The Chevrolet Traverse, or Chevy Traverse, as it’s often known, is one of the General Motors large Lambda SUVs, along with its twins the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, and now discontinued Saturn Outlook. Together they form a collection of the most popular large SUVs sold today in the United States. The Traverse competes with other giant SUVs like the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Toyota Sequoia, and Nissan Armada among families who need–or simply want–something larger than a, say, Honda Pilot or Toyota Highlander, but who aren’t looking to spend as much money as they would in the luxury segment with a Mercedes Benz GL-Class SUV. They’re more bread and butter large SUVs.

I had the pleasure of fitting a range of car seats into the Traverse’s GMC twin, the Acadia, last Memorial Day. However, I ran out of time before I had to return it and still had a number of seats left to test. Fortunately, I borrowed a Traverse this past week and have been putting it through its paces. Being essentially the same vehicle with very slight interior and exterior trim changes, this list features all of the initial 3 across installations I got to work in the Acadia as well as a number of new ones I puzzled together in the Traverse. Before looking at the results, though, it’s worth reviewing which kinds of seats are appropriate for kids at different age ranges.

First of all, I suggest rear-facing from day one until you can’t anymore. Rear-facing is the way to go even if it takes you through the preschool years (ideally until 4!). Once you can’t fit your child in a rear-facing seat anymore, forward-face him or her in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once your children 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 overriding goal is safety, which comes from using certain kinds of seats at certain times.

With all that out of the way, here’s what I found in a nutshell: the Traverse is a huge SUV, which means you’re going to get most of your potential installations to work if you’re patient and make use of the strategies I suggest below.

The list isn’t complete, but it’s my goal to make it as complete as possible over time. 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.

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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.