2013 Volvo S60: Car Seat Check

By Jennifer Geiger

September 18, 2012

Although it's on the compact side, Volvo's five-passenger sedan can easily carry a small family in comfort and style. The S60 has a high-quality interior and easy-to-access lower Latch anchors and top tether brackets.

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 Volvo S60 did in Cars.com's Car Seat Check:

Latch system: There are two sets of Latch anchors in the outboard seats. Because the seat cushions easily part and the anchors aren't inset too deeply in the seat bight, using them was easy.

Booster seat: The backseat is slightly bolstered, which worked to our advantage with the booster seat. It had enough room and was held snuggly in place by the bolstered seat. The buckles are on stable bases and easy to reach.

Convertible seat: The forward-facing seat had plenty of room, and installation was easy, thanks to accessible tether anchors; there are three of them under flip-up covers on the rear shelf. In the rear-facing position, the car seat needed a bit more room, so we had to move the front passenger seat up about an inch.

Infant-safety seat: The front passenger seat had to be moved up a bit more to accommodate this rear-facing seat. Taller front passengers will need more legroom to be comfortable.

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.