How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2018 Hyundai Accent?

CARS.COM — For 2018, Hyundai updated its smallest car, the Accent, with more standard features like a 5-inch touchscreen multimedia system, Bluetooth capability, a rearview camera, and steering-wheel-mounted audio and cruise controls. The Accent, however, remains tiny; caregivers with kids in rear-facing car seats will struggle to fit them into the sedan’s space-challenged backseat.

How many car seats fit in the second row? Two

Related: More Car Seat Checks

Solid

• Latch, grade A: Two sets of lower anchors sit about a quarter-inch into the seat bight, where the back and bottom cushions meet. They are easy to access and use. Three top tethers sit on the rear shelf and are also clearly marked for easy connection.
• Forward-facing convertible, grade A: This seat was easy to install and fit well after we removed the head restraint.
• Booster, grade A: After raising the head restraint, this seat fit well. Stable buckles should make it easier for kids to buckle up independently.

So-So

• Rear-facing convertible, grade C: This seat was easy to install, but we had to move the front passenger seat up significantly for our 5-foot 6-inch passenger; she needed more legroom to be comfortable.

Skip It

• Infant seat, grade D: The seat was easy to install, but we had to move the front passenger seat as far up as it would go and move the seat to a more upright angle. Our 5-foot-6-inch passenger’s knees were jammed against the glove box.

Grading Scale

Solid indicates an A grade for optimum ease of use and fit. So-So indicates B or C grades for one to two ease-of-use or fit issues. Skip It indicates D or F grades.

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: One room, fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing third row when available.

C: Marginal room plus one fit or connection issue. Difficult to access third row when available.

D: Insufficient room, plus multiple fit or connection issues.

F: Does not fit or is unsafe.

About Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks

Editors Jennifer Geiger, Jennifer Newman and Matt Schmitz 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 shorter 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. Learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks.

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.

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