Best convertible for 2 door lexus?

I've been reading as much as possible and am thinking the obvious choices to try are a Radian and a Marathon, but I'm wondering if I'm overlooking anything (besides buying a new car - currently have a Lexus IS250c for the next little while).

My LO is long and lean - 27inches, 14 lbs at 5 months, and am looking ahead to when she outgrows her infant Peg Perego which fits suprisingly well in our 2 door.

Any recommendations, particularly looking for seats that have generous heights and provide the least hassle getting her in and out of the backseat, or at least knowing what to look for in a car seat (high vs low sides, ease of tightening harness, etc).

Thanks!

Hi and welcome to the forums at Car-Seat.org.

I'm afraid that I'm very unfamiliar with the car which you're asking about, but if there is limited front to back space, then the Marathon is going to be a better fit in most cases.

That being said - if you have plenty of front-to-back space, the Radian may be easier to load because of it's low profile sides. The Radian will definitely last longer by height limits than the Marathon, but I'm just really not sure how it will fit.

Other seats which would likely fit are the Graco My Ride (MR) and the First Years True Fit (TF) - although the MR is difficult to find now and the TF may only be available at Zeller's right now. If the back seat is sculpted (like raised sides beside your thighs,) then the MR would likely be a better choice than the TF. Both have good height and weight limits and would last a good long time without taking up too much space in terms of front-to-back space. Of course, both of those seats are deeper on the sides and may be harder to load in to the back seat - I'm really not sure. If you plan to climb in to the back to buckle baby in anyways then it may not be a big deal. Once baby is older, you'll be able to teach her to climb in and that will make things easier for you.

Hopefully someone else who has experience with your car will be able to answer more definitively, but I didn't want your question to go unnoticed.

Hi there! Welcome to Car-Seat.org!!!

Which seat may be best for you is not always easy to puzzle out over the internet. Lexus arn't overly popular in my area, so I do not have any experience with that vehicle, but I wanted to add that there are many seats out there that may work, like the TrueFit, that are less expensive than Britax, Peg Perego and Donino (Sunshine Kids). Price does not equal safety. All seats pass the same standards before being released to the market.

Your best bet may be to find a store in your area that will let you try the display model in the car. Try a couple of seats, and see what works and what doesn't.

I agree with the previous poster that the TrueFit will likely be the best fit, depending on the vehicle seat. The Truefit (Or TF) has a removable head rest which allows it to fit extremely well in small cars while the baby is tiny (usually about 9-12 months). Also, remember that as baby gets older, he/she does not need to be as reclined in a rear facing seat, so you can increase the angle the baby is seated at to allow more rear/forward space.

Most important, see if you can find a technician or clinic in your area if you are still unsure of what to do, or which seat to buy. Someone that can actually look and see what kind of space is available, and which seat may work best.

Best of Luck!!!

No real surprise at the lack of familiarity with a 2 door lexus convertible - it's not the first vehicle that comes to mind when you think family car

Thank you for the suggestions, I'll see if I can track down a TF or MR to test as well. Front-to-back space is pretty roomy, but the seats are bucketed and there's a middle console, so I'm guessing it'll come down to what's easiest to load - either by climbing in the back or sliding down from top and reaching over to buckle in.

Thanks!

Can you disable the passenger side airbag? If so, you could install rear-facing in the front seat. That would make loading/unloading easier.

Regardless, whatever you get, you'll want it to work rear-facing for a few years so you'll want to be really happy with the fit and "ease" of loading and unloading.