New ratings highlight the best cars for child-seat anchoring - ConsumerReports.org
So these new ratings should complement evaluations Consumer Reports regularly performs, assessing how friendly vehicles are to accepting child seats and child passengers. Seat contour, rear seat room, and ultimately the ability to install child seats using the seat belts are also key elements of determining whether or not you will be successful at getting a secure child seat fit with your own car. Families also benefit from a somewhat recent change to child seat labeling , which now does a better job of indicating the relative weight limits factoring the seat and child. This highlights that at some point, your child will outgrow the LATCH rating and you will need to install the child seat using the vehicle seat belt. The heavier your child seat or your child, the sooner that transition will come. Introduced in 2002, the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system was designed to make child seat installations easier than using a vehicle’s seat belt. The system includes a set of lower anchors between the cushion and seatback of some (most often outboard) seats and a top tether anchor for securing the top of the seat. Source: www.consumerreports.org
