The Britax Advocate CS is Britax's most expensive seat. However, it's still a Britax. The CS feature doesn't work as well as it should on any seat, and very few people here think its worth the money. The Advocate's cushions are great externally, but if you just have your one child in the back then you're paying for something that won't be used. Also, they work best when the people next to them are sitting next to the seat forward facing, not rear. They're just not positioned at all for someone to bounce into them rear facing.
And then it's a Britax. Well made, great company, very comfortable, easy to install, but no longer the longest lasting seat out there. It has top slots just shy of 17", less leg room than a lot of seats, a shell that isn't the tallest anymore, and a six year lifespan.
First on my list of convertible seats would be the Learning Curve True Fit. Even if you go for the brand new (brand new, it's shipping from about half of the places that will have it so far, the others will have it shortly) anti rebound bar version, the C670, you'll pay $100 less than for the Advocate. And the regular True Fit is $150-$190. And for your money you get a seat with 17.5" top slots, the tallest shell out there, tons of leg room, built in lockoffs, very comfortable, a seven year lifespan, fits newborns and short torsoed infants well, sits lower on the seat so it doesn't take up as much room front to back, not as wide, and has a removable headrest to 22 pounds, making it a very tiny seat for babies. The C670 has moved the harness adjuster position up (thank goodness, the only complaint with the seat most people have is they have to dig to adjust the harness. OTOH, kids can't reach it and loosen themselves) and added the antirebound bar. That's it.
Next on my list would be the Evenflo Triumph Advance. $140-$180. It too has a tall shell, tons of leg room, 17.5" top slots. No built in lockoffs (which most people don't need as their belts lock anyway, but some people would rather have that than use a locking clip if necessary), and a 50 pound forward facing limit. As most 65 pound seat are outgrown before 65 pounds the 50 pound limit is more than enough for some kids, not enough for others. It's a gamble. It's a wide seat, but comfortable, with a unique harnessing system meaning you never have to rethread the harness. It adjusts to the child's shoulders every time.
Next is the new Graco My Ride 65. It is the first US seat with a 40 pound rear facing limit. However, the shell height is just about the same as the Marathon's, so it won't get all kids to 40 pounds (whereas the True Fit will get all kids to 35 pounds). I haven't installed it in a car yet, but for $150 or so you get a seat with a 40 pound rear facing limit, 65 pounds forward, top slots about the same as the Britaxes, a ton of leg room. However, it's remarkably reclined both rear and forward facing, so kids may not like that. And I can't tell you how it installs yet.
Fourth and fifth on my list are the Britax Marathon and Boulevard. Not the CS versions. Just the regular versions. Like I said above. Great seats, great construction, very comfortable. They're just by far the most expensive on my list and last the shortest amount of time. Well, the My Ride is probably right there with them, but it costs half the money.
As for fitting in a small sedan, a child who is old enough to be moving out of an infant seat often has decent head control and no longer needs a 45 degree angle. So they take up less room front to back than the infant seat. The My Ride's angle is hard to adjust I'm hearing, and of the ones I've mentioned the True Fit and the Evenflo Triumph Advance take up the least room front to back. The TF because it doesn't sit up high on a base, the EFTA because of the way its shaped. But I never had problems installing Piper in my mom's Civic rear facing. Or my brother's Acura RSX (like a Civic coupe).
HTH
Wendy
