Rear Facing Child Seat & Stroller in a 2-Door Bronco -- My Experience

[frozenwaffle]

There are a few other posts out there, but I couldn’t find a concise overview with photos like I wanted. After 1 month of daily driving, a road trip with the baby, and about 50 times in and out with the car seat - here is my take on a 2 door manual with a rear facing child seat and stroller in the Bronco.

Some have said that it doesn’t work, but it CAN if you are motivated to make it work. Especially if you have another vehicle with 4 doors. But probably only if you have one kid, since I can’t get the car seat in on the driver’s side - due to the difference in seat travel.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/rear-child-car-seat-installed-in-4-door-2021-bronco.14130/
https://www.bronco6g.com/child-seat-installed-in-a-2021-bronco-2-door-photos/
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/child-car-seat-room.52759/
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/2-door-vs-4-door-putting-child-car-seats-in-the-back.8573/

The biggest shortcoming is that it is a tight squeeze to get my Graco 35 lite in and out. I am always rubbing on something to get it in/out, usually the back of the passenger seat (see photo with the passenger seat moved about as far forward as possible). And if you are short or have a bad back, I could see this not working for you. Obviously the 2 door is not the best family vehicle, but it works better than I expected.

Some shortcomings many are already aware of:

The passenger seat doesn’t stay slid forward to get into the back when parked uphill, the releases to slide the seats can be temperamental, the rear gate has to be 90 degrees to open the upper glass (so it doesn’t open in my garage), the 2 door doesn’t have rear seat recline adjustment for more cargo, when I take new passengers - the slow to lower window makes me really nervous that the glass will break one of these times, and the wind noise over 70mph is pretty rough.

The strengths:

Despite being more work to get the baby in and out - I almost always take the Bronco instead of my wife’s SUV. Enough space in front of a rear facing car seat for a tall person in the front. Enough space in the trunk for 4 22” roller bags, or 1 roller bag, a stroller, a diaper bag, and some soft luggage. The wind noise under 60mph acts like a white noise machine and puts the baby to sleep really quickly.

It is a fun daily driver for a tall person, really good manual transmission, compared to most coupes - the Bronco can handle four 6ft+ people without issue, and I have averaged 24.1mpg on 87 octane (highway or city really doesn’t seem to make much difference). But cargo, ground clearance for unplowed roads, and towing compared to other manual coupes is a big group of reasons for me. Surprising handling for what it is. So much better than a manual JK Wrangler 2dr (haven’t driven the JL).

And a quick cargo area dimension check: 43 inches wide, about 20 inches deep with the seats up, and about 48 inches deep with the rear seats down. This is posted elsewhere, but I thought it would help to post here again. Four of those carry on sized, 22” roller bags can fit.

Going through the tailgate doesn’t seem much easier with the car seat, and then I have to take the stroller out so I just never do that. I couldn’t find a plug and play solution to remove the passenger seat without an airbag error code, but that would make this a lot easier and make it so my cargo in front of the passenger seat doesn’t get smashed.


With a 1 inch gap for safety from the car seat to the back of the passenger seat.

Tight squeeze

Stroller in trunk

Stroller, diaper bag, and 22” roller bag

Showing how even with this much space - the glass won’t open

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[Newbie]

A 2 door Bronco is better for babies than this:

 

[illverado]

Same here. After trying a nuna pipa RX we got a Nuna pipa lite rx and a mockingbird stroller with adapter for the car seat to click right on top of it. It’s tight getting it in but the narrower top of the handle compared to the non-lite makes it just squeeze past the seat better. We all fit no complaints. When I think it’s not as easy as it could be, I ask myself if I would pay 10 grand/ $200+ a month right now for a vehicle that’s an abomination of the bronco name just so it’s a little easier to get a temporary car seat in it… My son will appreciate his dad’s great taste when he starts driving it 🤌

 

[JediMcMuffin]

I mean yeah, a detachable infant carrier is pretty easy to work with if you're reasonably strong. I don't think you'll have the same experience at toddler age though unless you get one of those seats that can rotate 180 degrees in place for easier loading. Good luck! I did the kids and two doors thing once already, never again. When I'm retired or use the bronco just for adventures I'll get a two door.

 

[jehines3]

What Jedi said. We had a BMW 650i convertible when the kids were out of car seats and I had no complaints from the drivers seat but the kids had to sit criss-cross applesauce as there was no room left in the footwell when seated at a normal distance from the wheel. Two doors are for singles, empty nesters, or those with a solid family truckster as a primary. My kids are late Teen now, and I went four door just because of the trauma from that BMW.

 

[Jr87mustang]

The things people go through to own a two door.

 

[KompressorV12]

Jesus, at a certain point people need to get over their ego and get the much roomier 4 door. It even comes with a bonus 31% more fuel capacity to sweeten the deal! Lol

 

[HoosierDaddy]

The things people go through to own a two door.

LOL, and there's enough of a draw towards a 4door that even the Classic Broncos have gone under the knife to get 2 moar doors added to them.
An addadoortome?
LOL!

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Jesus, at a certain point people need to get over their ego and get the much roomier 4 door. It even comes with a bonus 31% more fuel capacity to sweeten the deal! Lol

Dudes talking about removing the front pass seat to make room for the car seat in the back! WT-actual-F?
Can't wait until drooler #2 comes along ... "yeah, we had to pull the front seats, so now the kids just sit in it and we play v8 motor sounds through the stereo. Add a few fans and it's just as good as the real thing. This spring we're adding more fans to simulate going topless!"
It's not like the 4dr is a freaking Chrysler mini-van.

 

[Bdisco]

Before the birth of our second child I had a 2000 VW New Beetle TDi. The front seat bottom would unhinge and lift forward along with allowing the seat back to tilt forward granting access to the rear. This is how all 2 door vehicles with a back seat should be designed. You could then step in with one foot and clip in the baby carrier or buckle the toddler. It was tough on your back but gave you enough space.

 

[patientB]

I grew up in the 1970's, and was a child during the gas crises.

My parents always had two cars: a station wagon, and a two door, stick shift commuter.

As a kid, I spent a lot of time with my sister in the back of a Fiat 124, a VW Scirroco, a first gen 2 door Honda Civic, etc.

I think that's why I had no issue carting our kids around in a Mini Cooper S, a Fiat Abarth 500, a BMW coupe, etc.

The 2 door Bronco is bigger than everything I just mentioned. Just because you procreate, doesn't mean every trip must now be taken in something huge. There's no need for 3 people to take a 5 or 7 or 9 seater everywhere.

 

[GaryB2220]

Bought a car seat that swivels 270°. Once it goes in mine, it's not coming back out

 

[frozenwaffle]

Jesus, at a certain point people need to get over their ego and get the much roomier 4 door. It even comes with a bonus 31% more fuel capacity to sweeten the deal! Lol

Dudes talking about removing the front pass seat to make room for the car seat in the back! WT-actual-F?
Can't wait until drooler #2 comes along ... "yeah, we had to pull the front seats, so now the kids just sit in it and we play v8 motor sounds through the stereo. Add a few fans and it's just as good as the real thing. This spring we're adding more fans to simulate going topless!"
It's not like the 4dr is a freaking Chrysler mini-van.

Jeez lousie Hoosier, I think we have different priorities for people owning similar vehicles. Baby > passengers.

1. Budget: it was going to be like 10k more for a 4 door.
2. We have another 4 door, I was just surprised at how often I take the 2 door instead - not that bad.
3. Order: my order was locked in, so changing to a 4 door after my wife got pregnant would have delayed my Bronco and lost my price protection.
4. The priority is safety, so the baby has to go in the back. To make that easier, I considered removing the passenger seat which I almost never use anyway. More cargo without additional cost, or changing when I would get the Bronco.

 

[Rusty Sheckelford]

Jesus, at a certain point people need to get over their ego and get the much roomier 4 door. It even comes with a bonus 31% more fuel capacity to sweeten the deal! Lol

Just because you're lazy...

Dudes talking about removing the front pass seat to make room for the car seat in the back! WT-actual-F?
Can't wait until drooler #2 comes along ... "yeah, we had to pull the front seats, so now the kids just sit in it and we play v8 motor sounds through the stereo. Add a few fans and it's just as good as the real thing. This spring we're adding more fans to simulate going topless!"
It's not like the 4dr is a freaking Chrysler mini-van.

People removing one or both rear seats is a popular mod on here; first time on the forum?

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