2015 Mazda CX-5: Car Seat Check
Since its debut for the 2013 model year, the Mazda CX-5 has proved itself a formidable contender among compact crossovers. It particularly distinguished itself in the fun-to-drive category, where the CX-5 only improved when it returned for the 2014 model year with a more powerful 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine option. Not a lot has changed for 2015: The CX-5’s base price has increased a mere $150, including destination, and for the purposes of car seat installation, all backseat passenger-room dimensions remain identical to the outgoing model.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
What We Like
- Three sets of tether anchors in the second row are positioned midway down the seatback, and are exposed and easy to use.
- Our rear-facing infant and convertible seats fit well, but they both required sliding the front passenger seat forward about an inch to fit them. The front passenger had enough legroom and was comfortable. The forward-facing convertible also fit well.
- Our booster seat fit well thanks in part to a flat-bottom seat cushion that allowed the car seat to remain stable.
What We Don’t
- The Latch anchors were set snugly against the bottom vehicle seat cushion, making them difficult to access with the hooks.
- Seat belt buckles are on a stable base that sits far back and deep into the vehicle seat cushion, which could make buckling and unbuckling difficult for booster-seat occupants.
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, Jennifer Newman and Matt Schmitz 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.
Cars.com photos by Evan Sears, Matt Schmitz and Jennifer Newman
