If money were no object... convertible for 3 and 5 yr old that fits a newborn

I have a Britax Wizard that is about to expire... Before it expired, my dh was rear-ended with no one in the seat. So, now the seat will be replaced by the insurance. I am due in Oct with #4. I need a seat that is convertible because the replacement will be the baby's seat, however, it also needs to fit my 3 yr old (30 pounds) and currently in a roundabout with plenty of growth room and my 5 yr old, recently moved to a Nautilus from the Wizard but still had plenty of room to grow (she is 33 pounds and not even in 5T pants yet)... I really like the padding of the Britax carseats- they seem to have more than most carseats, but I don't like that newborns seem to be a little short for the straps for the first 2 months or so.

I'd look at the Graco My Ride, the Learning Curve True Fit, the Evenflo Triumph Advance, and the Sunshine Kids Radian (especially if you need to get three across in a row). They all fit newborns well, and are long lasting. The My Ride has the shortest top slots, the EFTA the lowest weight limit forward facing, the True Fit the longest shell, and the Radian the best weight limits (40 pounds rear facing 65 pounds forward). They're all cheaper than the Wizard was new, so the insurance company should like that.

Wendy

Radian XT :thumbsup:

I think the True Fit would work great. The harness straps are really easy to move, it has a high shell height, and it is supposed to fit newborns well (with the infant insert) and older ones well (without the insert). I've heard that the lockoffs make for quick installs.

The My Ride is great for a newborn, but seems a little over reclined forward facing.

The XT can be difficult to install and needs to have the safe stop (a stretchy part of harness installed at the splitter plate) with certain aged kids ff, and cannot have it rf. If you are frequently going to change it from ff to rf, it might be more difficult to use due to putting on & off the safe stop & tricky (with some cars) installs.

If you loved the Wizard, the BV is very similar and my favorite seat. There will be a big Britax sale in September, but if you need a seat now for the 3 & 5 year olds, you can't wait that long.

The Complete Air will be out in 2 wks. I know nothing about it's fit with newborns, but it looks like a great fit with a pre-schooler on the Car Seat Blog.

I highly recommend checking out as many seats in person as possible before you buy one. Target & BRU are getting lots of new models.:thumbsup: