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2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen: Car Seat Check

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For many of us in our 40s and older, wagons were the family-haulers of our childhood. Before minivans became popular, a wagon — sometimes with three rows of seats — was the choice for carting a brood around town. The 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen forgoes the rugged wagon look that’s popular today for a refined style influenced by its Golf roots. All-new for 2015, the Golf SportWagen scored well in our Child Seat Check, increasing its appeal to families.

More Car Seat Checks

How many car seats fit in the second row? Two

What We Like

  • The Golf SportWagen has two sets of lower Latch anchors in the outboard seats. They sit under removable plastic covers and are easy to use. Three tether anchors are found midway down the rear seatbacks. They’re clearly labeled and also easy to use.
  • For our rear-facing infant and convertible seats, we were able to install them behind the front passenger seat without moving it forward. The installation was a snap with both car seats, which have rigid Latch connectors (convertible seat) and hooklike connectors (infant seat).
  • The forward-facing convertible also installed easily and fit well in the wagon’s backseat.
  • The booster fit well in the SportWagen’s contoured rear seats.

What We Don’t

  • While on stable bases, the seat belt buckles sit low in the bottom cushion, making it difficult for young kids to use independently.
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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-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.

Jennifer Newman
Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Newman is a journalist with more than 25 years of experience, including 15 years as an automotive journalist at Cars.com. Jennifer leads the Editorial team in its mission of helping car shoppers find the vehicle that best fits their life. A mom of two, she’s graduated from kids in car seats to teens behind the steering wheel. She’s also a certified car-seat technician with more than 12 years of experience, as well as member of the World Car Jury, Automotive Press Association and Midwest Automotive Media Association. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennilnewman/ Instagram: @jennilnewman
Email Jennifer Newman

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