It performed well in our commissioned crash tests, earning one of the highest analysis scores in our lineup of options. It offers a comfortable riding experience for little ones with ample padding and a nap-worthy headrest, and taller kiddos will appreciate the leg extension that offers more legroom than a standard seat. For over 65 years, the Graco team has thoughtfully designed car seats, strollers, playards, highchairs, and other baby gear, always with parents and babies in mind. Each Graco product undergoes extensive research and testing to ensure parents have the trusted, quality products they need with the comfort and convenience features they want.
He’s 5 years old and gearing up for his first year in school — and his first year in a carpool so he’s starting to learn how to ride in a booster seat. The 4Ever fit him well in booster mode — the lap belt lies low on the lap, where it belongs, the vehicle seat belt moves freely through the shoulder guide graco convertible car seat and rests comfortably and correctly across the chest. The booster car seat keeps your child protected and safe while traveling and grows with them from front-facing to high-back and backless boosters. Its simple and secure harness system allows you to adjust the headrest and harness in one quick motion.
If you’re planning to transfer the seat between positions or cars frequently in the rear-facing mode, then one of our other picks may be a better option. To help narrow down our initial list of over 90 seats, we evaluated the frontal crash-testing data from the NHTSA. However, since car seats are not required to be certified before sale, several of the seats included in our at-home testing did not yet have government crash-testing data available; this limited our ability to compare results systematically.
Then, set the 4Ever on the vehicle seat with the harness facing the front of the vehicle. Unsnap the inside of the cover to expose the forward facing belt path and connect the lower anchor connectors to the lower anchor in the vehicle. Pull the loop on the end of the lower anchor connector webbing to remove the slack, then when there’s enough slack, feed the loop through the belt path into the inside of the seat’s shell. Press the back of the car seat into the vehicle’s seat back while pulling that loop straight out from the belt path to remove the slack. Once there’s less than an inch of movement at the belt path, secure the top tether and the installation is complete.
In order to reposition the LATCH straps from a rear-facing to a forward-facing position, you must take the cover completely off the seat. If this seems overly onerous, that’s because it is—however, it’s not something you’re likely to do very often. The Extend2Fit Convertible’s harness is easy to tighten around your child—you just pull on the strap located at the front end of the seat, so a snug fit can be achieved without a struggle. The buckle for securing the harness straps is straightforward to use. The Clek Foonf is a high-end convertible seat that’s great for extended rear-facing use.
Anything that helps us parents make life easier, especially spending less time bending over and hurting our backs, is very welcome, so I was disappointed to find that the seat did not rotate. My little girl is currently 6.6kg so she has a way to go, but looking at the space graco car seat available (and considering she is already a tall baby), I’m not sure she will comfortably last the duration. A familiar brand in the parenting world, Graco has produced a sturdy car seat that feels like a reliable addition to any family car for many years to come.
Our Editor’s Choice winner is a great value even if it is somewhat more expensive than some as it is still about three hundred dollars less than the most expensive selections. The Nuna is expensive, graco convertible car seat making it a possible no-go if your budget is limited. It is also heavy, so it isn’t the best choice for traveling or carpooling, as we believe most parents won’t want to carry it for very long.
It’s adjustable and has a hook and strap that connects to one of your vehicle’s tether anchors. Most rear-facing car seats in the United States do not use a tether for installation. However, installations vary from model to model, so you must review your particular car seat’s instructions and your vehicle’s owner manual carefully. Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness and tether until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer.
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 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. (Although that’s not an adjustment you’ll have to make often, doing it on the Rava is far more pleasant than on most seats.) However, the Rava has a few flaws. For one, though the system enables you to get a secure seat belt install without breaking a sweat, it doesn’t have a seat belt lock-off, so the seat belt can continually slide through the router.