How Well Do Car Seats for Kids Fit into the new Kia Carnival MPV

The Kia Sedona, Kia Motors’ only minivan, is getting replaced in the 2022 model year with the all-new Kia Carnival MPV . That stands for “Multi-purpose Vehicle”, and although the Carnival MPV may be a new take on the Kia Sedona with a new name, it’s been completely reimagined for a new kind of family car. Like the Kia K5, the rebadged and redesigned Kia Optima, the Kia Carnival boosts its “purposefulness” with more convenient and safety features. Making the cabin more roomy and family-friendly, any growing families with newborns or young ones must be wondering about installing car seats. A little list was put together by Cars.com, and we wanted to share some of the most important information.

Perfect Fits

Unless opting in for the second-row lounge seats available on some 2022 Kia Carnival MPV trims, consumers can fit up to three car seats for situating young ones in the second and third-row. As with most vehicles these days, the LATCH child seat restraint system is standard, and the Carnival MPV comes with three sets. The anchors are all easy to find and connect with plenty of clearance around the child or infant. LATCH was designed with child seat safety and stability in mind, so of course it’s one of our perfect fits.

Depending on the child, convertible seats may be going into the cabin instead. Some are designed to be rear facing whereas others are forward facing . The reason for this is the fragility of infants and toddlers and physics. If the car were to come to a quick stop, inertia keeps everything going forward. The seatbelt may stop their bodies, but what about their organs? They are travelling at the same speed and come to a quick stop against their breast and rib cages. Having the child face the rear keeps their bodies and organs always against the back of the seat to avoid the above risk. Regardless, attaching either is a breeze with the latch and tether connections – a taller child may need to have the head restraint removed for the forward-facing convertible car seat, and rear-facing may have an issue with available rear entertainment system’s screens on the back of the front seats.

Infant seats are the easiest to install and leave lots of legroom for the driver and front passenger, so no need to really go into detail about these. Toddlers tend to get booster seats , the last of our perfect fit list. All the parent needs to do is configure the head restraint. Independent children should be able to reach for the buckles and secure themselves, but it doesn’t hurt to check. Like they do on airplanes – the inside of a car isn’t called the cabin for nothing.

Need Some Adjustments

Parents will often prefer to put their child in the third row. If a forward or side collision, the child may be safer. If rear-ended, the same may not be said unless a small fender-bender thanks to crumple zones. If looking to secure a child in the third row or have more than two kids and one needs a car seat, there are car seats made for the third row. However, third-row access can be limiting when a car seat is installed, not allowing the second-row seats to slide and collapse forward, but that’s a given. The latch systems in the third row are still a perfect fit, but consumers may need to dig around a bit for the buckles and anchors to connect. The middle seat is also no longer valid if a car seat has been installed on either side of the third row.

For a booster seat in the third row , it’s not very convenient. Kids will need to be buckled in, and for some reason the middle spot’s buckle strap comes from the ceiling? That’s going to be bad for visibility, and honestly, we expect better from Kia Motors. Might want to keep boosters in the second-row so older siblings can check in on younger siblings in the back. There is also the option to install a forward-facing convertible in the third row , but that’s a problem all on its own.

Now we have a good list of what works when installing car seats into the new 2022 Kia Carnival MPV . You can find yours today at Miami Lakes Automall Kia.

Photo Source/Copyright: Kia

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