SillyLily
New member
Please note, I am not a tech – these are just one parent’s experiences with trying to find the right seat, and I hope it helps out some people who are still searching.
Okay, so I bought a compact car a couple weeks ago – a 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The interior is the same size as any 2002 through 2007 Subaru Impreza model. There is not a lot of leg room in the car for any passenger, and the back seat is particularly small. So of course, after purchasing the car, I had to go on the great car seat hunt to find the perfect car seat for rear-facing.
I tried the Britax Roundabout and Marathon, Maxi Cosi Priori, SK Radian, EFTA, and Scenera. There was no way the Radian was going to fit, and the EFTA fit but it gobbled up too much of the front passenger’s room. I really thought I was going to buy a roundabout. But after trying the roundabout, it just seemed too upright and didn’t fit quite right. The scenera was a pain to install, and I couldn’t get it acceptably tight when it had a noodle under it. It was too upright without the noodle. I think a tech with experience could have gotten it to work, though. But I was planning on getting a nicer seat anyways. The priori fit perfectly, so I bought that. Then in the meantime, I decided to try out our marathon since we were going on a trip and I didn’t like the scenera install.
The marathon fits perfectly! It is so bizarre, because it allows morefront passenger leg room than the roundabout (but not more than the priori). It is because of the shape of the front seats and where the marathon meets the front seat as opposed to where the roundabout meets the front seat (if that makes any sense whatsoever). And the priori fits in either of our vehicles very, very well. I have it installed in our 2001 Audi A6 right now, and my dh is so happy because it freed up so much leg room. It allows considerably more legroom than the marathon, once again because of how the seat puzzles with the front passenger’s seat.
So if you are trying to find a rearfacing seat for your Impreza, go with either the marathon or the priori depending on the size and age of your child. Oh, and the SK Radian installs like a dream front facing in the car. It was so easy and solid, its like it was made for the car!
Okay, on to my thoughts on the Priori. I. love. the. seat. Seriously, I was skeptical at first. I bought the one in night owl, thinking that the blue in the picture would look nice in my new car. But it is actually a deep, dark plum! I was shocked, and it is absolutely beautiful (although I would have been a little ticked if I had a little boy instead of girl). The center/polkadot part is kind of like a tapestry material and the wings are covered in a soft microfiber type material. The polkadot parts, where baby’s back and bottom sit, are incredibly cushioned.
The priori would work very well for someone looking to skip an infant seat altogether. It would be very easy to get the proper infant recline, and the bottom slots are very low. But it does not come with an infant insert, so they would have to use rolled up receiving towels for proper positioning.
Changing the harness level was not nearly as bad as I was expecting. It took like 60 seconds, since I had already read about how to do it online. But if I had plump hands, it would be harder. My dh, who has large but relatively thin hands, had no problems with it either. And it has the alligator style LATCH clips.
So overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like the Priori, especially after everything I read here. In my personal, and very non-tech, opinion, I am surprised it’s not recommended more often in situations where the roundabout has been recommended instead. And it was cheaper than the roundabout too. I paid $170 total for it. I bought it from baby universe, used the visasaves $20 off coupon, and went through ebates for another $10 cash back.
Oh, and for size comparison, my youngest dd weighs 20 lbs and I don’t know her height. She is quite small. She has approximately 3” to the top of the roundabout shell (so 2” of rf room) and 4” to the top of the priori shell (so 3” of rf room). My older dd is 4 and weighs 32 lbs and is about 3/4" below the top of the shell. So we've got some time before dd#2 outgrows the seat!
If you have any questions, let me know. And I will add some pictures as soon as I get them loaded onto my computer (probably this evening).
Okay, so I bought a compact car a couple weeks ago – a 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The interior is the same size as any 2002 through 2007 Subaru Impreza model. There is not a lot of leg room in the car for any passenger, and the back seat is particularly small. So of course, after purchasing the car, I had to go on the great car seat hunt to find the perfect car seat for rear-facing.
I tried the Britax Roundabout and Marathon, Maxi Cosi Priori, SK Radian, EFTA, and Scenera. There was no way the Radian was going to fit, and the EFTA fit but it gobbled up too much of the front passenger’s room. I really thought I was going to buy a roundabout. But after trying the roundabout, it just seemed too upright and didn’t fit quite right. The scenera was a pain to install, and I couldn’t get it acceptably tight when it had a noodle under it. It was too upright without the noodle. I think a tech with experience could have gotten it to work, though. But I was planning on getting a nicer seat anyways. The priori fit perfectly, so I bought that. Then in the meantime, I decided to try out our marathon since we were going on a trip and I didn’t like the scenera install.
The marathon fits perfectly! It is so bizarre, because it allows morefront passenger leg room than the roundabout (but not more than the priori). It is because of the shape of the front seats and where the marathon meets the front seat as opposed to where the roundabout meets the front seat (if that makes any sense whatsoever). And the priori fits in either of our vehicles very, very well. I have it installed in our 2001 Audi A6 right now, and my dh is so happy because it freed up so much leg room. It allows considerably more legroom than the marathon, once again because of how the seat puzzles with the front passenger’s seat.
So if you are trying to find a rearfacing seat for your Impreza, go with either the marathon or the priori depending on the size and age of your child. Oh, and the SK Radian installs like a dream front facing in the car. It was so easy and solid, its like it was made for the car!
Okay, on to my thoughts on the Priori. I. love. the. seat. Seriously, I was skeptical at first. I bought the one in night owl, thinking that the blue in the picture would look nice in my new car. But it is actually a deep, dark plum! I was shocked, and it is absolutely beautiful (although I would have been a little ticked if I had a little boy instead of girl). The center/polkadot part is kind of like a tapestry material and the wings are covered in a soft microfiber type material. The polkadot parts, where baby’s back and bottom sit, are incredibly cushioned.
The priori would work very well for someone looking to skip an infant seat altogether. It would be very easy to get the proper infant recline, and the bottom slots are very low. But it does not come with an infant insert, so they would have to use rolled up receiving towels for proper positioning.
Changing the harness level was not nearly as bad as I was expecting. It took like 60 seconds, since I had already read about how to do it online. But if I had plump hands, it would be harder. My dh, who has large but relatively thin hands, had no problems with it either. And it has the alligator style LATCH clips.
So overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like the Priori, especially after everything I read here. In my personal, and very non-tech, opinion, I am surprised it’s not recommended more often in situations where the roundabout has been recommended instead. And it was cheaper than the roundabout too. I paid $170 total for it. I bought it from baby universe, used the visasaves $20 off coupon, and went through ebates for another $10 cash back.
Oh, and for size comparison, my youngest dd weighs 20 lbs and I don’t know her height. She is quite small. She has approximately 3” to the top of the roundabout shell (so 2” of rf room) and 4” to the top of the priori shell (so 3” of rf room). My older dd is 4 and weighs 32 lbs and is about 3/4" below the top of the shell. So we've got some time before dd#2 outgrows the seat!
If you have any questions, let me know. And I will add some pictures as soon as I get them loaded onto my computer (probably this evening).
