Will Three Car Seats Fit in the 2015 Nissan Murano?
Nissan took the styling of its two-row SUV from mild to wild for 2015, but the changes to the Murano are not just skin deep. A redesign increased its length and width, which translated to a couple extra inches of backseat legroom and more cubic feet of cargo space. Since we were able to fit three car seats across the backseat of the previous version, the bigger Murano should have no problem in this department, right?
Related: 2015 Nissan Murano: First Drive
Think again, families. It was difficult and time-consuming to correctly install three car seats in the Murano. With an almost-5-year-old daughter and infant twins, I have two rear-facing Graco SnugRide infant seats and an Evenflo Titan convertible seat, which is a bit different from the trio of seats — a Graco SnugRide 30, Britax Marathon convertible and Graco TurboBooster — we use in Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks. Despite the Murano’s extra room for 2015, the bench seat just wasn’t big enough. Even after swapping out my daughter’s forward-facing convertible seat for our narrower booster, it was still a very tough install.
The seats in our test Platinum trim level were leather with heavily bolstered back and bottom cushions. The two sets of Latch anchors were not set too deeply into the seat bight, but the firm cushions complicated access.
Initially, I installed my twin infant seats in the outboard positions using the Latch anchors; there was plenty of legroom and I did not have to move the front seats forward to accommodate the car seats. I then tried to squeeze the convertible seat into the middle spot using the seat belt. Since the convertible physically wouldn’t fit, I traded it for our Harmony Dreamtime high-back booster — at 16.5 inches wide, it’s about 2 inches narrower than the convertible seat.
The second problem I encountered was the seat belt’s shoulder strap; it’s in the ceiling of the car and impedes rear visibility when used. After getting the booster situated in the middle spot, I was unable to buckle it; there physically wasn’t enough room for my hand to grasp the buckle. After taking one of the infant seats out of the base, I was able to eventually buckle the booster, but the stalk was so short that connecting it was very difficult. The outboard seating positions have longer buckle stalks, which should make buckling a booster a little easier.
So why did the larger-for-2015 Murano fail where the smaller previous-generation model succeeded? Hip room shrunk less than an inch for 2015, which slightly impacts available space, but the seats themselves are the likely culprit. The previous-generation Murano’s back and bottom seat cushions were flatter and less bolstered, making them a much better fit for car seats.
Things started looking up in terms of cargo room. For 2015, space behind the second row is up by almost 8 cubic feet, and I used all of it. The liftover is on the high side, but the Murano easily handled my large double stroller, giant twin diaper bag and a few smaller items.
Although the Murano was roomy and comfortable in terms of front-seat accommodations and cargo space, families with three kids should look elsewhere.
