2019 Mazda6 Awarded Top IIHS Rating for Child Seat Installation

IRVINE, Calif. (June 7, 2019) – The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) today announced that the 2019 Mazda6 has earned the top rating of good+ in the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) ease-of-use ratings.

LATCH is intended to make child restraint installation easier in order to minimize errors and protect the youngest members of the family in the event of a crash. To qualify for a good+ rating, vehicles must provide additional LATCH-equipped seating positions in addition to the following criteria:

•Lower anchors are no more than ¾ inch deep within the seat bight.

•The lower anchors are easy to maneuver around. This is defined as having a clearance angle greater than 54 degrees.

•The force required to attach a standardized tool representing a child seat connector to the lower anchors is less than 40 pounds.

•Tether anchors are on the vehicle’s rear deck or in the middle of the seatback.

•The area where the tether anchor is found doesn’t have any other hardware that could be confused for the tether anchor.

“With child restraints, a good, tight installation is critical but can be difficult to achieve,” said Jessica Jermakian, an IIHS senior research engineer. “Thanks to these recent improvements in vehicle LATCH hardware, we expect more children will be riding in correctly installed seats.”

The Mazda6 has always had an eye on safety technology and now in addition to outstanding LATCH ease-of-use, i-Activesense safety features are now standard on every Mazda6 sold. These features include Advanced Smart City Brake Support with Pedestrian Detection, Blind Spot Monitoring with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Lane Departure Warning with Lane-Keep Assist, Smart Brake Support and Mazda Radar Cruise Control with stop and go function.

“Mazda vehicles are designed with the driver and passenger in mind,” said Jeff Guyton, President of Mazda North American Operations. “We design our vehicles with an active approach to safety, giving all members of the family peace of mind. We are proud to receive this recognition from IIHS as a testament to our dedication to safety.”

The Mazda6 is on sale now with a starting MSRP of $23,800.

The IIHS is an independent, non-governmental safety-testing organization, funded by the insurance industry. For more information, visit IIHS.org.

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.