2014 Honda Odyssey: Car Seat Check
As Cars.com’s 2013 Family Car of the Year award winner, Honda’s minivan had better deliver in the car-seat department. It sure did in our Car Seat Check. For 2014, the Odyssey gets a light refresh and some pretty exciting equipment — the HondaVac in-van vacuum cleaner joins the topline trim.
Plenty of convenience features, loads of room and excellent Latch anchors continue to make the Odyssey one of the most family-friendly vehicles on the market; a third row with two sets of Latch anchors and a second row that fits three car seats are added bonuses.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Three
How many car seats fit in the third row? Two
What We Like
- The Latch anchors were a breeze to use. There are two sets in the third row and three in the second row. All of the anchors are exposed.
- Getting to the third row is no problem thanks to seats that tumble out of the way with ease and a low step-in height.
- In the second row, both the rear-facing infant and convertible seats installed easily and had plenty of room. There was no need to move the front passenger seat forward to accommodate them.
- After removing the head restraint in the second and third rows, the forward-facing convertible was easy to install and had enough room.
What We Don’t
- Although there’s plenty of space for the booster in the second and third rows, both rows have floppy buckles, which will make it hard for kids to buckle up independently.
- It was also easy for the buckles to slide under the booster in 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.
Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat.
