The 2025 Carnival Hybrid earns straight As across its second row, booster included, and fits three car seats across the bench Cars.com tested, which carries three sets of lower anchors. The third row is where it slips: the anchors sink into upholstery pockets, and the outboard LATCH sits so close to the middle buckle that installing a car seat there blocks the middle seat entirely.
Compiled by our gear team from Cars.com's Car Seat Check. Published July 18, 2026. Car seat fit findings from Cars.com's Car Seat Check, conducted by certified child passenger safety technicians.
The grades at a glance
| Test | Grade |
|---|---|
| LATCH | A |
| Infant seat | A |
| Rear-facing convertible | A |
| Forward-facing convertible | A |
| Booster, second row | A |
| Third-row entry | B |
| LATCH, third row | B |
| Forward-facing convertible, third row | C |
| Booster, third row | B |
Three car seats across: yes, on the three-seat second-row bench Cars.com tested. Confirmed with three car seats in the second-row bench, tested in Prestige trim.
Where the anchors are
Lower anchors. Second row: three sets, with the outboard pair exposed and the middle set just inside the seat bight. Third row: two sets in the outboard seats, sunk into pockets in the upholstery.
Top tethers. Three at the base of the second-row seatback. Three more all the way down the third-row seatback, and those are not clearly marked.
NHTSA recommends always using the top tether with a forward-facing car seat, whether it is installed with the lower anchors or the seat belt, as long as both the car seat manufacturer and the vehicle manufacturer permit it. Check both manuals for your specific combination, and check your car seat's tether weight limit: NHTSA directs you to stop using the tether once your child exceeds it, even while they still fit the seat. Our car seat safety guide covers how to use it.
Infant car seats
Easy to install, and the 5-foot-6-inch front passenger had loads of legroom.
That matters more than it sounds. In a lot of compact vehicles a rear-facing seat pushes the front passenger forward until the front row is unusable. Browse the infant car seats we carry, and if you are weighing whether a rotating base is worth it, see our comparison of rotating versus standard infant seats.
Convertible car seats
Rear-facing. Also easy, with the front passenger fitting fine in front of it.
Forward-facing. An A, once the head restraint is raised to seat it flush.
Some vehicles need the head restraint removed or raised to seat a car seat flush against the seatback, and some have fixed restraints that cannot be moved at all. Check your vehicle manual before forcing anything, and note that where a fixed restraint holds the seat off the seatback, that is a fit problem rather than something you can work around. See our convertible seats.
Boosters
Fits well after raising the head restraint. The outboard buckles are on stable stalks kids should be able to grab; the middle buckle is floppy and will be tougher.
Getting to the third row
The outboard seats slide and collapse forward easily, but not with a car seat installed. The opening is big and the step-in is tall.
Will your stroller fit?
Cars.com's Car Seat Check does not measure cargo volume, so the stroller guidance below is ours rather than theirs. Note that a minivan floor is about the friendliest surface there is for a folded stroller.
Cubic feet is the wrong number to shop on anyway. What decides whether a stroller fits is its folded footprint against the width between your wheel wells and the height to your cargo cover. A trunk can have generous volume and still refuse a wide fold.
Measure the space you will actually load into, whatever shape it is: how deep it is, its narrowest width (usually between the wheel arches, or between the bed rails on a pickup), and the height of the opening you have to lift over. Then compare against the folded dimensions of whatever you are considering. If the numbers are close, a compact fold like the Cybex Beezy leaves room for everything else; if you have space to spare, a full-size frame like the UPPAbaby Vista V3 earns it back in storage and expandability. Browse all strollers.
Kia Carnival takeaway
Straight As in the second row and three across on the bench. The third-row quirk is the one to know: put a car seat in an outboard third-row spot and the middle seat beside it becomes unusable, because the anchors crowd its buckle.
Across every vehicle: Which cars fit three car seats · Which cars let kids buckle themselves
More car seat help: Car Seat Safety Guide · All buying guides
Educational information only. This guide is for general education. It is not professional, medical, legal, or safety advice, and it does not create any advisory or professional relationship between you and SugarBabies. You are responsible for the safe selection, installation, and use of any car seat.
How a car seat fits and installs depends on your exact vehicle (its model year, trim, and seating configuration) and your exact car seat model. The instructions that came with your car seat and your vehicle owner’s manual always control. If anything in this article ever conflicts with those instructions, or with current guidance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), follow the manufacturer instructions, your vehicle manual, and NHTSA, not this article.
Our fit findings are compiled from third-party sources, including independent car seat fit testing performed by Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians and manufacturer specifications, that we believe to be reliable, and we provide all of it “as is.” Specifications, model years, and vehicle configurations change, and we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or current status of any of it. This article does not replace a hands-on check by a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST). If you are near Sumner, Washington, our in-store CPST check is free with every infant seat we sell, and we encourage you to use it or to find a certified technician near you.
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