2015 Nissan Altima: Car Seat Check
There’s no doubt many families consider Nissan’s popular midsize sedan when shopping for a car. After a full redesign for 2013, not much about the Altima has changed for the 2015 model year aside from some technology and convenience feature upgrades. Parents will find that the sedan’s wide, flat backseat comfortably accommodates two child-safety seats, but crowded buckles and Latch anchors made installation less than easy.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
What We Like
- The booster fit well thanks to the wide, flat seat cushion. The buckles are on floppy straps, but they aren’t too long so children should be able to grasp them easily.
- There was plenty of room for both the rear-facing convertible and infant seats; we did not have to move the front passenger seat forward to accommodate them.
- The forward-facing convertible fit well; the sedan’s fixed head restraints did not interfere with fit or installation. The tether anchors were easy to access on the rear shelf.
What We Don’t
- There are two sets of lower anchors in the outboard seats and connecting to the inner anchors is difficult because the seat belts and buckles block access. The anchors also sit flush against seat cushion, making them even more difficult to reach. This problem made it tough to install both the infant and convertible car seats.
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 Newman and Matt Schmitz are certified child safety seat installation technicians. Editor Jennifer Geiger is working on renewing her certification.
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
