I have a 2009 Volkswagen Routan. The third row is a bench seat, which has latch compatibility in one place. The owner's manual states that a child safety seat (booster or infant seat) can be installed using the latch system in the center seat of the third row. When a booster seat or an infant seat are, in fact, installed in this third row, the child is actually positioned in between the outboard seat and the center seat, due to the position of the latch "bars", and the child's head is in between the center and outboard headrest, and is not protected by either headrest. This also means that neither the center seatbelt or outboard seatbelt fits across my child as it should - it is not across his shoulder. I took the car to our local VW and they told me to call Volkswagen directly; when I did, I was put in touch with a member of the safety team who completely dismissed my concerns and told me that if my latch didn't seem to be in the correct positions, then I should just not use the latch. When I asked to speak to someone else that would take my concerns seriously (the child is not protected by the seatbelt or headrest when using the latch in the third row at all!!!), I was told there was no one else to speak to an that all the Routans were made that way as a "convenience" for folding down the seats.

- Mahomet, IL, USA