Need some help deciding on a car seat.

I know everyone here gives wonderful advice and you have helped me decide in the past what to do, so I am asking for help again.

I have a 3 1/2 yo niece who weighs 37lbs and is 41" tall. She needs a new car seat. I'm not sure what one to get for her. I had her in my sons True fit today and she loved it, but I am thinking it is not a good one because if she gets tall fast she will be out of it too soon and then she will still need a booster. I have been looking at the Graco nautilus or Evenflo Maestro as well. Please give me your advice on what you think will work and be the safest seat for her!

Thanks!

Hello,

Can you tell us what vehicle it will be installed in?

My top picks for older/taller kids who are already FF are the Nautilus, Maestro and also the Frontier. Obviously price plays into the choices.

The Maestro has the lowest top slots (though not by much) and a 47lb limit, and while it turns into a pretty good booster, it's not a particularly tall booster, so it would be outgrown sooner overall, almost the same time as the harness if she outgrows it by height (and I think it has a 6yr expiry). It's $129 at Zellers and BRU.

The Nautilus is the seat we have and I love them. They are working very well. DS1 is 5yo, almost 40lbs and about 42" or a bit more and fits on the second slots, so he has a ton of room to grow. The Nautilus requires the base to be 100% on the seat so it doesn't work in some vehicles like certain trucks. The harnessed/high back portion expires after 6years but the low back booster section is good for 9yrs. The harness limit is 65lbs. You can sometimes find the Nauti on sale for as low as $179 (Zellers, usually), regular price is about $239-259, I think.

The Frontier harness is about the same height as the Nautilus for the older models, and about 2" taller for the new XT models. The weight limit is also 65lbs, and it turns into a nice, tall high back booster (no LBB option), with an expiry of 9 years for everything. The older models especially had some install issues with some vehicles. However, if it works for their vehicle, you can currently find some of the older model seats (check DOM but I think they would tend to be 2009 seats?) in the Pink Sky cover for $209.
http://www.snugglebugz.ca/product.php?productid=21007&cat=995&page=1
http://www.babyproofingplus.com/item11981.htm?blnSearch=yes

It will be in a 4 door Pontiac Sunfire, not sure of the year, but it must be older than a 2002 because it doesn't have the latch system