The 2014 Lexus LX 570 is a large SUV that could easily be called a land yacht. With seating for eight, the LX 570's largess comes in handy when it comes to child-safety seats; we were able to fit three car seats across its second row. However, it fell short in the third row because it doesn't have any Latch or tether anchors, so we couldn't install a forward-facing convertible there.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Three
How many car seats fit in the third row? Because there are no tether anchors, we only installed the booster seat in the third row.
What We Like
- This luxury SUV fits three child-safety seats across the second row.
- The two sets of lower Latch anchors in the second row are easy to access. The anchors are covered by strips of leather that can be easily pulled back to expose the anchors. The tether anchors are midway down the seatbacks and are also easy to use.
- The forward-facing convertible fit well in the LX 570.
- Our high-back booster seat installed easily in both the second and third rows. While the second row has seat belt buckles on stable bases, the third row's buckles are floppy, which makes it harder for kids to buckle up independently.
What We Don't
- It's not unusual for the third row of seats to not have lower Latch anchors, but it is somewhat uncommon for an automaker to skip the third-row tether anchors. This reduces the third row's usability by limiting it to kids in boosters and just out of them, as well as any adults who get sent to the way back.
- Our test car had the optional rear entertainment system with dual screens mounted on the front row's seatbacks. The screens stick out slightly from the seatbacks, eating up precious inches of space when installing rear-facing car seats. We had to move the front passenger seat forward when installing the rear-facing convertible and infant seats because the seats were resting against the screen. Our tester had just enough legroom to sit comfortably, though.
- Third-row access is difficult. While the second-row seats tumble forward easily, it's a tight squeeze for adults to the third row.
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 30 infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout 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.
from KickingTires http://ift.tt/1hiG57n
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