The Cadillac SRX is one of a handful of domestic luxury compact-to mid-sized SUVs currently available in the United States (and to be discontinued after 2016), along with the Lincoln MKX and Lincoln MKC. It competes in a small-but growing market of mid-sized luxury crossovers with alternatives like the Volvo XC60, BMW X3, Acura RDX, Audi Q5, and Lexus RX among families interested in safe transportation with station wagon storage potential. The SRX has good frontal and side scores, a good roof, and when optionally equipped, good front crash prevention systems. Based on its features, I’d expect it to be one of the safest vehicles on the road.

As a result, I had to fit it into my quest to create 3 across car seat compatibility guides for every major vehicle currently sold in the United States. The SRX is structurally similar to its GM siblings, the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain, so I was expecting similar car seat puzzling abilities, and I wasn’t disappointed. However, before going into which seats did and didn’t work, it’s worth reviewing some basic tenets of car seat safety, in terms of which seats are a good idea to use, when, and why.

First of all, start with rear-facing. It’s the safest position we know of when it comes to sitting in motorized vehicles, and I recommend keeping your kids rear-facing as long as you can (ideally until 4!), before forward-facing them 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). The closer you can follow these guidelines, the safer your children will be.

Keeping these ideas in mind, I set to work to find which infant, convertible, combination, and booster seats would work best in 3 across combinations in the Cadillac SRX. It’s my goal to make this list the most thorough 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.