Tuesday, February 24, 2015

2015 Chrysler 300S: Car Seat Check

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Chrysler's stylish flagship got an update for 2015 that makes it stand out even more; according to the automaker, the 300's grille has been pumped up by 33 percent this year. Inside, the sedan will stand out for families because it's again one of a handful of sedans that can comfortably accommodate three child-safety seats.

More Car Seat Checks

The backseat may be roomy, but parents will find it tough to install car seats in the sporty 300S model; its stiff leather seats made connecting to the Latch anchors difficult, and the model's heavily bolstered seat cushions impacted car-seat fit.

How many car seats fit in the second row? Three

What We Like

  • We had enough room to install three child-safety seats across the backseat, an uncommon feat in a sedan.
  • There are three sets of lower Latch anchors in the backseat, one more set than is common.
  • We did not need to move the front passenger seat forward to accommodate the rear-facing infant or convertible seats. There was plenty of room for these seats.

What We Don't

  • The Latch anchors sit about a half-inch into the seat bight, which isn't too deep, but access was still difficult. The 300S model's stiff leather seats were unyielding, making Latch connection difficult for all of our car seats.
  • The sedan's fixed head restraints and heavily bolstered seats made the forward-facing convertible sit at an awkward angle.
  • The outboard buckles are on stable bases, making it easier for children in boosters to buckle up, but the booster did not fit well on the seat due to the large back and bottom seat cushion bolsters and fixed head restraint.

Latch-B

ISS-B

RFC-B

FFC-C

Booster-B

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 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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