Regent a good option or not?

[PAfirsttimemom]

I have seen posts about deals on the Regent right now. I guess they are being phased out? I was thinking it could be an option for me to buy for my older DS (almost 4) for use in our secondary car (a 1998 Honda Civic) if it will fit. Does anyone know whether it will? My younger DS (15 months) could then move into the seat when he grows out of the Scenera we have for him in that car, and then older DS could probably move to a HBB at that point. What do people think about the Regent? I found the thread below in which people say they are uncomfortable with its safety performance. I'm hoping Julie and the other techs on here might be able to weigh in on this, as I am not familiar with the testing the posters are talking about.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=110439

So is the Regent a good option for my situation, or should I be considering other seats? I've wondered about the Radian, which we could also use for traveling. I could think about the Frontier, too (we have one in our main car), because then DS1 could just use that as a booster later, but then I'll need a post-Scenera seat for younger DS when the time comes. What would you car seat gurus do? Thanks, as always, for your help!

[AnnieW625]

I have a friend who bought the Regent a couple of years ago when it was the seat to have once your kid was big enough for it and she actually had to sell her mid 90s Mazda 323 and get a bigger Saturn sedan just so it would fit. I'd only try it at a baby store like BRUS, or order from diapers.com (they have free return shipping!) first before actually buying it. Forgot to add that my CHP officer friend who does the installs at his office says the same thing about the Regent. He has done the most installs of it for kids who have special needs and needs to be harnessed a lot longer than a regular healthy child.

[Joolsplus2]

I disagree with the opinions in that post that it's unsafe, but I do think for most kids it's more seat than you really need.
Most kids are perfectly able to sit safely in a good booster by the time they outgrow the Radian/True Fit/Marathon/Complete Air/Frontier/Nautilus/Evenflo Maestro/any other seat with 16-18 inch top slots and I think those seats are mostly easier choices to deal with.
I absolutely loved my old Huskies, I could fit them in ANY car, just as easily as any other seat and they were big and easy for the kids to climb into and buckle. The Regent has pickier install rules and yeah, it fits fewer cars now because of the recline bar and interesting installation rules. If you just want to plop the Regent on a captain's chair and use it there for years, it's not a bad choice. But for smallish kids in any variety of seating positions, I think any of the seats I listed above are perfectly fine choices, and a booster when they are outgrown is a-ok (age 6-8 depending on the seat and kid...the Regent tends to fit kids to age 8-10, but expires after 6 years, the Frontier at least is good for 9 years, Radian for 8, True Fit for 7).

[Indianamom2]

Well, my 5 year old Dd #1 is currently in a Regent, and we will not be changing it. We do need to reinstall it with the seatbelt rather than latch though. She's about a pound away from the limit on latch.

While I'm somewhat uncomfortable with the recent Britax reports, she's still not quite ready for a booster, maturity-wise, and it's the only seat big enough for her.

Prior to knowing about the possible safety issues, I loved it. It sits low in the seat, it's huge enough to let her ride harnessed for a long time, it's nice and wide so she can very comfortable sit with her legs crossed.

If I had it to do over, I would, but only because we had absolutely no other option that made sense.

Now I think there are probably better options out there..oh and there are definitely smaller seats out there...this thing is a BEAST to move!

[PAfirsttimemom]

Thanks for the replies. Seems the Regent may be an iffy choice sizewise for our Civic and more seat than we really need.

I'm thinking I may want to look further at the Radian. Question is, will that fit in the Civic? Anyone have any firsthand experience? Also, which Radian? I wouldn't need the Superlatch right away, because our car doesn't have Latch. But when we get a new car, it probably would. So do we plan ahead for that and buy the SL seat or save a few bucks and get a non-SL model?

[PAfirsttimemom]

Julie or someone else, what reports about the Britax seat performance are people referring to? And what seats specifically are in question? I currently have a Blvd and a Frontier. Should I be worried about their safety?

[KrisM]

Thanks for the replies. Seems the Regent may be an iffy choice sizewise for our Civic and more seat than we really need.

I'm thinking I may want to look further at the Radian. Question is, will that fit in the Civic? Anyone have any firsthand experience? Also, which Radian? I wouldn't need the Superlatch right away, because our car doesn't have Latch. But when we get a new car, it probably would. So do we plan ahead for that and buy the SL seat or save a few bucks and get a non-SL model?

It's a different model year, but this person got 3 Radians in her Civic: http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=183779&highlight=civic+radian

[AnnieW625]

It's a different model year, but this person got 3 Radians in her Civic: http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=183779&highlight=civic+radian

FWIW I believe the 06 and newer Civics back seat is going to be as large as the early to late 90s Accords. I don't think you'll be able to fit three seats in the back of a 1998 Civic. A FFing Radian should fit no problem though.

[Joolsplus2]

Julie or someone else, what reports about the Britax seat performance are people referring to? And what seats specifically are in question? I currently have a Blvd and a Frontier. Should I be worried about their safety?

Mostly it was that there was some testing done by Transport Canada where the Britaxes used with very heavy dummies (6 yo, 52 pounds) in speeds higher than normal crash testing scenarios, appeared to have the harness rip out in several cases (Marathons) in certain cars. The dummies actually showed no substantial increase in injury measurements, though. The takeaway lesson is to top tether your seats tightly after installing tightly and to harness snugly, and then don't worry, just use the seat that fits your kid, car, and budget properly every single trip. (Here's a longer version of that, plus the link to the tests... http://carseatblog.com/?p=4727)

[PAfirsttimemom]

Thanks everyone! Still not sure what to get. Maybe a big fat deal on the Frontier or Radian, etc. will come along and make my decision for me....