Marathon vs. Triumph for '99 Pathfinder

My twins are just about to exceed their infant carriers so I am looking at convertibles. I have a '99 Pathfinder, no LATCH system. The kids will have to be outboard since there are two of them.

Right now I'm deciding between the Evenflo Triumph and the Britax Marathon (thought about the Roundabout, but the Marathon seems like a better deal since it can be used longer). The nissan website implies that both seats should fit both rf and ff.

- Triumph is rated high on Safety. I don't think the marathon has been tested in the US, but passed the Europe test - is that considered better?

- The Marathon costs double the price, but I can use it longer - up to 65 lbs. Is it better to buy the Triumph now and another one later that might fit bigger kids later or just get the Marathon now and use it for all sizes?

- I have heard that the Roundabout has hot fabric unless you special order the denim. I don't know if that is true for the Marathon - anyone know? I live in Phoenix so we'll see some 115F days around here.

Please let me know any other areas I need to consider or recommendations. I'm looking to get one in the next few weeks.

Thanks!
-Debi

I'm in Ajo, south of you and hotter. I have 3 covers: freedom, colonial blue and racer. I got the colonial blue last summer when we lived in El Paso (still pretty warm) and my son did fine with it. We actually came to Ajo in July to look at houses and he was in it then and it was 122 that day. My other son has the denim on his Bodyguard but it hasn't been through a summer yet.

Shauna
CPS Tech

All of those seats have absolutely been tested in the US...it's just that Consumer Reports only chose a small selection of seats, and didn't bother to include the Marathon. But they have all passed testing here, and are all very safe choices
You don't have to special order the denim/new blues...you just have to find a place that sells it (not every store carries every cover pattern...), but I think the "low pile" covers like Stormy, Colonial Blue, Maverick and Freedom would also be good choices, I think.
If you get the Triumph, it will probably last till age 4 or so, and the Marathon will last till age 6 or so... Some parents find they want to keep a child harnessed longer than the minimum recommended 4 years/40 pounds, and so are happy to have the Marathon from the outset. If you go with the Triumph, you may end up buying another seat later to keep them harnessed longer.
Either way, you will still need a booster seat later, as children need to be in them till they fit the adult seatbelts properly, usually between age 8-12 and 80 pounds and 4 '9 ", but you can go with a small no back booster for around $20 if you have head support in the car, at that age.

The bottom line is, if you want to keep your kids harnessed a long long time, the Marathon is probably the best choice. It also allows rearfacing to a considerably higher age than the Triumph, and rearfacing well past a year is highly recommended for safety.

Wow, I'm really going on and on here, I hope I'm not totally overloading you! I'll edit for clarification if I need to!