Audi's midsize sedan, the A6, has been redesigned for 2012. While trunk space has increased, interior space has remained the same in the five-seater, making for a tight fit in some instances. Leather seating is standard, which is good news for parents because it's much easier to clean than cloth seats, not that you'd expect cloth in a ride that starts at $41,700. You can research the 2012 Audi A6 here.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat.
The front seats are adjusted to a comfortable position 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 seat and convertible seats are installed behind the passenger seat. We also install the infant seat in the second row's middle seat with the booster and convertible in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit. If there's a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible.
Here's how the 2012 A6 did in MotherProof.com's Car Seat Check:
Latch system: The A6 has two sets of lower Latch anchors in the outboard seats. The anchors sit under removable plastic covers, making them easy to use. Three tether anchors sit under hinged plastic covers on the rear shelf behind the backseat's head restraints. It was difficult to get at the tether anchors when the head restraints are raised to accommodate a car seat because there's not a lot of clearance between the head restraints, which aren't removable, and the rear window.
Booster seat: Our high-back booster seat fit well in the A6. However, the seat belt buckles are recessed in the bottom seat cushion, making it difficult for kids to use independently.
Convertible seat: The forward-facing convertible fit well in this midsize sedan. To fit the rear-facing convertible, we had to move the front passenger seat forward less than an inch. The front passenger still had plenty of legroom.
Infant-safety seat: We also had to move the front passenger seat forward an inch or two to fit the rear-facing infant-safety seat (below). The front passenger had just enough legroom.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
Editor's note: For three car seats — infant-safety seat, convertible and booster seats — to fit in a car, our criterion is that a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat.