NEWS

2014 Jeep Compass: Car Seat Check

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Jeep’s compact crossover got some exterior styling tweaks and a more refined interior for 2014. The Compass’ exposed Latch anchors will make parents happy — but not for long. The backseat is short on space, and although the Compass technically seats five passengers, floor-mounted cupholders make it so there’s really not much room for a middle-seat passenger.

How many car seats fit in the second row? Two

What We Like

  • The outboard Latch anchors are exposed, so connection is a breeze. The inboard anchors aren’t, but they’re not buried too far into the seat bight. The three tether anchors are also easy to use.
  • The forward-facing convertible was easy to install and had plenty of room.

What We Don’t

  • The buckles are on floppy bases, so kids might have trouble reaching them and buckling up on their own.
  • The Compass’ fixed head restraints affected the fit of the forward-facing convertible and the booster seat, pushing them forward off the seatback.
  • We had to move the front passenger seat forward to make room for the infant car seat and the rear-facing convertible.
  • The seat belt buckle and inboard Latch anchor are set too close together, complicating the installation of the rear-facing convertible.
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MMS ID 57284 (created by CM Utility) automatic-content-migration
MMS ID 58108 (created by CM Utility) automatic-content-migration

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.

C: Marginal room. Two fit or connection issues. Difficult to access third row.

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.

Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat.

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