How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2023 Toyota Prius Prime?
The verdict: Toyota redesigned its Prius hybrid and Prius Prime plug-in hybrid cars for 2023 with stylish new looks as well as bumps in both fuel economy and all-electric range. For this Car Seat Check, we tested the Prius Prime, and it scored well thanks to easy-access lower anchors. The Prius Prime has slightly more legroom than the regular Prius; see the models compared.
Does it fit three car seats? No.
Take a look at how the Latch system and each car seat scored below in our Car Seat Check of the 2023 Toyota Prius Prime.
Related: Search Car Seat Checks
A Grade
- Latch: The Prius Prime has two sets of lower anchors under flip-off covers; they’re easy to find and use. Three top tether anchors sit halfway down the seatback; they’re clearly marked, but the anchors themselves are buried under carpet.
- Booster: After removing the head restraint so we could situate the booster flush against the seatback, it fit well. The Prius Prime’s stable buckles should be easy for kids to grasp and use independently.
B Grade
- Infant: Connecting to the lower anchors was easy. We moved the front passenger seat up a bit; our 5-foot-6-inch front passenger had OK legroom, but taller passengers will need more legroom to be comfortable.
- Rear-facing convertible: As with the infant seat, the rear-facing convertible was easy to install and fit well. Taller passengers will need more room to be comfortable in front of it, however.
- Forward-facing convertible: After removing the head restraint, the convertible fit well in forward mode. While it was easy to connect to the lower anchors, we needed to dig around a bit in the seatback carpet to connect to the top tether anchor.
C Grade
- None
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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