2011 Ford Fiesta Sedan and Hatchback: Car Seat Check
Jul 30 2010 by Jennifer Newman
There’s a lot of buzz around the 2011 Ford Fiesta hatchback and sedan, and rightly so. These all-new compact cars have European-influenced good looks, high-quality interior and zippy performance.
However, after spending a weekend with the 2011 Ford Fiesta hatchback, I found it wasn’t a good choice for a small family because of the limited legroom in the backseat. That’s not to say it wouldn’t make a good car for a young driver or a good second family car. In my daily life, my boys ride in a low-back booster seat and a forward-facing convertible seat. For our Car Seat Check, we tested a variety of seats in both the sedan and hatchback.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a rear-facing infant-safety seat, a convertible child-safety seat and a high-back booster seat, all made by Graco. The front seats are adjusted to a comfortable position for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The child seats are installed in the second row and, if available, third row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant seat and convertible seats are installed behind the passenger seat.
Here’s how the 2011 Fiesta sedan (above photos) and hatchback (below photos) scored in MotherProof.com’s Car Seat Check:
Latch system: Two sets of lower Latch anchors sit in the outboard positions. The anchors are hidden, but there’s some clearance below them, which helps a little with car-seat installation. In the sedan, there are three tether anchors sitting on the shelf behind the head restraints. It was a little difficult to unhook the connector from the tether because there wasn’t enough wiggle room under the tether’s hinged cover. In the hatchback, the three tether anchors are positioned midway down the second row’s seatbacks. These aren’t covered and are easy to use because of it.
Booster seat: The high-back booster fits in the backseat of both the sedan and hatchback, but the seat belt buckles are so floppy that they can fall behind the car seat. When I pulled the buckle out from behind the car seat, it sat at an awkward angle that could be difficult for kids to use independently.
Convertible child-safety seat: The forward-facing convertible fits in both the models without any problems. However, the rear-facing convertible had serious fit problems in both cars. To install the car seat at the correct angle, I had to move the front passenger seat so far forward that my knees were jammed into the glove box.
Rear-facing infant-safety seat: I only had to move the front passenger seat forward a little bit to get this seat to fit in both cars.
Do two car seats fit? Yes
Do three car seats fit? No
