2014 Honda Accord Hybrid: Car Seat Check

Honda’s midsize sedan is one of the best-selling cars in the U.S., and it’s no secret why. The comfortable, affordable Accord easily holds five occupants, including room for two child-safety seats in the backseat. What about the new-for-2014 hybrid version? It too impressively handles two child-safety seats thanks to easy-to-access Latch anchors and a spacious backseat.

How many car seats fit in the second row? Two

What We Like

• The two sets of Latch anchors are easy to locate and use thanks to pliable seat cushions. The three top tether anchors on the rear shelf are also a breeze.
• The convertible in both rear- and forward-facing modes installed easily and had plenty of room. We had to remove the head restraint in forward-facing mode to get the seat to fit properly, however.

What We Don’t

• Although the infant-safety seat was easy to install, we had to move the front passenger seat forward slightly to accommodate it. An average-size front passenger will have enough knee room, but taller occupants will need more to be comfortable.
• The booster also installed easily, but the Accord Hybrid’s seat belt buckles are on floppy bases, making it hard for kids to buckle up independently. The floppy buckle also caused it to fall behind the booster seat, complicating connection.

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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