2016 Subaru WRX: Car Seat Check
Known as a performance car, the 2016 Subaru WRX is also a family car when it comes to car-seat fit. This five-passenger sedan has an easy-to-use Latch system that made installing our car seats a quick process. Redesigned for 2015, the WRX has a 268-horsepower, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that proves parenthood can be a lot of fun. For our Car Seat Check, we tested a WRX Limited with leather seats.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
What We Like
- The WRX has two sets of lower Latch anchors in the outboard seats that sit behind seat-cushion flaps. Although they sit nearly 2 inches into the cushions, there’s enough room around them to easily attach a Latch connector to the anchor. Three tether anchors are on the rear shelf behind the head restraints; they’re also easy to use.
- The rear-facing convertible seat fit well in the WRX; we didn’t need to move the front passenger seat forward to fit it.
- To fit the forward-facing convertible, we had to remove the head restraint for a better car-seat fit. In this position, the convertible has a wide base that sometimes blocks Latch access, as was the case in the WRX. However, we were easily able to work around it.
- We also removed the head restraint to install the high-back booster seat. The seat belt buckles are easy for young kids to grasp on their own.
What We Don’t
- To fit the rear-facing infant seat, we had to move the front passenger seat forward a significant amount. This left our 5-foot-8 tester with about a half-inch of space between her knees and the glove box. The car seat, however, installed easily once we repositioned the front seat.
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.
