Another Radian or a TFP?

We had a TF and I didn't love it RFing but it was the old kind and my daughter was super scrawny who sat in it (41" and 24ish pounds at 3) It swallowed her up! Her head couldn't even reach the sides

I need a new seat for DD2. She's much wider in the shoulders and bigger all around. She lost 6 pounds this past week, but I anticipate her gaining it back with no issues

She's in an XT in my car but that needs to move to DH's car (I have a van, he has a sedan) to accomodate our 3 across. I was just going to get another XTSL for my car. I have no intention on RFing to 45 pounds (or probably even 40). I turn my kids around 3.75-4 years old.

So she will go forward facing in the next year. She's on the top slots of the Radian FFing (the few times she's ridden that way) and she looks very cramped in the seat now. I can't imagine how she will look in another year or so when she goes FFing. She just looks plain squished and doesn't have lots of growing room

So then I thought of the TFP. She could use it RFing now until 35 pounds which should be about 3.5-3.75 years old or so and then turn FFing. It would give her more shoulder room. But is there more harness height on the TF over the Radian?

My other concern is where she is sitting has no top tether and one cannot be retrofitted unless I pay $180 which isn't going to happen as we will get rid of the car soon after. So then I feel that she's better off in the Radian FFing with no top tether vs the True Fit

What do you think I should get of the two?

bump Is the True Fit easy to get kids in and out of (this will be in the 3rd row so I have to climb back there bent over and don't know if the sides will be an issue)

for a spot with no top tether I would absolutely go with the radian from a safety standpoint, all other factors being equal. Does she complain of being squished? If so, that makes it harder...

I don't believe the TF has much more harness height than the radian, but I've not compared them side by side.

If you do decide to go with the TF, I would just get the regular if you are mainly using it as a FF seat. It is quite a bit more for a feature you won't be using.

I have Laine in a TFP outboard and it's fine to get her in, but she's still less than 10 pounds. And by the time we got a Radian Piper was old enough to climb in. But I definitely need to lift Laine high to get up there, but half of that is an SUV.

The top slots are about equal.

I don't know. I have both seats. Piper has sat in them both. She says both have narrow straps on her neck, but she thinks they're comfortable.

Wendy