Babysat? Diono?

I have a 6 month old and I'm looking at upgrading him to a proper car seat and not the carrier style since it's getting tight for him and I really like the way Diono looks but was worried on how it fits rear facing. I am 5'7 and the wife is 5'4.

WIll it fit without the front seats having to be pushed all the way up? Do you have it situated in the middle or behind the driver or passenger?

Which model do you have and suggest?

Also how is it taking the kid out and putting him in with that seat?

Last but not least, how does the cushion feel? Plentiful? We take a lot of road trips so comfort is a big concern.

Any input would be a big help! Unfortunately none of the baby retailers near me carries Diono!

 

Im 5'9 and i couldn't get my Diono 3RXT to fit rear facing when placed behind the drivers seat. its too high and was pushing pretty hard against my headrest which is unsafe. Works great forward facing though

 

Here's a pretty decent review of infant/child seats designed for smaller back seats.

https://www.experiencedmommy.com/choose-the-best-car-seat-for-your-small-car/

 

Diono is for front facing, you can put three of them in the back. They can be used as rear facing but are just not that great used that way. I have had probably 6 different Diono among my 3 kids and lots of cars.

For rear facing get either Nuna or Combi Coccoro.

Nuna is a big Euro brand and will fit anywhere in the back, I installed mine in the middle of my old STI and it also made getting your kid in and out is easier.

Combi Coccoro requires top tether to clip to an anchor that you loop around one front seat rail of the front seat in front of where it will be installed, and some reviewers on Amazon apparently don't know what a front seat rail is and did not install the top tether clip and complained that it won't stay in place.

 

If it’s close, diono makes a angle adjustment pad (which is just a chunk of foam like a seat pad) that bought me a couple inches of space in the front by making the child seat more upright.

 

My wife and I just picked up a Graco SlimFit 3 in 1 car seat. We have it rear facing right now in the center of the back seat, and it just barely fits. I am 6' by the way.

 

I have mixed opinions. we HAD to have our Diono 3rxt I believe? in the middle for rear facing. It wouldn't fit behind my wife who is 5'4" in the passenger seat.
We got it because we have two kids and while it is narrow... you can fit three in the back of a civic... it is very very tall. I don't like it very much forward facing either. The angle it sits at forward facing makes the kid slump head down if they fall asleep.. unless you get one of those headbands that "pull" their head backing the carseat while they sleep. You also have to take the whole thing out to adjust straps or take out the inserts to wash them if they have an accident or spill.

My wife's carseat (Graco 4ever) is 10X more convenient and isn't all that much bigger... you can clean the whole thing without removing it, adjust it to various angles one handed, and our little one actually looks comfortable when they sleep. . really anything is better than the bucket seat easy remove ones... Except that it is so nice to be able to take them out in the carseat rather than constantly in and out.. but you have to compromise somewhere.

We ditched my 19 for a 3 row highlander and I ALMOST got a tundra because the space in the rear is absolutely amazing,... But I don't love the tundra or anything else on the full size market. I am going to keep my '12 double cab and try to hold out for the twin turbo tundra after it has been vetted for a few years.

If you are dead set on keeping the tacoma I would look into other options, if you are having two kids and think you might like/get by with/ want a full size, it will save a lot of headaches and grumbling installing them in these tiny trucks... But I love my tacoma and am willing to put up with the minor inconveniences of space until they are both forward facing.. but this is my 7th tacoma and I love em.. Feel free to PM with any questions.

 

I know you just bought it but Graco should never call any of their stuff slim. They are the worst offender of gigantic plasticky car seats.

Brands I posted are much smaller and fit much better, but they usually cannot be found retail so are a lot lesser known.

Nuna works with Stokke and our youngest had a Nuna Pipa that clips on to Stokke Xplory back in the day. That thing fit anywhere because well, it's a Euro brand and most there HAVE to drive little bitty tin box with 1 liter engine because gas cost 10 million bucks a gallon.

 

Diono is great once they forward face. It’s super tall so when rear facing it won’t allow for much room unless you try in the middle seat.

Id recommend the Nuna rava imo. Fits great rear facing and tbh will work good forward facing too. Great seat, super east install

 

Also, I’d recommend you buy the seat from Amazon or like a Nordstrom. Stores like buy buy baby are not letting you test fit seats anymore, and they won’t let you return them if opened. But amazon will still let you return the seats same with Nordstrom. Imo worthwhile to try and test it first

 

Well where in the heck was this thread a week ago??? I appreciate the information, I will keep that in mind if we decide to change it up!

 

x2 this got us by for a few months until we went forward facing

 

Heres my setup in a 2020 for a 2 and 5 yr old. The Nuna Pipa has infant inserts I think too with some ability to recline.
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Use the infant seat as long as you can. Then jump right to forward facing. Convertible seats are the worst because they're HUGE!

Our kids started with a Britax B-Agile Infant seat. Then we went to Recaro Performance Sport seats. Then Clek oobr boosters and now Clek olli boosters.

Since then Recaro is no longer available in the US, but Clek makes amazing products. Check them out. clekinc.com

 

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same setup. Both passenger and driver are one notch from the very back. Imo is one of the best combos that I’ve tried for forward and rear facing.

 

same setup. Both passenger and driver are one notch from the very back. Imo is one of the best combos that I’ve tried for forward and rear facing.

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Great minds think alike. Taco baby twinsies!

 

TLDR version, do NOT let gigantic plasticky child seats dictate your vehicle choice.

Change car seats, not Taco's.