Which Cars Fit Three Car Seats?

Parents are often searching for the automotive holy grail: a car that's not a minivan and can fit three child-safety seats across the backseat. It's a short list. In the nearly two years that Cars.com editor Kelsey Mays, Cars.com photographer Ian Merritt and I have been installing car seats into test vehicles, we've come across only a handful of cars that can hold three car seats across a backseat.

We recently tested the 2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class and it fit three car seats in it. To be considered a fit, there must be enough room between the booster seat and infant-safety seat for a child's hand to reach the seat belt buckle.

Chrysler, Dodge, VW Minivans Earn IIHS Top Safety Pick

Chrysler’s pair of near-identical minivans — the 2012 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan — as well as the Chrysler-built but Volkswagen-branded 2012 Routan have been named Top Safety Picks in the minivan category by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The trio join the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna.

To earn the award, a vehicle must earn the top rating of Good in front, side, rear and rollover crash tests. The vehicle also must be equipped with electronic stability control, which is standard on all 2012 vehicles.

The vehicle also must pass the institute’s roof-strength test. To pass, the roof must withstand a force equal to four times the vehicle's weight before it caves in five inches. Ratings for the Town & Country, Grand Caravan and Routan are based on a roof-strength test conducted for the Town & Country alone. The Town & Country can withstand 4.51 times its own weight.

2011 Volkswagen Routan: Car Seat Check

This Car Seat Check was originally published in March 2011 on MotherProof.com.

Volkswagen entered the minivan market in 2008 with the Routan. If it looks familiar, that's because it's related to the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan. The Routan comes with two captain's chairs in the second row and a three-seat bench in the third.

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.

Cars.com's Ultimate Minivan Shootout

A team of five experts — all parents themselves — and a family of five tested six all-new or significantly redesigned minivans in our latest Shootout. They put the Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, Honda Odyssey, Nissan Quest, Toyota Sienna and Volkswagen Routan through their paces on the road, with car seats and kids, to see which one was truly the ultimate minivan.

Find out which van won, what you get for your money and how each performed in our mileage challenge.

Cars.com Ultimate Minivan Shootout

Recall Alert: 2010 Volkswagen Routan

Volkswagen is recalling 12,612 2010 Volkswagen Routans over a problem with the ignition system, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The recalled vehicles could experience inadvertent ignition key displacement from the Run to Accessory positions while driving, causing the engine to shut off. This could increase the risk of a crash.

This recall is related to a similar recall by Chrysler for nearly 250,000 vehicles last week. The Volkswagen Routan is essentially a rebadge of the Dodge Grand Caravan and the Chrysler Town & Country. The recall affects vehicles built between October 2009 and June 2010. You can check your car's build date on a sticker affixed to the driver-side doorjamb.

The recall is expected to being in April. Dealers will replace the faulty modules free of charge. For more info, owners can call Volkswagen at 800-822-8987 or NHTSA’s vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236.

Volkswagen Offers March Lease Deals

Like Honda, Volkswagen doesn’t typically offer big cash-back incentives to move cars off dealer lots; it instead relies on special lease rates. For March, the German automaker is offering attractive leasing and financing incentives on most of its lineup with its “Going, Going, Gone Event.”

Financing incentives include zero-percent financing for 72 months on vehicles like 2010 New Beetle and 2011 Routan minivan.

Newer vehicles like the redesigned 2011 Touareg (including hybrid and TDI diesel variants) also get attractive financing rates.

If you’re looking to get a deal on the fast-selling 2011 Jetta, the automaker is offering a $179 a month lease, though we’ve seen better rates from competitors like the Chevrolet Cruze and Toyota Corolla.

If you’re looking for a used Volkswagen, the company is also offering 1.99% APR financing on its entire certified pre-owned inventory for 48 months or 2.99% financing for 60 months.

The deals below are VW’s national deals. There are some regional and dealership incentives that might be more advantageous for people who are looking to finance or pay with cash rather than lease.

Most of the deals highlighted below expire at the end of March.

Recall Alert: 2009 Volkswagen Routan

Volkswagen has issued a recall for 15,902 Routan vehicles from the 2009 model year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The recall affects vehicles built between June 2008 and July 2009, which may have an improperly routed wire harness that allows the lower sliding door hinge bracket to make contact and wear through the wire insulation. This contact with a 12-volt power feed circuit could cause a short circuit within the latch mechanism of the sliding door. This could lead to a fire within the rear sliding door if the latch overheats.

Volkswagen will inspect the sliding door wire track assembly and power drive unit and repair or replace components if needed. The service will be performed for free. For more information, owners may call Volkswagen at 800-822-8987 or NHTSA’s hot line at 888-327-4236

Volkswagen 0% Financing on New Golf, Others

Volkswagen is offering zero-percent financing for up to 60 months on the redesigned 2010 Golf; however, this excludes the diesel-powered TDI. It’s offering the same financing deal on the CC sedan and Routan.

The 2010 Eos and New Beetle convertibles have zero-percent financing deals for 36 months, while the Jetta, Passat, Passat wagon, New Beetle, GTI, Tiguan and Touareg all get the still-not-too-shabby deal of 1.9% financing for 60 months.

Check out Cars.com’s incentives page for more details.

VW Routan to Return Via Oprah

One of the first big scoops I ever landed as an automotive blogger was the story that Oprah was giving away free cars to her audience. My wife just happened to walk by Harpo Studios, which is near her office in Chicago, and filled me in that there were hundreds of cars with bows on them. The giveaway was one of the biggest model-specific promotions ever, and the Pontiac G6 seemingly had Oprah’s stamp of approval.

The same is happening again, except the vehicle being given away is a VW Routan minivan, and there will only be two lucky winners, not 276.

The Routan has been a failure for VW since its launch last year, and many thought production wouldn’t resume at the Chrysler plant where it’s made alongside the Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans.

The company hopes Oprah’s stamp of approval will bring some of that Pontiac G6 frenzy to the Routan.

REPORT: VW banking on Oprah giveaway to raise awareness of slow-selling Routan minivans (Autoblog)

2009|Volkswagen|Routan

2009 Volkswagen Routan Video

You probably know the Routan best from the Brooke Shields’ commercials that cheekily suggest women are getting pregnant just to get a Routan. Cars.com’s Joe Wiesenfelder is fine with the ads, right up until Shields starts talking about “German engineering.” To find out why this irks Wiesenfelder — not to mention if Volkswagen’s first foray into the minivan segment is a winner — check out his video review.

2009|Volkswagen|Routan