The Dodge Durango is one of the more aggressive competitors in the mid-sized, 3-row SUV market in the United States. Parents interested in a vehicle with room for 7 passengers in the mid-sized crossover market frequently compare it with alternatives like the the Honda Pilot, Ford Explorer, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-9, Ford Flex, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Highlander, and its stablemate the Dodge Journey, even though it’s considerably larger than the Journey.
The Durango bears many similarities to the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and is essentially a 3rd-row version of the JGC. Given how well the JGC does with car seats, I wanted to figure out how good of a vehicle the Durango was when it came to fitting 3 car seats across the 2nd row seats (as well as a few more in the 3rd row). Before getting into what I found, however, here are some basics in car seat safety.
For me, car seat safety starts with rear-facing. From the day your baby leaves the hospital until at least the preschool years, rear-facing is the safest position we know of for car seat usage in a vehicle. I suggest rear-facing ideally until 4, before forward-facing your kids in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once they outgrow their harnessed seats, it’s best to keep them restrained in high-back boosters until they’re physically and psychologically ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). These suggestions may take a bit of extra work, but they provide a lot of extra safety.
My results of car seat puzzling in the Durango are below. It’s not a complete list, but as with all of my 3 across guides, it’s my goal to make it the most complete on the Internet over time, especially as I get access to more seats. If you find the list helpful when shopping for car seats, you can shop through my Amazon link below. I’ll add more seats as I test them over time.
You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. The Canadian car seat guide is here. 3 across car seat images are courtesy of Wikipedia.
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Dodge Durango
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).
Graco Contender (x3).
Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65, Diono Radian / RXT.
Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65 (x2).
Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT (x2).
Graco TurboBooster, Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT.
Graco TurboBooster, Diono Radian / RXT (x2).
Tips and Tricks:
The current generation of the Dodge Durango is 200 inches long and 76 inches wide, which means you’ll have a lot of flexibility when it comes to fitting seats across that 2nd row. The 3rd row will be a bit more tricky since Dodge still tried to leave room for some space behind the row while not compromising 2nd row space. However, you’ll have a much easier time overall in this vehicle than you will with most others on the road in terms of LATCH installations, although I still recommend using your seat belts for maximum space.
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If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.