EvenFlo Titan Elite Vs. Safety 1st Uptown Vs. Cosco Scenara

[dadtobe]

Hi Everyone,

I need to buy a car seat for my four months old son. Since we live in Dubai, our choices are very limited based on local availability. We could find only the following seats:

1. Evenflo Titan Elite - 35 lb rf, 50 lb ff, 47 inches height limit. This is the new Titan Elite with higher weight limits than the old one. Price $140

http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Titan-Elite-Convertible-Seat/dp/B000YZ7ZRM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1228248141&sr=8-1

2. Safety 1st Uptown - 35 lb rf, 40 lb ff, 43 inches height limit. Price $114

3. Cosco Scenara - 35 lb rf, 40 lb ff, 43 inches height limit. Price $100

Our son is currently 25 inches tall and weighs 15 lbs. I'd like to purchase the one that would be comfortable for him and last longer. I like the extra padding in Evenflo Titan Elite and the fact that it has EPS, but the majority opinion in here seems to be against Evenflo Titan.

Going by the numbers above, the Titan has higher weight and height limit. Also, I placed all three of these seats side by side for a visual comparison. The shells of Scenara & Titan Elite seem to be approximately the same size and even the top harness slot seems to be in the same position. Safety 1st Uptown definitely is the larger of all the three but I am not sure if a four month old can fit in comfortably. Even if the new Titan Elite is not as good as Uptown or Scenara, given the higher height / weight limits, would it not last at least as much as Uptown or Scenara?

The prices I have given are local currency prices converted to US Dollar, and they are atrocious!!

[cpsaddict]

Hmm, well, the Titan does have the higher weight and height limits, but they did not change the harness height from the previous 40lb seat, so unless your child is on the shorter, heavier side, he really wouldn't get to 50lbs in it. Height-wise, the Uptown is a bit taller and well padded. This seat is recommended for newborns and it does have nice padding, so a younger baby would be fine in it. For $14, the Uptown would be more comfortable and last longer than the Scenera. The Titan and Uptown look like they have similar harness heights, but it's deceiving because the Titan sort of sits up higher than the Uptown. I think the Uptown slots are 16-16.5" and the Titan has 15.5-16" slots, I think. Bottom line, I would do the Uptown.

ETA: The Uptown is lined in EPS foam, like the Titan. In fact, I think the Uptown has more EPS.

[dadtobe]

Thanks cpsaddict,

I have decided on Uptown. But when I went to buy it today, I found that they had only one seat left, which was on display. The manufacturing date of the one on display is 4/23/07 which makes it 20 months old already. Is it still safe to buy it though the seat is 20 months old and has been on display for quite a while?

Even Cosco Scenaras are of July 2007. Only Titan Elites are of recent stock, manufactured in July 2008.