After MUCH deliberation (and 10+hrs of research), I decided to go with this car seat over a Britax for my 12 month old. The main selling point for me was the comfort. Overall, I am pleased with my decision. Here's why:
Pro's:
SUPER comfortable for my baby. I wish I had one of these to ride in! It is so cushy, and she sleeps great in it.
Even in the rear-facing position it takes up LESS room front to back than our Graco snug-ride infant car seat did. I was amazed, because it looks so bulky, but we were actually able to push the front passenger seat back a little! With a small car, this is a huge plus.
It has awesome safety ratings, is tested rigorously, is very sturdy, and I feel reassured that she is very safe in her seat.
Because of the way it is designed, she can ride rear facing for a long time, which is SO much safer for little ones. She is very tall, but I will still keep her rear facing until she's 2.
The cup holder! Although it is a minor detail, it makes a HUGE difference. On a Britax you have to buy the cup holder separately, and it has very mixed reviews.
Other features, such as a storage pouch in the seat for the instruction manual, and a storage place for every belt and anchor when it is not in use, are big bonuses. This seat was very well thought out and effectively designed.
Con's:
Since it is a fairly new product, the instruction manual has lots of typos and errors. It is a pretty user friendly, easy to follow manual, but it has some big mistakes in it and confusing parts that actually caused us MAJOR headache. The seat sat in our living room for 3 days because we couldn't figure out how to get the LATCH belt out of the forward facing position and into the rear facing position. After my husband and I both spending hours trying to figure it out, spending over an hour on the phone with a representative who had NO idea what she was talking about (and was actually giving me incorrect instructions), writing a frustrated email, and sending them pictures of the problem, we finally got it resolved. It ended up being a simple fix, and in the end we had a very kind, helpful costumer service rep go above and beyond to make sure we had it fixed. So, despite the frustrations, I ended up being very happy with the company and their service.
It is a little tricky to install. There were a few minutes when I thought I would have to return the seat because I couldn't get it tight enough. However, after making sure it was at the proper recline position, and tightening the LATCH belt as much as I could, I am happy with the results.
It does have a little bit of play side to side. The guidelines I have read said not to use a seat if it has more than 1 inch of play side to side or front to back. This probably has about an inch, or maybe a little bit less. This is probably different from car to car. I wish it were a little bit tighter, but I still feel like it is safe.
Biggest CON: It is really bulky side to side, and quite tall. This can be a good thing because my daughter sits so high she can see out the window, but it makes it difficult to get her in the car, into the seat, and buckled up. There is hardly any room between the sides of the seat, the door, and the ceiling. We have to kind of twist her and squeeze her in, and half the time my husband bonks her head on the door because it is so tight. It is also hard to get used to buckling quickly when you can't fit both of your arms in very well. At first it was very difficult and frustrating, but once you get used to it it's not too bad. It really did take us about a month to get used to putting her in the seat and buckled up, but now that we've had practice we are much faster at it.
Finally, we have had the straps twist on us a few times. They are so slick that they do twist easily, but luckily they are also very easy to untwist. So, it's not a deal breaker for us.
Overall, the pro's outweigh the con's in our book, and we have ended up being very happy with the seat! Good luck in your search, hope this helps!
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We got this seat for my wife's car. I have a Recaro ProRide in my car so my basis of comparison is between using these two seats.The side impact features are excellent. The size, positions, and height is good. The bolstering is enough but without being excessive like the Recaro. The fabric is different than other brands, it cleans up well but in humid weather is is a bit weird feeling to me (clammy). The intergrated cup holder is much better than the add-on one that Recaro has.
My only gripes are with the harness system, which is sort of the "soul" of a child seat. The push button buckle is way harder to push than it needs to be. It just about cramps the heck out of my thumb everytime I use it. This button has loosened up a little over time but it still operates no where near as good as any other buckle ought to. It is also difficult to pull slack in the shoulder belts, almost like it is caught on something. The release buckle is pressed all the way but there is still something adding resistance. The little shoulder belt pads are nice but if they slip out of the way, expect the belts to rub against your kids' neck. The Recaro "hero" feature is hands down the better feature to avoid belt rub.
All in all my wife likes this seat and I still feel it is a good value. Hands down the Recaro has Maxi-Cosi whipped in some specific features. The Maxi-Cosi is good in all of the important features.
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This seat is very comfortable and keeps considerably cool compared to the Britax Chaperone (Red) that we used before. We live in the tropics and we had to wait a considerable time for the air conditioning to cool down the car before we could put the baby in the Britax and even then she'd still end up sweating.I chose the Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 over the Britax Advocate and the Diono RXT mainly because I wanted to ensure my little one was as comfortable and cool as possible so we could keep her rear-facing longer. I think I made the right choice. Here are some of the factors I considered as well as some things I know now that I have the seat:
HEAT If keeping your baby cool is a major consideration then the fabric colour is the major factor. That's why I went with this lighter colour Steel Grey. The downside is it has the potential to look worn quickly. And this colour doesn't pop out at you and say "brand new". The Maxi-Cosi has some pretty cool colour options but this and probably the tan are the only light colour options. Btw this seat really does stay very cool!
SAFETY If safety is your only consideration then I'd choose the Britax Advocate. (All car seats that pass NHTSA Tests are fine. But who wants just fine for their baby? Just remember the most important thing is installing it and strapping the kid in properly)
COMFORT The fabric they use on the Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 is really well padded and soft. And if the seating on the Britax Advocate is made of same material as that on the Chaperone then it's not that comfortable and kind of rough to the touch. So Pria wins here by a landslide.
SIZE:
WIDTH If you have to fit 3 car seats in the back seat (or 2 car seats and an adult) and you have either a car or a small SUV then you should consider a Diono. They're ugly, in my opinion, but when my family expands please God I will most likely be buying one for the eldest child when she outgrows the Maxi-Cosi.
HEIGHT The Maxi-Cosi is currently rear-facing and in the third recline position in order for the relevant line to be level with the floor. This is most likely because of the way the back seat of the car (Kia Sportage) is inclined. This is really advantageous for us as this seat is pretty tall and has the potential to block the view out the rear-view mirror. But in the 3rd recline position it's even shorter than the Britax Chaperone. Note here though that the Britax Chaperone had a couple of level instruments. So I spent over 15mins looking for the level on the Maxi-Cosi. Imagine my surprise when I realized that all they had was a line marked out on the frame itself. My husband and I laughed hysterically at the lack of basic technology and joked about sending the seat back. But I realized it's really only necessary to differentiate between which one of the three different recline positions is the best suited for your particular vehicle. So sophistication isn't really necessary. I think it's straight/level enough not to need a towel/noodle. Besides I wouldn't like to know the safety of my child depended on a rolled up towel/noodle.
COST The Diono RXT wins here because it has a higher weight limit. But I still recommend using an infant car seat at minimum for a newborn cause it fits them better. Did I mention that the Diono is ugly? Lol! But it's a great option.
TOXICITY All I'm going to say here is do your research as this may change with time as companies upgrade. From what I understand this is more an issue when the seat gets really hot. Hotter than normal operating conditions. However since I do live in a hot climate and there is the potential for the car seat to get hot this is also a consideration for me.
FIT OF HARNESS ON CHILD Tightening the straps is not as easy as on Britax Chaperone. And although there is a nice padded protector below the buckle, it's not big enough to protect against chaffing/rubbing from the connectors that snap into the buckle. Stupid! Additionally the buckle doesn't fall forward automatically like on the Diono. (The Britax Advocate may have this feature as well. The Chaperone didn't.) So the Maxi-Cosi loses here! But my child does not seem uncomfortable at all. And so far no signs of irritation/chaffing.
SUMMARY
This was a really tough decision for me. If heat and size are not major considerations for you then the Britax Advocate is the best choice. (According to Consumers' Reports Britax has 5 of the 7 top convertible car seats)
Honest reviews on Maxi Cosi Pria 70 Convertible Car Seat
I did a ton of research and tested a lot of carseats and this one wins. You can read a great detailed review of this seat here:http://prebabyblog.com/2012/10/convertible-car-seat-what-saved-our-car-trips/
Here is what I can add:
Fit great in our BMW X3 rear facing on the most reclined setting (passenger seat doesn't have to be all the way forward
By far the best material to keep baby cool, they need to make more seats out of this!
Absolutely the cushiest seat out there, I would even sit in this
Like the blog review, our acid reflux baby (at 13 pounds and 10 weeks) tolerated this carseat better than any other due to the angles, cushiness, and being able to see out
So easy to change the harness height and recline angle
Cons:
The strap for tightening and loosening is very difficult to use (fix= loosen and tighten by pulling on the cross straps behind the seat) at first I was really disappointed with this but I can actually get the seat snugger or looser more smoothly than using just the strap so it doesn't bother me now
The material does show drool spots (the cover is completely removable and washable)
I am still giving it five stars because I don't think you'll find a better carseat for the price.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Maxi Cosi Pria 70 Convertible Car Seat
Of the 5 car seats we own this is the best one,its easy to install,
comfortable for the child
easy to maneuver
and obviously most of all safe
highly reccomend
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