Best and Worst Baby Car Seats

With so many baby car seat models being sold,Excellent’ on crash protection, ‘Very
many new parents feel overwhelmed andGood’ on ease of use, and ‘Excellent’
stressed out about which one is the best choice.on vehicle fit. The only drawback with this model
It’s such an important decision! The last thingof baby car seat was price. At $170, it was
you’d want is to have your child in a baby caramong the highest priced seats on the market.
seat that does not provide the maximum amountThe baby car seat that scored lowest (of those
of protection for your child in the event that youtested) was the Evenflo PortAbout 5 (Premier
have a car crash.Comfort Touch). It rated only ‘Fair to
One of the great things about the Internet is thatGood’ on crash protection, ‘Very
you can research virtually anything in the comfortGood’ on ease of use, and ‘Excellent’
of your own home. Sure, there’s a lot ofon vehicle fit. While it scored among the highest in
trivial, useless stuff out there, but there’s alsothe latter two categories, the primary concern
a lot of practical information we can use in ourwith any baby car seat is protection, and this one
everyday lives. When it comes to researchingjust doesn’t pass muster.
something like a baby car seat, consumerBest & Worst Convertible Baby Car Seat
protection organizations often have elaborateA convertible baby car seat is designed for
websites that are the perfect places to get whatchildren up to about 35 lbs. in rear-facing models
you need.and up to 40 lbs. for front-facing seats. Among
Consumer Reports is a famous organizationthese child seats, the Evenflo Titan 5 scored an
devoted to giving consumers detailed informationimpressive ‘Excellent’ rating in both crash
about products of all kinds – including yourprotection and vehicle fit. It rated ‘Very
next baby car seat. In May, 2005, the goodGood’ on ease of use. Overall, this is an
people at Consumer Reports conducted a detailedexcellent baby car seat!
test of several brands of car seats. They wantedThe worst score in this category was given to
to find the best (and worst) baby car seat beingthe Britax Marathon baby car seat. The only real
sold, based on crash protection, ease of use, andproblem with this model is the latch, which had
proper vehicle fit. Here are the results for bothsome problems and drove the ratings down for
infant car seats and convertible car seats.crash protection and vehicle fit. It’s still rated
Best & Worst Infant Baby Car Seat‘Excellent’ in several categories, so even
An infant baby car seat is made for babies up tothis baby car seat isn’t a bad buy. You just
about 20 lbs. (birth to 9 months). In this category,want to be sure that the latch works properly in
the best baby car seat was the Britaxyour particular vehicle.
Companion. It rated ‘Very Good to