New Help with 2nd Car Seat Choice

[pritteeone]

I need help choosing a second car seat. We recently purchased a Marathon and love it!! We use the Marathon in our SUV. Now, I need a second car seat for our Acura Integra. I'm concerned another Marathon will be too big for the Acura.

I'm also considering future airplane travel when purchasing the second seat. Our daughter is one year old and we've traveled with her on our laps but may consider purchasing a separate seat for her next time we travel and will need a car seat for the airplane.

Any suggestions on a versatile second car seat?

[o_mom]

What is your budget?

[pritteeone]

Cost does not matter. I'm more concerned with safety and convenience. I also like to purchase with the long-term in mind so that it will last me until she is in a booster. Any suggestions are much appreciated!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

we have a Marathon in our 1995 Acura Integra. (love my car!) Mine is a 4-door.

It fits rear facing or forward facing in the center and on the side. I also have a Radian in there forward facing on the side (haven't tried it in other positions)

Radian is great for air travel because it folds up, it's my favorite travel seat. I have also traveled with the Marathon.

[o_mom]

OK - welll.... your two goals - fitting in an Integra and longevity may not be compatible. The first thing I would suggest is trying your Marathon in the Integra to see how it fits rear-facing with your husband's seat position. I'm not sure the year or body style of your Integra, but our old 2 dr had pretty deep buckets in the back that would fit a small base like the Marathon pretty easily. You may be able to get it in behind the passenger seat easier than in the center because of this. At a year old, she can be more upright (though still rear-facing for another year or so) which should help things.

If your Marathon fits, you could look at something like the Roundabout50, which is the same size, but a few pounds lighter. It will last nearly the same amount of time as the Marathon and gets most kids to an appropriate booster age.

If the Marathon just doesn't fit, then something like the Combi Corroco would be something to consider. The only issue there may be with those scooped out seats since the Corroco isn't on a base. The Corroco isn't going to last as long, but it is very compact and I think it would be a good travel seat.

Another option would be a Safety 1st Avenue. Very light for travel and has decent features. It isn't going to last to booster age, but it is inexpensive and you can just plan to move to a combination seat later or pass it down to a second child if you have one.

[AnnieW625]

We have an 01 Corolla, which might be a tad smaller inside than the Integras (only test drove an 01 in 2000 and haven't ridden in one in ages) and we couldn't get our Marathon to fit rear facing so we got the now discontinued Evenflo Triumph 5. Right now the Combi Cocorro and the Britax Roundabout are about the only quality small seats on the market these days. The Cosco Scenera could be an option too, but honestly it felt like a crappy seat and we chose the Evenflo over that (and were quite happy with it!)