2014 Nissan Murano: Car Seat Check
Editor’s note: This Car Seat Check is repurposed from our test of the 2013 Nissan Murano, but our results apply to the 2014 model.
Nissan’s redesigned family-friendly seven-passenger Pathfinder may have stolen some of the spotlight from its smaller sibling, the Murano, but the midsize crossover still offers a good amount of room and comfort for five passengers. Easy to access Latch anchors made installing most child-safety seats a breeze, but annoying buckle straps complicate booster usage.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
What We Like
- The two sets of Latch anchors were easy to access thanks in part to the seat’s flexible cushion. The three tether anchors on the seatbacks were also very easy to find.
- Both the rear- and forward-facing convertibles were easy to install and fit well; we did not have to move the front passenger seat forward to make room for the convertible in the rear-facing position.
What We Don’t
- We had to move the front-passenger seat forward quite a bit to make room for the infant seat. Front-seat passenger comfort was compromised.
- The seat belt buckles are on long, floppy straps, so it’ll be difficult for smaller kids to buckle-up independently. The buckle also got stuck behind our booster, complicating installation.
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. 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, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.
Cars.com photos by Evan Sears
