Pathfinder Named a Cars.com Best Car for Car Seats

You get plenty of things to prepare for a new baby: a crib, changing table, baby toys, and countless other things.  One thing as important as any of these is the child car seat.  All such seats are designed to be secured in the back seat of any vehicle, but some vehicles are more accommodating than others. Cars.com tests this very thing on a variety of vehicles, and they just named the 2024 Nissan Pathfinder was one of just six vehicles named to the Cars.com 2024 Best Cars for Car Seats list.  Dick Smith Nissan of Lexington gives you the whole story.

How easily and securely a car seat can be installed can significantly affect your vehicle ownership experience during this life stage. This is particularly so if the seat frequently needs to be moved from one vehicle to another, as is often the case with two-vehicle households.

Before bestowing this accolade on the Pathfinder, Cars.com’s pair of certified child passenger safety technicians evaluated 52 vehicles over the past 12 months. Because, like baby clothes, there are different child seats for different child stages, the team installed infant, convertible, and high-back booster seats into each vehicle to test their LATCH systems and how well the vehicles accommodated the different car seats. To achieve an “A” rating, the LATCH system must be convenient to access and easy to use, and the vehicle should provide sufficient room for the child and car seat without impacting front-seat legroom.

The Pathfinder benefits from its spacious cabin, which allows plenty of room for a front passenger when a child seat is directly behind.  If the child seat occupant is far from the first baby in the family, the Pathfinder includes three rows of seats with standard seating for eight or seven if one opts for the available second-row captain’s chairs. A particularly helpful feature in the Pathfinder is the EZ FLEX® second-row seats, which conveniently tip forward to provide access to the third row, while thanks to the LATCH AND GLIDE™ technology, allows them to tip and slide even while a child safety seat is installed.

“The Nissan Pathfinder passed Cars.com’s car seat testing with flying colors,” said Jennifer Geiger, Cars.com news editor and certified child passenger safety technician. “The car seat installation process is quick and convenient, and front-seat occupants will have plenty of legroom even with rear-facing seats installed behind them.” 

Beyond having their baby in a securely installed child seat, new parents will want their vehicle to be as well-equipped and designed for safety as well.  Fortunately,  every new Pathfinder provides the added confidence of standard Nissan Safety Shield® 360, a suite of safety and driving assist technologies that include:

• Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection
• Blind Spot Warning
• Rear Cross Traffic Alert
• Lane Departure Warning
• High Beam Assist
• Rear Automatic Braking.

In addition, the 2024 Nissan Pathfinder was awarded the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) 2024 TOP SAFETY PICK+ designation for vehicles built after November 2023, which is their highest rating. It also scored a 5-Star Overall Rating from the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), its highest rating.

The Nissan Pathfinder has the accommodations for a new family and the space for a growing one. If those situations apply to you, or you just want a great SUV, shop the Pathfinder at Dick Smith Nissan of Lexington.