MotherProof.com Car Buyer Headlines

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

The redesigned 2011 BMW 5 Series has earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick status. To earn the award, a vehicle must receive the top rating of Good in a front, side, rear and rollover crash tests. A vehicle also must have electronic stability control; this feature is standard on the 5 Series.  This is the first 5 Series to earn a Top Safety Pick award; the prior-generation model earned only a Marginal rating in the side-impact crash test. IIHS’ side-impact test simulates a strike from an SUV or pickup truck. Earning the award became tougher this year when IIHS added the rollover crash test, which measures roof strength and is twice as stringent as the federal requirement. To pass this roof-strength test, a vehicle must be able to withstand the force of four times the vehicle’s weight. Current federal standards only require a roof to hold 1.5 times its strength. As a result, many of the vehicles that had previously qualified as Top Safety Picks fell off the list in 2010. For more information about other IIHS Top Safety Picks, click here.

Toyota is voluntarily recalling 373,000 2000-2004 Toyota Avalons because of potential problems with the steering system. The recall will address an issue with the steering lock bar, a device that typically locks the steering wheel when the vehicle is turned off. Because of an improper casting of the steering lock bar, the component could break under certain conditions. This would cause the steering wheel to lock completely while the car is in motion, increasing the chance of an accident.  Toyota will replace the steering column bracket on affected vehicles at no charge to the customer. This procedure the automaker says should take about two hours to complete. Toyota will notify owners starting in late August to bring their vehicles to their local Toyota dealers.  Although the Avalon shares its underpinnings with the Toyota Camry, no other Toyota or Lexus models are affected by this recall. For more information, owners can call Toyota at 800-331-4331. 2003-2007 Lexus LX 470 Toyota is recalling approximately 39,000 of its Lexus LX 470 SUVs from the 2003-2007 model years over a defect in the steering shaft. Today’s recalls follow a series of significant recalls dating back to last fall. This particular recall involves the snap ring on the steering shaft, which can disengage when the vehicle has a significant impact to the wheels such as a large pothole. The entire steering shaft could disengage over time after the impact, so drivers would not necessarily notice the problem immediately. Toyota will begin the recall campaign in mid-August with mailings to owners. The company says no accidents have been reported because of the defect. For more information, owners can contact Lexus at 800-255-3987 or Lexus.com/recall.

Suzuki surprised MotherProof.com’s Chief Mama Kristin Varela with its 2010 Kizashi. Admittedly, she wasn’t expecting much from this small midsize sedan, but after spending two weeks in it, she found it be sporty and comfy for her family. Because of its small size, the Kizashi’s backseat could be a tight fit for most adults. Kristin also ran into some child-safety seat problems in the second row. Find out if they fit back there by reading her full review. 2010 Suzuki Kizashi Review

As a youngster, I used to spend every summer weekend at my dad’s lake house, which is really just a nasty hunting lodge on a reservoir that’s loaded with dirty catfish, but don’t tell him I said that. Some of my fondest memories are of getting into my dad’s Suburban at the end of the weekend—exhausted from so much fun in the sun—and snuggling down into the piles of pillows and sleeping bags packed around me. Now I’m passing those memories on to the next generation.  Last weekend, the girls and I packed up the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart and headed east on the highway, bumped along the quaint bovine-lined country road and then traipsed through the overgrown weed path to the lodge.  The Sportback handled all of those different conditions supremely, but where it really shined was in swallowing all of our gear at the end of the weekend. I’m not sure why, but it seemed like our “stuff” multiplied for the return trip.  What was once a neatly organized and tightly packed cargo space, evolved into a horrific mess of sand-filled shoes, wet bathing suits and the like.  The Sportback’s hatchback design invited us to live out of the back of the car, using it as home base for the weekend. My only challenge now that we’re home is getting the bug guts off the windshield and cow dung out of the tire treads.

Regal Lager is recalling 881 Cybex Solution X-Fix booster seats manufactured in February, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recalled booster seats have an incorrect warning label about securing an unoccupied booster. The incorrect warning appears both on the booster seat’s headrest and in the owner’s manual. While this is a minor reason for a recall, if a caregiver were to follow the directions on the incorrect label, there’s an increased chance that the unoccupied booster could strike someone in the car and cause an injury in a crash. Always secure an unoccupied booster seat with a seat belt. Regal Lager will notify owners on or before Aug. 10 and send them a new owner’s manual and label for the booster seat. For more information, can call Regal Lager at 800-593-5522 or NHTSA’s hot line at 888-327-4236.

Unless you live under a rock, you had to have noticed the loud media blitz yesterday from Ford about the new 2011 Explorer. They launched it unconventionally with live online video feeds, social media outlets and in-person reveals across the country, essentially turning yesterday into “Ford Explorer Day.” Traditionally, new cars are revealed at auto shows, where they’re competing with competitors for media coverage, but Ford didn’t feel like sharing. Can you blame them? Ford listened to the Explorer’s target market and reinvented the quintessential family SUV into something much more modern and progressive. The new Explorer is built on a car-based platform, turning it into more of a crossover than an SUV. However, Ford maintained specific design cues, including body-colored C-pillars, that hark back to the Explorer’s traditional SUV roots. Don’t think the Explorer has watered down its off-roading capabilities with its new platform. However, it has made them more user-friendly with the incorporation of the Terrain Management System, which allows the driver to select one of four terrain modes – Normal, Snow, Sand or Mud and Ruts – with the turn of a dial. The Explorer also has hill descent control, which “allows the driver to control the speed of hill descent without applying the brakes, even while in Reverse.” The 2011 Explorer can tow up to 5,000 pounds; the 2010 model with a V-8 engine could tow 7,115 pounds. The other big story in the Explorer is the two inflatable seat belts in the second row’s outbound seating positions. In the event of a crash, the seat belts actually inflate, thereby spreading the force of the impact out over a larger area of a child’s chest. I’d be curious to know how these work with youngsters in high-back booster seats where the seatbelt is threaded through the head restraint’s routing mechanism. As this technology becomes more common, I suspect we’ll see it migrate back to protect third-row passengers, as well. I’m also looking forward to testing out the automatic folding third row in the new Explorer. Most families I know have to switch rapidly from carrying people to carrying cargo and back again. Ford makes the Explorer flexible enough for many different scenarios. Go, go, gadget seats! I’m looking forward to test-driving the new Explorer with my most critical backseat test drivers at hand to see if it can live up to all the hype. Stay tuned…

Jaguar is recalling 5,048 of its 2010-11 XK and 2010 XF models with the 5.0-liter V-8 over potential problems with the fuel system, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. On those vehicles, when the car is turned on, the fuel pump may not fully function because of a software error. This can cause an inadequate supply of fuel to reach the engine, causing it to cut out with little to no warning and potentially lead to an accident. Jaguar dealers will install new software into the affected vehicles free of charge. The recall begins on or before Aug. 30. To find out more, call Jaguar’s hot line at 800-452-4827 or NHTSA’s hot line at 888-327-4236.

It’s been drilled into parents to keep their infants rear-facing in the car until they’re 1 year old and at least 20 pounds. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends keeping young children in rear-facing car seats until they’re 2 years old or have reached the upper weight limit for their rear-facing convertible seats. Children kept in a rear-facing car seat are five times safer than toddlers in forward-facing car seats, according to AAP. A rear-facing car seat increases crash protection for a child by absorbing crash forces through the seat’s hard plastic shell and supporting the child’s head, neck and back. Some parents may worry about toddlers riding with their legs folded up against the seatback during a crash, but a study published in the journal Pediatrics found that injuries to a child’s lower body are rare. Parents who have already turned their child’s car seat around should know it’s OK to have your child in a forward-facing position – as long as the child is older than 1 and meets the weight requirement for the forward-facing convertible. However, it’s best to keep a child in a rear-facing position as long as possible because of the additional crash protection a rear-facing car seat provides. However, we live in the real world and know it’s not always possible to keep a child rear-facing for a long time. When my boys, who are now 3 and 7, were infants, I practically counted down the days until their first birthdays. I couldn’t wait to turn their child-safety seats into the forward-facing position because it would be more convenient for me and my husband. Knowing what I now know, I’d keep them rear-facing for as long as possible.  While inconvenient for parents, keeping your toddler in a rear-facing car seat until age 2 is Hot. After all, it’s really about keeping children safe in the car, which is something everyone can support. Will you keep your child in a rear-facing car seat for a longer period of time? Tell us in the comment section below.

Nissan is recalling 46,000 Cube compact cars from the 2009 and 2010 model years because of excessive fuel leakage after a rear crash test, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Any fuel escaping from a vehicle can lead to a fire. The company is recalling Cubes built from Jan. 30, 2009, to July 30, 2010. Dealers will attach a special protector to the gasoline recirculation tube, which will prevent leakage. The recall will begin on or before Aug. 30. Owners will be contacted via mail. For more information, owners can call Nissan at 800-647-7261 or NHTSA’s hot line at 888-327-4236.