Looking for a new car for your growing family, particularly one that can fit 3 car seats, can be a challenge. Gone are the days where you can see children sitting on the second- or third-row seats playing with their toys or children sitting on their parents’ laps. It is not just safe anymore and there’s a law on car seat safety that everyone needs to follow.
Car crashes are one of the leading causes of children’s injuries and death in the United States and car seats are tested and proven to save lives. With these safety standards that you need to meet, it is not an easy task to find a car that best suits your family’s needs, especially if you have three or more kids that need to be on car seats.
There are lots of cars that advertise their spacious and roomy cabin, large enough for three adults to sit comfortably, but if it’s large enough for three car seats, that’s another story. Fortunately, today’s automakers are more aware of the car-owners’ needs and struggles, there are a number of great cars that can fit 3 car seats available on the market today. To narrow down your search, we came up with a list of some of these family-friendly vehicles that can provide enough space for at least 3 car seats. Here is our list:
Cars that fit 3 car seats 2020
Two-Row SUVs
2020 Hyundai Santa Fe
The 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe is a great family car. It is affordable, safe, sturdy, comfortable, spacious, and reliable. It is a 2020 IIHS top safety pick with its advanced safety features that ensures the safety of your family. The 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe gives plenty of room with the second row providing 58.3 inches of shoulder room and 56.3 inches of hip room and behind it, you can use 35.9 cubic feet of cargo space. It has two full sets of LATCH car-seats connectors on the 2nd-row outboard seats and an upper tether anchor on the middle seat.
2020 Ford Edge
The 2020 Ford Edge is a solid choice for a family car for its value and quality. It has a good fuel economy, impressive handling, and gives a comfortable ride. It provides plenty of room for the passengers and a decent amount of cargo space. The interior comes with a cloth upholstery and a 10-way power-adjustable driver's seat. As for the car seats, the Ford Edge has two full sets of LATCH connectors for the rear outboard seats and the middle seat comes with a tether anchor or it can borrow each side’s lower anchors making it a car that can fit 3 car seats total. Edge also comes standard with Ford's Co-Pilot360 bundle of driver assistance features that includes the latest safety technologies that can protect you and your family.
2020 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid
Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid is a plug-in SUV that can give up to 480 miles of driving range on a single tank. It has been commended for its comfortable, composed, and quiet ride. Its interior comes with comfortable and well-supported front seats and a power-adjustable driver's seat. It can accommodate up to 5 people. The rear outboard seats have two sets of complete LATCH connectors and an upper tether for the rear middle seat that can also borrow the lower anchors from the adjoining seats. The Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid can easily accommodate 3 car seats in the back when you use an infant seat behind the driver, a convertible seat behind the passenger, and a narrow booster in the middle seat. It also comes standard with a number of active safety features like the EyeSight, Subaru's driver-assist technology.
Three-Row SUVs
2020 Volkswagen Atlas
The Volkswagen Atlas was first launched in 2018. It offers a composed and comfortable ride and a very roomy interior. Its three rows equally have a big capacity making it an ideal car for families with growing children. The second row effortlessly provides an ample space for 3 car seats. It also comes with optional individual captain’s chairs that make accessing the third row easier by simply sliding the chairs forward. As for its performance and safety, the Volkswagen Atlas boasts of its quiet and comfortable ride that can handle bumps really well. It is well-equipped and can cater different kinds of trips your family can make. It also aced its crash-tests scores from both the NHTSA and IIHS and has a generous list of safety features as a standard.
2020 Toyota Highlander
The Toyota Highlander is a 4,500-pound vehicle that offers good fuel economy for its class, balanced handling, and a capable 295-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine coupled with an eight-speed automatic transmission. It has a pleasant interior and its seating capacity can accommodate 7 people, but the higher trims can make room for 8 passengers. For child passengers, there are two complete sets of LATCH connectors for the second-row outboard seats and single tether anchors for the second- and third-row middle seats. The 2020 Toyota Highlander makes the ride with children enjoyable with its interior features that include an 8-inch touch screen, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alexa, a six-speaker stereo, and an intercom system called Driver Easy Speak that magnifies the driver’s voice which can be heard throughout the cabin.
2020 Subaru Ascent
The 2020 Subaru Ascent comes in an all-wheel drive powertrain and a 260-horsepower 2.4-liter turbo-4 engine. It provides a composed ride, confident handling, and a good acceleration. Its interior is fresh and modern. The base trim is equipped with durable cloth upholstery and soft-touch materials. You can find two full sets of LATCH connectors for the second row seats, a dedicated lower anchor and an upper tether anchor for the middle seat, and another full set of LATCH connectors for the third row. The Subaru Ascent also comes with lots of standard safety and drive-assist features and has excellent crash-test scores. All 2020 Ascents are equipped with a Rear Seat Reminder that can help keep the children from being left in the car.
2020 Honda Pilot
Honda Pilot is a versatile three-row SUV that hits all the right spots of a perfect family car. It has an efficient 3.5-liter V-6 engine, smooth and cushioned ride, handsome looks, lots of active safety features, and a capacious interior. The Honda Pilot can easily carry a family with its seating capacity that can fit up to 8 passengers. It can also provide 16.5 cubic feet of storage behind all three rows. The second row has three complete sets of LATCH connectors and a complete LATCH set and two upper tether anchors for the third row. It is a car that can easily fit 3 car seats and more. There is also an optional rear-seat entertainment system with a screen that you can pull down overhead that lets the kids watch Blu-ray discs or stream videos while travelling.
2020 Kia Telluride
The 2020 Kia Telluride is the newest and the largest crossover SUV from Kia Motors. It is equipped with a 291-horsepower 3.8-liter V-6 coupled with an 8-speed automatic transmission. It offers a nimble suspension that absorbs bumps easily making a more smooth ride. The Telluride’s handsome interior has room for up to 8 passengers. It comes with a responsive touch-screen infotainment interface, synthetic leather upholstery, active safety tech, power features, and many more. The interior is roomy with the second row providing 59.9 inches of shoulder room and 58 inches of hip room. For the child safety seats, the second row has two complete sets of LATCH connectors, the third row has one, and middle seats in the second and third rows have upper tether anchors.
Minivans
2020 Honda Odyssey
The Honda Odyssey is a great vehicle for the modern family. It has a swift acceleration, agile handling, and an outstanding overall performance. Its interior boasts of its high-quality cabin that is the roomiest in its class. It has a seating capacity of up to 8 passengers and more than 32 cubic feet of cargo space with the second and third row upright. Folding the third row can give you 88.6 cubic feet of cargo space and if you fold the second row seats as well, you can get 144.9 cubic feet of cargo space. The Honda Odyssey’s base trim has three complete sets of LATCH connectors in the second row, but the upper trims have 4 complete sets of LATCH connectors and an upper tether anchor for the third row's middle seat.
2020 Kia Sedona
The Kia Sedona is equipped with a 276-horsepower V6 engine coupled with an eight-speed automatic transmission. It can provide sufficient power and a solid acceleration even when fully loaded to its maximum load capacity. It is one of the best performing minivans. Its interior has supportive seats and a spacious cabin. For securing child safety seats, the Sedona’s second row has two complete sets of LATCH connectors, the third row has one, and the third-row middle seat has an upper tether anchor. You can put 3 car seats across the second row but the middle seat can only be installed with a rear-facing infant seat. Kia Sedona also comes with a standard Slide-N-Stow second-row seat.
2020 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
This hybrid minivan is equipped with a 3.6-liter V6 engine and two electric motors that produce 260 horsepower. It offers a seamless transition from electric power to the gas-powered engine. Its suspension is capable of absorbing most road bumps and uneven pavements. It can go up to 520 miles of driving range on a full tank and a single charge. The Pacifica can only accommodate 7 passengers with its two second-row captain’s chairs and a third-row bench seat. It has four complete sets of LATCH connectors, two for each captain’s chairs and another two for the third-row outboard seats.
2020 Toyota Sienna
The Toyota Sienna is the only minivan available in the US that is offered with an all-wheel drive powertrain. It comes with a standard 3.5-liter V6 engine that produces 296 horsepower and 263 lb-ft of torque. It provides a comfortable ride, an impressive acceleration, and a generous list of safety features. The base trim has a seating capacity of seven that consists of two second-row captain’s chairs and a third-row bench seat. The captain’s chairs are removable and adjustable with sliding features for easy and swift entry and exit from the minivan. The second row seats have two complete sets of LATCH car-seat connections and another two complete sets in the third row. Toyota Sienna also comes standard with the Toyota Safety Sense P suite of driver assistance technology.
Sedans
2020 Toyota Avalon
This Toyota’s flagship sedan is equipped with a 301-horsepower V6 engine coupled with an eight-speed automatic transmission and is only available in a front-wheel drive powertrain. Avalon has always been known as a vehicle with a ride that does not disappoint. It provides a smooth ride, has a nimble handling, quick steering, and is stable around turns. Its fuel economy is one of the best among the large car class. Its interior has a modern look that is trimmed with wood, aluminum, synthetic leather, and soft-touch plastics. It has two full sets of LATCH connectors for the rear outboard seats but you can make use of the middle seat by borrowing the lower anchors from either side. The Avalon is indeed one of the cars that can fit 3 car seats.
2020 Honda Accord Hybrid
The Honda Accord Hybrid is one of the top-ranking vehicles in the hybrid and electric cars class. It provides a smooth ride, a spacious cabin and trunk, and an excellent fuel economy, safety, and reliability ratings. The Accord Hybrid’s interior comes standard with cloth upholstery with optional leather-trimmed seats. The seats are comfortable with generous headroom and legroom in both rows. Three narrow car seats can be fitted on the rear seats with the forward-facing one installed on the outboard seat. It has two full sets of LATCH car-seat connectors and a generous list of standard safety features.
2020 Subaru Legacy
The redesigned 2020 Subaru Legacy is a good car that is offered in two solid powertrain options, a 2.5-liter four-cylinder boxer engine and a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder boxer engine, both in a standard all-wheel drive. The interior of the Legacy has an upscale vibe, a very roomy cabin that can accommodate tall passengers with ease, and a long list of standard driver assistance features. The seats are comfortable and well-supported. There are two full sets of LATCH connectors for the rear outboard seats but you can install a rear-facing car seat in the middle. The Legacy’s standard features include adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and a rearview camera.