The Acura TLX is the newest iteration of two celebrated Acura sedans, the TL and the TSX. It’s primarily based on the TL, which itself is essentially a performance-optimized version of the Honda Accord. The TLX is designed to compete strongly in the mid-sized luxury sedan market, going head to head with cars like the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Infiniti Q50, Volvo S60, Volvo V60, Audi A4, and BMW 3 Series.
The ancestors of the TLX, the TL and the TSX, were estimated to have some of the lowest driver death rates ever seen in cars by the IIHS, with driver death rates of 5 in the TL 2WD and 7 in the TSX. The only cars with lower scores than the TL were the Subaru Legacy and Audi A4, which had driver death rates of zero. In other words, the TLX has a history of strong bones, and both its predecessors and its current safety scores suggest it’s going to be a safe family vehicle.
However, safe scores aren’t enough to make a car good for family use; it also has to be able to carry one’s family, which today means carrying multiple car seats! I made it my goal to see how 3-across compatible the current TLX and past TL and TSX sedans were in the arduous quest of installing 3 car seats safely across the back row. My results with all three vehicles are below; first are the TLX generations, followed by the TL generations, followed by the TSX generations. Before any of this, however, let’s look at some basic elements of safe car seat usage.
I always advocate beginning with rear-facing, and continuing to do so with young children for as long as possible (ideally until 4!). After rear-facing, next comes forward-facing in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once kids are too big for forward-facing harnessed seats, booster seats are the next step until they pass the 5-step test for using adult vehicle seats and adult seat belts (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The longer you keep your kids safely restrained, the better their odds of crash survival.
Keeping these principles in mind, I made it my goal to see just how 3-across friendly the back seats of the Acura TLX, TL, and TSX were. Given the lack of family-centered information about these performance vehicles on the Internet when it comes to infant, convertible, combination, and booster-seat compatibility, I felt this list was way overdue. If you find it 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.
2015, 2016, 2017 Acura TLX
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco TurboBooster.
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Nautilus.
Britax Parkway SGL, Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT.
Graco Snugride 35, Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT.
Britax Parkway SGL, Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT.
Graco Snugride 35, Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Snugride 35, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro, Evenflo Triumph.
Tips and Tricks:
The initial generation of the Acura TLX is just over 190 inches long and 73 inches wide, which makes it about typical for a mid-sized car, luxury or otherwise. With a bit of creativity, there are a range of car seats you can stuff into the back row of one, especially if you use your seat belts to give you more room for the installations instead of the LATCH system.
If you buy the Radians to rear-face and find yourself short of front-to-back space, the angle adjuster will be a must; it can buy you back several inches of leg room in the front row. More broadly, if you have space concerns, you’ll want to check out the ultimate convertible front-to-back space comparison guide I wrote up recently; it covers all of the most popular seats and explains how to maximize the space you get out of them.
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Acura TL (UA8-UA9)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco TurboBooster.
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Nautilus.
Britax Parkway SGL, Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT.
Graco Snugride 35, Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT.
Britax Parkway SGL, Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT.
Graco Snugride 35, Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Snugride 35, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro, Evenflo Triumph.
Tips and Tricks:
The final generation of the Acura TL is 194-196 inches long and 74 inches wide, which makes it slightly wider than the initial generation of the TLX. As usual, use your seat belts instead of LATCH to get the most space for these installations.
If you buy the Radians to rear-face and find yourself short of front-to-back space, the angle adjuster will be a must; it can buy you back several inches of leg room in the front row. More broadly, if you have space concerns, you’ll want to check out the ultimate convertible front-to-back space comparison guide I wrote up recently; it covers all of the most popular seats and explains how to maximize the space you get out of them.
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Acura TL (UA6-UA7)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco TurboBooster.
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Snugride 35, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro, Evenflo Triumph.
Tips and Tricks:
The third generation of the Acura TL is 189 inches long and 72 inches wide, which makes it slightly narrower and significantly shorter than the final generation of the TL. As usual, use your seat belts instead of LATCH to get the most space for these installations.
If you buy the Radians to rear-face and find yourself short of front-to-back space, the angle adjuster will be a must; it can buy you back several inches of leg room in the front row. More broadly, if you have space concerns, you’ll want to check out the ultimate convertible front-to-back space comparison guide I wrote up recently; it covers all of the most popular seats and explains how to maximize the space you get out of them.
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Acura TSX (CU2)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco TurboBooster.
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Nautilus.
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Snugride 35, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Combi Coccoro, Evenflo Triumph.
Tips and Tricks:
The second and final generation of the Acura TSX is 186 inches long in the sedan and 189 inches long in the wagon and 72 inches wide, which makes it a typical example of a mid-sized sedan. As usual, use your seat belts instead of LATCH to get the most space for these installations.
If you buy the Radians to rear-face and find yourself short of front-to-back space, the angle adjuster will be a must; it can buy you back several inches of leg room in the front row. More broadly, if you have space concerns, you’ll want to check out the ultimate convertible front-to-back space comparison guide I wrote up recently; it covers all of the most popular seats and explains how to maximize the space you get out of them.
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Acura TSX (CL9)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT.
Diono Radian / RXT, Graco Snugride 35, Diono Radian / RXT.
Tips and Tricks:
The first generation of the Acura TSX is 183 inches long and 69 inches wide, which makes it effectively a compact sedan on the inside. You’ll be able to make some three across installations work in it, but not very many. As usual, use your seat belts instead of LATCH to get the most space for these installations.
If you buy the Radians to rear-face and find yourself short of front-to-back space, the angle adjuster will be a must; it can buy you back several inches of leg room in the front row. More broadly, if you have space concerns, you’ll want to check out the ultimate convertible front-to-back space comparison guide I wrote up recently; it covers all of the most popular seats and explains how to maximize the space you get out of them.
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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.