The Evenflo Symphony is a new 3-in-1 child safety seat–rear facing, front facing, booster (there is also a newer version called the
Symphony 65). It has an amazing new LATCH system called “SureLATCH”, the same Infinite Slide harness adjustment system that Evenflo introduced with the Triumph Advance, and boasts that it is “Side Impact Tested”, but does it live up to its “all-in-one” hype?
Rear Facing Seat
The Symphony has a 35 lb rear facing weight limit, matching Britax and Cosco for the highest limit in the class. Its respectable seat height (1″ taller than the Roundabout with the headrest in position for rear facing) means that most toddlers will be able to use the Symphony rear facing until they weigh at least 30 lb.
The Symphony comes with removable padding for infants, and it’s a good thing! It is a roomy seat that even my 11 month old seemed to “swim” in it without that padding. With the padding, the low bottom harness setting (approximately 7.5″-8″) makes the Symphony a potentially good choice for use from birth.
Front Facing Seat
If there’s one major flaw in the Symphony, it’s the low, 40 lb weight limit on the integrated harness. With more and more high weight limit harnessed seats on the market–including Evenflo’s own Triumph Advance and Titan Elite, both of which can be used to 50 lb with the internal harness–the standard has been raised.
The good news is, the top setting on the harness is relatively high, and many kids will actually fit until they reach a full 40 lb, rather than outgrowing the seat by height before they hit the weight limit.
Belt Positioning Booster
I think the thing that most surprised me about the Symphony was how well it worked as a booster. Those other 3-in-1 seats have a less than spectacular reputation when it comes to their fit in booster mode. The Symphony held the lap belt low on the hips and the shoulder belt across the center of the shoulder. There was no gap between the child and the seatbelt.
Although the height is easy to adjust (squeeze the handle and pull up or down), it’s not a particularly tall booster, making the 100 lb weight limit merely hypothetical (children will outgrow it by height well before they they reach 100 lb), and it’s rather shallow, so it doesn’t provide much thigh support to children as they near the upper height limits, either.
Installation
The single most impressive feature of the Symphony is its ground-breaking SureLATCH system. SureLATCH uses two LATCH connectors with built in retractors that take up the slack in the LATCH straps when the parent presses down on the seat. The result is a secure installation with minimal effort in virtually no time! While I was able to get an adequate install (no more than 1″ movement) by following the instructions in the manual, which said to press down on the seat with my hands, I could only get a rock-solid install in my Honda Odyssey by putting my knee in the seat and rocking it slightly while pressing down with my full weight. Really, this is a minor quibble; it was still the easiest install I’ve ever done with LATCH in any vehicle.
Unfortunately, the seatbelt install isn’t nearly so simple. Rear facing, one must lift the cover to access the belt path, and once the seat is snuggly installed, it’s difficult or impossible to put the cover back in place. The front facing belt path isn’t quite as inconvenient, but one must still thread the belt under the cover, which I find slightly irritating.
Changing Modes
Changing the Symphony from rear facing to front facing (or vice versa) is pleasantly simple. The LATCH connectors are easy to flip into the correct position, and the “Infinite Slide Harness Adjustment System” works just as advertised; just grab the red tabs and slide the harness up or down until it fits the child. The headrest is also easy to adjust (and must be in the lowest position when the seat is used rear facing).
Switching from harnessed to booster mode is quite a bit more complicated–remove the base, remove the crotch strap and stow in the base, remove the headrest, rethread and stow the harness, replace the headrest, and remove the cover on the shoulder belt guide(s).
Minor Irritation and Well Done Indeed
The red release button on the buckle is unusually large, and if you do not press it exactly in the center, only one side of the buckle will unlatch. I’ve gotten in the habit of pressing the button twice each time to make up for this flaw.
For me, this is more than made up for by the harness adjuster that tightens “like butter”. None of the tug-tug-tug nonsense of many other seats; no need to build up your biceps to muscle it snug; just pull firmly once, and watch the slack disappear from the harness. Parents should be aware that unlike almost every other seat on the market, the Symphony pulls slack out of the lap portion of the harness, not the shoulder portion. This isn’t a problem, but it can be confusing until one gets used to it and especially the first time one tries to loosen the harness by pulling on the shoulder strap.
Verdict
The Evenflo Symphony raises the bar for 3-in-1 child restraints. While not right for everyone (no seat is!), the Symphony is impressively well-rounded. It may work especially well for families who need a seat that can easily be converted for use by several different children and families whose children probably won’t hit 40 lb before they are mature enough to sit in a booster, as well as families who need a convertible seat that can be installed with LATCH quickly and with minimal effort. Overall, I think it’s a seat worth considering!
Is this car seat considered to be a car seat with a removable base? because it does come off but My question is because my 2008 jeep cherokee says a car seat with a fixed =base can not be placed in center seat in back. I would like to keep her there if possible.
My child has done what most child does in the car seat, he vomits. If you have an evenflo, pray that this never happens. Although the covers are easy to remove, the belts and harness are not…they are one system and is impossible to remove.
We just bought this carseat and it seems great my 15 month loves it, however I am wondering about the review that says the straps dig into the childs neck has anyone else had this problem? Also the cupholder is a headache can it be replaced with a better designed one? One that will actually fit sippy cups and kids can get in and out without the thing spining or colapsing.
Thanks,
Sarah
Hi! I have 9 month old twin boys and was wondering if two of the Evenflo Symphony carseats will fit in my 2008 Honda Odyssey (rear facing) and still allow adequate leg room for the driver and front seat passenger? Thank you in advance for your help!
I believe that there should be standerized tests for all car seat “protection”. All car seats are not made equal. If they were what would be the point of multiple sellers. Children are the most precious “comodity of this country, or any counrty, for that matter. Their safety should be at the top of every ones list. There should be tests for carseats like there are tests for cars. Independant studies show that while testing cars for front and side impact damage that alot of “carriers” flew off their bases during the collision. Also that alot of the larger backward facing carseat flipped backward smashing the “dummy child” into the back seat. Parents have the responsability of keeping their children safe, but with nothing to go on other than whether a carseat fit well in your car and how easy it is to use just isn’t that reasurring. I don’t want a carseat becuase it’s east to use I want it to keep my child safe. Even if it was the hardest one to use ever made and it was safest i would buy it. I think that Carseat companys need to set up to the plate and amp up their safty tests. There isn’t even a front seat when they tests the car seats. Its a back seat out of a car on a sled. The sled moves down a track at 30 mph and hits a wall. Well i don’t know about u but i don’t drive 30 mph every where i go. and frankly my car has a front seat. I want to seebetter testing for carseat safety!
when I say the best I mean that there seems to be a following for Britax carseats and more times then not people seem to recommend them on forms and reviews and it often seems that it is because of the name. I know that I need to fit whatever seat I use to my car. The Symphony does fit and the roundabout 50 would fit, too. I guess my question about the roundabout is if the side impact protection is the same? I know there are no standards, but it does not seem to come out as far as the symphony or even the britex models with true side impact. So I am wondering if there is something different about the design and look of side impact protection?
1. “True Side Impact Protection” is a Britax trademarked term. We have no way to compare side impact protection features other than by appearance and construction, since no standard test for this is available.
2. I’ll have to let Ulrike comment on this one
3. When you say other models are rated the best, how do you mean? I’ve never seen any type of public test results for such ratings in side impacts, let alone frontal impacts. If you find it fits your child and vehicle well, I think the Symphony is a very good choice and likely to be just as safe as competitive models when used correctly.
I just got the Symphony. I like it overall, but have a few questions.
1. Did Britax just patent the term true side impact? The side impact protection on the symphony looks just like the TSI protection on all britex’s except the advocate, which has the balloon things. If it is not the same, what are the differences?
2. I have my 22lb-ish 11 month old rear faceing. I have the recline back to the 1 position but when I push down on the seat to lock it in place it brings it up a little from the one position, so I am not able to get the full recline out of it. Is this something I am doing wrong, or is it something I can fix?
3. The side impact protection on this seat seems to be better than the Marathon or similar britax seats, yet those are rated the best. Can you explain how those have side impact protection, because I am just not seeing it. I am tempted to go with a roundabout50 over the symphony. Both would fit in my car well and I would be able to install both properly. I am drawn to being able to harness to 50lbs, but at the same time the side impact protection seems better on the symphony.
Any help you have would be great. Thanks!
Piper
You cannot buy a different brand cover for any carseat. You may be able to order a replacement cover for the Symphony directly from Evenflo, though.
My husband and I both have this car seat (I have a sedan, he has a truck) and it fits really well in both cars despite its size! And our son really loves it, too.
My only question is: has anybody seen a car seat cover that will fit this model?
We took out the extra bottom padding because the straps kept getting tangled but now I’m worried about messes on the main car seat part. It seems like all the car seat cover websites have stuff that fits the basic Evenflo’s, but not this one! Thoughts or suggestions?
NYC, please remember that the straps must be at or below the child’s shoulders rear facing. Kira, the baby in the photos above, is now 17 months, 32.5″ tall, and wears a cloth diaper, significantly ‘increasing’ her torso height. With the headrest in the lowest position (required for rear facing), and the harness in the highest position, the harness is above her shoulders. It must be moved down to be at or below them.
If the harness appears to be significantly lower than the child’s shoulders, and you can’t move it up any more, try this: Move the headrest up, move the straps up a notch, then move the headrest back down. This will ensure that it’s truly at the highest setting it can be in.
I have this car seat and have it pretty much since it came out. My complaint is that, my daughter is 10 months old and short, in the 20% with only a 10 inch torso height, but the harness can not slide up high enough with the head rest down to keep fitting my daughter much longer. I’m a single mother and I was hoping this would be the last carseat I would need until my daughter was 4, but I have to go and get a new one a short 5 months after gettting it so it can fit my daughter properly
Ulrike has recently posted a step-by-step guide, including a video and pictures, of how to switch the LATCH connectors from rear-facing to forward-facing. You can see it here: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=67540 .
Thanks, Ulrike!
what is the maximum height limit? is it the reccommended 57 inches?
Great Review Ulrike! I can’t wait to get my hands on this seat and play with the SureLATCH system.
Great review, Ulrike! I helped a mom with one the other day. There were a couple of things about it that I noticed. 1) I hated the SureLATCH. At least in her car. One side seemed to tighten but the other never clicked. It was tight enough, but that one side seemed to always be the one moving. So we had to rock back and forth and put weight on that one side to get it in. 2) The SureLATCH anchor connectors are SO BIG that they were hard to get deep into the seats to find her lower anchors. Minor, to be sure, but still annoying. This was in a 2006 Honda Accord.
It’s definitely the best 3 in 1 out there, to be sure.
We just got them in at work today. I hope to take it out to my car tommorrow and play.
Good. That is better to think of. Many kids would probably do okay (not best but okay) with a LBB at 8 years old. 🙂
anne, it’s 8 years according to one evenflo rep-
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=58278
Great review, Ulrike!
This would have been a fantastic choice for my slightly below average kiddos, who didn’t hit 40 pounds till age 5.5 or older (my slightly above average kiddo? I think we’ll stick with a seat with a higher weight limit, though, lol).
Great review!
How long is the expiration? My concern is that if it has a 6 year expiration and is used since birth, in a state like mine that allows kids to ride in just a belt at 6 years, some parents might just toss the expired seat and not get another. Others might use it past expiration.
Thanks for the review! I know many people would have liked the Symphony to have been bigger and have higher harness weight and height ratings. On the other hand, it really does provide what we have wanted for many years. The LATCH installation and harness system are extremely easy to use and therefore less likely to be misused!