The "Chevy" Chevrolet Equinox is one of the best-selling mid-sized SUVs in the United States, competing with SUVs like the Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, Dodge Journey, Ford Edge, Honda CR-V, and Subaru Forester. With 5 seats, a choice between a 4-liter and 6-liter engine, and an impressive array of safety scores, it's frequently chosen by parents interested in safe transportation and hatchback utility. But how does it do when it comes to fitting car seats in 3 across installations? I borrowed a few this weekend to try try my hand installing 3 car seats in a Chevy Equinox.

Before we talk about what what works, it's a good idea to review some principles of best practices for car seat use. I recommend keeping children in rear-facing infant or convertible seats as long as possible (ideally until 4!), then keeping them harnessed in forward-facing seats for several years more (ideally until 8!), and then only switching them out of booster seats when they pass the 5 step test (which typically happens between 10 and 12). These suggestions help keep children as safely restrained as possible until they're physically and emotionally ready to sit without car seats.

After several hours of testing with all of the car seats I had on hand, I have what I believe to be the most detailed 3 across guide for the Chevy Equinox on the Internet, covering every model year of the SUV so far. If you find the list helpful when shopping for car seats, you can shop through my Amazon link below. I'll add more seats as I test them over time.

You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. The Canadian car seat guide is here. 3 across car seat images are courtesy of Wikipedia.

equinox-2010-publicdomain2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Chevrolet Equinox

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Britax Frontier G1.1 / 90, Graco Snugride 30, Graco Size4Me 65 / Contender.

Graco Contender (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30.

Tips and Tricks:

This generation of the Chevrolet Equinox is 188 inches long and 72 inches wide, which means you'll have a comparable amount of space for 3 across installations as what you'd find in the average mid-sized SUV or car. As usual, to maximize the available amount of space for your installations, you'll want to make use of seat belts instead of the LATCH anchors.

The way the seat hinge is oriented in the back seat, you might have trouble installing multiple Radians rear-facing. I was able to do it, but some folks have had trouble with it. The center Radian can definitely be installed rear-facing, but you might need to install the outboard seats in forward-facing configurations.

In the Frontier / Snugride / Size4Me installation, I had the outboard seats forward-facing and all three seats were seat belted, of course. It's possible that I'd have been able to get all three rear-facing, but I didn't have time to try that setup. The Snugride was particularly difficult to click in each time.

equinox - older - publicdomain2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Chevrolet Equinox

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Contender (x3).

Diono Radian / RXT (x3).

Graco Contender / Size4Me 65, Graco My Ride 65, Graco Contender / Size4Me 65.

Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.

Harmony Defender, Graco Contender / Size4Me 65, Graco Contender / Size4Me 65.

Tips and Tricks:

This initial generation of the Chevrolet Equinox is 189 inches long and 71 inches wide, which means you'll have slightly less left-to-right space for 3 across installations than what you'd find in the average mid-sized SUV or car. That said, you can still fit a number of seats into it, especially with seat belt installations across all seats.

If you're installing multiple Graco convertibles next to each other, you might need to alternate RF / FF to ensure that the cup holders don't bump into each other.

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If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.