Carseat/booster for taxi and rental cars for tall 4yo

Our 4yo was in an evenflo sureride until our enormously large baby outgrew her baby car seat at 5 mos and had to be moved into the sureride. We don't own a car and we travel a lot, so the car seats are just for taxis and rental cars. The 4yo rides in planes now with just the seatbelt--she is well over 40 lbs and I think over 40 in tall. For the occasional short taxi ride over the last few months, she has been in a bubble bum (or a similar built in backless booster that comes in the taxis here). For those short trips she sits properly just fine. But I have been thinking about whether we should buy another car seat/booster for times when we might be in a car for several hours at a time, so that we don't have to worry whether she is sitting up straight for these trips. Since it would only be for travel, I'd want it to be lightweight and easy to install, and it would be great if it folded or collapsed somehow so that it was easier to transport. Also, we often need to do two kids and one adult in the back of a rental car, so it would be great if it weren't too wide (although I recognize that may not be possible). I could get another evenflo sureride, but she is big enough now that I think she finds it a bit constricting (plus I think a booster would be faster and easier to install, especially since a lot of our time in cars is in Europe, where the seatbelts don't lock).

To get a general sense of our seat usage, we spend about 6-8 weeks per year in rental cars or in grandparents' cars during visits. We almost never drive longer than two hours (and almost all trips are 30 min or less), but we do occasionally do one longer car trip (over a few days). We take taxis usually only to and from the airport, but we often travel internationally.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a seat?

We can also of course just keep using the bubble bum, but I haven't tried it out for longer trips, and I'm not sure that she can be trusted to sit properly for longer periods...

Maybe the Harmony Folding booster? http://www.walmart.com/ip/Harmony-Folding-Travel-Booster-Car-Seat/22301298 It's quite light, decently comfy, has good sidewings for sleep support. That and the IMMI Go (which requires a top tether, might not be ideal outside of the US where those are less common) are sort of the only seats in that category right now.
Hope that helps!

Have you considered the Ride Safer Travel Vest?

Thanks for the replies! joolsplus3, the harmony booster looks like a great option. I think this is what we might do (although it sounds like I should definitely bring the bubble bum as a backup in case the fit somehow doesn't work out great with my daughter). aporthole, I did consider the vest last year, but it wasn't approved for use in the EU, which is where we do almost all of our driving. I checked again now, and it is approved for use only with a particular backless booster that they sell in conjunction with it, which seems to defeat the point... I would love it if just the vest became an option in europe, because I also like the fact that it seems to distribute the force of the seatbelt more evenly...

cwyn said:

Thanks for the replies! joolsplus3, the harmony booster looks like a great option. I think this is what we might do (although it sounds like I should definitely bring the bubble bum as a backup in case the fit somehow doesn't work out great with my daughter). aporthole, I did consider the vest last year, but it wasn't approved for use in the EU, which is where we do almost all of our driving. I checked again now, and it is approved for use only with a particular backless booster that they sell in conjunction with it, which seems to defeat the point... I would love it if just the vest became an option in europe, because I also like the fact that it seems to distribute the force of the seatbelt more evenly...

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No US seat is going to be approved for use in Europe. If using for travel a US seat or the vest is going to be non-approved either way.

If you are in Europe frequently and your child is over 4, I personally would use a booster. If you regularly visit the same place and are able to, I would buy a booster there and store it there.