We’ll also share our top recommendations, like the Graco 4Ever 4-in-1 Convertible Car Seat, which accommodates four-pound preemies as safely as children up to 120 pounds. Babies grow fast, which means constantly buying new clothing and accessories in different sizes. But if you choose the right model of Graco convertible car seat, your child can safely ride along with you from the time they’re born to whenever they’re ready to graduate from a car seat — with just one purchase. There are a few third-party websites that claim to offer objective crash test data that compares car seats.
Overall, the Nuna is a quality seat with impressive scores in most metrics, and for families where budget is less of a concern and ease of use is number one, the Nuna is one for your list of contenders. All of the Graco seats performed well and were almost in a class of their own in this review. If you want slightly better crash test scores than the SlimFit or a better overall result, then the Graco 4Ever is one to consider. graco convertible car seat If you hope for something similar to the SlimFit but want more for comfort or quality, then the Graco Extend2Fit 3 in 1 might be a better fit. No matter which Graco you go for, we think you’ll be pleased, but if you want a high scorer with a lower price, we believe the SlimFit is the best fit. Like the Extend2Fit Convertible, the 3-in-1 has a one-year warranty and a lifespan of 10 years from the date of manufacture.
Even though our back seat is stained with red softball dirt, I didn’t want to risk damaging the headliner by installing the E2F and extending the headrest to it’s uppermost position. As always with any forward-facing installation, don’t forget to use the top tether regardless of whether you install the Extend2Fit using the seat belt or lower LATCH strap. The best car seat is the one that fits your child, vehicle, budget, and lifestyle and has the features important to you. Let us know in the comment section what questions you have about this review of the Graco 4Ever DLX Grad car seat. Here’s the Extend2Fit installed fully upright in rear facing mode with the panel in.
(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. Over time, we found that because the seat belt wasn’t locked off, the car seat didn’t stay totally in place; it started to rotate, and we needed to reinstall it to make it straight again. 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.
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. The Graco Extend2Fit Convertible is our top convertible seat pick in this guide. So perhaps it’s not surprising that when we set out to identify the best all-in-one seat, we ended up being won over by the Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1.
The Boulevard’s weight minimum for a child to sit in the forward-facing position is 20 pounds, although experts recommend waiting as long as possible before turning a child around. 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. As your tiny baby grows into a big kid, messes are bound to happen, but we’ve made cleaning easy. The seat pad snaps off easily without removing the harness and is machine-washable and dryer-safe.
The current author of this guide is Christina Szalinski, a science writer with a PhD in cell biology whose reporting on health has appeared in The Atlantic, Scientific American, Undark, and more. In addition to writing Wirecutter’s updated guides to the best infant car seats and travel car seats, she is responsible for Wirecutter’s guides graco turbobooster to the best baby formula and kids face masks. Christina has three children, ages 4, 6, and 9; she can frequently be found ferrying them to soccer practice and play dates in her Honda Odyssey minivan. Britax has released two new convertible car seats, the Poplar and the Poplar S, both of which rely on the company’s ClickTight system.