The Volvo S60 (known as the V60 in its hatchback version) is a mid-sized luxury car designed to compete with vehicles like the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class, Audi A4, and at times its own stablemate, the Volvo S80. It’s stylish, safe, seats up to 5, and is frequently chosen by families interested in luxury while having access to Volvo’s reputation for safety. Features like ESC, rollover-sensing airbags, and good front, side, and roof crash test scores are present. It’s a well-designed luxury vehicle and I made it my goal to figure out which car seats were most likely to fit 3 across in a Volvo S60. Here’s what I found!

Before going into the details, however, remember that whichever seats you choose, you’ll want to keep infants and very young children rear-facing as long as possible (ideally until 4!), before forward-facing them in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 6, 7, or 8!), and then keeping them in high-back boosters until they’re ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep your little ones safely restrained to give them the best odds of surviving a crash, and these recommendations are designed with survival in mind.

With those guiding principles in mind, I went about testing the S60s I had access to with convertible, infant, and combination seats to see which 3 across combinations were most feasible. Fortunately, there are several combinations that will work with the S60. 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.

The current generation of the Volvo S60 is 182 inches long and 73 inches wide, which is almost identical to the dimensions of the Volvo XC60 that shares the S60 platform. Many of the 3 across combinations that work in other luxury mid-sized sedans will also work in the S60, and as in those vehicles, you’ll want to use your seat belts instead of the LATCH anchors to make the most of side-to-side space.

Due to the shorter wheelbase of the S60, front-to-back space will be more difficult to come across here than in a comparable-width vehicle like, say, a Subaru Outback. As a result, I’d recommend going with a seat like a Fllo or a Foonf over a Radian RXT if you’ve got taller drivers or want to maximize front-to-back space. If you’d really like a Radian, it would be wise to invest in an angle adjuster.

The initial generation of the Volvo S60 is 180-183 inches long and 71-72 inches wide, depending on the model year and on the trim level. The change in width occurred during the 2006 model year, but it still leaves you with a rather narrow vehicle on the inside. That said, there are still several car seats that will work in 3 across configurations, especially if you use your seat belts instead of the LATCH anchors to make the most of side-to-side space.

Once again, due to the shorter wheelbase of the S60, front-to-back space will be more difficult to come across, which is likely to give you trouble with front-occupant room. As a result, I’d recommend going with a seat like a Fllo or a Foonf over a Radian RXT if you’ve got taller drivers or want to maximize front-to-back space. If you’d really like a Radian, it would be wise to invest in an angle adjuster.

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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.