Here's a nice feature which isn't common in cars the size of the Kizashi: A center-mounted top-strap anchor for a child seat. However, Suzuki acknowledges in the Kizashi's owner's manual that there are only enough lower LATCH anchors to accommodate two seats -- one on either side.
As you can see, there are a total of four lower anchor points -- two for each each side. And each one has a corresponding top-strap anchor.
So what's the center-mounted top-strap anchor for?
Suzuki is yet to return our phone calls on this, but here's what we know for sure: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 -- the federal standard for child restraint systems -- mandates that lower LATCH anchors are to be positioned 280mm (about 11 inches) apart. And that's exactly the width of the Kizashi's anchors when measured individually (left or right side, not middle).
However, the distance between the "inner" anchors of each side of the Kizashi's lower anchors is about 406mm (16 inches).
Here's where things get sticky. As a parent, I prefer the mounting in the middle position (and I'm not the only one), which provides a space cushion on either side of the child seat. And it appears -- because of the center top-strap anchor -- that Suzuki endorses this mounting location despite the fact that it requires use of the wider lower LATCH anchors.
What's more, the child seat, which has flexibly mounted latches, secures in the 406mm location just as solidly as it does in the 280mm LATCH anchors. This easily meets the 1-inch side-to-side and fore/aft movement standard recognized by both authorities on the subject and parents with even a mild grasp of physics.
Certainly LATCH anchor spacing was standardized for a reason. Still, when the alternative is to commit to one side or the other, or install in the center position with a belt (which I've never found secure), I'd argue that the space cushion is worth it.
Josh Jacquot, Senior editor
mrb5091 says:
05:19 AM, 01/19/11
I think the issue is that for the middle latch hook to be the proper distance apart, the middle seat would become so small as to be useless. So it's a trade-off where they felt that more people would care about space for a fifth passenger than they would for car seat placement. I'll bet that this is commonplace for cars with three rear seats.
leescott says:
05:19 AM, 01/19/11
This is very common on many vehicles and I would contend that if the car seat fits in the space in the middle, and you can properly secure the seat with the inboard lower latch points, then the seat will be just as safe and secure (if not more so) than it would be in the outboard seating positions.
I too kept my daughter in the middle position up until the time she started kindergarten, at which time it was required to have her in the passenger outboard position because of the the drop-off circle at her school.
Also keep in mind that, as the child gets older and moves past the weight limitations of the lower latches, they can still utilize the upper latch (in any of the positions) point for booster seats that have an upper latch tether (Recaro does).
mrb5091 says:
05:27 AM, 01/19/11
Recaro makes child/booster seats? Do they have tons of sidebolstering to keep your little one in place around the bends?
I'm making jokes, but that's actually pretty cool.
thehankhill says:
06:02 AM, 01/19/11
@mrb5091
http://www.recarochildseat.com/home.jsp
shaddai says:
09:21 AM, 01/19/11
http://www.car-safety.org/latch.html
Top = tether
bottom = latch
Use what you can, both if possible.
I dislike cars that only have the LATCH on the side seats... seems like a foolish omission.
jstandefer says:
09:54 AM, 01/19/11
"Here's a nice feature which isn't common in cars the size of the Kizashi: A center-mounted top-strap anchor for a child seat."
Not to pour mud into the Kizashi kool-aid, but how true is the above statement from the blog post? The Accord, Malibu, Mazda6, Altima, Camry, Fusion, and Sonata all have this safety feature. It's even common on smaller cars like the Focus, Mazda3, Corolla, Fiesta, Yaris, etc. In fact, it was a common feature when I was selling cars 11 years ago. And why is that? Federal regulations adopted in 1999 required the installation of two pairs of lower anchor points and three top tether anchorages. Hooray for Suzuki for following federal regulations!
newt77 says:
11:05 AM, 01/19/11
My recent memory is that the max distance for the LATCH anchors is also seat specific. Some seats are OK with wider spacing between the anchors than the official standard. Plus you can always use the tether with the center seat belt instead of the LATCH anchors.
marcvill says:
11:35 AM, 01/19/11
@leescott - As a Child Passenger Safety Technician (yes we exist), we would not recommend you using the inner latches if the car manufacturer tells you not to. If you were ever in an accident the latches or belt could fail because they were not design to handle loads from the wide angle created by the latch belts. The seat might have issues to if not installed correctly also.
Manufactures have to have three tethers across the top and at least two sets of latches on the bottom, part of the LATCH rules. For a forward facing seat, the middle top tether can be used in conjunction with the seat beats to get a better fit in the middle if needed. The top tether and bottom anchors are ALWAYS used together. No exception.
Rear facing seats are a little fuzzy. You only use the lower anchors or seats beat routed correctly through the seat in order to be installed. But...there is a method in used in Europe where they actually use the top tether strap to install the seats. Those parents with Britax seats probably wonder why the top tether strap is so long. Now you know. This method is not recommended in the US.
@jstandefer The LATCH regulations were mandated for all vehicles beginning for model year 2004.
Some manufacturers adopted earlier than others.
@josh The way we are trained is to see if we can put a car seat in the middle first, then the outboard seats. As you can see it doesn't always work out the way you want. Cars are all different. You want to be in the middle? Use the seat beat and the upper tether. Seat belts are just as good as the tether straps. They hold you in, don't they?
Marc Villanova CPS#64198
jjacquot says:
02:00 PM, 01/19/11
Thanks, Marc.
Perhaps I've never done it correctly, but with a life at stake and many, many tries under my belt, I'm still not comfortable with the center position installation using the belt.
Also, the degree to which seatbelts hold adults in during a multiple-impact accident is what I'd call barely adequate. If I can have a higher level of safety for my child, I'd certainly prefer it.
Perhaps you can provide some middle-position installation tips using a seat belt?
Thanks,
Josh
legacygt says:
12:39 PM, 01/20/11
I have read that seatbelts actually are safer than latch anchors when properly installed. Latch was initiated because it was found that seats were so often installed improperly with seatbelts. I've found that I can get as tight a fit with the seatbelt as with Latch and, depending on the seat and the car, it's sometimes easier too. I don't know what the Kizashi's rear bench is like but my biggest problem with the center position in some cars isn't the lack of Latch so much as contour of the bench with often includes a hump in the center position.