2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe: Car Seat Check
BMW has so many model proliferations that even the savviest of brand owners are likely confused. Take one of its newest vehicles, for example, the 2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe. Its four doors make it a sedan, but its liftgate actually makes it more of a hatchback. The 428i Gran Coupe seats five passengers, but a tiny middle seat and large floor hump means it really fits four. A lack of legroom and really deep Latch anchors complicated car-seat installation.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
What We Like
- After removing the head restraint, the forward-facing convertible was easy to install. It also had enough room.
- Three tether anchors sit midway down the seatbacks; they were easy to locate and use.
What We Don’t
- Although the Latch anchors are under plastic covers, which usually means access is easy, that wasn’t the case in this car. The anchors sit very deep in the seat bight, so connecting to them was a challenge, especially with our rear-facing seats.
- We had to move the front passenger seat fairly far forward to fit the infant car seat. We also had to adjust the seatback so it sat at a more upright and uncomfortable angle. Lastly, it was very difficult to connect to the Latch anchors.
- Although we didn’t have to move the front passenger seat forward to accommodate the rear-facing convertible, it was difficult to install the seat because of the deeply set Latch anchors.
- The heavily bolstered seats caused our booster to sit at an angle and the seat-belt buckles are recessed, so children might have trouble grasping them. The booster is also difficult to buckle because there’s no room to scoot the booster over because of the large seat bolsters.
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 Classic Connect 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.
