How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid?

The verdict: Toyota’s popular RAV4 compact SUV comes with a gas engine or a hybrid — with or without a plug. For this Car Seat Check, we tested the regular hybrid model in Limited trim and gave it high marks for its easy-access Latch anchors and decent legroom. 

Does it fit three car seats? No.

Take a look at how the Latch system and each car seat scored below in our Car Seat Check of the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

Related: Search Car Seat Checks

A Grade

• Latch: The two sets of lower anchors are exposed for easy access and connection. Three top tether anchors sit midway down the seatback; they’re clearly marked but buried in the carpet, so you need to dig around to connect. 
• Infant: Installing the infant seat was easy, and the 5-foot-6-inch front passenger had a comfortable amount of legroom.
• Booster: After removing the head restraint, the booster fit well. The RAV4’s short but stable buckle stalks should be easy for kids to find and use independently.

B Grade

• Rear-facing convertible: Installation was easy, but we needed to move the front passenger seat forward a bit; taller passengers will need more legroom to be comfortable. 
• Forward-facing convertible: Connecting to the lower anchors wasn’t a problem and the seat fit well once we removed the head restraint. Connecting to the top tether anchor was a bit more difficult since the anchor is buried in the seatback carpet.  

 C Grade

• None   

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

C: Marginal room plus one fit or connection issue. Difficult to access the 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 and Jennifer Newman are certified child safety seat installation technicians.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Chicco KeyFit 30 infant-safety seat, a Graco Contender 65 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.

Related Video: 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime Review

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