2015 Dodge Durango: Car Seat Check
Dodge's three-row SUV appeals to both families and those looking for a little extra fun from their people-mover. The Durango offers a capable blend of passenger and cargo room as well as car-seat-friendly Latch anchors. Enthusiasts will appreciate its standard rear-wheel-drive setup as well as a V-8 engine option.
For the Car Seat Check, we tested a Durango in Citadel trim with leather captain's chairs in the second row; it has seating for six.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
How many car seats fit in the third row? Two
What We Like
- The second row's two sets of Latch anchors are exposed and easy to use. The two tether anchors on the seatbacks are also easy to find and use.
- Despite fixed head restraints, the booster and forward-facing convertible seats fit well and installed easily in the second and third rows. The head restraints are thin, so they do not push the back of the booster or convertible off the seatback.
- There was plenty of room for both the rear-facing infant and convertible; neither seat impacted the front passenger's legroom.
- The second row's captain's chairs make it easy for kids to scoot to the third row; the chairs also tumble forward with ease, and the opening to the third row is adult-sized. Watch out for a relatively tall step-in, however.
What We Don't
- The second-row seats do not slide.
- There are no Latch anchors in the third row. There are two top tether anchors, but they sit partially under carpet flaps, which might make them tough for parents to spot when installing a forward-facing convertible. There are several cargo hooks nearby; parents should be careful not to connect the tether anchor to a cargo hook.
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 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-6 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.
