2012 Chrysler 200 Convertible: Car Seat Check

The Chrysler 200 midsize sedan may be roomy enough to hold a couple child-safety seats comfortably, but things change with the drop-top version. The 200 convertible has seating for just two passengers in the back, and inconveniently placed tether anchors make it incredibly difficult to install a forward-facing child-safety seat in this car. For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted to a comfortable position 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 seat and convertible seats are installed behind the passenger seat. We also install the infant seat in the second row's middle seat with the booster and convertible in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit. If there's a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. Here's how the Chrysler 200 Convertible did in Cars.com's Car Seat Check: Latch system: There's a set of Latch anchors for each rear seat. The seat cushions are firm with sizable seat bolsters, so finding the anchors required some digging. Booster seat: The booster seat fit nicely; the seat bolstering helped nestle it into the seat. The buckles are on stable bases that should be easy for kids to use. Convertible seat: Thanks to inaccessible Latch anchors, it was tough to install the rear-facing convertible, though it fit fine on the seat when we did finally get it in. The front passenger seat had to be moved up a little to accommodate the convertible car seat, but a smaller front passenger will have enough legroom. We also had trouble with the forward-facing convertible. Fixed head restraints pushed the car seat forward and an inconveniently placed tether anchor made it difficult to get a good fit. Convertibles are not required by law to have tether anchors, but the 200 has two of them. Their housing is on the rear shelf, but the actual anchor is in the trunk. To use the anchor, the tether strap has to be threaded through an opening on the rear shelf and down into the trunk. It's a difficult maneuver that might not be possible with some car seats due to the narrow tether opening. Infant-safety seat: This seat fit well, though the front passenger seat had to remain in its moved-forward position. Again, a smaller passenger should have enough legroom. How many car seats fit in the second row? Two Editor's note: For three car seats — infant-safety seat, convertible and booster seats — to fit in a car, our criterion is that a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat. Related Research the 2012 Chrysler 200 convertible Check out More Car Seat Checks More Family News on Cars.com from KickingTires http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/

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