Car Features Parents Actually Use

The quickest test of a car for a family is to bring your own car seat to the dealership and install it. Ten minutes in the back seat will tell you more than the brochure, and what you should be checking changes as children get older. The lists below follow those stages. Overall size and the SUV or minivan question belong in a separate article, and for crash protection, look up the model's ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA before you test-drive anything.

Infants and toddlers

Lower LATCH anchors that are easy to find and reach, not buried deep in the seat cushions
Top tether anchors in every seating position you plan to use for a forward-facing seat
Enough room for a rear-facing seat behind the driver and front passenger at their normal seat positions
Wide-opening rear doors and a seat height that suits lifting a child in and out
A rear-seat reminder that prompts the driver to check the back seat when switching the car off

LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) lets a car seat clip to anchors built into the vehicle instead of using the seat belt. The anchors work well when they are easy to reach, and much less well when they sit deep in a stiff cushion, which is something you only discover by trying. Note that lower anchors have a weight limit: under the federal rule, once the child plus the seat weigh more than 65 pounds combined, or less if the seat or vehicle manual says so, you switch to a seat belt installation. Many center seats have no dedicated lower anchors at all, so read the vehicle manual before planning to put a seat there. The top tether, a strap from the top of a forward-facing seat to an anchor behind it, reduces how far a child's head moves forward in a crash, so use it every time the seat faces forward. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises keeping children rear-facing as long as possible, until they reach the seat's rear-facing height or weight limit, and rear-facing seats take a lot of front-to-back room. A front passenger who has to slide forward until their knees touch the dashboard is a sign the car is too tight for this stage. After you buy, a certified child passenger safety technician can check your installation; NHTSA's website lists inspection locations, many offering the check at no charge.

Several car seats, or several kids

Room for three car seats or boosters across one row, if you need it, with every buckle still reachable
A way into the third row without removing an installed car seat, such as captain's chairs or a second-row seat that tilts and slides with a seat in place
Top tether anchors in the third row, not just the second
Sliding doors, or rear doors that open wide in a tight parking space

Three-across is where cars differ most, and the answer depends on the specific seats you own as much as the vehicle. Bring all three if you can. Watch for buckles that disappear under a neighboring seat, because an older child in a booster needs to buckle up without help. In three-row vehicles, check how many third-row positions actually have tether anchors; it is often fewer than the number of seats. Sliding doors are the underrated feature at this stage: children can climb in and out in a narrow parking spot without swinging a door into the next car, and some models let the driver open and close them with a button.

Teenagers learning to drive

A teen driver mode that can be tied to a specific key or driver profile
Speed limiting or speed alerts, and an audio volume limit
A driving report card, available on some brands
A seat belt reminder that mutes the audio until belts are fastened

Several manufacturers build these settings in. Ford's MyKey lets a parent program a key that can cap the top speed, limit audio volume and keep the belt reminder sounding. General Motors' Teen Driver system adds a report card showing distance driven, top speed, and how often features such as forward collision alerts or stability control stepped in. Other brands offer similar tools under their own names, and the details vary by model year, so ask the dealer to demonstrate the setup rather than taking a spec sheet's word for it. Set it up before the first solo drive, and go over the report card together after the first few weeks; a teen who knows what is being recorded tends to treat it as part of the deal rather than as surveillance.