Review by Dootgrrl : Worth every penny!

Buy these at Amazon or other place online since they're almost DOUBLE the price at Toys-R-Us ($169 in Feb 2008).

We bought these car seats for our 1-yr-old (22 lb) twin boys and WE LOVE THEM!! They're really padded, cushiony and roomy, so they were very comfortable for the road trip we just took. Once I figured out how to use the hooks to attach to the LATCH bolts built-into my car (incl. in most cars built after 2002), it didn't take long to install.

They will be easy to adjust as our boys grow, and we're thrilled that we won't need to buy another car seat EVER. As a 3-in-1 car seat, they can be converted and used until the child is up to 100 lbs!

We agree that they'll be too big for small cars. In fact, our boys just barely met the limit to situate the car seat to be front-facing. If they hadn't, I don't think it would have fit in our Toyota 4Runner as a rear-facing seat.

The car seat itself isn't big. The problem is that it requires a lot of width (i.e. looks reclined) in order to be set at the safety level in the back seat.

Otherwise....we love it and would highly recommend it.

Review by Mama_C : BEST seat for the $$$

This seat is AWESOME. It is sturdy, easy to use, easy to clean, inexpensive, comfortable, long-lasting, and more. I had an older version of this same seat (about two years ago) and bought two of this version--the old one for my hubby's car and these two for my minivan. My two-year-old LOVES the soft, cushiony seat--she always takes her shoes and socks off to rub her feet on it, and my 6-month-old loves the extra room and freedom of the bigger seat (she got too big for the Graco carrier kind.) The tilt is very easy to use and it installs fast and quickly--with LATCH--I haven't tried any other method. They fit beautifully into both my hubby's VW Passat and my Hyundai minivan--we're both tall and still have plenty of room to have our seats all the way back and these seats installed in both front and rear facing positions. It also cleans easy--straight into the wash and cool-setting dryer.

I hope this helps you with your car-seat purchase decision. I know I was a little overwhelmed by all of the choices and price differences. This seat was $90 with free shipping (from Amazon via BabyAge, I think--got here in two days!!) when I got it. I did go to a local store first to check these out (it was $160 in the store) I found the cheaper seats (Graco, Evenflo) had thinner padding. The more expensive seats (Brittax, etc.) had lots of colors and similar padding to this seat. I don't really think the kids care that much about the colors--their butts are on them, you know? I like that this fabric seems to hide everything my two-year-old can dish out on it--and then wash easily if it gets stinky. Oh--the other thing I really like about this seat is how easily the straps adjust--I haven't seen any that are easier--if you look at the picture you'll see these little red handles at the top--you simply push/pull these and the straps slide up or down--other car seats you have to rethread the things--who has time for that!?! Also, the arm rests are adjustable--I have them up and out of the way for now--when we transition to the booster, I'm sure I'll bring them down.

Good luck!!
p.s. I've read a few of the negative reviews and have some tips--
1. For the ones who couldn't remove the infant headrest, it is very easy to remove. Unthread the belts from the clip in the rear, thread out through the front and the headrest slides off--then rethread (the instructions are in the back of the book--look under cleaning.)
2. For the tilt--for cars with bucket seats, you will need to use a prop to adjust the front of the seat when rear-facing. You can purchase a $10 adjuster, cut up a $1 swimmers noodle, or roll up a towel--all are safe--and you can ask you car service dept or safety official to help with the install (most local police departments have monthly safety seat checks.)
I still love this seat--I think it is super easy to use.

Review by A. D. McWilliams : I agree

I just wanted to say that we bought this car seat thinking the 3 in 1 aspect would save us having to buy another one later on. We find we have the same problem with the seat not being able to recline enough. We own a Hyundai Elantra, and there just isn't enough room in the middle for the car seat to fully recline. Unless we bring the seats forward to the point where this isn't safe, either. I hope Safety 1 can work on this for future car seat models.

Review by J. Morris : Which End Up???

I am sure that this carseat has been deemed safe, however, I found it very complicated and hard to use. First of all, when we installed the seat in a rear facing position, it was extremely hard to tighten it properly, due to its shape. Also, there was virtually zero visibility out of the back window of the car when we finally did get it properly installed in the middle, or on the sides of the back seat! It's just so enormous! (We own a Honda Civic) This carseat is alot easier to use as a front facing seat, or booster.

Review by Joe Boo "That's Who" : Kid Tested, Mother & Father Approved.

The Cosco Alpha Omega Elite 3-in-1 Car Seat is really awesome seat to have. We seem find ourselves buying these 3-in-1 or 4-in-1 items for our child, such as our 4-in-1 Crib. It really saves time & money. This seat feels super comfortable for our daughter, which is important when she has to be stuck in it for a long car ride. She doesn't seem to mind it at all. In fact it sat for 3-4 days in the living room before I used it to replace the old car seat & base type. She would walk up to it & sit in it as if it was her own personal chair. Straps are super easy to adjust too, which is nice when she goes from one day to wearing a heavy winter jacket to the next day wearing only a light spring jacket; darn Iowa weather. The armrests pull out to release & pull back in to lock into place, makes getting her in & out a real breeze. The cup holder is detachable to make more room for others seated next to her. Material is easy to clean & matches the interior of our car(if that matters), pattern also seems like it will hide stains well; if it's not already.

Price was phenomenal compared to other similar offerings for 3-in-1 car seats. Shipping was pretty quick too. Others complained about the seatbelt latch in middle of the seat being too close. Right now for our daughter it is okay where it is, but I could see problems in the coming months. However, on our car seat there is a 2nd slot that sits farther away from the child, which it would seem that you could possibly move out for the adjustment of growing kids. No complaints here whatsoever 5 Stars all the way, solid construction; plenty of padding(our daughter clunks out almost every time); it can grow with your child, easy clean up; option rich; best of all it was the best price for the value that I could find anywhere online & shopping at retail locations.
Funny to say, but our daughter really does love to ride in it. Thank you both, [...]