Question Replacing car seat after accident - decisions

My vehicle was involved in an accident this week (fortunately while parked and empty), and my insurance company is going to replace my car seat. I have a 19 month old son who weighs 22 lbs and is 30 inches tall (wearing 18 month sized shirts). He was riding RF in a RA55 in my 2004 Toyota Rav4 (passenger side).

I'm hoping to get some advice about the choice of replacement seat. I am in Canada, and have a $250 budget. I really like the Britax seat for its ease of install and the straps that don't twist, but was a bit concerned that my son was running out of leg room already when RF, and that he might outgrow it by height sooner than I'd like (hoping that perhaps he can stay in it until booster age). I would like to RF him as long as possible. It does fit well in my car, which is pretty tight in the back seat.

I think that my options are either to replace the RA55 with another exactly the same, or go with the Marathon Classic (recently available at Target), or pay the difference and upgrade to the Marathon 65. I'd like to stick with Britax - I have a Guide 65 in our other car, and although I like it, I don't find it as convenient to use. Just wondering what your thoughts are - I know the shell of the Marathon is taller, so I worry about the fit in the car but I think it will likely be OK, and I like the idea of a longer useful life, especially rear facing. I don't mind rethreading the harness, so that's not really an issue. I know that the marathon classic lacks the "integrated bars and safe cell base" of the RA55 - not sure whether this makes a huge difference, but I do like the way the RA55 has 2 separate LATCH straps which makes it really easy to install. I think the RA55 also has deeper side wings.

Your thoughts are much appreciated, all this is so confusing sometimes!

Welcome! Sorry your car was in an accident, but glad it was empty! Bumping for you so someone can help you.

The new generation of britax convertible seats (non classic) have shorter shells and are outgrown rearfacing sooner. For this reason I would choose the marathon classic if you want to stick with britax. That said there are also other seats that you might like as well.

nannykates said:

The new generation of britax convertible seats (non classic) have shorter shells and are outgrown rearfacing sooner. For this reason I would choose the marathon classic if you want to stick with britax. That said there are also other seats that you might like as well.

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Given that he is 19 months old, I would suspect she had a new gen seat already

I would look at the Graco myRide given your price range. It has been on sale recently on amazon.ca for $135 with free shipping... otherwise, Target sells it for $200 as does Walmart.

Thanks so much for your help. With respect to the classic marathon, do you find it installs as easily as the newer models? Also wondering your thoughts about whether the newer marathons are just more bells and whistles, or is it worth the extra for the newer base? I'm leaning towards the marathon classic at this point - I really like the my ride too, but I don't think that the deeper recline will fit as well in my car (plus I just really liked the other britax, so I'm a bit biased is the leg room comparable in all 3 models?

I have zero experience with the Classic MA but do know that it has a lower RF limit than all other Britax seats... only goes to 35 lbs RFing...

The MyRide has much more in terms of leg room over any Britax seat RFing but I can say that my 34.5 inch tall 2.5 yr old is still RFing with lots of room in her Boulevard. She sits with her legs crossed for the most part (she just crosses them at the ankles now and is totally fine).

The Classic Marathon has the same premium LATCH connectors so I would suspect that install is fairly easy, like any Britax seat

Both the classic & G3 have premium UAS & lock offs....the classic doesn't have the no re-thread harness though & a lower RF weight limit

My DS is 4y 9m wearing 3T-4T tops & still fits RF - FF he has a ton of growing room!

We have a MyRide too but my DS prefers his marathon RF & FF the marathon is super reclined in our vehicle

Thanks so much for the advice. I've decided to get the marathon classic, unless the MA65 goes on sale next week. I'm fine with having to rethread the harness, and hopefully the weight limit won't be an issue (he's consistently in the 5th percentile for weight), its more the longer RF height that I need. I wish the headwings of the classic were a bit deeper, but I know I can't have it all on my budget I really appreciate the advice, its made the choice much easier!