2015 Chevrolet Suburban: Car Seat Check
The Chevrolet Suburban gets a more aggressive look for the 2015 model year. This family hauler has three rows of seats and can seat up to nine people when equipped with a three-seat bench in both the first and second rows. For our test, we had a Suburban LTZ that could seat seven, thanks to second-row captain’s chairs and standard bucket seats in the front row.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
How many car seats fit in the third row? Two
What We Like
- The Suburban’s third row has three tether anchors, which are midway down the seatbacks. This allows parents to install a forward-facing convertible or combination car seat back there, freeing up the second row for younger kids in car seats.
- The rear-facing convertible seat fit well in the second row. There was no need to move the front passenger seat forward to fit it.
- The forward-facing convertible fit well in the second and third rows. In the third row, we used the seat belt to install the car seat.
- The Suburban made easy work of the booster seat in both the second and third rows. In the second row, the seat belt buckle is nestled in a seat cushion cutout. Although it’s floppy, it was easy to grab and the booster seat didn’t obstruct access.
- Optional power retractable running boards (regular running boards are standard) and captain’s chairs made accessing the third row easy.
What We Don’t
- This three-row SUV has only two sets of lower Latch anchors, located in the captain’s chairs. This isn’t unusual, but we’ll keep griping about it until more automakers include Latch anchors in the third row. We won’t, however, lower the Suburban’s Latch grade because of it. The back cushions intrude on Latch access, but reclining the seatbacks open up the seat bight for easier connection.
- We were surprised that we had to move the front passenger seat forward to fit the rear-facing infant-safety seat behind it.
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
