help me pick the right carseat..plz!

[bridgetb125]

My ds is 21 months old, 34 inches tall, and 41 pounds. I'm thinking my choices are either the britax marathon or the cosco apex. Any suggestions? I have a chevy cavalier and my two other kids are in graco turbo boosters. So, because of size restraints I think I have to go with either of those two. Is the apex just as good as the marathon? Is the marathon worth it to buy it now, when I don't know how long he'll fit in it? I would just go for the apex, but I am leary of the cosco name..too many recalls. What are your opinions?

[Momof3Labs]

The Marathon, Boulevard and Decathalon are really nice seats and you'd probably get the full 65lbs use out of them since your DS isn't particularly tall. Take a look at the growth charts at www.cdc.gov to see when a babe in his weight percentile might hit 65lbs to get a sense of how long you could use the seat.

But it sounds like your back seat is tight, and I'd definitely go to BRU and try both the Apex and the Marathon (Decathalon and Boulevard have the same shell as Marathon, so will fit about the same in your car) in there before buying one. The Apex must have a seat headrest behind it; not sure if your car has that.

The Radian harnesses to 65lbs and advertises itself as being narrower than most seats; maybe that would help you fit three across. Not sure where to see one in person; you may have to do some hunting locally.

http://babiesexpress.com/radian.html