Cosco Touriva

[AliB78]

I write reviews of carseats for Epinions.com on a fairly regular basis. Here is my review of the:

Cosco Touriva (http://www.epinions.com/content_34497531524)

The Touriva is a convertible seat that can be used from 5 to 35 pounds rear-facing and from 22 to 40 pounds forward-facing. With the preferred 5-point harness (as opposed to an overhead shield or T-shield harness), the Touriva is a safe seat that I would recommend as a spare seat. It isn't going to offer you the luxuries that some other carseats have, but it will safely restrain your child when used correctly.

[didymama]

since they are inexpensive, my mom or i have bought several of these. i really like them. they aren't the prettiest things out there, but being on a budget and needing narrow seats this is great. my 16 mo currently uses the one in my car and will nap quite awhile in it. i have never had the straps twist in a newer model and the cover never has come off. it is easy to install both FF and RF using a locking clip. if you are tight on space or budget i would recommend this seat. the RF position goes up to 35 lbs, so he will be there for a LONG time since he is a small boy. my oldest used it until i got a Eddie Bauer all in one and never really liked that as much as this. i used it from when my youngest was about 5 mo, since i HATE to haul the carrier type and use baby slings that was not an issue. :)

[musicmaj]

I have a touriva/regal ride from albeebaby to use in the center position of my incredibly small 1990 toyota corolla. It is a great fit. It was easy to install. It is only 16 inches wide. My baby is comfortable in it. He is small - only 18lbs and 28.5 inches at 17 months old. He will fit in this seat rear facing for quite some time.

If you need a car seat that is narrow, rear faces to 35lbs, and inexpensive then this seat might be for you.

[supermommyof2]

I don't have it anymore, but the Costco Touriva was my seat of choice when ds1 outgrew his Peg Perego infant seat (which we loved) at 6 months. This was the only seat that would fit RF, which was a definate must, in our 02 Hyundai Accent. I have since passed it on to my sister and we've graduated to a Radian. The price, size, and usability of the Touriva were the reasons we chose it, but I'm still convinced it was the best choice at the time. I believe it has now been replaced by the Scenera, with good reason from what I found out today. I don't know for sure about the exact seat we had (I wondered if our seat might have not had the same problem being certified in Canada), but I just read an article that exposes the potential danger of this seat, most likely in a side-impact crash. There are notches in the plastic shell in the side "wings" right at head level. Some babies ended up with skull fractures from hitting the edges of the notches, so I would recomend peeling back the cover and checking your seat if you own one already. After reading this article (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-carseats-special,0,7167915.story?page=1) I will now always look under the cover on any carseat I consider before I buy it.

[UlrikeDG]

Some seats from other companies also have these notches.

[Shaggy]

I'm confused. Having watched the video, the 'notches' seem depressed rather than sticking out. How do they do damage? Or are they talking about the whole curved shape of the seat?