2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport: Car Seat Check

The Land Rover Discovery Sport marks the first of a new family of Discovery-branded vehicles, and if the other models are anything like the Sport, there's a lot to like for families. Wonderfully simple Latch anchors, ample legroom, seats that slide as well as recline and doors that open extra wide helped this midsize SUV excel in our Car Seat Check. We tested the five-passenger model; a third row that increases capacity to seven passengers is also available.  More Car Seat Checks How many car seats fit in the second row? Two What We Like There are two sets of Latch anchors in the outboard seating positions, and they sit under removable plastic covers; they're easy to use. In both forward- and rear-facing modes, the convertible installed easily and fit well. We did not have to move the front passenger seat forward to accommodate it in rear-facing mode. The booster seat fit well and the buckles are on stable bases, making it easier for kids to grasp and use them. What We Don't It might be difficult for parents to find the top tether anchors. They sit low on the seatbacks, just below cargo floor. You need to slide the seat forward to fully expose them and then connect to them, which is annoying and makes them easier to forget. Although the infant seat was an easy install, we had to move the front passenger seat forward to accommodate it. Taller passengers will feel squeezed, but our tester was still comfortable. Grading Scale A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn't impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.   B: Plenty of room. One fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing third row when available. C: Marginal room. Two fit or connection issues. Difficult to access third row when available. D: Insufficient room. Two or more fit or connection issues. F: Does not fit or is unsafe. About Cars.com's Car Seat Checks Editors Jennifer Geiger and Jennifer Newman are certified child safety seat installation technicians. For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide Classic Connect 30 infant-safety seat, a Britax Marathon convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver's seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat. We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row's middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there's a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. To learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks, go here. Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.

from Cars.com News http://ift.tt/1JoUxsL