Britax Diplomat???

[MontrealMum]

I just got an email yesterday from BRU advertising the new Britax Diplomat as "...the new convertible for compact cars..." or some such. Does anyone have one or know anything about it?

We just purchased a Marathon since DS is about to be too long for his infant carseat any day now, and I did tons of research. Now I am kicking myself that there is a carseat potentially available that is made for compact cars.

We did carry both the Roundabout and Marathon out into the parking lot with the clerk to see which fit better (rearfacing) in our "compact" car - a Jetta - and it was a toss-up, so we went for the Marathon because it was good to a longer height.

Of course, the Diplomat may not be available in Canada, but we may be buying a second car seat for our second car, so I'd like to know more about it, if it is. At this point we are going to try to drive DS around using only the one car, so we need only one car seat. We live in a big city so we don't drive with DS very frequently. But we may decide that that's a pain and have to invest in another.

[Joolsplus2]

You'll be happier with the Marathon you got :). Diplomat is just a Roundabout with Boulevard-Style headwings...same tiny seat that gets outgrown way too soon. Marathon also fits RF in a Jetta just fine, so I think the Diplomat is more about marketing than anything else (maybe if you really had a little two door car, but in that case, the Roundabout would be a lot easier to get your kid into!)

:)

[MontrealMum]

Thanks so much for clearing that up :) Just when you think you're happy with your decision...

I was just so surprised to see something "new" so soon after we'd made our purchase, and really wanted to make sure we'd made the right choice.

I'm glad to hear that it's basically a Roundabout re-styled, and not something totally new. We decided against the Roundabout because DS is so tall, and were very happy to see that the Marathon actually fits in our Jetta, and to also hear that from someone who specializes in this.

Our cars are both 4-doors, so I think we'll be OK on that front too.

[eah125]

i just received that bru email as well so thanks, b/c was wondering the same! I am looking for a second car seat (b/c of daycare needs). my ds is still a newborn, but figure getting a 2nd infant seat is just silly. my concern is that the marathon is really too big for a 2 month old. the diplomat (from online pictures at least) looks like it has more cushioning & head support. any thoughts? would i be ok to just buy the Mar as suggested? My car is midsize, i am just assuming that the Mar would fit. could be wrong...

[Joolsplus2]

The Marathon is really fine for a 2 mo. What infant seat do you have? Why not just buy a second base, or install it without the base (if that's allowed)? Then you could put off buying a bigger seat for a little longer (but you'll need one anyway, the Marathon really is great)

:)

[eah125]

I have the graco snugride & did think of the 2nd base, but the daycare won't store the seat during the day (dh is doing drop-off, i am doing pick-up). oh well. Well Mar i guess it is then. Thank you!

[Joolsplus2]

Ah, ok, hadn't occured to me a daycare wouldn't let you leave the seat there. I'd get a Marathon for sure then. If walmart is your only option for shopping then get a Scenera :)