Crossroad

[Vanilla2]

Just had a new baby girl 2 months ago.

Bought the car and have loved it ever since.

The need for anything bigger has passed as my first daughter has gotten older.

With the back seat being so tiny and the new car seats being so large I don’t think I am going to be able to keep it much longer.

Anybody have recent experience?

I haven’t stuck her in my car yet and the little ladies leave ends in about a month.

I’ve been in denial but reality is coming fast.

I NEED to see this car through but don’t want an additional payment so the fiesta would have to traded

 

[RubenZZZ]

I was in the same dilemma a few months back. My son is currently 8 months old. Both the rear facing seat and larger forward facing seat fit fine in the back. My wife sits behind me, and the baby sits behind the front passenger seat. I'm 6'-0" and 230 and fit fine with the seat adjusted for a rear passenger.

I thought about "upgrading" to a Focus ST before my boy was born, but realized that size benefit only really affects trunk space.

The FiST has a small trunk so I have to be judicious on what cargo I take with me.

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[Wes7]

I’ve got a 3 month old and a 3 year old, so one rear-facing infant carrier and one booster seat with a harness. My 3 year old rides behind me, and has plenty of room (I’m 5’9”). The infant carrier is tougher, but it fits - I found that the trick is to put it in without a base. That buys you several inches of room, and let’s my wife sit in front. She is cramped, but she fits. There is room in the trunk for our double stroller, and bags can go on the floor in the rear. For reference, I’m using an Evenflo Pivot modular travel system for my infant carrier and double stroller. Works great and it is cheap. Before that, I had a Recaro Performance Coupe infant carrier with a base, which also fit, just barely. I have the regular ST seats - I can’t vouch for the Recaros, as they may be a little thicker.

I wouldn’t do a fiesta for my only car with kids, but if your family has a second vehicle that is larger for longer trips or when you need to haul more stuff, I think you will have no problem with it for occasional trips or school runs. We take it pretty often over my wife’s Tiguan for trips around town, just cause I like driving it.

 

[KWeaver]

So I'm not passing judgement on anyone here but, my kids hardly ever ride in my FiST (or our FoST). In fact, the only time they do is on base where the speed limit is 30 MPH or less. My wife is an ER nurse and she has seen multiple injuries and a few fatalities of children IN A CAR SET in compact/sub compact cars. She's never mentioned a Fiesta specifically but she has mentioned Corollas and Civics.

I don't want to get into an argument about vehicle safety and I know people can (and do) die even if they are driving a Hummer but, I think we all know that if a sub-compact gets plowed into by a suburban the outcome is going to be much worse than if it were a bigger vehicle. It is what it is. Sometimes kids come first. 8 years ago when our first child came we didn't have the means to afford multiple vehicles so we had a Sienna for the family and Mazda 2 for mom or dad as needed.

Again, not passing judgement here. If you stick with the FiST just be as safe as possible. Don't try to "make" a setup work.

 

[Wes7]

So I'm not passing judgement on anyone here but, my kids hardly ever ride in my FiST (or our FoST). In fact, the only time they do is on base where the speed limit is 30 MPH or less. My wife is an ER nurse and she has seen multiple injuries and a few fatalities of children IN A CAR SET in compact/sub compact cars. She's never mentioned a Fiesta specifically but she has mentioned Corollas and Civics.

I don't want to get into an argument about vehicle safety and I know people can (and do) die even if they are driving a Hummer but, I think we all know that if a sub-compact gets plowed into by a suburban the outcome is going to be much worse than if it were a bigger vehicle. It is what it is. Sometimes kids come first. 8 years ago when our first child came we didn't have the means to afford multiple vehicles so we had a Sienna for the family and Mazda 2 for mom or dad as needed.

Again, not passing judgement here. If you stick with the FiST just be as safe as possible. Don't try to "make" a setup work.

This is a real concern, and worthy of consideration. In the euro crash tests where they actually test child seats too, the Fiesta did pretty well - but a car this small is never going to do as well in a big collision.

Obviously there is no way to know about the specific cases your wife saw, but improper child seat installation is a very common issue and something to take into consideration. Whatever you end up doing, be sure you double and triple check that you are installing the seat properly, that your kid is strapped in properly, and that you are keeping the strap setup adjusted as they grow. Teach grandparents and others who transport your kid to do it properly, too - I have definitely caught others trying to leave with my kids strapped in way too loosely.

 

[Ford ST]

My Brother and I grew up in a 94 Nissan Altima my parents only car. It worked.
You have to do whatever works for you.

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[StigST]

You can do it... They will be out of rear facing car seats before you know it. 2 years is not a long time. You can’t find another car this cheap and so cool. My kids are now 7 & 10 and are very happy in the back of Dad’s “Race Car”.

 

[TORQHEAD]

I have a 7 and 3.5 year old and we make it work pretty well. My 3.5 year old is in a front facing seat that actually matches my orange recaros well. They like taking drives in my car and know the rules to not dirtying my interior very well! I can fit the stroller in the back pretty easily but when I have the chance we take our Escape 2.0T AWD or our 99 Explorer 4.0 4x4...nice to have options

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