2014 BMW 328d Wagon: Car Seat Check
When BMW’s compact wagon showed up in our test car fleet, several parents on staff got excited — very excited. The pricey 328 didn’t quite live up to their expectations, however. For our Car Seat Check, we tested the 328 in diesel trim and were pleased with its accessible Latch anchors but not impressed by the amount of room the wagon offered for our rear-facing infant seat.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
What We Like
- We love BMW’s Latch setup. There are two sets of anchors under hinged plastic covers. They are among the easiest to use.
- The convertible in forward- and rear-facing modes was easy to install and had plenty of room. We did not need to move the front passenger seat up to accommodate the convertible in the rear-facing position.
What We Don’t
- The wide, lightly bolstered seat cushion was a good fit for our booster, but the seat belt buckle sits too low in the seat cushion and sinks down when buckling, making it tough for kids to grasp and use.
- We had to move the front passenger seat significantly forward and adjust the seatback to an uncomfortable angle to accommodate the infant seat.
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 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
