Installing the Foonf in the forward-facing position is substantially easier. In fact, of all the seats we tested, the Foonf was our favorite to install forward-facing. When we had visitors and I suddenly needed to put a car seat in the third row of our minivan, I opted for the Foonf out of about eight models in our garage at the time to choose from.
Whatever seat you choose, we’ve also included plenty of helpful tips on how to navigate the road ahead. The Chicco Fit2 is an infant-and-toddler hybrid seat rated for up to 35 pounds or 35 inches (the tallest height limit of all the infant car seats we considered). Intended for kids up to 2 years old, it could be appealing to caregivers who want to delay the switchover to a convertible seat. With the graco convertible car seat Fit2’s base in its “toddler” position, the seat will properly fit an older child at a more upright angle. The base is similar to that of our runner-up pick, the Chicco KeyFit 30, a design that we found easy to install. And, like our top pick from Graco and our also-great pick from Chicco, it has the added feature of an anti-rebound bar on the base, which could help reduce secondary motion in a crash.
Like the one on the Graco seat, it allows you to detach it from the back of the seat and shift it forward to block the sun from coming in at the front. Our biggest complaint about the Graco SnugRide SnugFit 35 DLX is that installing it tightly and securely is difficult if you aren’t using the base. This problem isn’t unique to this seat—we encountered the same issue with our runner-up pick, the Chicco KeyFit 30, which also employs the American belt-path configuration. Once they’re clicked into place correctly, they can’t easily be removed!
Getting a tight fit with this Chicco seat took relatively little strength in our tests, though it did require us to use a bit more force than with our top-pick seat from Graco or our upgrade pick from Clek. That’s because with the KeyFit 30, you have to push down on the base while pulling up on the LATCH pull strap; with the Graco seat, the lock-off arm does the work of making the straps tight; with the Clek seat, you merely push in. The first time I tried to install the KeyFit 30, the process took about three minutes; after that, it took about one minute. To uninstall the base, you lift the button labeled “Lift to Release” to extend the LATCH straps, and then you press the red buttons on the LATCH hooks to remove them. The 2018 version of this guide was written by Rebecca Gale, a Washington, DC–based reporter; as part of the research and testing process, Rebecca became certified as a CPST herself.
The weight and height maximum for the forward-facing position is 65 pounds and 49 inches, respectively. The Boulevard ClickTight can be used in the rear-facing mode for babies as small as 5 pounds (an infant insert pillow is included), though many families prefer to use a dedicated infant seat instead. He could still safely ride rear-facing in any convertible car seat in terms of height and weight, but he looked uncomfortable in many seats, and I had a hard time buckling him in since his legs were all scrunched up. However, with the panel extended on the Extend2Fit Convertible, he had more room to stretch out, and I had more room to get him buckled. I found it much less tempting to turn the seat forward-facing than I had at this point in the past, when my two older children were in rear-facing seats that didn’t accommodate their long legs as well.
So the most effective strategy for keeping your kids safe on the road is to choose a car seat that works well for your family—and to use it correctly. For the first version of this guide, published in 2018, we elected to perform independent crash testing on the convertible car seats we considered to be our top contenders. We commissioned Calspan, an independent lab in Buffalo, New York, to conduct the tests. But for the purposes of this guide, we didn’t intentionally seek out lightweight seats.
Children who weigh between pounds may use recline positions 4, 5, or 6 for forward facing installations. The 4Ever can be installed rear facing using recline positions 1, 2, or 3. Here’s a quick summary of how large the seat is when installed in those positions. The 4Ever’s manual contains several references to the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that children under 2 should ride rear facing. In addition, NHSTA recommends that children 1-3 years continue to use a rear facing restraint as long as they fit by height and weight. Although individual states are responsible for regulating how car seats are used, any car seat sold in the US must meet federal safety standards set by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
Although the Foonf feels roomy to its passengers, this is one of the narrowest car seats on the market, at only 16.9 inches wide, making it a good candidate for families that need to fit three seats across. And it doesn’t have any parts that flare out to compete for space with neighboring car seats or riders. Although we enjoy the convenience of adjusting the harness and headrest as one unit, there’s a safety argument to graco turbobooster be made for having the harness and headrest operate independently. According to pediatrician Alicia Baer of The Car Seat Lady website, with the Foonf, if the headrest were to come off in an accident, the harness system would still be intact. But with seats that have the headrest and harness as part of the same system, if something were to happen to one of the pieces in a collision, it would have an impact on the other.
Raises and positions a child so the vehicle’s lap-and-shoulder belt fits properly over the stronger points of a child’s body, the hips and across the chest. Although it is not a federal requirement, side-impact protection is quite an essential factor. A car seat with side-impact protection helps minimize the risk of babies suffering fatal injuries from side collisions. For more details on the Graco 4Ever DLX Grad 5-in-1 Car Seat, visit and follow @graco on Instagram and Facebook. For proper product usage, please refer to the safety instructions included on the packaging, product labels and manuals. (It’s nicely padded, too.) The Foonf’s seat cushion has a firm feel to it, yet it’s actually very thick—thicker than those on any of our picks, by far, and the comfiest of the bunch.
We consulted multiple Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPSTs) and car seat safety advocates, such as Alisa Baer (CPST), a pediatrician and co-founder of The Car Seat Lady website. The Britax Boulevard ClickTight, our runner-up pick, is being phased out, as is the Marathon ClickTight, a less expensive convertible car seat that we list as an Other Good in this guide. We are now testing the Poplar and Poplar S and will update this guide with our findings. We can confidently recommend the Graco 4Ever 4-in-1 Convertible Car Seat as a great buy.