2014 Audi Q5: Car Seat Check

With its luxury compact crossover, Audi not only offers a premium interior and a comfortable driving dynamics, but shoppers also have plenty of powertrain choices. The 2014 Audi Q5 is available in gas, diesel and hybrid models; we tested the diesel-powered TDI version. The Q5’s exposed Latch anchors mean car-seat installation is a snap, but how well did this compact accommodate our three child-safety seats?

How many car seats fit in the second row? Two

What We Like

• The two sets of Latch anchors sit under removable plastic covers, making connection a breeze with both the infant seat’s thin, hook-like connectors and the convertible’s thicker ones.
• The booster fit well and the seat belt buckles are on stable bases, so kids should be able to buckle up independently.
• Both the forward- and rear-facing convertibles were easy to install and had plenty of room.

What We Don’t

• We had to move the front passenger seat up slightly to accommodate the rear-facing infant seat.

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 Roundabout 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.

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