Carseat transition help!

[Wren]

Hello! I am increasingly becoming more and more overwhelmed whilst choosing another car seat for my son. He has outgrown his Graco Snugride Lite a lot faster than previously anticipated. For reference:
My 9month old is:
32in tall
24lbs

My car is a:
Nissan Altima 2023

I would love a carseat recommendation that will fit in the rear middle seat. I am leaning towards a rotating (360) car seat if possible. I don't have any specific loyalty to the brand and hope to keep it under $500. What carseat is safest, but also fits in my Nissan? Would any of the rotating carseats fit/ are they safe?

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[ketchupqueen]

There is no comparison of what seat is "safest"; in truth we can't answer that as in different crashes different advantages might help more and you don't know what crash you might be in. You just choose a seat that installs well in your vehicle and has features you like, possibly with some you believe might provide a safety advantage (I'm partial to only a few features in that department- one is plenty of EPP or EPS foam around the head and another is something to limit downward rotation, either a load leg or Australian style tether. Other than that I'm a fan of features that make a good install easier. Happy to discuss why I like these features if desired.)
In my experience, you won't get much use of a rotating seat if you plan on a center install. All the rotating seats have at least one significant disadvantage in terms of install or usage, and many have several.
What kind of fit challenges are you encountering, so we can make better recommendations?