2013 Subaru Impreza: Car Seat Check
The 2013 Subaru Impreza sedan is almost a straight-A student when it comes to child safety seats. The high marks it earned in our Car Seat Check are thanks to the Impreza’s 2011 redesign — rear legroom increased by nearly 2 inches on the new model. Not much has changed since.
While we normally use a Britax Roundabout convertible car seat in our checks, we used a Britax Marathon convertible in this one. The Marathon is roughly the same width and height as the Roundabout, but the Marathon’s depth is 21 inches while the Roundabout measures 24.4 inches deep.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
What We Like
- The two sets of lower Latch anchors are easy to access because they sit in slits in the seat upholstery; the anchors are about an inch into the seat bight, where the back and bottom cushions meet, but it was surprisingly easy to get at them.
- The roomy backseat means there’s plenty of space for the rear-facing infant and convertible seats.
- The forward-facing convertible also installed easily into the Impreza’s backseat; the three tether anchors located on the rear shelf are also easy to use.
What We Don’t
- While the booster seat fit well in the Impreza, the seat belt buckles were on floppy bases, which can be difficult for younger kids to use independently.
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 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.
Related
2013 Subaru Impreza Expert Review
2013 Subaru Impreza: What’s Changed
More Car Seat Checks
