Convertible Car Seats: Expert and User Reviews

Our AssessmentWith an emphasis on value, safety and durability, this book provides useful shopping tips and recommendations on dozens of baby products. While car seats aren't independently crash tested, the authors perform some hands-on testing, and parent, manufacturer and retailer interviews are also conducted. Write-ups are very thorough, including data regarding manufacturers' recall history. Updates to the book are posted online.

Our AssessmentWhich? magazine is a British consumer advocacy site similar to ConsumerReports.org in the U.S. Which? likewise crash-tests car seats -- but at 40 mph in front crashes and 17.5 mph in side crashes (ConsumerReports.org sticks with the U.S. federal crash-test protocol of 30 mph, frontal crash only). Out of more than 90 infant, convertible and booster seats, Which? labels 19 as Don't Buys and 35 as Best Buys. None of the Best Buy convertible seats is available in the U.S., but this should be your first stop if you are buying a car seat in Europe.

Our AssessmentHeather Corley, About.com's guide to baby products, names eight convertible car seats that she says stand out "based on my experiences as a child passenger safety technician, as well as the experiences of other techs." Corley doesn't say which experts she consulted, however. Corley tests four of the seats -- the Cosco Scenera, Britax Boulevard 70 CS, Graco My Ride 65 and Britax Marathon -- and notes a lot of helpful pros and cons from real-life use. She doesn't write full reviews for the other seats, though. Although all but one of the seats are still current, this review needs to be updated with the latest product names; for example, the Sunshine Kids Radian65 is now the Radian65SL. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

Our AssessmentFounder Robert Glazer markets BobbysBest.com as a review site with a personal touch. Although we don't see any testing details, he claims that all are "based on real-life experiences." Reviews here are longer and more detailed than most, and there is good comparative analysis between models.

Our AssessmentIt's tricky finding reviews at Amazon.com. That's because each year when a manufacturer introduces new fabrics, reviews for the older styles are often lost, even if the product hasn't changed functionally. Still, with a little more clicking, you can find reviews. Several current convertible car seats from Britax, The First Years, Evenflo and Sunshine Kids earn 4.5 stars out of 5, with huge numbers of reviews.

Our AssessmentCarSeatData.org has a great automobile compatibility chart for car seats. There's also a nice report on the various kinds of car seats, along with recommendations. The top pick for convertible car seats is the Britax Marathon, which the author commends for its high weight limit. Unfortunately, this site is a bit out of date, and one of the top picks, the Britax Wizard, is no longer being manufactured.

Our AssessmentExpoTV.com is similar to other user review sites except that entries are posted in video format. This can be a mixed blessing. It's nice to see these seats in action, and some parents do a thorough job of demonstrating all the features. On the other hand, there aren't enough accumulated posts to add up to a credible user consensus. The most reviewed convertible is the Britax Marathon. It's also the only one to receive a perfect score.

Our AssessmentEpinions.com invites parents to rate their car seats. There are a great number of reviews written on car seats, but individual reviews vary in quality. While some are very helpful, this site suffers from the same issue as other opinion sites: The popular seats have a lot of reviews, while the others may have no reviews at all. The Britax Marathon averages a perfect score, with nearly two dozen reviews posted; the Britax Roundabout and cheaper Cosco Scenera also get perfect ratings, with eight reviews posted for each.

Our AssessmentConsumerGuide.com reviews seven convertible car seats and awards three a Best Buy prize. Unfortunately, it's not evident how products are chosen, and there are no specifics in this review to indicate that any testing was performed. The review is also outdated -- two of the top three picks are no longer available.