Top Rated Infant Car Seats

Not all infant car seats are made equally. The most effective ones have features that enhance the performance of crash tests, such as load legs--shock absorbing parts in the base or car seat that limit movement in a collision.

Chicco KeyFit is a favorite of CPST instructors. It comes with a rear-facing weight and the height limit is high, a bubble-level indicator, and a spring-loaded reclining foot to make it easy to put in.

Graco Mesa Max

The Graco Mesa Max is one of the top-rated infant car seats in terms of user-friendliness. It comes with great fabrics with a simple design and a convenient feature for attaching the harness of a child to the headrest to make it easier to tighten. It comes with a large canopy that can be tucked away to keep your child protected when they travel. The only downside is that it is a bit heavier than normal this could be an issue if you plan to lug it around or if you want to pair it with your UPPAbaby stroller, which is a winner.

Mesa Max's impressive crash test results show its dedication to top-tier safety. It received a high score in the frontal test, and a top score in the side impact test, which means your baby is protected from both sides of an accident.

Another important safety feature is the Graco's antirebound panel, which reduces the force of rebound during a crash and protects your child's head. This is a rare feature in infant car seats and makes the Mesa Max stand out among its competitors.

Graco Mesa Max can easily and securely be fitted into your vehicle using LATCH when combined with the base. The load leg and recline angle adjustment and tightness indicator all help to ensure a quick, precise installation. The base weighs 12.6 pounds it is slightly heavier than an average car seat for infants but not enough to cause an issue.

Similar to its predecessor, the UPPAbaby Mesa V2, the Mesa Max uses dual-knit fabric which is free of harmful chemicals. It comes with an infinitely adjustable backrest and an extremely durable insert for infants weighing 4-11 lbs. The fabrics are GREENGUARD gold certified, which tests for low chemical emissions and low VOCs.

The UPPAbaby Mesa Max is slightly more expensive than some other options, but it offers premium features and advanced safety technologies for an optimal traveling experience. The base is included and comes in a variety of fashionable colors. This adds to the value proposition. Its thoughtful features and sturdy design provide parents with peace of mind during every journey.

Britax Boulevard ClickTight

The Britax Blvd ClickTight is a great option for parents who are looking for an automobile seat that they can grow with. Its rear-facing weight limit is 40 pounds, which is more than most infant car seats on sale car seats. It can also be used forward-facing until your child is 65 pounds.

Its most prominent selling feature is the ClickTight Installation System, which is the most secure and user-friendly on the market. It lets you tighten the belt by pressing an orange release button and pulling the harness strap and not having to loosen it and re-thread it. This reduces the risk of incorrectly tightening a seat belt which is the most common cause of car seat failure.

The EZ-Buckle Pad is a further safety feature that keeps the buckle away as you put your child in the car seat. This feature, as well as beltpath cutouts that run along the sides of your child's seat, make it easy to get them into and out of the vehicle.

All three ClickTight convertible seat models (Boulevard CT, Marathon CT, Advocate CT) share the similar features. They include the ClickTight Installation System and an impact-absorbing base that has 7 recline positions, a rip-stitch energy-absorbing tether, HUGS harness pads, a steel-reinforced frame, and EPP energy-absorbing foam.

The seat is fairly heavy, but you might want to consider a lighter option if intend to use it for travel or frequent swaps of cars. The seat is large, so it might not fit in smaller vehicles.

If you're looking for a budget-friendly option with similar quality, check out the 4Ever DLX from Graco. It has lower scores in crash test analysis than the Boulevard but it's an excellent seat for your lightweight baby car seat.

The Graco also comes with LATCH connectors with push-on connections that make it simpler to take the seat off. Boulevard's LATCH connectors use an alternative release system that requires you to pull the webbing and then press the gray button. This can be difficult if your webbing is tight. This seat comes with an easy storage compartment for belt straps.

Clek Liing

Clek Liing is the infant car seat swivel car seat for you if you want it all: style, safety and convenience. This rear-facing car seat is easy to install, comes with an impressive crash test score and a variety of features.

The Liing is designed to protect infants with features that meet or surpass both US and Canadian safety standards. It is designed to allow for simple and secure installation in any seating position. It also has advanced safety features, such as an energy-absorbing metal leg and two-piece shell lined with EPP for increased side impact protection. The base comes with 7 recline positions and a bubble indicator that lets you know when the seat is at just the perfect angle for your child.

Parents love the Liing's modern and sleek design and its unique safety features like rigid lower anchors that are easier to attach than hook-and-loop connectors. The Liing has a one-handed quick release, making it easy to remove the base and connect it to strollers compatible with it. And at less than 17 inches in width it's small enough to fit 3-across in most vehicles and fits nicely into many convertible car seats as a booster.

This infant seat is an impressive 1st place in terms of ease of installation with its unique rigid-LATCH system. The lower anchors of the Liing click right into the vehicle's lower seat belt slots. Additionally, the seat's top tether strap snaps onto the headrest of the vehicle to create a tight, secure fit that eliminates the risk of the child being thrown around during the event of a crash.

The base weighs 9lbs and the car seat weighs 10.5 lbs. Other rear-facing seats are heavier in weight however if you're planning on taking this car seat and its base all over the place it won't be noticeable (especially when you add a child to the equation! ).

Parents love the Liing's integrated canopy and 100+spf protection from the sun's rays with the mesh peekaboo. Caregivers appreciate the merino blanket that keeps the lightweight baby car seat warm and the capability of the handle to pivot away from the canopy. This makes it easier for parents to grab the seat if they need to.

Graco Trio Grow SnugLock LX

The Graco Trio SnugLock LX is a three-in-one car seat that converts from rear-facing infant to forward-facing harness and then to highback booster. It has the SnugLock system, which allows for a simple and smooth installation with either lower anchors or car seat belts. It has the option of using the top rated baby car seats tether when in booster mode. (We recommend always using the lower anchors to provide extra security.)

This seat is perfect for children of all ages. It has an infant insert for smaller babies that supports their necks and backs. As they grow older the insert can be removed and the seat can be used as a regular toddler car seat. This car seat is among the few that allows you to use the top tether in booster mode, which we highly recommend.

Its base is pretty compact front to back, so it shouldn't be a problem to find a space for it in the majority of vehicles. It is required for the headrest to be raised, however, to allow a clear route to the lower anchor webbing. Fortunately, there's a headrest adjustment knob that can easily accomplish this, and also see the headrest position in the display window.

One of the most impressive features about this seat is the SnugLock installation system that's an anchor that is within the belt path. Installing this car seat using lower anchors is easy, and as simple as using the vehicle's seat belt.

The manual provides a fantastic illustration of how to guide the lower anchor connectors correctly through the new belt pathway which at first can be confusing. Keep them clear of the chest clip and the crotch loop to avoid interfering with the buckle system.

The Graco Trio Grow belongs to the Protect Plus Engineered Family, which means that it has been subjected to some of the most rigorous tests in the industry. This includes tests for rear, side, and rollover crashes and frontal impact.