3rd row access as needed. We usually tip the single seat forward, you can tip the double seat forward as well but with 2 car seats strapped into it, it is heavy. I think 3 of any bigger car seats would affect the ability to tip the seat forward to get into the third row. Hope that helps.


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## nkresho (Aug 8, 2010)

Recaro rear-facing here and it fits well on both the sides and the middle. Lobster-claws find the anchors quickly and easily. When mounting the seat on the passenger side, we had no problems folding the drivers side (with the center) so we could use it as a changing table. The seats are plenty wide.

We have the Shetland leatherette interior, and I highly recommend a seat cover under the base. I got pretty deep dents in the seat from ours. I ordered the brica covers last week and they should get here today.


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## lbeard87 (Mar 29, 2016)

Thanks everyone. All this info has been incredibly helpful! We'll see if we pull the trigger in the near future! Then I'd only have to go to one forum for all my research and troubleshooting!


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## nnkfws333 (Oct 26, 2004)

Bringing up an old thread but hopefully anyone can help. I will be getting a convertible seat for my 1 year old to be rear facing soon and we are expecting twins. We are considering the Atlas but not sure if it will work. I was looking at the diono 3xrt for my 1 year old in the middle and possibly infant seats on the driver and passenger for the second row. I really don't want to get a minivan so hoping people have some input.


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## racingvw92 (Apr 17, 2003)

More room in the back seat for the baby seat is exactly why we got the Atlas. We took the baby seat into the dealer to test out the fit. Atlas and Tiguan both would worked for us, but someone needs the 5000lbs of towing capacity.  So we got the Atlas CS. Love the cargo space also.


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

nnkfws333 said:


> Bringing up an old thread but hopefully anyone can help. I will be getting a convertible seat for my 1 year old to be rear facing soon and we are expecting twins. We are considering the Atlas but not sure if it will work. I was looking at the diono 3xrt for my 1 year old in the middle and possibly infant seats on the driver and passenger for the second row. I really don't want to get a minivan so hoping people have some input.


Do you mean front facing soon for your 1 year old? We have twins ourselves and what we did was side by side (middle and driver side) in the second row to have the passenger side as the main access to 3rd row. One day (see picture) we had 2 other kids with us. One is same age as my twins (3 years old) and the other one about to be two. The two year old still within the limits to have the car seat attached via LATCH method so I placed that seat on the 2nd row passenger side. This way, you can still tilt to access the 3rd row. The other kid I put in the 3rd row via seat belt and the latch. The mom of both kids sat on the 3rd row. I was driving and my wife is front passenger. 

In your case, if you don't need access to 3rd row, then you can keep the configuration you are describing. All on the 2nd row. However if you do, I suggest you put your one year old, on the 40 side of the bench via LATCH method ( assume they are still within the limits of your car seat ) and you twins middle and driver side. Eventually though when your 1 year old gets big enough that the car seat can't be LATCH method anymore, and you still need access to 3rd row, you will need to migrate him/her to the 3rd row so you have the passenger side second row as your access. Otherwise, you won't be able to access 3rd row since would have to secure your 1 year old car seat via seat belt method, and no way you will be tilting that chair to get into 3rd. Hopefully that helps. Congratulations and good luck !









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## nnkfws333 (Oct 26, 2004)

TablaRasa said:


> Do you mean front facing soon for your 1 year old? We have twins ourselves and what we did was side by side (middle and driver side) in the second row to have the passenger side as the main access to 3rd row. One day (see picture) we had 2 other kids with us. One is same age as my twins (3 years old) and the other one about to be two. The two year old still within the limits to have the car seat attached via LATCH method so I placed that seat on the 2nd row passenger side. This way, you can still tilt to access the 3rd row. The other kid I put in the 3rd row via seat belt and the latch. The mom of both kids sat on the 3rd row. I was driving and my wife is front passenger.
> 
> In your case, if you don't need access to 3rd row, then you can keep the configuration you are describing. All on the 2nd row. However if you do, I suggest you put your one year old, on the 40 side of the bench via LATCH method ( assume they are still within the limits of your car seat ) and you twins middle and driver side. Eventually though when your 1 year old gets big enough that the car seat can't be LATCH method anymore, and you still need access to 3rd row, you will need to migrate him/her to the 3rd row so you have the passenger side second row as your access. Otherwise, you won't be able to access 3rd row since would have to secure your 1 year old car seat via seat belt method, and no way you will be tilting that chair to get into 3rd. Hopefully that helps. Congratulations and good luck !
> View attachment 103894
> ...


Thank you so much for the reply! My daughter just turned one so she is still in an infant chair and about to move into a convertible but still rear facing. I don't need the third row access(only when in laws are in town). I wan t to keep her rear facing as long as possible for safety reasons. I will probably buy an Atlas sometime before they turn 6 months and they are due sometime in February. I probably wont be taking them around a lot and I have 2 sedans at the moment. I was thinking about putting the 1 year old in the middle but putting her on the 40 side makes sense. Are those Diono as well? Appreciate the picture and input!


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

nnkfws333 said:


> Thank you so much for the reply! My daughter just turned one so she is still in an infant chair and about to move into a convertible but still rear facing. I don't need the third row access(only when in laws are in town). I wan t to keep her rear facing as long as possible for safety reasons. I will probably buy an Atlas sometime before they turn 6 months and they are due sometime in February. I probably wont be taking them around a lot and I have 2 sedans at the moment. I was thinking about putting the 1 year old in the middle but putting her on the 40 side makes sense. Are those Diono as well? Appreciate the picture and input!


Yes we have two diono 3xrt. They fit very nicely

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