Car Seat Check: Will Your Child Seats Fit?
Spec sheets won't tell you whether a rear-facing seat fits behind a tall driver, or whether three seats really go across. Here's how to find out before you buy.
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By Fairlot Editorial
Fairlot family guide
Bring the seats to the test drive
The single most useful thing you can do: bring your actual car seats — bases, boosters and all — to the dealership and install them during the test drive. Ten minutes in the parking lot answers questions no review can.
What to check
- Lower anchors (UAS/LATCH): How many seating positions have them (usually the two outboard rear seats), and how easy are they to reach? Deeply buried anchors make every re-install a fight.
- Top tether anchors: Required for forward-facing seats in Canada. Confirm where they are (seatback, cargo floor, ceiling) and that you can route the strap correctly.
- Rear-facing space:Install the rear-facing seat behind the driver's position set for the tallest regular driver. If the driver can't sit comfortably, the vehicle fails your test no matter how good the crash scores are.
- Middle-seat reality: Many vehicles have a narrow, humped middle seat with no lower anchors — fine for a booster, miserable for a bucket seat. If you need the middle position, test it specifically.
- Three across: If you need three seats in one row, test with your actual three. Very few compact SUVs manage it; some three-row vehicles only manage it in the second row.
- Door opening and load height:You'll lift a child into this vehicle thousands of times. Check the door aperture and how far you have to lean in.
Buying used? Two extra checks
- Confirm the seat belts and anchor hardware are undamaged and that airbags haven't been deployed and poorly repaired — a pre-purchase inspection covers this.
- If a used car seat comes with the vehicle, decline it. Seats have expiry dates and unknown crash history; buy your own.
In every province, children must ride in an appropriate child seat or booster until they meet height/weight/age thresholds — requirements vary by province, so check your local rules. Rear-facing as long as the seat allows is the safest practice at any age.