2015 Hyundai Santa Fe: Car Seat Check
Hyundai’s three-row SUV is on a role: The Santa Fe took home top honors at the Cars.com $40,000 Three-Row SUV Challenge as well as the Cars.com 2015 Family Car of the Year award. But what’s it really like when you load it up with family gear, like car seats? We tested a topline all-wheel-drive Limited model with second-row bucket seats; its easy-to-access Latch anchors and ample passenger room will be a hit with parents when installing child-safety seats.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
How many car seats fit in the third row? Two
What We Like
- Two sets of Latch anchors in the second-row captain’s chairs are easy to use because they sit just inside the seat bight, where the back and bottom cushions meet. The two top tether anchors are also easy to use; they’re midway down the seatback and clearly marked.
- In both rear- and forward-facing form, the convertible fit well in the second row. In forward mode, we raised the head restraint to get it to fit. In rear mode, we did not need to move the front passenger seat forward to accommodate it.
- The rear-facing infant seat also installed easily and had ample room.
- Although the walkway between the captain’s chairs is narrow, most kids won’t have any problem getting to the third row. The seats also tumble forward with ease for third-row access.
- We used the seat belt to install the forward-facing convertible in the third row and had no problems using the one third-row tether anchor. The third row’s bottom seat cushion is short however, and parents need to make sure at least 80 percent of the car seat’s base is touching the seat bottom cushion.
What We Don’t
- After raising the second-row head restraint, the booster fit well on the seat, but the buckles are on floppy stalks and slide into pockets, complicating access.
- There aren’t any Latch anchors in the third row. Some three-row vehicles, like the Honda Pilot, have third-row Latch anchors.
- The third row’s seat belt buckles also are floppy, which can be difficult for younger kids to manage independently. The head restraints are fixed, but they’re thin so they did not impact our booster’s fit.
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.
