2015 Volvo XC60: Car Seat Check
Volvo’s compact crossover got some new powertrain options for 2015 as well as additional upholstery and trim choices and some more available convenience features. Its interior tweaks don’t affect how child-safety seats fit in the XC60’s second row, however. Legroom issues and buried Latch anchors complicated installation.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Only two car seats officially fit, according to our criteria (explained below), but the XC60’s wide, flat seat cushion might be able to accommodate three car seats, depending on the car seats and their configuration.
What We Like
- The forward-facing convertible car seat fit well and was easy to install.
What We Don’t
- The two sets of Latch anchors in the outboard seats are buried into the seat bight, but the cushions move away easily when using the convertible seat’s rigid connectors; the installation with the infant seat’s hook connectors was tough.
- The fixed heads restraints made accessing the seatback-mounted tether anchors difficult.
- We had to move the front passenger seat quite a bit forward and adjust the seatback to an upright angle to accommodate the infant seat; this was an uncomfortable position for the front passenger.
- The rear-facing convertible didn’t take up as much space as the infant seat, but we still had to move the front passenger seat forward to fit it; taller passengers will need more room to be comfortable.
- The booster fit well on the seat, but the XC60’s buckles will be tough for kids to grasp; they’re on stable bases but set low into the cushion.
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 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 Jennifer Newman
