How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2018 Nissan Rogue?

Editor’s note: This Car Seat Check was written in August 2017 about the 2017.5 Nissan Rogue. Little of substance has changed with this year’s model. To see what’s new for trims on the 2018 Nissan model, click here, or check out a side-by-side comparison of the two model years.

Nissan’s compact SUV is one of only a handful that offer a 40/20/40-split second row seating and available third row seating, making the Rogue attractive to families. What will disappoint, however, is the Rogue’s Latch anchor setup. The anchors’ placement deep within the seat cushions of the Nissan Rogue complicated installation during our Car Seat Check.

How many car seats fit in the second row? Two

Related: More Car Seat Checks

Solid

• None

So-So

• Latch, grade C: The two sets of lower anchors are buried in the Nissan’s seat bight and are difficult to find and use. The two top tether anchors on the outboard seats sit at the bottom of the seatbacks but the middle anchor is in the Rogue’s ceiling, blocking the driver’s view when in use.  
• Infant seat, grade C: Installation was difficult due to the Latch anchor placement and we had to move the front passenger seat significantly forward to fit the infant seat in the rear, compromising legroom for the passenger in the Nissan Rogue’s front seat.
• Rear-facing convertible, grade B: It was too difficult to connect to those rear Latch anchors with the seat in this position, so we installed it with the seat belt instead. The seat fit well and did not impact front passenger legroom.
• Forward-facing convertible, grade B: We were again unable to use the Latch anchors, so we used the seat belt instead, which was easy.  
• Booster, grade B: The seat fit well, but the buckles sit low in the seat bottom  of the SUV’s cushions, making them tough for kids to find and use.

Skip It

• None

Grading Scale

Solid indicates an A grade for optimum ease of use and fit. So-So indicates B or C grades for one to two ease-of-use or fit issues. Skip It indicates D or F grades.

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: One room, fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing third row when available.

C: Marginal room plus one fit or connection issue. Difficult to access third row when available.

D: Insufficient room, plus multiple 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. Learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks.

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.

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