2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport: Car Seat Check
Mitsubishi’s smallest crossover is also the runt of the compact crossover class. The 2014 Outlander Sport is several inches shorter than competitors such as the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, so it offers much less legroom. This was a big issue when installing child-safety seats, but it wasn’t the only problem. Awkward top tether anchor placement also made installing the forward-facing convertible difficult.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
What We Like
- The two sets of lower Latch anchors in the outboard seats are exposed and easy to use.
- After removing the head restraint, the forward-facing convertible fit well on the seat.
What We Don’t
- The top three tether anchors on the seatbacks are difficult to use. There’s not enough clearance around the anchors, making connection complicated when trying to install our forward-facing convertible.
- Although the outboard buckles are on stable bases, the stalks are short so the booster could easily slide over the top of the buckle, blocking access.
- Installing the rear-facing convertible and infant seats was easy thanks to the accessible Latch anchors, but room was a problem. We had to move the front passenger seat forward to accommodate both seats; in the case of the infant seat, the passenger’s knees were jammed into the glove box.
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, 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
