Graco also provides instructions for removing and reattaching all the pads, but we found that watching YouTube tutorials was the best way to learn. There are four main pads that come off the car seat, but some of the smaller tabs and elastic loops are tricky to reattach. The hardest part of the cleaning process (for us, anyway) was having to carry the bulky, 22.75-pound car seat in and out of the car and house. You can switch it from rear- to forward-facing easily and even recline it to a lying down position when rear-facing, which is ideal for use with smaller babies.
It never rattles or shakes, and it never feels loose in its position. It’s worth noting that this seat, unlike many other convertible car seats on this list, does not convert into a booster seat, so that will be an extra purchase down the line. For an additional cost, you can get the Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1, which does turn into a booster. It’s worth noting that this seat doesn’t offer cupholders or any other extra features, like harness holders.
The Nuna Rava was one of the easiest seats to install of those we tested. It has panels that you route the seat belt through; when you close them, the seat belt automatically tightens, so there’s little effort required. The seat has graco car seat a no-rethread harness, which makes it easy to adjust the harness height as kids grow. It also has a nifty mechanism for sliding the crotch buckle (video) between one of two possible positions, depending on the size of your child.
We like them as a safety feature, but we feel actual crash testing data is more critical than stated features or claims. Some seats have additional features that manufacturers claim will improve the seat’s safety. Our crash test score analysis did not consider these features or claims.
This makes it one of the best convertible car seats for small cars or for front-seat passengers who are very tall. To help you pick the best convertible car seat, GearLab spends tens of thousands of dollars crash testing car seats at the same certified testing lab the US Government uses for its safety certification graco convertible car seat testing. In this update, we bought and crash-tested the top 20 convertible seats available today to find the best. We conduct side-by-side tests of each convertible car seat over several months to determine the best in metrics like crash test performance, installation, ease of use, quality, and more.
Our top pick, the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible, has a pull-out extension panel to create extra legroom. Our also-great pick, the Clek Foonf, reclines in the rear-facing position to create more space, and it has narrow, upright sides that help accommodate a larger rear-facing child. But the Boulevard’s flared, thick sides seem to provide less room for a child’s legs. And there also didn’t seem to be enough space for a larger child between the crotch buckle and where the seat back begins to slope upward. When my tall-for-his age son sat in the seat rear-facing at almost age three, his legs were scrunched up. Many convertible car seats offer rear-facing weight limits at 40 pounds, but some offer extended rear-facing weight limits up to 50 pounds.