2016 Nissan Murano: Car Seat Check
Editor’s note: This Car Seat Check was written in March 2015 about the 2015 Nissan Murano. Little of substance has changed with this year’s model. To see what’s new for 2016, click here or check out a side-by-side comparison of the two model years.
Despite the fact that Nissan’s two-row SUV got bigger for 2015, it was not able to accommodate our three child-safety seats in its backseat. The second row’s available hip room is down this year, and the seat cushions are more bolstered than the previous-generation model, cutting into available space for the car seats. Legroom grew by a couple of inches, however, so we were able to comfortably install two child-safety seats in the Murano.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
What We Like
- It was easy to install our convertible in forward- and rear-facing modes; connecting to the Latch anchors with this seat’s rigid connectors wasn’t a problem. In both directions, the convertible had plenty of room; we did not have to move the front passenger seat forward to make room for it in rear-facing mode.
- After removing the head restraint, the booster fit well on the seat. The outboard buckles are on stable bases, making it easier for kids to buckle up independently. The middle seat’s buckle is on a short stalk and sinks into the leather. Kids will likely struggle to connect to it.
- We had to move the front passenger seat up a bit to accommodate the rear-facing infant seat, but there was still a comfortable amount of legroom in the front seat.
What We Don’t
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There are two sets of lower Latch anchors in the outboard seats. The leather upholstery is quite stiff and the anchors themselves are set fairly flush against the bottom cushion, so access is challenging with the infant seat’s thin, hooklike connectors.
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Parents should note that if they install a car seat in the middle position with the seat belt, the webbing comes from the ceiling and cuts into rear visibility.
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 shorter 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.
