What do Consumer Reports' "better, best, basic" mean for car seat crash protection ratings?

LC2003 · Jan 5, 2016

I got my newest issue that had the car seat ratings and my baby's car seat just got "basic." (Britain Boulevard G4.1) It is brand new, bought after asking here what car seat is easy to buckle, and we are keeping it, but should I be sad or worried?

joolsplus3 · Jan 5, 2016

Carseatblog has a pretty good overview... http://carseatblog.com/36420/the-sa...on-ratings-and-methods-from-consumer-reports/

"We note that among the models with a BASIC Crash Protection Rating, the Britax G4 series convertibles received this rating due to lower performance with a 52-pound 6-year old dummy or a 62-pound weighted 6-year old dummy in forward-facing crash tests. In that these are smaller convertible carseats, we recognize that very few children will actually remain in them beyond 50 pounds. As such, we still feel they represent a very good option for both smaller vehicles and for younger children that will still receive good protection."

The 'average' 8 year old is 55lbs, so if your kiddo is petite or even average, they will be too tall for the seat well below the weight limit. I'd keep using this seat with confidence if it were me

LC2003 · Jan 6, 2016

joolsplus3 said:
Carseatblog has a pretty good overview... http://carseatblog.com/36420/the-sa...on-ratings-and-methods-from-consumer-reports/

"We note that among the models with a BASIC Crash Protection Rating, the Britax G4 series convertibles received this rating due to lower performance with a 52-pound 6-year old dummy or a 62-pound weighted 6-year old dummy in forward-facing crash tests. In that these are smaller convertible carseats, we recognize that very few children will actually remain in them beyond 50 pounds. As such, we still feel they represent a very good option for both smaller vehicles and for younger children that will still receive good protection."

The 'average' 8 year old is 55lbs, so if your kiddo is petite or even average, they will be too tall for the seat well below the weight limit. I'd keep using this seat with confidence if it were me

Thanks so much! This baby is skinny and long and likely won't be 60 lbs 'til she is 10! I won't worry then. My oldest had a Marathon and he outgrew it by height by age 4-5.