Graco continues to manufacture top-ranked car seats, strollers, play yards, and more. We check every day for our recommended car seats on sale, and we have all the deals here for you. If you are expecting a smaller-than-average baby or a preemie, we would still recommend an infant seat instead, as that will have a better fit. In addition to registering your car seat to receive recalls and safety notices from your car seat manufacturer, you can sign up to receive e-mail alerts from NHTSA about car seat and booster seat recalls. All Clek seats last nine years from the date of manufacture before they expire, and they have a three-year warranty, if you register the seat within 90 days (one year if you don’t register it). The Foonf performed well (PDF) in the NHTSA’s front-impact crash testing, with good Head Injury Criterion (HIC) and chest acceleration scores.
The manual clearly states that the top tether is required for all forward facing installations. The seat allows for rear facing to within 1 inch of the adjuster at the top, or a seated height of about 27 inches graco convertible car seat tall. A European belt path, on the other hand, routes the lap belt over the top of the seat and the shoulder belt around the back of the seat, reducing the amount that the seat can wiggle and slide.
To turn the Extend2Fit 3-in-1 from a five-point harness seat into a booster seat, you remove the bottom crotch buckle strap, move the harness straps behind the padding, and stow away the buckles in a compartment behind the padding. Removing that lower buckle is harder than it sounds; it can take several minutes of maneuvering to guide it out graco car seat of its tight slot. This is not a flaw that’s particular to this seat—we’ve found readjusting crotch buckles to be a nuisance on plenty of other car seats—and you’re unlikely to be changing from convertible to booster mode all that often. With any car seat, it’s important to follow the height and weight restrictions for that particular model.
The Rava does have a high rear-facing weight limit of 50 pounds—and an adjustable footrest that adds 2 inches of legroom in the rear-facing position. But in practice, we didn’t find that the extension panel added much room, especially compared with the panel on the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible. (My almost-3-year-old’s legs were scrunched up, even with the Rava’s footrest extended.) Also, the higher sides graco car seat on the Rava made it difficult to get a large, almost-3-year-old into the seat and buckled. Additionally, our Frost-colored test model (it’s a pale gray fabric) didn’t perform well in our food-and-drink test. Grape juice, peanut butter, and jelly left stains that we couldn’t get out with spot-cleaning. The Graco SnugRide SnugFit 35 DLX provides the total package of user-friendliness, quality, and value.
Seat belts & belt-positioning boosters help you rest assured that your baby’s taken care of. Browse through a large collection of car seats and find one the right pick for you and your baby. The Grows4Me four-in-one car seat is a long-lasting, seamless safety gear with adjustable headrest and height.
To install the seat rear facing, remove those lower anchors from their storage spots, then secure them to the lower anchors in the vehicle. There’s a very handy opening in the cover that makes accessing the belt path pretty easy. Once the lower anchor connectors are attached to the vehicle and the loop at the end of the webbing is accessible, press down on the seat pan with one hand while pulling straight up on the webbing to remove all slack. The Chicco KeyFit 30 infant car seat is one of the easiest to use and install, especially if you’re using the LATCH method.
However, we found the Radian 3QXT more difficult to install than other seats we tested; it requires a lot of physical effort to get a snug install. And unlike any other seat we tested, the 3QXT is so top-heavy that it can’t sit upright on its own. So if you need to uninstall it to change the SafeStop or to remove the seat cover, you have to prop it up against something. Additionally, the Radian 3QXT’s anti-rebound bar—an added safety feature that helps to prevent the seat from rebounding in an accident—was not fully flush to the seat. According to The Car Seat Lady’s Baer, that could pose a safety issue if a child rides with their feet tucked under the bar and then is in a crash. One of our favorite infant car seats is made by Chicco, so we were eager to try the company’s convertible seat, the Chicco NextFit Zip.
NHTSA gives the Liingo three out of five stars for its ease-of-use rating. We tested the Diono Radian 3QXT all-in-one, which is part of Diono’s line of seats specifically designed to fit three across. (In 2018, we tested the similar Diono Radian RXT, which has since been discontinued.) Like our also-great convertible pick, the Clek Foonf, the Radian 3QXT is a slender 17 inches wide. With low sides, a deep recline, and high rear-facing limits, the Diono Radian series is a favorite among people who are trying to keep their kids rear-facing longer; the rear-facing weight limit of the Radian 3QXT is 50 pounds. The design of Radian seats may help stave off carsickness, as well, since they have an L shape, rather than a more typical C shape. “For some kids who get queasy, sitting in a C-shaped seat isn’t great because it puts pressure on the stomach,” said CPST Lani Harrison.
All US states have child-safety-seat laws that require the use of car seats for kids under a certain age. For infants younger than a year old, that means a rear-facing car seat. Dedicated infant seats—including all the seats we review in this guide—are designed to be used rear-facing only.
But they’ll probably be over 3 years old before they hit 35 pounds, so for most people the height limit is more relevant than the weight limit. The Uppababy Knox debuted in 2019, but that first version of the seat was voluntarily recalled in April 2020 due to an issue with the design of the base. (The base could cause the seat to tip when installed.) The Knox was relaunched with a new base in March 2021. While it is an attractive seat (fans of the Uppababy brand will recognize the stylish aesthetic), at 32.5 pounds, it’s very heavy. And it was tough to then maintain that force while routing the belt into the lock-off. Additionally, we found it difficult to maneuver a child into the seat, which is perched higher than average.