The Volvo XC70 is one of the last few large wagons sold in the United States, and one of the safest ever made. Soon to be replaced by the V90, it has few competitors in the US market; only vehicles like the Subaru Outback, Volkswagen Jetta wagon, Audi A4 wagon, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon readily come to mind. While not as popular as the Outback, it still holds its own in many wintry parts of the US. Its sedan counterpart is the S80 (and was the S60 in the past), while its smaller Volvo wagon counterpart is the V60.
Like the S80, a range of top notch safety features and crash scores are present in the XC70, including side airbags, ESC, and frontal crash protection in the latest models. As a result, it’s no surprise that a number of safety-conscious families look to the XC70 to keep their families protected while on the road. As a result, I took the time to check out the XC70 to see just how car-seat friendly it is for interested families.
Before looking at which car seats did and didn’t fit in the XC70 in 3 across setups, it’s worth reviewing a bit of car safety, in terms of which kinds of seats to use and when.
For me, the most basic and essential part of car seat safety involves rear-facing. It’s the safest position we know of, and the longer our kids rear-face, the safer they’ll be, regardless of what kind of vehicle they travel in. I recommend keeping children in rear-facing infant or convertible seats as long as possible (ideally until 4!), then keeping them harnessed in forward-facing seats for several years more (ideally until 8!), and then only switching them out of booster seats when they pass the 5 step test (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep kids in the safest kinds of seats for as long as possible to increase their odds of surviving serious car crashes.
With that all in mind, I got to work with my seats to create what I believe to be the most detailed 3 across guide for the Volvo XC70 on the Internet. 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 taken by yours truly or are courtesy of Wikipedia.
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Volvo XC70 (2nd gen)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Diono Radian RXT (x3).
Diono Radian R120 (x3).
Diono Radian R100 (x3).
Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).
Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).
Graco Head Wise 65 (x3).
Graco Fit4Me 65 (x3).
Graco Contender (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30.
Tips and Tricks:
The second (and final) generation XC70 is more than 190 inches long and close to 74 inches wide, making it a rather friendly car for 3 across installations, especially when seat belt restraints are used instead of LATCH lower anchors. You can definitely use LATCH instead of seat belts in the XC70, or in any other vehicle that supplies them, but you won’t use space nearly as efficiently in the back row. And remember that seat belts are as safe as LATCH, and in some cases, safer, depending on the weight limits of your car seats.
2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Volvo XC70 (1st gen)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Diono Radian RXT (x3).
Diono Radian R120 (x3).
Diono Radian R100 (x3).
Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Tips and Tricks:
The first generation XC70 is more than 186 inches long and just over 73 inches wide, or about 4 inches shorter and 1 inch narrower than the second generation. It’s a decent car for 3 across installations, especially when seat belt restraints are used instead of LATCH lower anchors. You can definitely use LATCH instead of seat belts in the XC70, or in any other vehicle that supplies them, but you won’t use space nearly as efficiently in the back row. And remember that seat belts are as safe as LATCH, and in some cases, safer, depending on the weight limits of your car seats.
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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.