2013 Volvo S60: Car Seat Check
Although it's on the compact side, Volvo's five-passenger sedan can easily carry a small family in comfort and style. The S60 has a high-quality interior and easy-to-access lower Latch anchors and top tether brackets.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat.
The front seats are adjusted to a comfortable position 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 seat and convertible seats are installed behind the passenger seat. We also install the infant seat in the second row's middle seat with the booster and convertible in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible.
Here's how the Volvo S60 did in Cars.com's Car Seat Check:
Latch system: There are two sets of Latch anchors in the outboard seats. Because the seat cushions easily part and the anchors aren't inset too deeply in the seat bight, using them was easy.
Booster seat: The backseat is slightly bolstered, which worked to our advantage with the booster seat. It had enough room and was held snuggly in place by the bolstered seat. The buckles are on stable bases and easy to reach.
Convertible seat: The forward-facing seat had plenty of room, and installation was easy, thanks to accessible tether anchors; there are three of them under flip-up covers on the rear shelf. In the rear-facing position, the car seat needed a bit more room, so we had to move the front passenger seat up about an inch.
Infant-safety seat: The front passenger seat had to be moved up a bit more to accommodate this rear-facing seat. Taller front passengers will need more legroom to be comfortable.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
Editor's note: For three car seats — infant-safety seat, convertible and booster seats — to fit in a car, our criterion is that a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat.
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I find this fascinating. The First Years Compass booster seat with a 60 pound child in it is NOT easy to use, in fact, it is absolutely horrible to use, so much so that I contacted Volvo and The First Years, neither of which were helpful. I think a safety report is next on my list of to dos.
We regularly take our minivan because getting the kids in and out of the s60 (2013) with the boosters is so stupid. Usually we end up with one child crying and one parent getting ticked off.
The base of the booster hits the seat belt catch, meaning you have to pull the seat up with one hand, while trying not to lean in your child, and twisting the seat belt so it can go in backwards because the seat belt insert is curved, preventing it from going in properly at all.
It is really crazy and unsafe for sure. I love my s60, but this is the number one FAIL and I'll sadly have to live with it for another 3-4 years until my kids outgrow booster seats.
The reviewer should rewrite this and put a 60 pound child in the booster and see how well it works... Things get quite different when you are leaning in on one leg, trying not to squish your kid, and lift the booster up at the same time to gain access to the catch.
Paul- You don't need to live with it for four years. I have a Britax booster that stays buckled in all the time, you only use the harness on the front of the seat to take your child in and out. My five year old can buckle himself. Very easy.
Among a laundry list of dismal failures I've had with my '12 S60. Including sudden loss of power that started a recall & still happens my to Volvo's dismay. Our Snug Ride 35 is just another fail to add to this cars long list of fails in my family. I should also mention this is the second car from Volvo. The 1st one was taken back. This is one Volvo I don't feel safe in.
Keeping to the subject at hand, I've already posted the short list of my S60's demons.
We have replaced the SR35 "Baby Bucket" with a Recaro ProRide in RF poss. Though the front pass seat does go from useless (SR35) to possibly an option for a small framed person (Recaro).
A big issue is the sexy roof line offers limited view to start with. The Recaro is a beefy seat like the Britax or most other top rated seats a Volvo driver would most like gravitate too. Leaving a small area in which to "insert baby thru". Even more concerning is that it leaves maybe 15% of right rear door glass visible. This creates a massive blind spot that our baby is directly in the center of! LATCH are for outboard seating poss only. The center poss w/SB used sits a little higher & renders the rear view mirror sight line to null.
Although I do have a number of reasons that this car is the last of several Vo's. To be fair other mfrs are doing similar rooflines which would also pose the same issues as they are inherent to the design ie VW CC, MB CLS, Buick Regal ect. Great styling but not for families with children needing additional safety seats. Go figure! Volvo's "boxy but good", not boxy no good.
In my experience the S60 is a terrible car with many faults already pointed out in the comments.
I have a 2012 Volvo s60 T5 and have a 2 year old / 4 year old. 2 graco nautilus car seats fit well in the back, along with a basket in between to hold toys. Very comfortable car for this family of 4, no complaints so far. No trouble getting the kids in and out (esp since they can mostly do it themselves). We drive this car 90% of the time when we're all driving together. When we need more cargo space, we take our compact SUV.