My son is almost 1 and finally out growing his infant car seat. I have been looking for a convertible carseat and found the Britax Diplomat Convertible carseat fits smaller vehicles. I was wondering about anyones opinion on this carseat or any suggestions of any that would fit easily into smaller cars as well as SUV's.
We have a Recaro brand (they also make safety seats for race cars). This seat was rated very high as far as safety standards go and is equal to if not slightly better than the Britax (which is also a very good seat).
In each of our vehicles: an A4 and a small suv, we have one Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 for my almost 5 year old and one First Years Tru fit for my 15 month old. I love both carseats and so do the kids.
We love our Britex car seats. Our daughter is now four and we've been using the seats since she was 9 months.
I think that any Britax convertible seat model is a great choice. I have the Marathon. No regrets.
For my husband's car, we bought a Graco - I forget the name, but it is silver and black, a 3-in-1 model (with a booster seat included), price about $110 or so. It is definitly more compact than the Britax, but a good seat for the price. It is secure and constructed pretty solidly.
Sorry I don't recall the name. Maybe the moms may know what I am referring to.
We have two Britax Marathons- one in a Honda Civic and the other in a Nissan Sentra. They fit well there and move easily and comfortably to my parents' Honda Pilot.
Graco nautilus!!!!!!
My hubby had a mustang when we got our "big girl" car seat. We went with the Britax Roundabout and love it!
We are getting the Graco My ride 65 for my son (his grandma is getting it for him for Christmas). We have a small SUV, but a friend of mine has a mazda protege (which is a pretty small car) and it fits fine rear facing. I chose it because they can be rear facing up to 40 pounds, which is the safest way for them to ride, and forward facing up to 65 pounds. At that point my son might not even need a booster. It is also a lot cheaper than the Britax marathon, which has the same weight limits.
I have a small audi and I bought a britax marathon seat with no side impact. It fits great even still facing rear, as suggested by Peds. Great seat. Good luck
Combi Cocorro can fit into smaller vehicles 3 in a row supposedly. It is very light (10lbs), which makes it great for shlepping it through an airport if needed (this is why we got it as our 2nd convertible car seat). This car seat only goes to 40lbs & 40", by the time my son gets there, he will be in a booster.
Our 1st convertible is the Sunshine Kids Radian XT - which is great, but very heavy & tall (making it an issue for rear-facing in a smaller vehicle). My son loves it! We have it in the rear seat behind the front passenger seat in our Acura MDX 2008, and only a short person can now sit in the front seat as a passenger. It can fit 3 in a row per the manufacturer if needed. Goes to 80lbs & 50 something inches - will last most of time he needs to be in a carseat or booster.
Good luck!
There was one that I wish I had bought but it is too expensive for me to buy instead of the ones that I have which I don't like anymore.
The car seat is made by Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL. My neighbor has them and they fit so well in the car. They are low enough that the kids can climb in when they are big enough and you can fit them next to adults without encroaching on their space. And it works until they are ready to get out of a booster seat.
I hope that's helpful!
