The Mazda6's name comes up quite a bit here at Cars.com. In the past year alone, the five-seat sedan has not only been a contender for our Best of 2014 award, but among our Top 10 Used Cars for $10,000, Top 10 Fun-to-Drive Fuel Sippers and Top 10 Most Overlooked New Cars.
The Mazda6 hasn't changed significantly since its redesign for the 2014 model year, when Cars.com reviewer Mike Hanley lauded its distinctive style, sporty driving experience and top-of-class fuel economy. We also gave that version some respectable marks for its accommodation of our child-safety seats — marks matched, and even a bit improved upon, by the 2015 version.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
What We Like
- There are two sets of Latch anchors in the outboard seats and three tether anchors under hinged plastic covers on the rear shelf, and the head restraints are removable.
- Our rear- and forward-facing convertible seats all fit well, with no need to move the front passenger seat forward to install the latter two seats.
- Thanks to wide seats, our booster seat also fit well, while seat bolsters keep the booster from riding over the seat belt buckle.
What We Don't
- The front passenger ultimately had sufficient legroom, but we had to move the seat forward to fit the rear-facing infant seat in the backseat.
- Seat belts are recessed into the bottom seat cushions, and while this helps keep the buckles stable, it might be difficult for a child using the booster to reach.
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 Newman and Matt Schmitz are certified child safety seat installation technicians. Editor Jennifer Geiger is working on renewing her certification.
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.
Cars.com photos by Evan Sears
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