How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2021 Chevrolet Suburban?

The verdict: Chevrolet redesigned its full-size Tahoe and Suburban SUVs for 2021 with an emphasis on interior quality, and the High Country edition of the Suburban we tested for this car seat check hit the mark. The Suburban is the longer-wheelbase version of the pair, and the example we tested had second-row captain’s chairs plus a bench seat in the third row with room for three. 

Does it fit three car seats? No. We tested a model with second-row captain’s chairs. Versions with a second-row bench seat may be able to accommodate three car seats across. 

Related: Search Car Seat Checks

A Grade

• Latch: The two sets of lower Latch anchors in the second row captain’s chairs are exposed for easy access and connection. The top tether anchors on the seatbacks are also clearly marked and easy to find and use. 
• Infant seat: This seat was easy to install, and a 5-foot 6-inch front passenger had ample legroom with our seat installed behind them in the second row. 
• Rear-facing convertible: Again, this seat was easy to install and legroom ahead of it was not an issue. 
• Forward-facing convertible: The second row’s fixed head restraint didn’t prevent our convertible from sitting flush against the seatback, and installing it was easy. Raising the back of the convertible to make it taller might change this, however. 
• Third-row access: The second-row seats move out of the way with ease, providing a large opening to the third row; the center pass-through between the captain’s chairs is also quite large. The running boards make the tall step-in height more manageable. 
• Third-row forward-facing convertible: There are no lower anchors in the third row, so we installed the convertible seat with the seatbelt, which was problem-free. Again, the fixed head restraint didn’t interfere with seat fitment. Three top tether anchors sit halfway down the third-row seatback, and they’re easy to see and use. 
• Third row booster: The third row’s stable buckles should make it easy for kids to buckle up independently. The third row’s fixed head restraints are small, so they don’t impact how the booster sits against the seatback. The middle position’s buckle strap comes down from the ceiling, which blocks the driver’s view unless they have the Suburban’s available camera-based rearview mirror; this spot should be avoided otherwise.

B Grade 

• None

C Grade 

• Booster: The second row’s fixed head restraints prevent the booster from sitting flush against the seatback. Also, the second row’s floppy buckles could make it tough for kids to buckle up independently. 

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

C: Marginal room plus one fit or connection issue. Difficult to access the 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 and Jennifer Newman are certified child safety seat installation technicians.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Chicco KeyFit 30 infant-safety seat, a Graco Contender 65 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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