We contract with MGA Research, the same national testing facility that has the compliance contract for FMVSS 213 assessing the safety of car seat in the US. We analyze the crash test data to generate our crash test scores, and we share the actual data from the crash test, so you get the information you need to help guide your buying decision. In this update, we bought and crash-tested the top 16 convertible seats of 2021 to find the best. We conduct side-by-side tests over several months to determine the best in metrics like crash test performance, installation, ease of use, quality, and more. We collect the details you need to choose the right car seat for your needs and your wallet. We purchase two of each car seat we review, one for crash testing and one for in-house testing, so you can trust that our results are unbiased and honest.
The 4Ever’s low sides mean that loading a newborn in and out of the seat shouldn’t be too difficult. The 4Ever is fairly compact front to back, here we see one installed rear facing next to a rear facing Graco Contender in a Ford Edge. The bottom of the seat is smooth and solid, designed to minimize the pressure marks that occasionally result on vehicle upholstery graco jogging stroller from a tightly installed seat. A general rule of thumb is once your child has reached the height or weight limitations set by the manufacturer in rear-facing, you can safely move them to the forward-facing option. “This 4-in-1 car seat does it all, starting as a rear-facing seat and adapting to a forward-facing seat and two different boosters.”
They haven’t tested the seats without the cupholders, so that’s the only reason they state they must remain attached. For a lot of the conversion steps, it’ll be necessary to take the seat completely out of your car. This isn’t a complicated process, but it can be a bit of a pain. Make sure you’re not in a hurry when converting the seat from one mode to the next. All the color/pattern options, quality fabric and adjustability make it a nice-looking, versatile seat that easily adapts to each stage of your child’s life and your lifestyle.
This is one of the easiest adjustment options in the review. Each seat has a harness tightening strap and a harness release button to loosen the straps. Some of these were harder to pull than others, and the buttons also vary in style and ease of use. The Britax Boulevard CLickTight ARB has the highest score for tightening and loosening.
While this one isn’t perfect, the Graco 4ever All-in-One is about the closest it comes in the realm of convertible seats. Blocked view really is going to be a problem with any of the taller seats, so it doesn’t surprise me. It was a problem when my dd was RF in her 2003 Britax graco jogging stroller Marathon. Some people are able to work around it by moving the carseat to a different seating position. Graco allows 20% of their carseats to hang over the edge of the seat. Rear-facing seats are NEVER allowed in the front passenger seat when there is an active airbag present.