Convertible Car Seat Review

Introduction to Convertible Car Seats

This report covers convertible car seats, which can be used rear-facing for newborns up to about 30 pounds and front-facing for older babies and toddlers up to about 40 pounds (or more depending on the model). See our companion report on infant car seats if you want a car seat that doubles as an infant carrier. Also see our report on booster seats for toddler car seats and booster seats for older kids.

The most extensive safety testing can be found in Consumer Reports magazine, which conducts crash testing with methods similar to those performed by the federal government. The book Baby Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields also offers a wealth of information on baby gear. While editors don't conduct crash testing, they examine every other aspect of the car seats and compare their own reviews to those of Consumer Reports, explaining any discrepancies between the two. The Baby Bargains website contains updates to the information provided in the book. Baby Bargains covers far more models than Consumer Reports, which has only tested five current convertible seats.

The third and final site that is top-marked in our review section is the official site of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which offers a comprehensive ease-of-use rating system. This system assigns each seat a grade from 1 to 5 stars for labels, instructions, securing the child, installation features and overall ease of use. While this is helpful, it's not nearly as comprehensive as the convertible car seat reviews found in Consumer Reports and Baby Bargains. We also found owner-written reviews helpful, such as those found at Amazon.com, BabyCenter.com and Epinions, among others.

Convertible car seats serve a few purposes. First, they are an alternative for those who do not wish to buy three car seats as their child grows, since they can generally hold an infant from birth until the child has reached 40 pounds (or as high as 65 or 80 pounds for some convertible car seats). These seats can be used rear-facing until a child is at the right height and weight, at which time the seats can be switched around (converted) to face the front. Most experts say that a child should be in a dedicated infant car seat for the first year due to the recline of the seat and the fact that most infant seats can be taken out of the car without waking the baby, causing less stress for new parents.

Britax, a company that has been marketing car seats for the U.S. market for more than ten years, sweeps reviewers' picks for the best convertible car seats, even though they cost more -- sometimes twice as much -- as other convertible car seats. Parents and owner-written car seat reviews alike echo the sentiment that the price is worth it. The Britax Roundabout (*Est. $200) is consistently top-rated by experts and owners alike. A less expensive alternative to the Britax line is the Graco ComfortSport (*Est. $90) . Car seat reviews say it has all the basic features and costs over $100 less than a Britax car seat. While the ComfortSport is not at the bottom rung in terms of price, it is the least expensive car seat that has been ranked at an excellent level of quality.