Would a newborn car seat along with 4 adults fit in the 2017 MB E300?
You must be a new parent. Congratulations!
The easy answer is yes, and the sales person will tell you that; HOWEVER
baby seats are best installed using the latch system. If you use the middle seat (which is the best for the child) then the latch strap will cross into the seat of the passenger side making it at least uncomfortable and at worst make the passenger seatbelt unusable.
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Depending on the car seat it’ll probably dig into the other two adults seating space quite a bit. You’re really stretching the E class here when you should be looking at a GLE!
I have an e class, 1 booster seat and 1 baby seat. I make my Mother in law sit in the middle and she does alright.
The answer can be “yes” – your best solution will probably be using the middle seat (safest location) with a narrow seat and narrow base that doesn’t encroach the outboard seats and their seat belts.
Check out European brands like Clek or Cybex. Their seats and bases aren’t unnecessarily wide like a lot of US brands.
Also check out dedicated blogs like the Car Seat Lady for more and more specific information.
“Latch is best” is a myth. You can get an equally taut fit using the vehicular seatbelt. What’s worse is the implied suggestion of using the middle seat (good) by using the latch anchors of the outboard seats (bad).
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I use the latch plus strap across the seat belt through the back. Is that not how you are supposed to do it?
Just saw this reply, hence the delay.
Most cars do not have “latch” for the middle, it is just the using the inner latches of the outside seats. As far as I know this is not dangerous and is in fact recommended, although it does interfere with people sitting in the other seats.
I would agree with your commend that the seat belt can be used. I did that for my daughter mostly to ensure that people could sit on the side though. The important thing is that the seat be snug and not move with significant force applied.
And regarding car seats, I would make one suggestion. Buy a recaro car seat if possible. These are simply the easiest to install/uninstall correctly. I loved those.
Latch is not safer than seatbelt. My fire department installed my seat in my X5 – middle seat using the seatbelt. Far safer if you were to get T-boned.
Right - middle seat should be installed with the belt, not latch from left/right seats.
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