In general, I’m really not a fan of “Best” and “Worst” lists. We all have opinions on what we love and what we can’t stand and just because I don’t care for something doesn’t mean you won’t love it. I’ve also been around this field long enough to have some perspective on the issues. I can clearly recall the not-so-good-ol’-days when there was a lot more to hate in the wonderful world of child restraints. Things like shield boosters and rear-facing convertible seats that only went to 22 lbs and forward-facing seats with rear harness adjusters (you actually had to uninstall the seat just to tighten and loosen the harness straps – insane, huh?) And seats that were literally impossible to install correctly in almost any vehicle with straps so twisty that they looked like ropes after just a few months of use and there was very little that could be done to stop the process or correct it.
Point is, there’s a lot less to truly hate nowadays. But there are still some legitimate poor choices currently available for purchase on store shelves right now. Many are designs that have been around for a decade or longer but still manage to sell for various reason (price, styling, cute covers). These seats are all throw-backs to the past and there are definitely much better options currently available in each category. Of course any child restraint is better than nothing at all, but if you’re shopping for something new, you’d be doing yourself a favor if you bought something that wasn’t on this list.
Here are my nominations for the Worst Carseats of 2010:
Worst Infant Carseat:
Evenflo Discovery – what’s to dislike? Well, just about everything. The only thing this seat has going for it is that it’s cheap and it doesn’t weigh much. At least they finally stopped making the dreaded 3-pt harness version. I guess we should be thankful for that much.
- Rear-harness adjuster
- Difficult process to move harness straps to different slot heights
- Handle must always be down in the car which requires an extra step & takes up more room
- Base isn’t adjustible which makes it likely that you’ll need to add a rolled up towel or a piece of pool noodle to get the correct recline angle in the vehicle
- Versions of this seat have been around since 1998! I’m all for “retro” but when it comes to a safety product that has to save my child’s life under the worst possible circumstances – I don’t want engineering designs from the 90’s. It’s time for the Discovery mold to be retired – permanently.
Worst Convertible Carseat:
Graco ComfortSport – another relic in the world of child restraints. The ComfortSport represents an interesting contradiction to most everything else in the current Graco lineup. It’s so dated compared to all the great new CRs that Graco has come out with in the last 5 years. But with 10 (yes, ten!) different cover options and a price tag of around $80-$90 (which is still way overpriced for what you’re getting) this profitable fossil will probably live on forever.
- Only convertible seat currently rated to only 30 lbs in the rear-facing position
- Top harness slots so low that toddlers frequently outgrow this seat in the forward-facing position before they technically outgrow it in the rear-facing position
- Often difficult to adjust the harness straps when the seat is installed rear-facing
- Strange weight restrictions on middle harness strap slot usage when seat is installed in the forward-facing position
- Versions of this seat have been around since 1999! This seat was originally the Century Accel and when Graco bought out Century in the early 2000’s – they inherited this product. They renamed it the Graco ComfortSport and it’s lived on as such, with only minor updates, ever since.
Worst Combination Booster Seats:
In this category, there were so many poor choices that I couldn’t narrow it down to just one. But they all came from a single parent company – Dorel Juvenile Group. It’s not even worth my time to go into everything I dislike about each and every one of these seats. Suffice to say that they all meet the same criteria for my “Worst” picks. The cons far outweigh any pros. None of these seats are better than average when used with the 5-pt harness (mostly due to low top harness slot heights and 40 lb weight maximums) and they generally do a very poor job of positioning the seatbelt properly on a child when used in booster mode. Also, with only one exception, the designs are all about 10 years old. Thankfully, there are much better choices currently available in this category.
Cosco Summit/Safety 1st Summit/ Eddie Bauer Deluxe Highback Booster (2001)
Cosco Highback Booster with 5-pt harness (1999)
Cosco Vantage Point/ Safety 1st Vantage (2001)
Safety 1st Prospect / Eddie Bauer Adjustable Highback Booster (2008 – what was the excuse here?)
Really, nothing that I’ve pointed out here is “news”. But for various reasons, the seats nominated for worst in their category still continue to sell well enough, year after year, for the manufacturer to justify keeping them around. The problem is a vicious cycle. The buyers for big-box stores like Walmart/Target/Kmart want to keep prices as low as possible so they keep ordering the least expensive options that child restraint manufacturers offer them. CR Manufacturers are terrified of losing their precious “shelf space” in what is a VERY competitive market so they keep offering what they know these buyers want. Since big-box budget stores like Walmart & Kmart & Target sell huge quantities of child restraints – the less expensive seats on the shelves are almost guaranteed to sell well. And since CR Manufacturers are in business (just like any other business) to make money there is little incentive for them to retire an outdated product that continues to be profitable. Now, if those old product designs ceased to be profitable, the manufacturers would drop them faster than you can regift a fruitcake.
Perhaps we should petition NHTSA to mandate that their Ease-of-Use Ratings be clearly posted on the shelf tag right next to the price. This would be somewhat similar to the star safety rating that is required to be posted on the sticker of a new vehicle at the dealership. While far from ideal, at least it would give the consumer some type of comparative information on which to base their carseat purchase decision. I can’t help but wonder how many parents would still buy the Evenflo Discovery if they saw a 2-Star NHTSA Ease-of-Use Rating posted right next to the $54 price tag at Walmart?
For a listing of some better choices in each category, and in a variety of price ranges, check out our Recommended Carseats page.
Back 7+ years ago, models like the Comfort Sport and Summit were among the nicer seats available. Perhaps not consensus favorites, top rated models or anything like that, but very reasonable overall at least. They are definitely showing their age a decade later, though. I admit that I have never been particularly fond of the Discovery or Cosco HBB. As you can see from our reviews and “Recommended” carseats list, we do like a number of products from all these manufacturers. Obviously, everyone has their own opinion on models they particularly like or dislike for one reason or another and Kecia has installed and used a whole lot of them!
“Britax,” not “Britas.”
@Laura: “parents need to step up and research before purchasing. With the internet there is no excuse to buy a piece of junk car seat and then claim you didn’t know.”
I guess I should take that personally? Since I had just posted that I didn’t know better.
A) First and most important: You’re engaging in hyperbole. They aren’t “piece of junk” carseats. They are simply less fabulous, and more difficult to use correctly, than some others out there. But used properly they will keep your baby/child safe. Slamming parents for using a “piece of junk” when they are using a less-than-awesome carseat is just off-putting.
B) If you don’t know that there are better ones out there, you don’t know there IS something to research! I had frustrations with some of the issues mentioned here — like adjusting the harnesses in the Comfort Sport rearfacing. But for one thing, those difficulties didn’t occur to me until it the seats were in use. For another, I didn’t know that other carseats had better solutions for those issues.
@Ranaaurora: “Height, weight and price is NOT all that parents should consider. Quality and reputation and likelihood of recall is just as important, if not more.”
Yeah, but I have no idea how you predict likelihood of recall. And “quality and reputation” is going to lead a lot of people to think big names like Evenflo and Graco are reliable, but be less trusting of a name like Britas (which is big in the CPS world, but not elsewhere).
The ComfortSport was also our first convertible carseat 5 years ago. I chose it for my baby registry because it was cheap, but I hated it from the instant we removed it from the box. We used it for about a year, then we upgraded to a Britax and I was so much happier with that choice.
To be fair to the ComfortSport, we didn’t get rid of it. We moved it to our pickup truck, which she rarely rides in. We continued to use it until this year when she finally got too heavy for this 40-lb-limit seat. It held up fine, though it’s now the ugliest car seat on earth! LOL
You have a factual error about the ComfortSport. It can never be outgrown forward facing before it is outgrown rear facing. Rear facing or forward facing, the seat is outgrown if the top of the child’s ears go over the top of the seat, the shoulders go over the top slots, or the weight limit is exceeded. The criteria are all identical, except the different weight limits.
^^This is wrong. Let’s say a child has a long torso, and for forward facing the straps are now below the shoulder, but the childs head is still at least 1 inch below the hard shell or the seat, and they meet the weight limits, the child could still fit in the restraint in the rear facing position, because when RF’ing the straps are meant to be at or below the shoulders, and forward facing the straps are to be right at, or above the shoulders.
So pixels, yes a seat can be outgrown in the forward facing position before the rear facing position.
This is shocking that some of these can even be sold! I have a Combi Coccoro for my youngest and love it!
I was given the Evenflo Discovery as a baby shower gift, and I actually like it! I had no idea that they were bad, I did a few research inquiries before opening the package, and decided it was ok for my daughter. I drive an older car (1996) and I would have to use a noodle for any carseat that I buy. I like the carseat, and I am an advocate for them being installed properly and safely. I took my seat to the State Police and had them install the base for me, and there it stays and is never moved. I guess some parents need a much more expensive seat, I am not one of them. You can be safe if you take responsibility as a parent to install and use them properly. Also, we do not travel much at all, I am a stay at home mom, and so this seat will only be used for a couple more months, then we are back to our Britax convertible seat. We need to understand that some people cannot afford a $200 infant seat, especially in today’s economy. I agree with the boosters, that Dorel group should be out of business.
I don’t think the ComfortSport is so horrible. It’s about the same shell height as the Scenera, with EPS foam and cushier covers. The Cocorro’s RF weight limit is only 3 pounds higher, and the shell is shorter, with a price tag more than double, and horrible install issues, yet the Cocorro is beloved while the ComfortSport is berated. Will the ComfortSport hold a child rear facing to four years old? Almost certainly not. But in the real world, few people even RF to two years old, and it will hold most kids RFing that long, easily.
You have a factual error about the ComfortSport. It can never be outgrown forward facing before it is outgrown rear facing. Rear facing or forward facing, the seat is outgrown if the top of the child’s ears go over the top of the seat, the shoulders go over the top slots, or the weight limit is exceeded. The criteria are all identical, except the different weight limits.
Though we have very limited comparative data on carseats in terms of crash safety, I do note that none of the models Kecia listed received higher than a 3-star rating in the NHTSA ease-of-use ratings. Granted, those ratings don’t always track what we see in the field.
we need to stop mandating things and parents need to step up and research before purchasing. With the internet there is no excuse to buy a piece of junk car seat and then claim you didn’t know.
I kind of like the idea of having ease-of-use ratings with the seats (and maybe the explanations/blurbs that go w/ the scores).
While it might not influence all car seat purchases, it might have enough influence to get rid of some of the “worst offenders”.
I’ve had parents who’ve said to me, if I knew… I wouldn’t have bought this seat. If they knew… the Evenflo seats required the handle to be down and 1.5″ from the front seat… the Comfortsport is quickly outgrown RF and FF… the Cosco HBB has lower top slots than the Scenera… the list could go on.
yeah, he’s too tall for the Apex as well. By the time I moved we had not yet tried the Harmony’s, but just from looking at them, they didn’t look wide enough. My mom had actually be around and around this issue with Jools a while back.
Pass the SAME tests, but let’s FACE it.
Fingers, listen to my BRAIN!
Thank god someone said it. Yes, all car seats “pass the safe tests” but let’s safe it, passing a test with a D grade is still really crappy.
Height, weight and price is NOT all that parents should consider. Quality and reputation and likelihood of recall is just as important, if not more.
I will *never* recommend Dorel/JG seats, unless there is a very unique situation.
Okay, I follow you now. I usually recommend an Apex 65 (without the harness) for kids that truly don’t fit in any other booster. For the record, the Apex is wider than the Prospect. I can fit comfortably in an Apex but not in the Prospect. However since the Apex is a highback only – it will only work for kids who still fit height-wise. Just curious, have you tried either of the Harmony boosters yet?
Kecia, they don’t have the backless version anymore. Now I could be wrong about this, but the last Prospect I saw said it was harness/highback/backless.
FTR, I’m talking about kids like my brother. Still needs a backless in most positions, but there are no boosters that fit him. We tried everything, he’s just too wide in the rear end. Our only options left at that point were to try to make him squeeze, or ride without and hope that he fit as well as he possibly could. We never got him a prospect simply because we couldn’t justify the purchase.
My point is, for some kids (not even most), it may be their only option.
Katiesmommy – is the Prospect even available as a backless booster anymore? I know it was, briefly, a few years ago when it was first on the market but I’ve only seen the highback versions in stores during the last year or two. Also, based on how poorly the lap belt fit my DS when we tested the Prospect in booster mode
https://carseatblog.com/1934/dorel-prospect-as-booster-part-x-combo-seat-review-series/
I would hesitate to recommend it unless I knew for certain that it positioned the seatbelt properly on the child using it. Other options that tend to fit stockier kids well are the Harmony Secure Comfort Deluxe (at TRU) and the Harmony LiteRider (at Walmart).
You know I agree on most points here, except the Prospect. While it makes a terrible harnessed seat, it is the widest backless on the market, which makes it the only option for people who need a wider backless, being that everyone is so obsessed with narrowness.
I have owned 3 of these seats in the past 5 years, and I totally agree with your assessment of them! I don’t think I knew 5 years ago that there were better models available than what was on the Target shelves.
Ugh! I owned the predecessor to the ComfortSport (Century Accel) for my oldest. He outgrew it by height at 2! As for rear-facing, the rear-facing slots were so low that the shoulder straps would creep toward the edge of his shoulders even when as tight as possible and with the chect clip properly aligned. I only used it for a couple of weeks with my second child before I threw it out!
Aaaah, the Summit. I’ve encountered few true incompatibilities between seats and vehicles– let me tell you, the majority were Summits!
The Graco ComfortSport was the first convertible I bought for my oldest daughter. It gave me nightmares.
Perhaps we should petition NHTSA to mandate that their Ease-of-Use Ratings be clearly posted on the shelf tag right next to the price. >>>
LOVE that idea!
Agreed!