Cosco Finale Review: First Impressions (Please register to see full size pics)

[Brigala]

It's here! Cosco Finale (from Walmart)




I ordered the pattern labeled "Outta This World" on the Walmart website, which is a Disney / Mickey pattern. The fabric feels nice, and it looks good.

View attachment 29663


The minimum age on this seat is 1 year old. Minimum weight, 30 lbs. Minimum height, 32" tall.

Our first model doesn't meet the weight minimum (she is 26 lbs in her birthday suit) but she is just over 2.5 years old and 34 inches tall. She's around the 15th percentile for both height and weight.



I haven't measured myself, but reported slot height measurements are 13, 15, and 17 inches. Alexandra has lots of room to grow before she hits the first set of slots, which surprised me.



There is only one crotch buckle position. This might become an issue with bigger kids, but it fits our model with plenty of room. Alexandra here is sporting a pair of cloth training undies, which are maybe a little thicker than a disposable diaper and a lot thinner than a standard cloth diaper.



Pictures with a larger model in booster mode will follow in a later comment.

 

[Brigala]

Re: Cosco Finale: First Impressions (with pics)

Our next model is almost 7 years old, 51.5 inches tall, and weighs 60 lbs.

Although she is within the weight limit (65 lbs) for using the harness, she is over the height limit (49 inches). Her shoulders are also slightly above the top harness position. I thought this was particularly interesting because she got too tall for other seats with 17/18 inch top harness positions about 3 years ago. I expected her to be well above the top harness height. Some of that may be that she's been growing mostly in the legs since then, and some of that may be attributed to the shape of the seat which may somehow magically make 17" stretch longer than it does on other seats.

She is just barely within the booster's height limitation (52 inches) for booster mode, so that's what I tried with her.

Booster mode is 40-100 lbs and 43-52 inches according to the manual.

Excuse the silly faces. She was in a very goofy mood tonight.





The shoulder belt guide is rather wonky, but at least in this vehicle (2015 Expedition) it worked OK. I even had her lean forward and then back again and it retracted appropriately.





She doesn't have a lot of room left before her ears are even with the top of the seat, but since she's only half an inch away from outgrowing it by standing height, that's to be expected.



I'm not sure I'd *want* to use this in booster mode, but it does appear to work and does appear to position the belt correctly, at least on this kid.

This seat should probably last average-sized kids from about age 2/2.5 (or whenever they start to outgrow the Scenera NEXT) to about age 8, I'd think. Most kids should be able to graduate from this seat directly to a backless booster, if necessary.

I'm particularly impressed that the stated height ranges on the box seem so... realistic. A child under 32 inches really isn't going to look right in this seat, and I think it will help discourage people from using it way too early (from a size perspective). I'm guessing a lot of children with average builds will be able to use the harness until they are about 49 inches tall, and probably my daughter at least will hit 52 inches shortly before her torso is too long to use the belt guide.

I haven't read the manual yet (except the cover) so I'll comment more on that tomorrow.

Under $40 at Walmart.com

 

[Brigala]

Re: Cosco Finale: First Impressions (with pics)

Highlights from the manual:

There is no minimum age listed for booster use. The only age guidance is that the AAP recommends waiting until the harness is outgrown. "This typically occurs around age 4, but some children outgrow them sooner and others not until later." :thumbsdown:

There are clear instructions for storing the harness, etc. in storage locations under the cover for use in booster mode.

The shoulder belt guide is only to be used "if necessary" to properly position the shoulder belt on the child. Default is to skip it.

Tether anchor is required. Manual says if you don't have one, have one installed. I actually like this strong language. I know FMVSS requires the seat to pass without the tether, so I'm not going to panic over it from a safety standpoint. We just need to get some better availability of tether retrofits...

Lower anchor weight limit is 50 lbs. Probably most kids will be able to use this seat with the lower anchors until it's outgrown.

Inflatable belts prohibited - fortunately probably not a huge issue for most children with the 50 lb lower anchor limit. It doesn't spell it out but I assume inflatable belts are not allowed in either harness or booster mode.

 

[Kegracin]

Re: Cosco Finale: First Impressions (with pics)

How was the install in your vehicle?

 

[Brigala]

Re: Cosco Finale: First Impressions (with pics)

Average for a budget seat, I'd say. I had to put a knee in it to get it tight. The manual specifically allows this. And to be fair I have a somewhat problematic head rest and usually have to put some oomf into any forward facing seat other than a Clicktight.

 

[flutie128]

Re: Cosco Finale Review: First Impressions (Please register to see pics)

This seat looks really nice to replace the Next in my babysitter's car once my YDD is too big for the Next. Hopefully it isn't a beast to install.

 

[Kegracin]

Re: Cosco Finale: First Impressions (with pics)

Average for a budget seat, I'd say. I had to put a knee in it to get it tight. The manual specifically allows this. And to be fair I have a somewhat problematic head rest and usually have to put some oomf into any forward facing seat other than a Clicktight.

Thanks these may work nicely for us to keep at the pd, they don't go threw enough seats to need order a bulk order.

 

[Brigala]

Cosco Finale Measurements!

Measurement Post!

Three year old Huggable Images doll (lowest harness setting):


3 Harness Heights: 13, 15, and 17 inches.

Optional booster belt guide: 21.5 inches at the midpoint.

1 Crotch buckle position: About 7.5 inches from the back, give or take half an inch depending on how I measured it.

Overall exterior seat width: 17 inches pretty much everywhere.

Exterior seat depth: 18 inches.

Interior seat width: Around 13 inches with very little variation in the different parts of the seat (between the arm rests, at the shoulders, etc.).

Interior seating depth: About 12.5 inches.

Interior shell height: 26 inches.

And one more. I've found that seats with narrow backs (where they contact the vehicle seat) fit better in cars with side bolsters. And for most of this seat, that's the case here. If your car has deep lumbar cushions on the side, this seat may install closer to the door than some other types of seat.

Up until the booster-mode shoulder belt guides flare backwards to meet the vehicle seat back, about 19 inches up, the seat is only 9" wide in the back.

 

[Brigala]

Re: Cosco Finale: First Impressions (with pics)


3 year old Huggable Images doll. Lowest harness setting.

Stated Limits:

Harness Weight Range: 30 - 65 lbs.
Booster Weight Range: 40-100 lbs.
Harness Height Range: 32-49 in.
Booster Height Range: 43-52 in.



Harness Age Range: at least 1 year old
Booster Age Range: None stated

Child weight limit for lower anchors: 50 lbs.


Measurements:
Lowest Harness Height: 13 in.
Middle Harness Height: 15 in.
Highest Harness Height: 17 in.
Single Crotch Buckle Position: 7 in.
Internal Seating Depth: 12 in.
Internal Seating Height: 26 in.
Internal Bottom Width: 13 in.
Internal Shoulder Width: 13 in.
External Seat Width: 17 in.
Optional Booster Belt Guide Height: 22.5 in. at midpoint
Seat Weight: 8 lb 11 oz


Other Information:
Lock-offs Provided: Does not have Lock-offs
LATCH in Booster Mode: Can NOT Use LATCH
Inflatable seat belts: Prohibited
Expiration Limit: 10 years from date of manufacture.
Seat Modes: Harness/ High Back Booster