Britax Boulevard Convertible Car Seat, Onyx

We've had an earlier version of this seat for 4 years. It's relatively easy to install and operate and certainly feels safe (although our LATCH clips were installed backward on the seat so we've always used the seatbelt installation). I do agree with the short crotch strap comments other reviewers have had. Fishing around for the strap under your kid's bum is not fantastic.

My greatest complaint about this seat is that if you have a situation where, let's say, a child throws up in the seat and you can't get to really cleaning it out for a day because you're in the emergency room for hours, this seat is very cumbersome to take apart, and there are these long plastic "tubes" in the construction of the seat that unfortunately collect chunky liquids that fall into the seat. If your chunky liquid happens to dry in the bottom of the tubes, you'll be spending a lot of time getting it out. Since most kids either have a blow-out diaper or car vomit incident at some point, this doesn't seem like the best design feature. Although maybe the designers intended the tubes to act as a catch basin of sorts to protect the car upholstery, and it's my fault for not being able to get to it right away. Draw your own conclusions!

After reading all the reviews on this seat - i almost didn't buy it. We bought the boulevard in particular because it has the side impact safety and she leans her head up against the wings to sleep - much better than most car seats where their head flops forward. . . that just can't be comfortable.

The strap to click into is a bit short and a bit of a pain and that is why i rated 4 not 5 stars. . . My son rides in a Recaro and that would get 5 stars from me as it is easier to get him in and out of (and has been since we got it). I would have bought another Recaro for her but they don't have the pretty designs and this one is rated as well as the Recaro and has the pretty girlie designs. . .

Great seat and very pretty - my daughter seems comfortable - but really doesn't like to be strapped into anything so she does whine when we initially strap her in. she is fine shortly thereafter and i have never seen any marks from the straps. we have been using the seat for 5 months now.

You really can't buy a better seat than Recaro or Britax.

When my husband and I purchased a smaller vehicle, part of the deal was that I would be able to buy the best car seat on the market for our son. After much research, the Britax Boulevard always was the top recommendation. However, the crotch belt strap is extremely short and is NOT adjustable. Had I known this before, I would not have purchased this seat. There are several other seats by Britax with the adjustable strap (I believe the marathon has one, except it only holds up to 40 lbs in comparison to the Boulevard which holds 65). I can't imagine how my son will fit in this seat when he weighs more (He only weighs 20 lbs now and it's tight!)

Pros:
Safest on the market-- has side impact protection
Fairly easy to install


Cons:
SHORT CROTCH STRAP!
Bigger car seat
Instruction manual not the most user friendly I've ever read

I purchased this seat about a month ago, and I'm very pleased with it. You can really see the quality in the structure and the way it was designed. We use this seat foward facing, which is very easy to install and fits real tight against the back seat. Some people complain that the seat is too big, but I have 98 Altima and it fits just fine. When it comes to saftey you shouldn't skimp. We tried to install the seat rear facing, but we didn't feel comfortable with that position...there was too much play from side to side. No matter how much we tried, we just couldn't get a tight secure fit with the rear facing position. My son loves the seat too...it real comfy!

it is a bit difficult to get the baby into the carseat in the rear facing position. the wings on the sides make it very safe and comfortable for the baby. but also hard to get him in and out. not too much of a problem. but something to consider. i may have been happier with the britax seat that is rated up to 65 lbs without the wings.