The Sirona crash test results are slightly below average, and while considered safe and performed better than some, if your goal is rotation and better crash test results, the Sirona might not be the one for you. The Baby Jogger City Turn is a rotating seat in the rear-facing installation with significantly better crash test analysis results. While this option doesn’t rotate in forward-facing, we graco turbobooster think most parents won’t mind, given the potential for an additional margin of safety. However, if your goal is full rotation and you enjoy comfort, quality, and ease of use, we believe the Sirona is the seat for you. The Extend2Fit offers better crash test results than our budget-friendly option, and with sales, you can often find it for a cheaper price than other award winners in this lineup.
We chose this on purpose to mimic late-model vehicles better and to see if faster speeds helped differentiate the seats from one another. All seats in this review are assumed to have passed the federal guidelines and should be considered safe. Based on test results, those we identify as better than average are graco turbobooster options that potentially offer an additional margin of safety over the average seat. We take convertible car seat testing very seriously because the stakes are so high. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that “car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13.”
However, we didn’t find dealing with any of these pieces to be particularly onerous. The only thing that stumped us was how to remove the rear-facing base in order to switch the seat to forward-facing mode. We were won over by its solid construction, painless forward-facing install, cushy seat bed, and stain-evading fabric. The Foonf has a generous 50-pound rear-facing weight limit—the graco turbobooster same as our top pick, the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible—and the seat’s pitch and shape keep kids comfy riding in it rear-facing as they grow. The Foonf was also a favorite among our kid testers, who appreciated how well padded and roomy it felt. But the Foonf’s rear-facing install is more complicated than that of any of our other picks, and its weight can be burdensome.
This is about as compact as this seat can be when it’s installed rear facing. The adjustable headrest has 10 positions, it’s easy to move from between them. Since the Extend2Fit uses a no-rethread harness, adjusting the headrest also adjusts the harness height. The lowest harness position is 7 inches (with the infant insert in place), while the highest position is 17.5 inches. The manual states that the panel must be in position 2-4 for a child over 40 pounds. When CSFTL asked Graco if this is absolutely required, since the seat is far more compact without it, they stated that it’s not misuse to keep the panel tucked away.
All of the convertible car seats have similarities, like a plastic shell, impact foam, comfort padding, and a fabric cover. However, some provide thicker padding, softer or more durable fabric, or foam that doesn’t off-gas. Because this is somewhat subjective, we compare the seats side-by-side and rank them as they compare to the other competitors. Studies show that more than 7 out of 10 car seats are incorrectly installed, or the harness is not fitted correctly . As a result of these statistics, we feel ease of installation and ease of use are critical metrics when selecting a car safety seat. Both can potentially impact overall safety, and we take these metrics very seriously.