The (now-discontinued) Nissan Quest is the unsung hero of the minivan scene in the United States. It seems like everyone’s got a Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Kia Sedona, Chrysler Town & Country, or Dodge Grand Caravan (its twin), but very few folks seem to have a Quest. Those who do, however, tend to appreciate the fact that they cost a lot less than most of the other more popular minivans, and do just about as well of a job in getting the family from point A to point B. The biggest flaw in the Quest at the moment is its poor small overlap score, which Nissan will hopefully correct soon.
I borrowed a current generation Nissan Quest this week to see how it did when it came to fitting 3 seats across the 3rd row. Nissan is unique among the current US minivan crop in that it only permits 3 across seating in the 2nd row. The Grand Caravan and Town & Country only seat 7 the way the Quest does, but their 3-across area is the 2nd row. It’s not a big deal; it’s just something unique about the Quest. At any rate, before looking at what I was able to stuff into that 3rd row, let’s look at some good ideas for when to use which kinds of seats in the Quest or in any other vehicle.
The safest configuration we know of when it comes to vehicle safety is rear-facing. This goes for adults as well, but it’s uncommon to find rear-facing seats for adults outside of trains. That said, rear-face your infants, toddlers, and preschoolers for as long as possible (ideally until 4!), before forward-facing them in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once they outgrow their harnessed seats, it’s best to keep them restrained in high-back boosters until they’re physically and psychologically ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). We want our little ones in the safest positions we know of for as long as possible to give them the greatest advantages in a collision.
Keeping these ideas in mind, I set to work to find which infant, convertible, combination, and booster seats would work best in 3 across combinations in the Nissan Quest. It’s my goal to make this list the most thorough on the Internet. 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.
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Nissan Quest (RE52)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT.
Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65, Diono Radian / RXT.
Chicco KeyFit 30, Clek Fllo, Chicco KeyFit 30.
Tips and Tricks:
The current generation of the Nissan Quest is 201 inches long and 78 inches wide, which is comparable to the length and width of every other minivan currently available in the US market. However, I didn’t find the back row quite as friendly as that in, say, the Odyssey or in the Sienna. That said, you can still fit just about any seats you’re interested in fitting back there without too much trouble. My biggest suggestion is to use the seat belts, as the LATCH anchors aren’t spaced nearly as wide as I’d like them to be (although that tends to be the case in just about every vehicle I try out).
As noted earlier, all 3 across setups are for the 3rd row, as there are only 2 captain’s chairs in the 2nd row.
If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Join us in the forums!