2016 Audi A4: Car Seat Check

Audi's compact sedan has room for five occupants and comfortably accommodates two child-safety seats in the backseat. The 2016 Audi A4's easy-access Latch anchors make installation a breeze. For this Car Seat Check, we tested an A4 in S-Line trim.

More Car Seat Checks

How many car seats fit in the second row? Two

What We Like

• There are two sets of lower Latch anchors under removable covers, and they are easy to use. The three tether anchors on the rear shelf are clearly marked and also easy to access.
• In both rear- and forward-facing modes, the convertible fit well and was an easy install. In rear-facing mode, parents need to double check that the car seat is at the correct angle because the A4's seat bottom cushion is angled down toward the seat bight, where the back and bottom cushions meet. Parents might need to use a rolled towel or pool noodle when installing their rear-facing car seats .

What We Don't

• The A4's seats are bolstered, but they don’t interfere with how the booster fits on the seat. We had to raise the head restraint because it was pushing the booster's back too far forward off the seat. To do this, insert the car key into the hole at the head restraint’s base to release it. The seat belt buckles are on stable bases, but the middle position’s buckle is close to the outboard seat’s buckle, which will confuse kids.
• The infant seat was easy to install, but we had to move the front passenger seat forward slightly to accommodate it. Average-sized passengers will still have enough legroom, but taller passengers will need more. We also raised the car seat's adjustable foot to a higher level to accommodate the seat bottom angle.

Grading Scale

A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn't impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.

B: Plenty of room. One fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing third row when available.

C: Marginal room. Two fit or connection issues. Difficult to access third row when available.

D: Insufficient room. Two or more fit or connection issues.

F: Does not fit or is unsafe.

About Cars.com's Car Seat Checks

Editors Jennifer Geiger and Jennifer Newman are certified child safety seat installation technicians.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide Classic Connect 30 infant-safety seat, a Britax Marathon convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-6 passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver's seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.

We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row's middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there's a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. To learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks, go here.

Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.