Question Which seat for my 09 Rav4?

I am looking for a car seat for my 09 Rav 4 to fit my son. He is 10 months old, 28.5 inches tall and 20 lbs. He is just about to outgrow his Graco Snug Ride, which I find highly irritating, because the straps are alway twisting and I have to adjust them in the back.

Anyway, after doing a bunch of research, I have narrowed down to three seats, the Britax Boulevard, Recaro ProRide, and the Radian XTXL. Which of these would you recommend? I also hear that Britax is coming out with new seats in August and wonder if I should wait that long to get a new seat or just go with what is already out there now. I really want a good quality seat that is easy to install and not a big PITA. Perhaps there is another seat I should consider?

Thank you in advance!

Of those three I'd go with the Radian as you'll get the most time rear facing out of it, and the most time forward facing. The Boulevard is the shortest of the three, the Recaro, if it's the same as the Como/Signo, has little leg room and little shoulder room and sits the highest. Bang for the buck is in the Radian's favor.

What about those three attracted you to them?

Wendy

To tell you the truth, I just read a bunch of reviews and those seemed to have good ones. Is the Radian easy to install and use if I switch it between cars often? Is there another that you recommend?

The Radian can be tricky. How often will you be moving it?

I rarely recommend the Boulevard, and never the Recaro. The Boulevard is nice, but it's expensive for what you're getting. The Recaro (at least the Como and Signo, I haven't seen the new one yet) is outgrown in real life long before it should be on paper. Neither of them fit newborns (which isn't an issue for you right now, but if you decide to pass it down in the future to a new baby it may be).

In addition to the Radians, I'd look at the Safety 1st Complete Air, Graco My Ride, Evenflo Momentum, Learning Curve True Fit. Given that he's not remarkably heavy, a 35 pound rear facing weight limit that the True Fit has is just fine, the others have 40-45 pound rear facing weight limits.

Wendy

In the 09 RAV 4?

Forget the Radian unless you never ever want to use your front passenger seat. That car is remarkably small front-to-back. The Radian takes up a lot of rear-facing room and nothing can press against the front seat while in use for a passenger. (I have Radians, my almost-step-mother has an 09 RAV 4.)

It won't install at all in the middle. Either of the other two, with their high bases, might actually be good choices in that car because of the seatbelt situation, I don't know if you'll get it in in the middle rear-facing but once you go forward-facing it's pretty much the only few seats I can think of that install well in that center position.

For longer rear-facing, I'd consider the Safety 1st Complete Air. It will probably have to go outboard to install well, but it can sit more upright, and has a 40 lb. rear-facing limit and an even taller shell than the Radians. The True Fit is also a good choice with its tall shell, if it installs well. (I haven't tried it.) I haven't seen the Momentum in person so I don't know how it would fit. The MyRide won't last much longer by height than the Britax seats, and may or may not install well.

Uh oh, I already ordered the Radian. Guess I'll have to try it and see how it goes... My husband was getting antsy and wanted me to be done with all my worry about it.

I'll look into the others mentioned and let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the input!