2013 Cadillac XTS: Car Seat Check

The all-new 2013 Cadillac XTS is a full-size sedan with a roomy interior. The XTS replaces Cadillac’s DTS and STS, and much to some Cadillac fans’ chagrin, the XTS has front- or all-wheel drive instead of rear-wheel drive.

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 convertible seat 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. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible.

Here’s how the 2013 XTS did in Cars.com’s Car Seat Check:

Latch system: The XTS has five Latch anchors in the backseat, with two sets in the outboard seats and a fifth anchor in the middle seat position. The anchors are difficult to use because the stiff seat cushions block access to the anchors. Three tether anchors are on the rear shelf behind the second row’s head restraints.

Booster seat: The sedan’s seats are contoured, but they didn’t affect the booster seat’s fit. The seat belt buckles sink into the bottom seat cushion when pushing the connector into it.

Convertible seat: The forward-facing convertible fit well in the XTS, but our tester really had to shove the Latch connectors into the seat bight to get at the anchors. There’s also plenty of room for the rear-facing convertible seat. We didn’t need to move the front passenger seat forward to get it to fit.

Infant-safety seat: The Latch anchors were somewhat easier to use when a car seat had the traditional hooklike connectors. The rear-facing infant seat fit well, but parents should note there’s a fold-down armrest in the middle seat position, making it unsuitable for a rear-facing child-safety seat.

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.

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