Here Are The Vehicles That Car Seats Fit In Best

Buying or leasing a new car is a big deal, especially when you have a family to consider and multiple car seats to install. Whether it’s a small sedan, a large SUV or a minivan, it’s nice to know which vehicles make the hard task of installing infant, toddler and child safety seats easier and safer.

Thankfully, Cars.com released its annual Car Seat Fit Report Card last month, which evaluates how well vehicles accommodate car seats — from lower anchors and top tether anchors to Latch systems. From July 2021 to July 2022, certified child passenger safety technicians did checks on 52 vehicles and ranked their findings with letter grades. The cars that made the honor roll included the 2022 Acura RDX, the 2021 and 2022 Audi Q5 Sportback, the 2022 Cadillac XT5, the 2021 and 2022 Ford Escape PHEV, the 2022 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid, the 2022 Kia EV6, the 2021 and 2022 Volkswagen ID.4 and the 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan.

“With nearly 60% of parents choosing their vehicle based on car seat fit, it’s encouraging to see this year’s Car Seat Fit Report Card expand significantly to include vehicles at various price points as well as hybrid and electric models,” Jennifer Geiger, Cars.com news editor and certified child-passenger safety technician, said in the site’s report. “Car manufacturers are listening and offering more options for America’s growing families.”

For the tests, Cars.com technicians installed a Chicco KeyFit 30 infant car seat, a Graco Contender 65 convertible car seat and a Graco TurboBooster into every vehicle. The front seats were adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a shorter passenger, and the three child safety seats were installed in the car’s second row, with the booster seat behind the driver. The infant and convertible seats were placed behind the front passenger seat.

In larger SUVs and minivans, the forward-facing convertible and booster seats were installed in the third row and technicians assessed how easy or difficult it was to access them.

According to the survey by Cars.com, 33% of parents test car seats at a dealership before making a decision. And for the more than 58% of parents who base their vehicle purchase on car seat fit, 85% said they needed to upgrade to a larger vehicle due to multiple children in car seats.

Another interesting statistic: almost 3 in 4 parents (73%) said child safety features like backup cameras, rear-seat alert systems and car-seat Latch systems were very important when considering a vehicle.

Every parent, new or seasoned, knows the anxiety-inducing panic and frustration that can come with buying or leasing the right car for your family, and then installing car seats correctly — 48% of parents admitted to installing a car seat incorrectly — so this Car Seat Fit Check is a game-changer for us caregivers who need some pointers.